"For what good is it to a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?"
Matthew 16:26
People and weapons. Probably, among people interested in knightly armor and weapons, as well as in the history of the Middle Ages, there is no such person who would not have heard of the “Maximilian armor” that appeared at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. and characterized by a "grooved surface", high strength and high price! That is, they know that they were invented and put into use by Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519), who was King of Germany from 1486, Archduke of Austria from 1493, and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1508. But who was this man? What aspirations did he have, was he a humanist or a tyrant, his likes and dislikes, what did he love and hate? What do we know about all this? In short, what kind of man was he and what mark did he leave on the earth, except perhaps that, according to the fashion he introduced, knightly armor with grooves for more than 20 years was forged throughout Europe?
And today we will just tell you about this, taking advantage of the fact that in the United States in the Metropolitan Museum of art in October opened the exhibition "The Last Knight", which coincides with the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Maximilian and is the largest exhibition of European weapons and armor in the North America in recent decades. It includes 180 items, selected from about thirty public and private collections in Europe, as well as in the Middle East and the United States itself. Having met her, you can learn about Maximilian's unparalleled passion for the attributes and ideals of chivalry, and how she nourished his equally boundless ambitions, served political opportunistic intrigues, and … provoked decisive action, as well as what efforts he made to leave after him a legacy worthy of his greatness.
This exhibition presents for the first time many works, including Maximilian's own luxurious armor, which speaks of his patronage of the greatest European armourers of his century, as well as related manuscripts, paintings, sculptures, glass, tapestries and even toys. And all this only emphasizes the chivalrous ambitions of the emperor himself, and adherence to the ideals of chivalry at the imperial court and even beyond, but in the spheres of his influence. Of course, the overwhelming majority of VO readers do not have the opportunity to get on a plane, fly for two or three days to New York, visit this exhibition there, and see everything that is presented there with their own eyes. I certainly don't. But due to the fact that we live in the world of the Internet, we, nevertheless, even without going anywhere, can get acquainted with this exhibition and get a fairly complete picture of it.
To begin with, Maximilian I was of the most noble origin: his father was none other than the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Archduke Frederick III, and his mother was Eleanor of Portugal, daughter of the King of Portugal. As it was then in feudal families, in early childhood he was brought up with his mother and, as they say, went into her with his character. But in 1467 she died and this was a heavy blow for Maximilian.
Since his older brother died in infancy, the fate of Maximilian was a foregone conclusion: he was to become the heir to his father. He believed that, under the influence of his mother, he grew up too pampered, and periodically appointed strict teachers to him. In particular, one of them was a monk who instructed him in the faith. But young Maximilian, again under the influence of his mother, believed in the Lord according to his own understanding, sometimes at odds with the Catholic Church on a number of issues. And in general, even his chroniclers did not hide the fact that the future emperor did not like to study, in the traditional understanding of the teachings of that time. At the same time, he showed a talent for languages. He spoke languages such as French, English and Flemish, but could not master Latin, and in addition he stuttered - a vice that the teachers never managed to fix.
The age of marriage for royalty at that time was quite early. So they found a bride for Maximiliana at the age of 15. It was Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Duke Charles the Bold. She was very enviable as a bride, because her father actually owned half of Europe, including such rich lands as Flanders, Holland, Franche-Comté and Boulogne. King Louis of France himself sought to make her a bride for his son, and it is clear why. There were other applicants, but Karl opted for the young Maximilian, and why is also understandable. Being the wife of the emperor is still better than being the wife of the king.
But the negotiations about the marriage were going neither shaky nor badly. And all because Karl immediately began to ask Frederick for money for the war. It was only after Charles died in the Battle of Nancy that the negotiations ended in marriage, and a marriage by proxy, only later repeated in Ghent. Louis XI did not give Mary permission to marry, and was in his own right, since after the death of her father he was her overlord. But it is not without reason that it is said that love overcomes everything. The marriage between Maximilian and Mary was nevertheless concluded! Well, and Burgundy? Burgundy was in the hands of Maximilian, which was very offensive for King Louis.
War of the Burgundian Succession
So there was a reason for the war, called the "War of the Burgundian Succession". It began in the spring of 1478, and it is interesting, but Emperor Frederick III did not help his son in this war at all. The wars at that time went with truces, so that a decisive battle took place only on August 7, 1479 at Ginegat. And it was won by the Burgundians, and as they say, the courage of Maximilian played in this, decisively rushing into the very thick of the battle, and thus turning the tide of the battle in his favor.
But then the young Maximilian was very unlucky. In 1482, his wife Maria, whom he loved very much, fell from her horse during a falconry and was so badly broken that she died three weeks later. She was buried in Bruges, where, as they say, the heart of the future emperor remained forever. Wealthy Dutch families refused to recognize Mary's will, which the restless Louis XI immediately decided to take advantage of, who again declared his rights to the entire inheritance of Charles the Bold.
