The Thirty Years' War resulted from a local rebellion, but the admixture of religion transformed it into a European conflict that lasted for more than a generation and devastated Germany. In 1618 Bohemian nobles opposed the decision of Emperor Matthias (r. 1608-19) to designate his Catholic cousin Ferdinand king of Bohemia. Instead, the nobles … [Read more...]
The Thirty Years’ War
Germany enjoyed a time of relative quiet between the Peace of Augsburg, signed in 1555, and the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War in 1618. The empire functioned in a more regular way than previously, and its federal nature was more evident than in the past. The Reichstag met frequently to deal with public matters, and the emperors Ferdinand I (r. … [Read more...]
The Peace of Augsburg
Imagine a country where the ruler’s religion dictated your own. No choice. No freedom of belief. Just the heavy hand of authority deciding how - and to whom - you should pray. Welcome to 16th-century Germany, a land torn by one of Europe’s fiercest struggles: the battle between Catholicism and Protestantism. And at the heart of this storm stood one … [Read more...]
Resistance to Lutheranism in Germany
Although Lutheranism had powerful supporters, its survival was by no means certain. Its main opponent was the Habsburg emperor Charles V, who had inherited Spain, the Netherlands, southern Italy, Sicily, and the Austrian lands as patrimony and who hoped to restore the unity of the German Empire by keeping it Roman Catholic. Charles had been out … [Read more...]
March 16 in German History
March 16, 1021 Death of St. Heribert von Köln. Heribert von Köln was born in Worms in ca. 970 and educated at the cathedral school in Worms. He was ordained a priest in 994. In 999 he was named Archbishop of Cologne by the emperor Otto III. He was confirmed in that position by the Pope Sylvester II. (In the Holy Roman Empire a.k.a. the German … [Read more...]
March 15 in German History
March 15, 1614 Birth of Franciscus Sylvius (1614-1672) in Hanau, Germany. Sylvius was a physician who concluded that the basis of life and disease is chemical and that chemical compounds can be used to treat disease. In 1658 he began a teaching career at the University of Leiden. It was there that he constructed the world's first university … [Read more...]
The Protestant Reformation
On the eve of the Protestant Reformation, the institutions of the Holy Roman Empire were widely thought to be in need of improvement. The Habsburg emperors Frederick III (r. 1440-93) and his son Maximilian I (r. 1493-1519) both cooperated with individual local rulers to enact changes. However, the imperial and local parties had different aims, the … [Read more...]
The Empire Under the Early Habsburgs – Medieval Germany
The Great Interregnum ended in 1273 with the election of Rudolf of Habsburg as king-emperor. After the interregnum period, Germany's emperors came from three powerful dynastic houses: Luxemburg (in Bohemia), Wittelsbach (in Bavaria), and Habsburg (in Austria). These families alternated on the imperial throne until the crown returned in the … [Read more...]
The Hohenstaufen Dynasty, 1138-1254 – Medieval Germany
Following the death of Henry V (r. 1106-25), the last of the Salian kings, the dukes refused to elect his nephew because they feared that he might restore royal power. Instead, they elected a noble connected to the Saxon noble family Welf (often written as Guelf). This choice inflamed the Hohenstaufen family of Swabia, which also had a claim to the … [Read more...]
March 14 in German History
March 14, 968 Death of St. Mathilda (ca. 895 - 968). St. Matilda, the wife of the German king Heinrich I was born in about 895 in Engern, Saxony, Germany. Matilda and King Heinrich married in 909. She was the mother of Otto who would become the Emperor of the German Empire (a.k.a. Holy Roman Empire). Her son Bruno became the Archbishop of … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- 134
- …
- 159
- Next Page »