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• Machtverhältnisse in Europa an der Wende vom 15. zum 16. Jahrhundert

  9-20

  Katharina Kemmer

  Views:

  17

  At the turn of the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, Europe experienced profound upheavals that affected politics, society, culture and religion alike. After the population decline caused by the plague and wars, growth began again. Trade, commerce and agriculture flourished, particularly as a result of the overseas discoveries made by Spain and Portugal. Politically, early absolutist structures emerged in Western Europe: in France, England, Spain and Portugal, the influence of the nobility was curtailed in favour of strong monarchies. At the same time, these powers became increasingly expansionist in their foreign policy. In the Holy Roman Empire, however, the situation was more complex: internal conflicts such as the Hussite Wars and ecclesiastical tensions weakened central authority. It was not until Maximilian I that reforms were introduced with the Imperial Chamber Court and Imperial Circles, although the emperor had only limited power. Italy remained politically fragmented, and rival city-states and foreign powers prevented lasting stability. After the Hundred Years’War, France pursued expansion plans in Burgundy and Italy, while in Hungary, after the death of Matthias Corvinus, dynastic ties secured the Habsburgs’; long-term access to Bohemia and Hungary.

  Culturally, the Renaissance and Humanism shaped the era. New universities – especially in German-speaking countries – and the invention of printing contributed significantly to the spread of knowledge. At the same time, the Church fell into a deep crisis due to the sale of offices, the indulgence trade and the moral decline of the clergy, which intensified calls for reform. The House of Habsburg, especially under Frederick III and Maximilian I, gained increasing influence through marriage politics and territorial security. The Habsburgs thus laid the foundation for their supremacy in Europe and shaped the balance of power at the beginning of the early modern period.

• Ein böhmischer Ritter an der Epochenwende: Peter Doudlebský von Doudleby (* vor 1492, † 1550)

  117-128

  Tomáš Sterneck

  Views:

  10

  The study is dedicated to the remarkable personality of Peter Doudlebský of Doudleby (b. before 1492, d. 1550). A member of a South Bohemian knightly family, he devoted his life to serving the Lords of Rosenberg. As their official, gradually rising to the top of the Rosenberg bureaucratic hierarchy, he was in constant contact with a large number of aristocrats and was also very well informed about events not only in the Kingdom of Bohemia, but also in other parts of the then known world. He used his contacts for generous lending. He multiplied his wealth by investing in loans, which he constantly expanded by using all available funds, including interest income. Doudlebský’s activities anticipated the behaviour of later financiers from the lower nobility, but at the same time his lifestyle also had some unusual features. He showed no interest in building up his own land holdings; on the contrary, he sold the estates he had inherited from his ancestors. Peter remained unmarried and childless, so he did not have to worry about providing for his descendants. He bequeathed only half of his estate to his relatives; the other half went to members of the last generation of the Rosenberg family, to whom he was personally attached. Thanks to the preserved inventories, it is possible to gain an insight into Peter’s household, the composition of which provides a number of insights into his personality. The sources suggest that he spent his leisure time hunting game and catching birds. Otherwise, there is not a single reference to the knight’s literary interests, suggesting a “practical” rather than an intellectual dimension to his personality.

• Balancing between Loyalties The Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Utrecht and the Formation of the Dutch State, 1528–1648

  169-192

  Renger E. de Bruin

  Views:

  13

  During the Dutch Revolt, the Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Utrecht found itself caught between two fires: the rebels and the legitimate authority of the Spanish king, who had been sovereign of the Netherlands since Charles V expanded his Burgundian inheritance with a few territories and loosened the Burgundian Circle from the Holy Roman Empire, transferring it together with the Spanish possessions to his son Philip II. While at first the fiction was maintained that the battle was not against the king himself but against his evil advisers, with the abjuration of Philip II in 1581 that was over. The rebellious area became a republic of independent provinces, increasingly Calvinistic in character. From then on, the province of Utrecht had authority over the Bailiwick of Utrecht. This institution, under the leadership of the fiercely Catholic Land Commander Jacob Taets van Amerongen, resisted the push for Protestantization. He also remained loyal to the Habsburg Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and in 1594 he sent knights to Hungary to fight the Turks, whom the Dutch actually viewed as allies. This created a security problem for the new state. In 1615, the States of Utrecht decided that the next land commander and also new knights should be Protestant. In 1640, the Protestantization process was finished with the abolition of celibacy, which marked a break with the Grand Master. Henceforth, the Utrecht Teutonic knights were Protestant, mostly married nobles, who functioned as politicians or army officers in the Dutch Republic. This state was recognized at the Westphalian Peace in 1648, including by the Spanish king.