The Fall and Rise of the House of Habsburg (1308-1519)

How the Habsburgs forged their unique character

‘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?

Trailer

A brief opener to let you know what to expect.

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.

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#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, The Burgundian Marriage

“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, the War that Made the Habsburgs

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 – or why there are no City States no more

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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#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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