Basic HTML Version
claim, " In my realm, the sun never
sets." And he would be precisely
correct.
The Habsburgs (wbose name is
derived from their Alpine family
residence, the Hawk's Castle) were
destined to hold onto the emper–
orship of the Holy Roman Empire
for almost three bundred seventy–
five years. But for most of this inter–
minably long period, the empire
was a facade.
This, then, is the background for
the sixth installment of "Europe:
Catastrophe and Reviva!."
Year 1273: Tbe First Habsburg
on
thc Throne. Rudolf
I
is elected Ger–
man emperor. He rules until 1291.
During this time, he consoüdates
Habsburg land holdings and power
within the empire. Rudolf is indif–
ferent to the Roman tradition and is
more interested in advancing his
own dynasty. Concentrating on ter–
ritorial expansion of family holdings
and dynastic marriages, he forges a
sol id base for future Habsburg
greatness.
The Electors (German princes
who take part in choosing the em–
peror) are alarmed at the rapid rise
of the Habsburgs. Rudolrs son is
passed over by them for Adolf of
Nassau, who becomes emperor.
Though the Habsburgs will not rule
over the empire for another one
hundred fifty years, Rudolf has set
the stage for the family empire to
come.
Year
1356:
The Golden Bull. The
empire is transformed from a mon–
archy into a federation of aristo–
cratic rulers by a document called
the Golden Bull. Disputed elections
are avoided. Seven Electors now de–
termine who is to be king of the
Germans. Each becomes a virtual
sovereign in his own right. The Elec–
tors are the archbishops of Mainz,
Trier and Cologne, the count pala–
tine of the Rhine, the duke of Sax–
ony, the margrave of Brandenburg
and the king of Bohemia.
Elections are by a majority vote.
That the papacy has lost sorne of its
power to direct European affairs is
evident. No mention of papal rights
24
or claims enters the election proce–
dure. The Electors themselves exer–
cise tbe ultimate supervision of the
empire.
Later, however, they will also lose
their power as the Habsburgs turn
the Holy Roman Empire into their
de Jacto
private domain.
Years 1440-1493: Frederick 111
and tbe Rise
of
Habsburg.
In 1438,
Albert 11 of Habsburg brings the
emperorship back to the House of
Habsburg.
It
will remain with this
family until the forma l demise of
the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.
In 1440, Frederick
Ill ,
a cousin of
Albert
II,
is elected emperor of the
Germans. Twelve years later he will
be crowned Roman emperor. He is
to be the last emperor to be crowned
at Rome by the pope. This fact
alone shows the deteriorating posi–
tion of the papacy in European po–
litical matters. He brings the
Habsburg fortunes to a new high
point. He paves the way for a new
Holy Roman Empire under the next
two German emperors, Maximilian
1
( 1493- 1519) and Charles
V
(15 19-
1556). With Frederick, the Habs–
burg Century has begun. The Holy
Roman Empire is transformed into
a Habsburg kingdom.
Frederick dreams of a worldwide
empire under the umbrella of the
Holy Roman Empire, led by the
House of Habsburg. He writes his
mysterious monogram, comprised of
th e vowels of the alp habet:
A.E.I.O.U.
The answer to this monogram
may well be fou nd in a proverb
written in bis notebook. The prov–
erb reads
A ustriae est imperare orbi
universo
-
"all the world is subject
to Austria." And, indeed, much of
the world will soon be subject to the
rulers from Austria. Though Fred–
erick is Iethargic in many ways, he
has one unshakable conviction: the
German monarchy and the office of
Roman emperor rightfully belong to
the house of Austria.
Years 1493-1519:
Maximilian
1
and
tbe
Expansioo
of
Empire.
Maxi–
milian is boro on Maundy Thurs–
day, March 22, 1459 at Wiener-
Neustadt. He is a true European.
even by heredity. Among bis thirty–
two immediate forbears are three
Germans, two Frenchmen, four Ital–
ians, ten Portuguese and Spaniards,
three Englishmen, three Poles, one
Lithuanian and four Russians.
Maximilian is to be the new Con–
stantine. His burden is to save the
imperium Christianum
from the
scourge of the Turks. His mother,
Eleanor of Portugal, changes her
name to Helena with papal ap–
proval. (Helena was the name of the
mother· of Constantine, the first so–
called Christian emperor.)
Maximilian is elected as king of
the Romans by the Electors on Feb–
ruary 16, 1468. But this archduke of
Austria-Burgundy must still wait
many years before he can assume
the weight of his responsibility.
In 1491 , Maximilian concludes a
defensive and offensive alliance
with the rulers of Moscow against
Poland. But he also recognizes that
with its vast territory, Russia is a
potential enemy of the German ero–
pire. Maximilian's attempts at a
fear-motivated alliance with Russia
are to be repeated even into the
twentieth century in successive eras
of the European empire.
Perhaps the most far-reaching
acts in Maximilian's tenure of office
are two dynastic marriages. The first
is a double-marriage pact with the
Spanish House of Castile and Ara–
gon. (In 1474, Ferdinand of Aragon
and Isabella of Castile personally
uni ted their states.) Joanna, daugh–
ter of Ferdinand and lsabella, mar–
ríes Philip, son of Maximilian and
Mary of Burgundy. Juan, the only
son of Ferdinand and l sabella, mar–
ríes Maximilian's daughter Marga–
ret.
Because of severa! deaths, Joanna
and Phil ip become heirs to the
Spanish kingdoms. The stage is now
set for the emergence of the Habs–
burg political conglomerate. Their
son Charles will unite the Spanish
dominions with the Habsburg pos–
sessions in the Netherlands and
Austria and parlay the holdings into
an international empire.
PLAIN TRUTH June-July 1974