Ferdinand II

Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1619-1637)

• Born: July 9, 1578
• Birthplace: Graz, Styria (now in Austria)
• Died: February 15, 1637
• Place of death: Vienna, Holy Roman Empire (now in Austria)

While emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Ferdinand II sought to restore Roman Catholicism to the Protestant areas of the empire and to assert the empire’s Habsburg political hegemony. His efforts directly resulted in the Thirty Years’ War in Germany, one of history’s most devastating wars.

Early Life

Ferdinand II was born the eldest son of Archduke Charles of Inner Austria (Styria) and Maria of Bavaria. The Europe into which he was born was filled not only with political struggles between dynastic, territorial states but also with religious strife between various Protestant denominations and Roman Catholics. The Holy Roman Empire itself was a microcosm of these conflicts. German princes, especially Protestant ones, and the Roman Catholic Habsburg emperor were continually at odds over the definition of the empire. Further complicating this situation was the dream of a catholicized, consolidated Europe and empire held by both the Austrian and the Spanish branches of the Habsburg family.

Ferdinand’s father, a devout Roman Catholic and brother of Emperor Maximilian II, was archduke of a principality that was predominantly Protestant. Of necessity, in 1578, he had granted religious guarantees in the form of a “religious pacification” to the Lutheran dominated Estates, the representative assembly of nobles of Inner Austria. Yet he was determined that his son would not be influenced by Lutheranism, which he viewed as dangerous not only spiritually but also politically. He sent Ferdinand to the Jesuit University of Ingolstadt, where the young man studied between 1590 and 1595. Also attending the university was his cousin and future brother-in-law, Maximilian I of Bavaria. It was there that Ferdinand learned the fundamental tenets that were to guide him throughout his life: unswerving loyalty to the Roman Catholic church, the responsibilities of a Christian prince, and a belief in the divine right doctrine of “one ruler, one religion.” It was also there that he learned to depend upon the Jesuits for their advice and counsel, something he was to do for the remainder of his life.

With his father’s death in 1590, Ferdinand, as a minor, ruled through a regency until 1596. Upon gaining power, he immediately demonstrated that he had learned his Ingolstadt lessons well. His first action was to refuse to confirm the “religious pacification” that his father had issued. He then set about restoring Roman Catholicism in his lands by expelling the Protestant preachers and teachers, closing or destroying the Protestant churches, confiscating the property of Protestant nobles, and offering nonnoble Protestants a choice of exile or conversion. This confessional absolutism resulted in Ferdinand’s establishing religious uniformity within his domain within a relatively short period of time. By removing the base of support for his Protestant nobles, he was able simultaneously to destroy potential opposition to his absolutism by forcing the Estates to accede to his demands. In this undertaking, Ferdinand was confident that his was a mission in the service of the Church. His success led him to intrigue to gain the succession to the imperial throne, where he could continue his mission on a broader scale.

Life’s Work

The Holy Roman Empire of the early seventeenth century was an empire in name only. Since the mid-fourteenth century, the crown of emperor had been elective, and the princes’ jealously guarded their prerogatives, won at great cost. The Reformation, which had begun with Martin Luther’s declarations in Saxony, had accelerated the forces of fragmentation. Religious coalitions of princes resulted in frequent wars; by 1555, the empire was on the verge of political and religious anarchy. In that year, the Peace of Augsburg fixed the limits of Lutheranism but ignored Calvinism altogether. Afterward, weak or otherwise occupied emperors were neither able to enforce the treaty nor to enhance the power of either the Habsburgs or Roman Catholicism.

When Emperor Rudolf II died heirless in 1612, and his brother and successor Matthias appeared destined to do the same, it was deemed imperative by the Spanish-Bavarian factions at the imperial court that the best candidate be elected emperor. With Ferdinand’s record of devotion to Roman Catholicism and his strong-willed leadership with his own domain to recommend him, the Archduke of Inner Austria was the obvious choice. To the German princes of all religions, the move was greeted with trepidation. Still, as the result of no small degree of behind-the-scenes manipulation, Ferdinand was crowned king of Bohemia in 1617 and of Hungary in 1618. He was elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 1619. When he moved to Vienna, he took with him his closest associates, especially his Jesuit confessor, William Lamormaini, and those who had served him well in catholicizing Inner Austria.

