to put them down, and especially by his allowing the Duke of
Bavaria to seize the free city of Donauwörth, formerly a
Bavarian town, and make it Catholic. In 1608 a number of
Protestants joined together and formed, for ten years, a
league called The Union. Its formation was due chiefly to the
exertions of Prince Christian of Anhalt, who had busily
intrigued with Henry IV. of France; but its head was the
Elector Palatine. As the latter belonged to the Reformed
Church, the Lutherans for the most part treated the Union
coldly; and the Elector of Saxony would have nothing to do
with it. It soon had an opportunity of acting. Duke William of
Jülich, who held Jülich, Cleve, and other lands, died in 1609.
John Sigmund, Elector of Brandenburg, and the Palsgrave of
Neuberg, both members of the Union, claimed to be his heirs,
and took possession of his lands. The Emperor Rudolf sent his
brother, the Archduke Leopold, Bishop of Passau, to drive out
these princes. The Union thereupon formed an alliance with
Henry IV. of France [see FRANCE: A. D. 1599-1610], and, coming
to the aid of its members, scattered the forces of the
Archduke in 1610. The Catholics now took fright, and hastened
to form a League which should hold the Union in check. It was
formed for nine years, and the supreme command was given to
Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria. The death of Henry IV. took away
from the Union its chief source of strength, so that it shrank
from a general war. The two princes, however, who had given
rise to the quarrel, kept for a time the Jülich-Cleve
territory. In 1611 [1618] the power of the Elector of
Brandenburg was further increased by his succeeding to the
Duchy of Prussia. From this time East Prussia was always
joined to the Mark or Electorate of Brandenburg. It was now,
therefore, that the house of Brandenburg laid the foundations
of its future greatness. Matthias, in order to pacify the
Austrian States, granted them full religious liberty.
{1467}
In 1609 the Bohemian States also obtained from Rudolf a Royal
Charter, called 'The Letter of Majesty,' conceding to
nobility, knights and towns perfect freedom in religious
matters, and the right to build Protestant churches and
schools on their own and on the royal lands. Bohemia showed no
gratitude for this favour. Suspecting his designs, the
Bohemians even shut Rudolf up in his castle at Prague in 1611,
and asked Matthias to come to their aid. He did so, and seized
the supreme power. Next year Rudolf died. Matthias was crowned
at Frankfurt with great pomp, but he was no better fitted for
the throne than his brother. He was compelled to yield much to
the Protestants, yet favoured the Jesuits in their continued
efforts to convert Germany. His government was so feeble that
his brothers at length made him accept Ferdinand, Duke of
Styria, as his coadjutor. In 1617 Ferdinand was elected as
Rudolf's successor to the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary, and
from this time all real power in the Habsburg possessions was
wielded by him. Ferdinand was a young man, but had already
given proof of great energy of character. ... The Protestants
looked forward with dread to his reign if he should receive
the Imperial crown. Styria had become almost wholly Lutheran.
When Ferdinand succeeded his father, he had driven out the
Protestant families, and made the land altogether Catholic. No
Catholic prince had ever shown himself more reckless as to the
means by which he served his church. The Protestants,
therefore, had good reason to fear that if he became Emperor
he would renew the policy of Charles V., and try to bring back
the old state of things, in which there was but one Church as
there was but one Empire. Events proved that these fears were
well founded. The last days of Matthias were very troubled.
Two Protestant churches were built in Bohemia, one in the
territory of the Archbishop of Prague, the other in that of
the Abbot of Braunau. These princes, with permission of the
Emperor, pulled down one of the churches and shut up the
other. The Protestants complained; but their appeal was met by
the reply that the Letter of Majesty did not permit them to
build churches on the lands of ecclesiastics. This answer
excited great indignation in Bohemia; and a rumour was got up
that it had not come from the Emperor, but had been written in
Prague. On May 23, 1618, a number of Protestants, headed by Count
Thurn, marched to the Council Hall of the Royal Castle, and
demanded to be told the real facts. When the councillors
hesitated, two of them, with the private secretary, were
seized and thrown out of the window.
See BOHEMIA: A. D. 1611-1618.
The Protestants then took possession of the Royal Castle,
drove the Jesuits out of Bohemia, and appointed a council of
thirty nobles to carry on the government." These events formed
the beginning of the "Thirty Years War."
