Haus Habsburg and The Empire
1490 to 1519; The Holy Roman Empire
The House of Trastamara in the heyday of Isabella and Ferdinand did not simply look to Portugal for allies and partners. With the unification of Spain, Iberia began to look beyond it’s borders, and the Catholic monarchs saw powerful allies in the Habsburg dynasty, who had secured the elective throne of the Holy Roman Empire in 1453 and had held it in perpetuity, and more recently, in 1477, had acquired the legacy of the House of Burgundy: The Lowlands and Franche-Comté. The strength of the Habsburg dynasty was shown in the joint marriages the Catholic monarchs perused: their third daughter, Joanna, was married to the Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy and future Emperor, whilst Juan, the Prince of Asturias, married the Archduchess Margaret, Philip’s sister. The death of Juan and the passing of the Iberian inheritance to the Queen of Portugal largely dashed any hopes to see the Archduchess Margaret sit upon the throne as Spain as consort, for she returned to the Lowlands in 1500 as a widow, only to remarry shortly after Philibert II of Savoy, another marriage was doomed to be short and without children. Following this tragedy, she became known as the Lady of Mourning and set up her own small court at Graz[1] where she devoted herself to religious works.
Things in Brussels, however, were not much better. Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy, had been given the hand of the equally beautiful Joanna, third daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand. Besides her beauty, however, was her noted jealousy. Although the Duchess of Burgundy bore her husband a variety of children: Eleanor (1498), Charles (1500), Isabella (1501), Ferdinand (1503), Mary (1505), and Catherine (1507), Philip tired of his wife’s antics. Whenever the Duke of Burgundy traveled away from his court without Joanna, the Duchess of Burgundy threw herself into tantrums, refusing to eat and weeping until her husband returned to her. By 1504 the couple lived apart, and following the birth of their final child in 1507, Joanna’s conditioned her deteriorated to such a degree that Philip had Joanna locked up at Ghent, much to the dismay of her father, and the Emperor Maximilian who feared that such an action would upset the Electors of the Empire and impede Philip’s election as King of the Romans and successor to Maximilian as Holy Roman Emperor. Despite this, the Duchess of Burgundy remained confined at the Gravensteen, and rumors flew of her abuse and neglect.
Still, the rumors were just that: rumors, and in 1512 the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were gathered at Aachen where they duly elected Philip as King of the Romans, outlining the prestige of Maximilian I, who had in 1508 assumed the title of Elected Emperor, ending the centuries old custom that the Pope crowned the Emperor. Maximilian had also overseen the 1495 Reichsreform that had given the empire a new structure that had consolidated and distributed power between the empire and the states. Once elected to succeed his father, Philip began to take more interest in the affairs of the empire; although the inheritance of his mother, Mary the Rich, was formally part of the empire (except for Flanders and Artois, which were French fiefs, that Philip had paid homage for) Philip desired to bind the whole of the Lowlands closer to the empire, and his person, having great interest in the Reichsregiment and it’s constitution formed by the Reichsreform[2].
While his father had set the foundations of Reform in the Empire, it was Philip who sought to further it. He saw himself first and foremost as an heir of two great legacies: of the House of Burgundy, who had rose out of France to unite the Lowlands, and the House of Habsburg, who had risen to the Imperial mantle. Philip did not desire to abandon the Lowlands to absentee government upon his ascension to the Imperial throne, and prepared to make Brussels not only the capital for his lifetime, but for his dynasty; just as Vienna replaced Aargau, Philip planned for Brussels to replace Vienna. The future of the Habsburg dynasty was not only vested in Philip, but of his two sons: Charles and Ferdinand.
