Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

MAXIMILIAN I

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 923 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

MAXIMILIAN I . (1459-1519), See also:Roman See also:emperor, son of the emperor See also:Frederick III. and Leonora, daughter of See also:Edward, See also:king of See also:Portugal, was See also:born at See also:Vienna See also:Neustadt on the 22nd of See also:March 1459. On the 18th of See also:August 1497, by his See also:marriage at See also:Ghent to See also:Mary, who had just inherited See also:Burgundy and the See also:Netherlands from her See also:father See also:Charles the Bold, See also:duke of Burgundy, he effected a See also:union of See also:great importance in the See also:history of the See also:house of See also:Habsburg. He at once undertook the See also:defence of his wife's dominions from an attack by See also:Louis XI., king of See also:France, and defeated the See also:French forces at Guinegatte, the See also:modern Enguinegatte, on the 7th of August 1479. But Maximilian was regarded with suspicion by the states of Netherlands, and after suppressing a rising in See also:Gelderland his position was further weakened by the See also:death of his wife on the 27th of March 1482. He claimed to be recognized as See also:guardian of his See also:young son See also:Philip and as See also:regent of the Netherlands, but some of the states refused to agree to his demands and disorder was See also:general. Maximilian was compelled to assent to the treaty of See also:Arras in 1482 between the states of the • Netherlands and Louis XI. This treaty provided that Maximilian's daughter See also:Margaret should marry Charles, the dauphin of France, and have for her See also:dowry See also:Artois and Franche-See also:Comte, two of the provinces in dispute, while the claim of Louis on the duchy of Burgundy was tacitly admitted. Maximilian did not, however, abandon the struggle in the Netherlands. Having crushed a See also:rebellion at See also:Utrecht, he compelled the burghers of Ghent to restore Philip to him in 1485, and returning to See also:Germany was chosen king of the See also:Romans, or See also:German king, at See also:Frankfort on the 16th of See also:February 1486, and crowned at See also:Aix-la-Chapelle on the 9th of the following See also:April. Again in the Netherlands, he made a treaty with See also:Francis II., duke of See also:Brittany, whose See also:independence was threatened by the French regent, See also:Anne of See also:Beaujeu, and the struggle with France was soon renewed. This See also:war was very unpopular with the trading cities of the Netherlands, and See also:early in 1488 Maximilian, having entered See also:Bruges, was detained there as a prisoner for nearly three months, and only set at See also:liberty on the approach of his father with a large force.

On his See also:

release he had promised he would maintain the treaty of Arras and withdraw from the Netherlands; but he delayed his departure for nearly a See also:year and took See also:part in a punitive See also:campaign against his captors and their See also:allies. On his return to Germany he made See also:peace with France at Frankfort in See also:July 1489, and in See also:October several of the states of the Netherlands recognized him as their ruler and as guardian of his son. In March 1490 the See also:county of See also:Tirol was added to his possessions through the See also:abdication of his kinsman, See also:Count See also:Sigismund, and this See also:district soon became his favourite See also:residence. Meanwhile the king had formed an See also:alliance with See also:Henry VII. king of See also:England, and See also:Ferdinand II., king of See also:Aragon, to defend the possessions of the duchess Anne, daughter and successor of Francis, duke of Brittany. Early in 1490 he took a further step and was betrothed to the duchess, and later in the same year the marriage was celebrated by See also:proxy; but Brittany was still occupied by French troops, and Maximilian was unable to go to the assistance of his See also:bride. The sequel was startling. In See also:December 1491 Anne was married to Charles VIII., king of France, and Maximilian's daughter Margaret, who had resided in France since her See also:betrothal, was sent back to her father. The inaction of Maximilian at this See also:time is explained by thecondition of affairs in See also:Hungary, where the death of king See also:Matthias See also:Corvinus had brought about a struggle for this See also:throne. The Roman king, who was an unsuccessful See also:candidate, took up arms, drove the Hungarians from See also:Austria, and regained Vienna, which had been in the See also:possession of Matthias since 1485; but he was compelled by want of See also:money to See also:retreat, and on the 7th of See also:November 1491 signed the treaty of See also:Pressburg with See also:Ladislaus, king of Bohemia, who had obtained the Hungarian throne. By this treaty it was agreed that Maximilian should succeed to the See also:crown in See also:case Ladislaus See also:left no legitimate male issue. Having defeated the invading See also:Turks at See also:Villach in 1492, the king was eager to take revenge upon the king of France; but the states of the Nether-lands would afford him no assistance. The German See also:diet was indifferent, and in May 1493 he agreed to the peace of Senlis and regained Artois and Franche-Comte.