_J. Sime,
History of Germany,
chapter 14._
"The Thirty Years' War was the last struggle which marked the
progress of the Reformation. This war, whose direction and
object were equally undetermined, may be divided into four
distinct portions, in which the Elector Palatine, Denmark,
Sweden, and France played in succession the principal part. It
became more and more complicated, until it spread over the
whole of Europe. It was prolonged indefinitely by various
causes.
I. The intimate union between the two branches of the house of
Austria and of the Catholic party--their opponents, on the
other hand, were not homogeneous.
II. The inaction of England, the tardy intervention of France,
the poverty of Denmark and Sweden, &c. The armies which took
part in the Thirty Years' War were no longer feudal militias,
they were permanent armies, although their sovereigns were
incapable of supporting them. They lived at the expense of the
countries which they laid waste. The ruined peasant turned
soldier and sold himself to the first comer."
_J. Michelet,
Summary of Modern History,
chapter 12._
ALSO IN:
_A. Gindely,
History of the Thirty Years' War,
chapters 1-3 (volume 1)._
_T. Carlyle,
History of Frederick the Great,
book 3, chapter 14 (volume 1)._
GERMANY: A. D. 1612.
Election of the Emperor Matthias.
GERMANY: A. D. 1618-1620.
The Thirty Years War: Hostilities in Bohemia precipitated by
Ferdinand.
His election to the imperial throne and his deposition in
Bohemia.
Acceptance of the Bohemian crown by Frederick, the Palatine
Elector.
His unsupported situation.
The Treaty of Ulm.
"The emperor was not a little disconcerted when he received
the news of what was passing [in Bohemia]. For whence could he
receive the aid necessary to put down these revolutionary acts
and restore order in Bohemia? Discontent, indeed, was scarcely
less formidably expressed even in his Austrian territories,
whilst in Hungary its demonstration was equally as serious.
Conciliation appeared to be the only means of preserving to
the house of Austria that important country, and even the
confessor and usual counsellor of the emperor, Cardinal
Klesel, the most zealous opponent of the Protestants, advised
that course. But such considerations were most strenuously
opposed by young Ferdinand. ... At his instigation, and that
of the other archdukes, backed by the pope, the pacific
Cardinal Klesel was unexpectedly arrested, and charged with a
variety of crimes. The intention was to remove him from the
presence of the old and weak emperor, who was now without
support, and obliged to resign all to the archdukes. From this
moment the impotency of the emperor was complete, and all
hopes of an amicable pacification of Bohemia lost. The
Bohemians, likewise, took to arms, and possessed themselves of
every city in their country as far as Budweis and Pilsen,
which were still occupied by the imperial troops. They
obtained assistance, quite unlooked for, in the person of one
who may be regarded as one of the most remarkable heroes of
that day. ... Count Ernest of Mansfield, a warrior from his
youth, was of a bold and enterprising spirit; he had already
encountered many dangers, and had just been raising some
troops for the Duke of Savoy against the Spaniards. The duke,
who now no longer required them, gave him permission to serve
in the cause of the Evangelical Union in Germany; and by that
body he was despatched with 3,000 men to Bohemia, as having
apparently received his appointment from that country. He
appeared there quite unexpectedly, and immediately took from
the imperial army the important city of Pilsen [November 21,
1618]. ... The Emperor Matthias died on the 10th of March,
1619 ... and the Bohemians, who acknowledged his sovereignty
while living, now resolved to renounce his successor
Ferdinand, whose hostile intentions were already too clearly
expressed. Ferdinand attained the throne under circumstances
the most perplexing.