Ferdinand, born in 1503, was warded to his grandfather Maximilian, in Vienna, where the Emperor hoped the young boy would succeed him in the Austrian domains, given Philip’s love for the Lowlands. Young Ferdinand was groomed to accept his place as Archduke of Austria, ruling over the domains unified by his grandfather. Yet the Austrian domains were a pittance in comparison to the Lowlands and the Imperial mantle, and Maximilian sought from Ferdinand’s arrival in Vienna in 1507 a greater legacy for his favorite grandson. Maximilian was a diplomat at heart, and had reduced external pressures to the Holy Roman Empire by concluding treaties with France, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, and Russia. The Jagiellon dynasty was the greatest threat to Habsburg power, and although they ruled over the Empire and the Lowlands, Maximilian desired what many previous Habsburg Archdukes had coveted: the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary. At Vienna in 1515, Maximilian met with Ladislaus II, the King of Hungary and Bohemia, and Sigismund of Poland. At Vienna, Maximilian pledged to end aid to the Grand Duke of Muscovy and arbitrate in disputes between Poland and Teutonic Order; aside from this, Maximilian saw Habsburg claims over Hungary and Bohemia substantially increased; Louis, heir to Hungary and Bohemia was betrothed to Maximilian’s granddaughter, Mary, whilst Ferdinand himself was betrothed to Ladislaus’ only daughter, Anna. Although Ladislaus died shortly after the Congress of Vienna, it’s provisions held, and Maximilian became the legal guardian of Louis and Anna, bringing them to Vienna to be raised alongside their future spouses.
The prestige of the Habsburgs and their political maneuverings, however, could not prepare them for October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle, sparking a religious upheaval that would radically alter the face of Christianity. Maximilian did not live long to see the results of the heretical monk from Saxony, dying in 1519. His son inherited the Imperial mantle, and although Philip possessed great ideas, many wondered how much he would accomplish in the face of potential troubles.
[1] As Philip the handsome survives ITTL, Margaret never becomes governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, there is no Renaissance court at Mechelen.
[2] An imperial government intended to replace the Reichstag, made up of 20 ecclesial and secular princes, and representatives of the Imperial Cities.
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Since two out of four wanted to see the Empire, I did that update first. I will probably do England next, as Italy has already been slightly covered, and possibly France. We'll return to Iberia in due time.
1490 to 1519; The Holy Roman Empire
The House of Trastamara in the heyday of Isabella and Ferdinand did not simply look to Portugal for allies and partners. With the unification of Spain, Iberia began to look beyond it’s borders, and the Catholic monarchs saw powerful allies in the Habsburg dynasty, who had secured the elective throne of the Holy Roman Empire in 1453 and had held it in perpetuity, and more recently, in 1477, had acquired the legacy of the House of Burgundy: The Lowlands and Franche-Comté. The strength of the Habsburg dynasty was shown in the joint marriages the Catholic monarchs perused: their third daughter, Joanna, was married to the Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy and future Emperor, whilst Juan, the Prince of Asturias, married the Archduchess Margaret, Philip’s sister. The death of Juan and the passing of the Iberian inheritance to the Queen of Portugal largely dashed any hopes to see the Archduchess Margaret sit upon the throne as Spain as consort, for she returned to the Lowlands in 1500 as a widow, only to remarry shortly after Philibert II of Savoy, another marriage was doomed to be short and without children. Following this tragedy, she became known as the Lady of Mourning and set up her own small court at Graz[1] where she devoted herself to religious works.
Things in Brussels, however, were not much better. Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy, had been given the hand of the equally beautiful Joanna, third daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand. Besides her beauty, however, was her noted jealousy. Although the Duchess of Burgundy bore her husband a variety of children: Eleanor (1498), Charles (1500), Isabella (1501), Ferdinand (1503), Mary (1505), and Catherine (1507), Philip tired of his wife’s antics. Whenever the Duke of Burgundy traveled away from his court without Joanna, the Duchess of Burgundy threw herself into tantrums, refusing to eat and weeping until her husband returned to her. By 1504 the couple lived apart, and following the birth of their final child in 1507, Joanna’s conditioned her deteriorated to such a degree that Philip had Joanna locked up at Ghent, much to the dismay of her father, and the Emperor Maximilian who feared that such an action would upset the Electors of the Empire and impede Philip’s election as King of the Romans and successor to Maximilian as Holy Roman Emperor. Despite this, the Duchess of Burgundy remained confined at the Gravensteen, and rumors flew of her abuse and neglect.
