Another Thursday and another episode dealing with another epic fail of our hero, Maximilian I. But despite a military campaign that once again failed for all the usual reasons, no money, no strategy, no luck, this time he is rescued not by a marriage or imperial princes suddenly inflicted with an unlikely case of backbone, but by his daughter, Margaret, archduchess of Austria, dowager duchess of Savoy and governor of the Netherlands.
In an age that featured a number of impressive women, from Caterina Sforza to Elisabeth I, Margaret may be lesser known, but could easily hold her own amongst such illustrious company. She brought together an alliance that rescued her father’s lands, re-established imperial power in Northern Italy and brought the mighty republic of Venice almost to collapse. And then did it again, again and once more.
Meanwhile her father first made himself emperor in the least impressive ceremony ever, before throwing his hat in the ring to become – tat, tat, taa – the pope.
How the Habsburgs Rose from Nowhere, Crashed and Built an Empire where the Sun Never Set
‘Let others wage war: thou, happy Austria, marry’. Is that really it? Did this family acquire an empire where the sun never sets through just luck and longevity?
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The Fall (Rudolf I to Ernst the Iron)
#203: From Rudolf I to Albrecht the Wise 1273-1358
The Habsburg dynasty, originating from Radobot’s castle in 11th-century Switzerland, rose from obscurity to European prominence when In 1273 Rudolf of Habsburg was elected King of the Romans.
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#204: Rudolf the Founder and Forger
Rudolf IV of Habsburg (1339–1365), son of Albrecht “the Wise,” reigned as Duke of Austria for just seven years but left a lasting mark. By creating myths of divine and heroic origins, Rudolf forged a sense of Habsburg exceptionalism.
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#205: Sempach, the Death of a Duke and the Birth of a Nation
On July 9th, 1386 in a field near the Sempach lake., the armies of archduke Leopold of Austria line up against the forces of the city of Lucerne and the men of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden…
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#206: Division, Destruction and Degradation
Having sons was crucial in the late Middle Ages, but having too many sons was a problem too – driving the Habsburg to division, destruction and Degradation
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#207: Of Land and Lip or How the Habsburgs got their Chin
Where does the Habsburg Jaw come from? Was it Cymburgis of Masovia, and if not, what has that to do with the humiliation of Friedrich of Tirol in 1415?
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King Albrecht II (1437-1439)
#208: Boy Meets Princess, Boy Becomes King
In just one year 1438 Albrecht II. rises from mid-ranking duke to king of Hungary, king of Bohemia and king of the Romans. Was it just because he married the right girl (always recommended), or was his overnight success decades in the making?
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Emperor Friedrich III – The Imperial Arch Sleepy Hat (1440-1493)
#209: The First Habsburg Emperor
Friedrich III was the first Habsburg Emperor, but also the most derided – was he really of “a completely dull sense of manhood and honour?”
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#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
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#211 Hitting Rock Bottom
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….
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# 212: The Library of the Raven King
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.
Why are we talking about a Hungarian ruler in a series about the Habsburgs? Trust me, there is a good reason beyond it being a fascinating life story.
For episode webpage and transcript, click here
#213: Duping a Grand Duke and the Awakening of Friedrich III
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.
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#214: A Trial, a Siege and more than Neuss
The siege of Neuss and the trial of Peter von Hagenbach changed the way the Holy Roman Empire worked – and internatioonal law
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#215: The Bold in the Cold, the End of Charles of Burgundy
In just three years, between 1473 and 1477, Charles the Bold fritters away the mythical wealth of the Burgundian Dukes…
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Emperor Maximilian I – The Last Knight (1486-1519)
#216: The Youth of Emperor Maximilian I
The Delights and Horrors of the Childhood of the Last Knight
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#217: When Mary Met Maxi
“Let others wage war; you, happy Austria, marry”, that is what we are told. The reality was very different – invasion, rebellion, execution…
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#218: Of Hedgehogs and Herons
By 1477 the rules of war that had been enshrined in the laws of chivalry are gone. The contest between the French and the Habsburgs over the inheritance of the Grand Dukes of the West gives us a foretaste of the things to come.
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#219: The Fall of Ghent
Singapore is only one true city state left. Why did they go? The fall of Ghent in 1485 is a prime example of how they disappeared.
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#220: The Burgundian Experience
Maximilian, newly crowned King of Romans, gets imprisoned by rebellious Flemish citizens during a turbulent power struggle.
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#221: Taking Back Control
Maximilian returned to the Empire in 1489 to find thingsin a mess. Cousin Sigismund was wasting the family fortune, the enemy still held Vienna and teh imperial princes were unhelpful in the extreme
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#222: Italian Wars and Spanish Marriages
When king Charles VIII of France marched into Italy in 1494, the medieval political world collapsed and is repalced with something new…
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The Imperial Reforms of 1495
#223: A Diet of Worms (1495 Edition)
The long awaited refom of the Holy Roman Empire gets under way – smooth is not the word one would use…blackmail and ruder words are used
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#224: The Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire
The Reichstag, the assembly of the electors, princes and cities of the Holy Roman Empire was weirder but more effective than usually believed
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#225: The Ewige Landfrieden (Public Peace) of 1495
Maximilian I declared an eternal public peace In 1495 and established two courts, that shaped the unique relationship Germans have with the law
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Back to Maximilian I (1493-1519)
#226: A Grand Pland for a Great War
Europe’s political landscape is shifting fundamentally. And Maximilian I has a grand plan to get rid of the French, once and for all
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#227: Landsknechte versus Swiss Mercenaries
Why are the Swiss called the Swiss – and how did the first encounter between the two famous Renaissance forces, the Landsknechte and the Swiss Reisläufer turn out?
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#228: The Princes and the Emperor
In 1500 the imperial estates stripped the Maximilian I of power. Why did they create their own imperial government? And did it work?
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#229: How the Habsburgs gained Spain
Did the Habsburgs gain Spain in the horizontal? Was Joanna of Spain really mad or just mad at/about her husband? Was Philipp just handsome or playing chess with Louis XII to unify Europe? Questions, questions….
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#230: The League of Cambrai
The Italian wars begin for real in 1508 when Margaret of Austria puts together the League of Cambrai to rescue her father, the now “Emperor” Maximilian I