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...]
March 13 in German History
March 13, 1741 Birth of Joseph II in Vienna, Austria. The Habsburg, Joseph II was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1765-1790. Until Maria Theresia's (his mother's) death in 1780, Joseph ruled attuned to her strong advice. He strengthened the University of Vienna, introduced a universal code of civil law in 1786, ordered the end of serfdom, granted … [Read more...]
March 12 in German History
March 12, 1821 Birth of Luitpold in Würzburg, Germany. Luitpold was the third son of Ludwig I. During the reign of Ludwig II ("Mad King Ludwig" who built the wonderful castles) he served as regent. He introduced liberal democratic structures into Bavaria and did much to establish Munich's position as a cultural center. Luitpold, Prince … [Read more...]
The Salian Dynasty, 1024-1125 – Medieval Germany
After the death of the last Saxon king in 1024, the crown passed to the Salians, a Frankish tribe. The four Salian kings--Conrad II, Henry III, Henry IV, and Henry V--who ruled Germany as kings from 1024 to 1125, established their monarchy as a major European power. Their main accomplishment was the development of a permanent administrative system … [Read more...]
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