Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Lore & Background

His father, Frederick III, named him after Maximilian of Tebessa, who Frederick believed had once warned him of imminent peril in a dream. In his infancy, he and his parents were besieged in Vienna by Albert of Austria. He was the favourite child of his mother, whose personality contrasted with his father. Despite efforts by his father and tutor, Maximilian became an indifferent and belligerent student who preferred physical activities. Frederick was horrified by his son's overzealousness in chivalric contests, extravagance, and tendencies toward wine, feasts, and young women. At age 17, Maximilian commanded a military campaign against Hungary, his first battlefield experience.

Reader's Guide

Brady Jr., who also called him the 'ablest royal warlord of his generation'. His marriage to Mary of Burgundy and his son's marriage to Joanna of Castile established the Habsburg dynasty in Spain, enabling his grandson Charles V to hold both Castile and Aragon. He lost Habsburg lands in Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy. Scholarly debates discuss whether he was 'the last knight' or a Renaissance prince. Through an unprecedented image-building program, he built a 'virtual royal self' of unmatched quality, later expanded by artists in what Elaine Tennant calls the 'Maximilian industry'.

Did You Know?

• He was nicknamed 'Coeur d'acier' ('Heart of Steel') by Olivier de la Marche, either as praise for his courage or reproach for his ruthlessness.