In August 1493 the death of the emperor left Maximilian See also:

sole ruler of Germany and See also:head of the house of Habsburg; and on the 16th of March 1494 he married at See also:Innsbruck Bianca Maria See also:Sforza, daughter of Galeazzo Sforza, duke of See also:Milan (d. 1476). At this time Bianca's See also:uncle, Ludovico Sforza, was invested with the duchy of Milan in return for the substantial dowry which his niece brought to the king. Maximilian harboured the See also:idea of See also:driving the Turks from See also:Europe; but his See also:appeal to all See also:Christian sovereigns was ineffectual. In 1494 he was again in the Netherlands, where he led an expedition against the rebels of Gelderland, assisted See also:Perkin See also:Warbeck to make a descent upon England, and formally handed over the See also:government of the See also:Low Countries to Philip. His See also:attention was next turned to See also:Italy, and, alarmed at the progress of Charles VIII. in the See also:peninsula, he signed the See also:league of See also:Venice in March 1495, and about the same time arranged a marriage between his son Philip and See also:Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and See also:Isabella, king and See also:queen of See also:Castile and Aragon. The need for help to prosecute the war in Italy caused the king to See also:call the diet to See also:Worms in March 1495, when he urged the See also:necessity of checking the progress of Charles. As during his father's lifetime Maximilian had favoured the reforming party among the princes, proposals for the better government of the See also:empire were brought forward at Worms as a necessary preliminary to See also:financial and military support. Some reforms were adopted, the public peace was proclaimed without any See also:limitation of time and a general tax was levied. The three succeeding years were mainly occupied with quarrels with the diet, with two invasions of France, and a war in Gelderland against Charles, count of See also:Egmont, who claimed that duchy, and was supported by French troops. The reforms of 1495 were rendered abortive by the refusal of Maximilian to attend the diets or to take any part in the working of the new constitution and in 1497 he strengthened his own authority by establishing an Aulic See also:Council (Reichshofrath), which he declared was competent to See also:deal with all business of the empire, and about the same time set up a See also:court to centralize the financial See also:administration of Germany. In February 1499 the king became involved in a war with the Swiss, who had refused to pay the imperial taxes or to furnish a contribution for the See also:Italian expedition.

Aided by France they defeated the German troops, and the peace of See also:

Basel in See also:September 1499 recognized them as virtually See also:independent of the empire. About this time Maximilian's ally, Ludovico of Milan, was taken prisoner by Louis XII., king of France, and Maximilian was again compelled to ask the diet for help. An elaborate See also:scheme for raising an See also:army was agreed to, and in return a council of regency (Reichsregiment) was established, which amounted, in the words of a Venetian See also:envoy, to a deposition of the king. The relations were now very strained between the reforming princes and Maximilian, who, unable to raise an army, refused to attend the meetings of the council at See also:Nuremberg, while both parties treated for peace with France. The hostility of the king rendered the council impotent. He was successful in winning the support of many of the younger princes, and in establishing a new court of See also:justice, the members of which were named by himself. The negotiations with France ended in the treaty of See also:Blois, signed in September 1504, when Maximilian's See also:grandson Charles was betrothed to See also:Claude, daughter of Louis XII., and Louis, invested with the duchy of Milan, agreed to aid the king of the Romans to secure the imperial crown. A See also:succession difficulty in See also:Bavaria-See also:Landshut was only decided after Maximilian had taken up arms and narrowly escaped with his See also:life at See also:Regensburg. In the See also:settlement of this question, made in 1505, he secured a considerable increase of territory, and when the king met the diet at See also:Cologne in 1505 he was at the height of his See also:power. His enemies at See also:home were crushed, and their See also:leader, Berthold, elector of See also:Mainz, was dead; while the outlook abroad was more favourable than it had been since his See also:accession. It is at this See also:period that See also:Ranke believes Maximilian to have entertained the idea of a universal See also:monarchy; but whatever hopes he may have had were shattered by the death of his son Philip and the rupture of the treaty of Blois. The diet of Cologne discussed the question of reform in a halting See also:fashion, but afforded the king supplies for an expedition into Hungary, to aid his ally Ladislaus, and to uphold his own See also:influence in the See also:East.