In these conditions, it became especially difficult for Maximilian to fight. The Flemings wanted peace and did not want the war to continue. As a result, the States-General, ignoring Maximilian, in 1482 concluded a treaty with Louis in Arras, according to which Burgundy was divided into parts, so that something went to Maximilian, and something to Louis.
To continue the war, Maximilian organized the famous mercenary army of the Landsknechts in 1483, after which the war continued until June 1485, until the city council of Ghent made peace with Maximilian. Thus, he, although not without difficulty, managed to consolidate his power not only over the economically developed Netherlands, but also over a number of areas lying between France and Germany. This immediately sharply increased the prestige of the imperial house of the Habsburgs and promoted them to the rank of leading European politicians.
War of the Breton Succession
This was followed by the War of the Breton Succession - a military conflict that took place between Maximilian I of Habsburg and the French royal house in 1488-1491, during which he managed to return the County of Franche-Comté under his arm. He defeated the French at the Battle of Senlis in 1493, but he was unable to build on his success. However, France was eventually forced to officially recognize the rights of the Habsburg House in the Netherlands.
Dominion in Austria
After the death of his father Frederick III, Maximilian in 1493 became Archduke of Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Carinthia, that is, he inherited all the lands of the Habsburgs. Then, when the Goritsky dynasty also died out in 1500, he also got the Goritsky county, as well as the lands located in East Tyrol.
War with Matthias Corvin
Hungary became a serious problem for Maximilian. Rather, the ambitions of its king Matthias Corvin. In 1485 he managed to take possession of Vienna, and made it his residence. Moreover, he recaptured Lower Austria, Slavonia, Styria and Carinthia from Frederick III, so that after the death of his father, Maximilian also had to fight with Matthias Corvin. And this business was difficult even not so much because of the military talents of the latter, but because, being married to a Neapolitan princess, he received help from the Kingdom of Naples.
Seeing that he did not have enough strength, Maximilian proposed to settle the matter peacefully. But fortunately for the Habsburg dynasty, Matthias suddenly died on April 6, 1490, and then, having recruited new detachments of the Landsknechts, Maximilian regained Vienna and even invaded the Hungarian lands. Due to a riot among his mercenaries, the campaign ended in failure. But although the King of Bohemia, Vladislav II, was eventually elected king of Hungary, Maximilian dared to insist that if he dies without leaving heirs, then Hungary will fall under the rule of the Habsburgs. And in the end, this is what happened after the marriage of the grandson of Maximilian Ferdinand to the daughter of Vladislav II, Anna. Thanks to this dynastic marriage, Hungary and Bohemia were annexed to the Habsburg Empire in 1526.
Disputes over the Bavarian inheritance
Then, in 1503, the War of the Bavarian Succession broke out. The war went on with varying degrees of success, and devastated vast territories. Only in September 1504, at the battle of Wenzenbach (near Regensburg), Maximilian managed to defeat the Palatinate-Czech troops, and he himself showed himself in this battle as a real warrior. As a result, Bavaria ceded to his ally Albrecht IV, but Maximilian also added part of the Tyrolean lands to his possessions. That is, in fact, he completed the folding of that very huge Austro-Hungarian Empire that existed in Europe until 1918.
Maximiliana I - reformer
Many rulers are trying to follow the course of reforms, but they do not always succeed. Dagger, poison, lack of determination - these are the enemies that lie in wait for the ruler on this path. However, the rule of Maximilian in this regard was happy for the development of the Austrian state. While still Archduke, he launched a broad program of reforms in the field of public administration. So in 1493, two districts were created in the country: Upper Austria and Lower Austria. They organized governorships, the heads of which were appointed by the Archduke himself, and a staff of advisers. In Vienna, a single treasury for all lands was created (later transferred to Innsbruck) and an accounting chamber. In 1498, a harmonious system of supreme government bodies was created: the Court Council, the Court Chamber and the Court Chancellery. The management of the military forces of all lands was also centralized. That is, in fact, the foundation has been laid … for the future absolute monarchy!
As usual, there were also those for whom the reforms of the emperor stood in the throat. In particular, it was the old landed nobility, who stood up for the preservation of the estate court. Since in order to fight, and Maximilian fought almost continuously, money was required, he had to make concessions, so his administrative reforms were never fully completed. But, nevertheless, even what he was able to do, strengthened the state power, and this is undoubtedly!
P. S. The VO administration and the author would like to thank Meryl Cates, Senior Publicist, External Relations Department, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, for the press materials and photographs provided.
