Friedrich III (1440-1493)
The longest reigning Holy Roman Emperor, but also the emperor with the worst press of the lot. They called him the arch sleepy hat for his hesitancy and reluctance to concede an inch on imperial reform. It did not help that at times his empire had shrunk to the outer edge of his castle grounds – until he lost even those.
However, on closer inspection, one could argue he played a good game with a terrible hand….
Today we – and the Habsburgs – stride back on to the grand stage of European politics. Not with a titan of history or monarch whose long and fruitful reign resonates across the centuries, but with Friedrich III, better known as the Reichserzschlafmütze – the imperial arch sleepy head, Or perhaps more fittingly the imperial arch dawdler.
He ruled from 1440 to 1493, a total of 53 years – the longest reign of any Holy (or unholy) Roman Emperors (bar Constantine VIII). And yet, is also the most derided of reigns. In 1878 the Historian Georg Voigt sneered: “He was not remotely capable of handling such far-reaching politics, leaving Bohemia to its own devices, the Hungarian throne dispute to the helpless queen dowager, Austria to the arrogant dynasts, and the mercenary and robber bands.” “His light, simple hair, his long face with little movement, and his sedate gait betrayed a sluggish, deliberate nature, to which any enthusiasm, indeed any excitement, was alien. His love of peace has been endlessly mocked, but it was based on a completely dull sense of manhood and honour. No prince was so easily consoled by such insolent and repeated insults.” End quote.
Modern historians are kinder, praising his thorough education and dogged determination to preserve what was left of the majesty of the Holy Roman Emperors. But even they can’t avoid calling him flabby, underhand and happy to sell out his friends and allies.
Not exactly the kind of guy one wants to spend three or four episodes with. But this is history, not Hollywood. The nice guys do not usually win by yanking hard on the levers of destiny. More often than not tenacious men of low cunning, who weasel their way through, are the ones who are bringing the results.
And results he did get. At the end of his reign, the empire had changed profoundly. The open constitution of the Middle Ages had given way to a denser and more structured organization.
Why and how Friedrich III – despite all his many shortcomings – got to move the needle of German history is what we will look at over the next few weeks.
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.
So far I have:
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen
The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356
The Reformation before the Reformation
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
#209: The First Habsburg Emperor
Reichserzschlafmütze
Friedrich III was the first Habsburg Emperor, but also the most derided – was he really of “a completely dull sense of manhood and honour?”
#210: Ladislaus Postumus,
Lord of All, Ruler of No One
Ladislaus Postumus, king of Hungary, king of Bohemia and archduke of Austria was the lord of many lands, but ruled none of them, until he tried and died
#211 Hitting Rock Bottom
The Siege of the Hofburg in 1462
It is November 1462 and the emperor Friedrich III and his young family are huddling together in the cellars of the Hofburg. The citizens of Vienna are shooting cannonballs into the 13th century castle, the walls are crumbling and any moment now the angry crowds may break in. Outside, supporting the insurrection stood his own brother calling on him to give up….
# 212: The Library of the Raven King
Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary
Today we talk a lot about Matthias Corvinus, the legendary Renaissance king of Hungary whose library outshone that of the Medici in Florence and whose standing army was one of the greatest – and most expensive – military forces in 15th century Europe.
#213: Duping a Grand Duke and the Awakening of Friedrich III
The Gathering at Trier in 1473
In the 1460s the emperor Friedrich III does something unexpected – he does something, an engagement to the daughter of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy that will change European history.
#214: A Trial, a Siege and more than Neuss
The Siege of Neuss and the trial of Peter von Hagenbach 1474/1475
When Charles the Bold marched his splendid army into the Rhineland, he got a foretaste of things to come.
#215: The Bold in the Cold, the End of Charles of Burgundy
The Defeats of Charles of Burgundy at Grandson, Murten and Nancy
In just three years, between 1473 and 1477, Charles the Bold fritters away the mythical wealth of the Burgundian Dukes…