Having established his daughter Margaret as regent for Charles in the Netherlands, Maximilian met the diet at See also:

Constance in 1507, when the imperial chamber (Reichskammergericht) was revised and took a more permanent See also:form, and help was granted for an expedition to Italy. The king set out for See also:Rome to secure his See also:coronation, but Venice refused to let him pass through her territories; and at Trant, on the 4th of February 15o8, he took the important step of assuming the See also:title of Roman Emperor Elect, to which he soon received the assent of See also:pope See also:Julius II. He attacked the Venetians, but finding the war unpopular with the trading cities of See also:southern Germany, made a truce with the See also:republic for three years. The treaty of Blois had contained a See also:secret See also:article providing for an attack on Venice, and this ripened into.the league of Cambray, which was joined by the emperor in December 1509. He soon took the See also:field, but after his failure to See also:capture See also:Padua the league See also:broke up; and his sole ally, the French king, joined him in calling a general council at See also:Pisa to discuss the question of See also:Church reform. A See also:breach with pope Julius followed, and at this time Maximilian appears to have entertained, perhaps quite seriously, the idea of seating himself in the See also:chair of St See also:Peter. After a period of vacillation he deserted Louis and joined the See also:Holy League, which had been formed to expel the French from Italy; but unable to raise troops, he served with the See also:English forces as a volunteer and shared in the victory gained over the French at the See also:battle of the Spurs near Therouanne on the 16th of August 1513. In 1500 the diet had divided Germany into six circles, for the See also:maintenance of peace, to which the emperor at the diet of Cologne in 1512 added four others. Having made an alliance with Christian II., king of See also:Denmark, and interfered to protect the See also:Teutonic See also:Order against Sigismund I., king of See also:Poland, Maximilian was again in Italy early in 1516 fighting the French who had overrun Milan. His want of success compelled him on the 4th of December 1516 to sign the treaty of See also:Brussels, which left Milan in the hands of the French king, while See also:Verona was soon afterwards transferred to Venice. He attempted in vain to secure the See also:election of his grandson Charles as king of the Romans, and in spite of increasing infirmity was eager to See also:lead the imperial troops against the Turks, At the diet of See also:Augsburg in 1518 the emperor heard warnings of the See also:Reformation in the shape of complaints against papal exactions, and a repetition of the complaints preferred at the diet of Mainz in 1517 about the administration of Germany. Leaving the diet, he travelled to Weis in Upper Austria, where he died on the 12th of See also:January 1519.

He was buried in the church of St See also:

George in Vienna Neustadt, and a superb See also:monument, which may still be seen, was raised to his memory at Innsbruck. Maximilian had many excellent See also:personal qualities. He was not handsome, but of a robust and well-proportioned See also:frame. See also:Simple in his habits, conciliatory in his bearing, and See also:catholic in his tastes, he enjoyed great popularity and rarely made a personal enemy. He was a skilled See also:knight and a daring See also:huntsman, and although not a great general, was intrepid on the field of battle. His See also:mental interests were extensive. He knew something of six See also:languages, and could discuss See also:art, See also:music, literature or See also:theology. He reorganizedthe university of Vienna and encouraged the development of the See also:universities of See also:Ingolstadt and See also:Freiburg. He was the friend and See also:patron of scholars, caused See also:manuscripts to be copied and See also:medieval poems to be collected. He was the author of military reforms, which included the See also:establishment of See also:standing troops, called Landsknechte, the improvement of See also:artillery by making See also:cannon portable, and some changes in the equipment of the See also:cavalry. He was continually devising plans for the better government of Austria, and although they ended in failure, he established the unity of the See also:Austrian dominions. Maximilian has been called the second founder of the house of Habsburg, and certainly by bringing about marriages between Charles and Joanna and between his grandson Ferdinand and See also:Anna, daughter of Ladislaus, king of Hungary and Bohemia, he paved the way for the vast empire of Charles V. and for the influence of the Habsburgs in eastern Europe.