Still, the rumors were just that: rumors, and in 1512 the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were gathered at Aachen where they duly elected Philip as King of the Romans, outlining the prestige of Maximilian I, who had in 1508 assumed the title of Elected Emperor, ending the centuries old custom that the Pope crowned the Emperor. Maximilian had also overseen the 1495 Reichsreform that had given the empire a new structure that had consolidated and distributed power between the empire and the states. Once elected to succeed his father, Philip began to take more interest in the affairs of the empire; although the inheritance of his mother, Mary the Rich, was formally part of the empire (except for Flanders and Artois, which were French fiefs, that Philip had paid homage for) Philip desired to bind the whole of the Lowlands closer to the empire, and his person, having great interest in the Reichsregiment and it’s constitution formed by the Reichsreform[2].
While his father had set the foundations of Reform in the Empire, it was Philip who sought to further it. He saw himself first and foremost as an heir of two great legacies: of the House of Burgundy, who had rose out of France to unite the Lowlands, and the House of Habsburg, who had risen to the Imperial mantle. Philip did not desire to abandon the Lowlands to absentee government upon his ascension to the Imperial throne, and prepared to make Brussels not only the capital for his lifetime, but for his dynasty; just as Vienna replaced Aargau, Philip planned for Brussels to replace Vienna. The future of the Habsburg dynasty was not only vested in Philip, but of his two sons: Charles and Ferdinand.
Ferdinand, born in 1503, was warded to his grandfather Maximilian, in Vienna, where the Emperor hoped the young boy would succeed him in the Austrian domains, given Philip’s love for the Lowlands. Young Ferdinand was groomed to accept his place as Archduke of Austria, ruling over the domains unified by his grandfather. Yet the Austrian domains were a pittance in comparison to the Lowlands and the Imperial mantle, and Maximilian sought from Ferdinand’s arrival in Vienna in 1507 a greater legacy for his favorite grandson. Maximilian was a diplomat at heart, and had reduced external pressures to the Holy Roman Empire by concluding treaties with France, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, and Russia. The Jagiellon dynasty was the greatest threat to Habsburg power, and although they ruled over the Empire and the Lowlands, Maximilian desired what many previous Habsburg Archdukes had coveted: the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary. At Vienna in 1515, Maximilian met with Ladislaus II, the King of Hungary and Bohemia, and Sigismund of Poland. At Vienna, Maximilian pledged to end aid to the Grand Duke of Muscovy and arbitrate in disputes between Poland and Teutonic Order; aside from this, Maximilian saw Habsburg claims over Hungary and Bohemia substantially increased; Louis, heir to Hungary and Bohemia was betrothed to Maximilian’s granddaughter, Mary, whilst Ferdinand himself was betrothed to Ladislaus’ only daughter, Anna. Although Ladislaus died shortly after the Congress of Vienna, it’s provisions held, and Maximilian became the legal guardian of Louis and Anna, bringing them to Vienna to be raised alongside their future spouses.
The prestige of the Habsburgs and their political maneuverings, however, could not prepare them for October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle, sparking a religious upheaval that would radically alter the face of Christianity. Maximilian did not live long to see the results of the heretical monk from Saxony, dying in 1519. His son inherited the Imperial mantle, and although Philip possessed great ideas, many wondered how much he would accomplish in the face of potential troubles.
[1] As Philip the handsome survives ITTL, Margaret never becomes governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, there is no Renaissance court at Mechelen.
[2] An imperial government intended to replace the Reichstag, made up of 20 ecclesial and secular princes, and representatives of the Imperial Cities.
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Since two out of four wanted to see the Empire, I did that update first. I will probably do England next, as Italy has already been slightly covered, and possibly France. We'll return to Iberia in due time.