That such a person would be crowned particularly concerned Bohemian Protestant nobles, who had little influence on the choice of their king. Fearing the loss of their religious privileges, held since the time of John Hus, in May, 1618, they revolted and declared the Calvinist Frederick V , elector of the Palatinate, as their choice for king of Bohemia. That was the opening event of the Thirty Years’ War. Although the Bohemians briefly besieged Vienna, they were soon placed on the defensive. Ferdinand was supported by Spanish Habsburg troops and by the Catholic League of German princes under the leadership of Maximilian I of Bavaria. Opposing the Catholic forces was the Protestant Union , an amalgam of Lutheran and Calvinist princes who were divided in their support of the Bohemian rebels. Accordingly, Ferdinand was able to crush the rebels as well as to occupy the Palatinate.

During the Bohemian phase of the Thirty Years’ War, many Lutheran princes had remained neutral. Ferdinand’s actions after his victory were to send a corporate chill of horror through their ranks. As he had once done in Inner Austria, he now restored Bohemia to Roman Catholicism and instituted political absolutism through the Jesuits, the Inquisition, and confiscation. He executed the leaders of the revolt, destroyed the Bohemian Estates, confiscated vast tracts of land, ruined the town-centered economy, and expelled Protestants by the thousands. What had been a vibrant, Protestant, town-oriented society was transformed into a rural, agricultural latifundia under Jesuit domination. The thoroughness of the undertaking resulted in the Protestant princes of the empire allying themselves with the Lutheran king of Denmark and declaring war on the emperor.

The Danish phase of the Thirty Years’ War resulted in the virtual ascendancy of the Habsburgs over the Holy Roman Empire, something that had not existed for centuries. The long-standing weaknesses of the Austrian Habsburgs had been a shortage of income and a reliance upon the military strength of allies. The confiscations of land and the concomitant destruction of the burgher class in Bohemia had greatly added to the imperial treasury. The large-scale economic depredations resulted in a disastrous inflation that Ferdinand’s advisers used to his financial advantage. Just as significant was the emergence of Albrecht Wenzel von Wallenstein as general of the imperial army. That lessened Ferdinand’s reliance upon the military forces provided by his Spanish Habsburg cousins and the Catholic League. Wallenstein was a great general who completely defeated the Protestant forces by 1629 and dominated the entire German area of the empire. He was also able to implement a system of support for his army that cost the emperor virtually nothing, thereby freeing him from dependence upon the generosity of the Catholic League.

Ferdinand, as undisputed master of the empire, now sought to apply his fundamental tenets to the empire itself. In March, 1629, he issued the Edict of Restitution, which ordered the return to the Roman Catholic Church of all property confiscated by Protestants since the Peace of Augsburg. Had this been successful, Ferdinand would have established imperial ascendancy throughout the empire. His action, however, succeeded only in uniting Protestant and Catholic princes against him. Their combined efforts resulted in Wallenstein’s dismissal in 1630, thereby depriving the emperor of a major factor in his successes. The Edict of Restitution also resulted in further consequences. The French, who wanted to block the Habsburgs wherever possible, agreed to support financially the efforts of Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden, who was alarmed by the strong Habsburg forces on the Baltic shoreline. In 1630, the Swedish king invaded the empire, driving imperial and Catholic League forces back to Austria. Ferdinand recalled Wallenstein, who checked the Swedish advance. The death of Gustavus II Adolphus at Lützen in 1632 ended the brilliant skein of victories for the Protestants, and the Swedish phase of the Thirty Years’ War became a virtual stalemate.

The strains of war and rule left Ferdinand prematurely aged. He acquiesced to the dismissal and assassination of Wallenstein in 1634. He then turned much of the work of government over to his very capable son, Ferdinand III. As the war had degenerated into a desultory conflict during which the civilian population suffered greatly, his son was largely responsible for the Peace of Prague (1635), which reconciled most of the German princes with the emperor. This peace effectively terminated Ferdinand’s dream of a Catholic, Habsburg Holy Roman Empire. Sadly for Germany, the war, which began as a religious/political struggle within the empire, had become a part of a European-wide war between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs. The Thirty Years’ War would not end until France, Sweden, and Spain were in agreement; that would not occur until 1648. Ferdinand himself died in Vienna on February 15, 1637.