But he had many qualities less desirable. He was reckless and unstable, resorting often to lying and deceit, and never pausing to count the cost of an enterprise or troubling to adapt means to ends. For absurd and impracticable schemes in Italy and elsewhere he neglected Germany, and sought to involve its princes in See also:

wars und°rtaken solely for private aggrandizement or personal See also:jealousy. Ignoring his responsibilities as ruler of Germany, he only considered the question of its government when in need of money and support from the princes. As the " last of the knights " he could not see that the old order of society was passing away and a new order arising, while he was fascinated by the glitter of the medieval empire and spent the better part of his life in vague schemes for its revival. As " a gifted See also:amateur in politics " he increased the disorder of Germany and Italy and exposed himself and the empire to the jeers of Europe. Maximilian was also a writer of books, and his writings display his inordinate vanity. His Geheimes Jagdbuch, containing about 2500 words, is a See also:treatise purporting to See also:teach his grandsons the art of See also:hunting. He inspired the See also:production of The Dangers and Adventures of the Famous See also:Hero and Knight See also:Sir Teuerdank, an allegorical poem describing his adventures on his See also:journey to marry Mary of Burgundy. The emperor's See also:share in the See also:work is not clear, but it seems certain that the general scheme and many of the incidents are due to him. It was first published at Nuremberg by Melchior Pfintzing in 1517, and was adorned with woodcuts by Hans Leonhard Schaufelein. The Weisskunig was See also:long regarded as the work of the emperor's secretary, See also:Marx Treitzsaurwein, but it is now believed that the greater part of the See also:book at least is the work of the emperor himself.

It is an unfinished autobiography containing an See also:

account of the achievements of Maximilian, who is called " the young See also:white king." It was first published at Vienna in 1775. He also is responsible for Freydal, an allegorical account of the tournaments in which he took part during his wooing of Mary of Burgundy; Ehrenpforten, Triumphwagen and Der weisen konige Stammbaum, books concerning his own history and that of the house of Habsburg, and See also:works on various subjects, as Das Stahlbuch, See also:Die Baumeisterei and Die Gartnerei. These works are all profusely illustrated, some by Albrecht Darer, and in the preparation of the woodcuts Maximilian himself took the liveliest See also:interest. A facsimile of the See also:original See also:editions of Maximilian's autobiographical and semi-autobiographical works has been published in nine volumes in the Jahrbsicher der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen See also:des Kaiserhauses (Vienna, 1880-1888). For this edition S. Laschitzer wrote an introduction to Sir Teuerdank, Q. von See also:Leitner to Freydal, and N. A. von See also:Schultz to Der Weisskunig. The See also:Holbein society issued a facsimile of Sir Teuerdank (See also:London, 1884) and Triumphwagen (London, 1883). See. Correspondance de l'empereur Maximilien I. et de See also:Marguerite d'Autriche, 1507—1519, edited by A. G. le Glay (See also:Paris, 1839) ; Maximilians I. vertraulicher Briefwechsel mit Sigmund Pruschenk, edited by V. von Kraus (Innsbruck, 1875); J. Chmel, Urkunden, Briefe and Aktenstucke zur Geschichte Maximilians I. and seiner Zeit.

(See also:

Stuttgart, 1845) and Aktenstucke and Briefe zur Geschichte des Hauses Habsburg See also:im Zeitalter Maximilians I. (Vienna, 1854–1858); K. Klupfel, Kaiser Maximilian I. (See also:Berlin, 1854) ; H. Ulmann, Kaiser Maximilian I. (Stuttgart, 1884) ; L. P. See also:Gachard, Lettres inedites de Maximilien I. sur See also:les affaires des Pays Bas (Brussels, 1851—1852) ; L. von Ranke, Geschichte der romanischen and germanischen Volker, 1494—1514 (See also:Leipzig, 1874) ; R. W. S. See also:Watson, Maximilian I. (London, 1902) ; A.

See also:

Jager, Ober Kaiser Maximilians I. Verhaltnis zum Papstthum (Vienna, 1854); H. Ulmann, Kaiser Maximilians I. Absichten auf das Papstthum (Stuttgart, 1888), and A. Schulte, Kaiser Maximilian I. als Kandidat See also:fur den piipstlichen Stuhl (Leipzig, 1906). (A. W. H.

End of Article: MAXIMILIAN I

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
MAXIMILIAN (1832—1867) 		[next]
MAXIMILIAN II

Site © 2006 - Net Industries