{1468}
Bohemia in arms, and threatening Vienna itself with invasion;
Silesia and Moravia in alliance with them; Austria much
disposed to unite with them; Hungary by no means firmly
attached, and externally menaced by the Turks; besides which,
encountering in every direction the hatred of the Protestants,
against whom his zeal was undisguised. ... Count Thurn
advanced upon Vienna with a Bohemian army. ... He came before
Vienna, and his men fired, even upon the imperial castle
itself, where Ferdinand, surrounded by open and secret foes,
had taken up his quarters. He dared not leave his capital, for
by so doing Austria, and with it the preservation of the
empire itself, must have been sacrificed. But his enemies
looked upon him as lost; and they already spoke of confining
him in a convent, and educating his children in the Protestant
faith. ... Count Thurn was obliged soon to return to Bohemia,
as Prague was menaced by the armies of Austria, and Ferdinand
availed himself of this moment in order to undertake another
hazardous and daring project. ... He ... resolved to proceed
to Frankfort to attend the election of emperor. The spiritual
electors had been gained over; Saxony also adhered closely to
the house of Austria; Brandenburg was not unfriendly; hence
the opposition of the palatinate alone against him could
accomplish nothing; accordingly Ferdinand was unanimously
chosen emperor on the 28th of August, 1619." Just two days
previously, on the 26th of August, the Bohemians, at a general
assembly of the states, had formally deposed Ferdinand from
the kingship of their nation, and proceeded to elect another
king in his place. "The Catholics proposed the Duke of Savoy
and Maximilian of Bavaria, whilst, in the Protestant interest,
the Elector John George of Saxony, and Frederick V., of the
palatinate, were put forward. The latter obtained the
election, being a son-in-law of King James I. of England, from
whom they expected assistance, and who personally was regarded
as resolute, magnanimous, and generous. The incorporated
provinces of Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia supported the
election, and even the Catholic states of Bohemia pledged
their fidelity and obedience. Frederick was warned against
accepting so dangerous a crown by Saxony, Bavaria, and even by
his father-in-law; but his chaplain, Scultetus, and his own
consort, Elizabeth, who as the daughter of a king aspired to a
royal crown, persuaded him with all their influence to accept
it. Frederick was accordingly ruled by them, received the
regal dignity in Bohemia, and was crowned at Prague with great
pomp on the 25th of October, 1619. ... Ferdinand in returning
from Frankfort passed on to Munich, and there concluded with
the Duke of Bavaria that important treaty which secured to him
the possession of Bohemia. These two princes had been
companions in youth, and the Evangelical Union had by several
incautious proceedings irritated the duke. Maximilian
undertook the chief command in the cause of the Catholic
party, and stipulated with the house of Austria that he should
be indemnified for every outlay and loss incurred, to the
extent even, if necessary, of the surrender of the territories
of Austria itself into his hands. With Spain, also, the
emperor succeeded in forming an alliance, and the Spanish
general, Spinola, received orders to invade the countries of
the palatinate from the Netherlands. Subsequently the Elector
of Mentz arranged a convention at Mülhausen with the Elector
John George of Saxony, the Elector of Cologne, and the
Landgrave Lewis of Darmstadt, wherein it was determined to
render all possible assistance to the emperor for the
maintenance of his kingdom and the imperial dignity.
Frederick, the new Bohemian king, was now left with no other
auxiliary but the Evangelical Union; for the Transylvanian
prince, Bethlen Gabor, was, notwithstanding all his promises,
a very dubious and uncertain ally, whilst the troops he sent
into Moravia and Bohemia were not unlike a horde of savage
banditti. Meanwhile the union commenced its preparations for
war, as well as the league. The whole of Germany resembled a
grand depot for recruiting. Every eye was directed to the
Swabian district, where the two armies were to meet; there,
however, at Ulm, on the 3rd of July, 1620, they unexpectedly
entered into a compact, in which the forces of the union
engaged to lay down their arms, and both parties pledged each
other to preserve peace and tranquillity. The unionists felt
themselves too weak to maintain the contest, since Saxony was
now likewise against them, and Spinola threatened them from
the Netherlands. It was, however, a great advantage for the
emperor, that Bohemia was excluded from this treaty, for, now
the forces of the league were at liberty to aid him in
subjugating his royal adversary. Maximilian of Bavaria,
therefore, immediately took his departure, and on his war
reduced the states of Upper Austria to the obedience due to
Ferdinand, joined the imperial army, and made a spirited
attack upon Bohemia. On the other side, the Elector of Saxony
took possession of Lusatia in the name of the emperor."
_F. Kohlrausch,
History of Germany,
chapter 22._
ALSO IN:
_S. R. Gardiner,
History of England, 1603-1642,
chapters 29-32 (volume 3)._
_W. Coxe,
History of the House of Austria,
chapters 46-48 (volume 2)._
_Miss Benger,
Memoirs of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia,
chapters 6-9 (volumes 1-2)._
GERMANY: A. D. 1620.
The Thirty Years War: Disappointment of the Bohemians in
their elected king.
Frederick's offensive Calvinism.
Defeat of his army before Prague.
Loss of Bohemian liberties.
Prostration of Protestantism.