While the Thirty Years’ War dominated most of Ferdinand’s actions during his life as monarch, there were other aspects of his life that are worth mentioning. He was a stout, blond, blue-eyed man who was kind and benevolent to those he loved. He was devoted to his family. He was twice married, in 1600 to Maria Anna of Bavaria, sister of Maximilian I, and, following her death in 1616, in 1622 to Eleonora Gonzaga, sister of Vincenzo II of Mantua. He was the father of six children. In his personal life, he was frugal; in his public life, he was as ceremonious as the occasion demanded. He was also a patron of the arts, especially music and the theater. He did not look the part of a zealot, but he most assuredly was as far as his religion was concerned.

Significance

The significance of Ferdinand II in history is based upon his unyielding belief in the Roman Catholic faith. Although he could be kind and benevolent on some matters, his Catholic convictions were an all-consuming passion. He lived the Catholic life; he was pious and virtuous. He attended masses at all hours of the day and night; he favored priests and relics; he went on pilgrimages; and he relied on his Jesuit confessors and advisers.

Just as devoutly as he believed in his faith, so too did he devoutly believe that Protestantism meant heresy and disloyalty. Therefore, Protestantism had to be ruthlessly extirpated. Had he been in a position of insignificance, his zealotry would have perhaps been inconvenient, but not dangerous. As an archduke and an emperor, his actions led to great changes in Central Europe.

While the Thirty Years’ War was for many a political conflict, there is no disputing that for Ferdinand it was for Catholicism first and political gain second. Other powers may have used the war for political gains; Ferdinand used it for the Counter-Reformation. No other explanation of his activities in Inner Austria, his crusade in Bohemia, or his issuance of the Edict of Restitution can suffice. Perhaps naïve, and certainly bigoted, Ferdinand missed a golden opportunity to unite or at least to control the Holy Roman Empire for the Habsburgs. In sum, Ferdinand II was an exceptionally diligent monarch who worked long hours with his ministers in an effort to carry through his fundamental tenets.

Bibliography

Asch, Ronald G. The Thirty Years’ War: The Holy Roman Empire and Europe, 1618-1648. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997. Asch describes how a crisis of the Habsburg monarchy and the Holy Roman Empire were among the causes of the war.

Coxe, William. History of the House of Austria, from the Foundation of the Monarchy by Rhodolph of Hapsburgh, to the Death of Leopold the Second, 1218 to 1792. 3d ed. London: Bell & Daldy, 1873. This standard work, although older, remains significantly valuable for those interested in Austrian history. Propounds both thought-provoking analyses and interesting details of court and personal life.

Evans, R. J. W. The Making of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1550-1700: An Interpretation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. Evans focuses upon the Central European Counter-Reformation and its socioeconomic consequences, as well as upon the interaction between regions of the empire and the imperial government. His prime focus is upon intellectual and social history.

Fichtner, Paula Sutter. The Habsburg Monarchy, 1490-1848: Attributes of Empire. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Sutter argues that the expansion of the Habsburg Empire constituted a form of European imperialism.

Guthrie, William P. Battles of the Thirty Years’ War: From White Mountain to Nordlingen, 1618-1635. Contributions in Military Studies 213. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003. This first volume of two books describes the battles fought in the early years of the war.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Later Thirty Years’ War: From the Battle of Wittstock to the Treaty of Westphalia. Contributions in Military Studies 222. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003. Guthrie concludes his examination of the Thirty Years’ War with a description of the battles fought between 1636 and 1648.

Ingrao, Charles W. The Habsburg Monarchy, 1618-1815. 2d ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. This revised and updated history of the monarchy traces the Habsburg state’s emergence as a military and cultural power of tremendous influence. Includes a chapter on the Thirty Years’ War.

Parker, Geoffrey, ed. The Thirty Years’ War. 2d rev. ed. New York: Routledge, 1997. Several historians collaborated to provide this account of the war. It is the best single work for providing the reader with an overview of the conflict and with pertinent bibliographical information.

Wandruszka, Adam. The House of Habsburg: Six Hundred Years of a European Dynasty. Translated by Cathleen Epstein and Hans Epstein. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1975. An excellent overview of the role of the Habsburg Dynasty in European affairs, containing good character sketches of its members.