The Early Habsburgs

How long can an emperor not be an emperor. The official record stands at 25 years, that is how long Friedrich III had stayed out of the core areas of the Holy Roman Empire. That meant 25 ears of Imperial Diets without the presence of an Emperor, 25 years of stasis on the challenges of the time, the reform of the empire and the defense against the Ottoman expansion.

But sometime in the late 1460s the apathic emperor Friedrich III, dubbed the Imperial Arch Sleepy head awakes and does what he had never done before, something. And that something turned into a lot of things, some related toimperial reform, but the most significant something for European history was a marriage, well, an engagement for now, followed by a flight down the river Mosel away from the intended father of the bride.

Yes, it is that famous marriage, just not in the way you may have thought it happened.

The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.

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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.

So far I have:

The Ottonians

Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy

Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen

Frederick II Stupor Mundi

Saxony and Eastward Expansion

The Hanseatic League

The Teutonic Knights

The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356

The Reformation before the Reformation

The Empire in the 15th century

The Fall and Rise of the Habsburgs

What is The Early Habsburgs?

The House of Habsburg once ruled Spain, Benelux, Austria, Hungary, Czechia, most of Italy, at times Portugal and all of Latin America, the Philippines and of course, the Holy Roman Empire. Most histories of the Habsburgs start out with Maximilian I, his marriage alliances that brought together this empire. But he was not the first Habsburg emperor, and by no means the first Habsburg ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Their history goes back to the 13th century when they almost established their dynasty on the throne, had it not been for John Parricida murdering his uncle. In this show we follow the dramatic events that saw this dynasty rising and then falling hard, its struggles to recover, the feats and forgeries, the victories and terrible defeats that shaped this family and its lore. We take the story from Rudolf of Habsburgs’ ascent to the throne in 1273 to the election of Charles V in 1519.
This podcast is part of the broader History of the Germans podcast that aims to track the history of the German people from the Early Middle Ages to Reunification in 1991. If you enjoy this show, check out any of the other seasons or follow the main show.
So far I have the following seasons:
The Ottonians (919 AD-1024 AD)
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy (1024 AD-1125 AD)
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen (1125-1190)
Frederick II Stupor Mundi (1190-1268)
Saxony and Eastward Expansion
The Hanseatic League
The Teutonic Knights
The Holy Roman Empire (1250 AD -1356 AD)
The Reformation before the Reformation (1356AD -1439 AD)
The Empire in the 15th Century
The Fall and Rise of the Habsburgs (1439AD -1519 AD)