"The defection of the Union accelerated the downfall of
Frederick; but its cordial support could scarcely have
hindered it. For the Bohemians had been disappointed in their
king, disappointed in the strength they had expected from him
through his connexions, equally disappointed in the man, and
in the hopes of protection and sympathy which they had
expected from him in the exercise of their religion. Within a
month of his coronation the metropolitan church was spoiled of
its images, the crucifix cut in pieces, the statues of the
saints cast out, broken, and burnt, the ornaments used in
divine service, and venerable in the eyes of Catholics and
Lutherans alike, scattered here and there, and turned upside
down with contempt and execration. These proceedings, which
were presumed, not without reason, to have the king's
authority--for during their enactment the court chaplain
addressed the people in praise of this purgation of the
temple--called forth loud complaints and increased the
disaffection which, more than any external force brought
against Frederick, produced his ruin.
{1469}
Early in November Maximilian appeared before Prague, and found
the Bohemians, under Christian van Anhalt, skilfully and
strongly posted on the Weissenberg [White Mountain] to offer
battle. The cautious Bucquoi would have declined the offer,
and attacked the city from another point; but an enthusiastic
friar who broke in upon the conference of the leaders, and,
exhibiting a mutilated image of the Virgin, reproached them
with their hesitation, put to flight all timid counsels. The
battle began at twelve o'clock. It was a Sunday, the octave of
the festival of All Saints [November 8, 1620]. ... In the
Catholic army Bucquoi was at the head of the Imperial
division. Tilly commanded in chief, and led the front to the
battle. He was received with a heavy fire; and for half an
hour the victory trembled in the balance: then the Hungarians,
who had been defeated by the Croats the day before, fled, and
all the efforts of the Duke of Saxe Weimar to rally them
proved fruitless. Soon the whole Bohemian army, Germans,
English, horse and foot, fled in disorder. One gallant little
band of Moravians only, under the Count of Thurn and the young
Count of Sehlick, maintained their position, and, with the
exception of their leaders, fell almost to a man. The battle
lasted only an hour; but the victory was not the less
complete. A hundred banners, ten guns, and a rich spoil fell
into the hands of the victors. Four thousand of the Bohemian
army, but scarcely as many hundreds of their opponents (if we
may believe their account), lay dead upon the field. ...
Frederick had returned from the army the day before, with the
intelligence that the Bavarians were only eight (English)
miles distant; but relying on the 28,000 men which he had to
cover his capital, he felt that night no uneasiness. ... He
had invited the English ambassadors to dine; and he remained
to entertain them. After dinner he mounted his horse to ride
to the Star Park; but before he could get out of the city
gate, he was met with the news of the total overthrow of his
army. His negotiations with Maximilian failing, or receiving
no answer, the next morning he prepared for flight. ...
Accompanied by his queen, Van Anhalt, the Prince of Hohenlohe,
and the Count of Thurn, he made a precipitate retreat from
Prague, leaving behind him the insignia of that monarchy which
he had not the wisdom to firmly establish, nor resolution to
defend to the last. It must be confessed, however, that his
position, after the defeat at Prague, was not altogether so
promising, and consequently his abandonment of his capital not
altogether so pusillanimous, as some have represented."
_B. Chapman,
History of Gustavus Adolphus,
chapter 5._
"Frederick fled for his life through North Germany, till he
found a refuge at the Hague. The reign of the Bohemian
aristocracy was at an end. ... The chiefs perished on the
scaffold. Their lands were confiscated, and a new German and
Catholic nobility arose. ... The Royal Charter was declared to
have been forfeited by rebellion, and the Protestant churches
in the towns and on the royal estates had nothing to depend on
but the will of the conqueror. The ministers of one great body
--the Bohemian Brethren--were expelled at once. The Lutherans
were spared for a time."
_S. R. Gardiner,
The Thirty Years' War,
chapter 3, section 1._
ALSO IN:
_C. A. Peschek,
Reformation and Anti-Reformation in Bohemia,
volume 1, chapter 9._
See, also, BOHEMIA: A. D. 1621-1648;
and HUNGARY: A. D. 1606-1660.
GERMANY: A. D. 1621-1623.
The Thirty Years War:
The Elector Palatine placed under the ban.
Dissolution of the Evangelical Union.
Invasion and conquest of the Palatinate.
Transfer of the electoral dignity to the Duke of Bavaria.