Ferdinand I of Austria

Ferdinand
Emperor of Austria King of Hungary, Lombardy and Venetia, and Bohemia
Reign	2 March 1835 – 2 December 1848
Predecessor	Francis I
Successor	Francis Joseph I
Spouse	Maria Anna of Sardinia
Full name
Ferdinand Charles Leopold Joseph Francis Marcelin
House	House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Father	Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Maria Theresa of the Two Sicilies
Born	19 April 1793(1793-04-19)
Died	29 June 1875 (aged 82)

Not to be confused with Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand (19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary, and associated dominions from the death of his father, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848.

He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child of Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia. They had no issue. Ferdinand was incapable of ruling his empire, so his father, before he died, drafted a will promulgating that he should consult Archduke Lewis on every aspect of internal policy, and urged him to be influenced by Prince Metternich, Austria's foreign minister.^[1]

He abdicated on December 2, 1848. He was succeded by his nephew, Francis Joseph. Following his abdication, he lived in Hradčany Palace, Prague, until his death in 1875.^[2]

Life

Ferdinand was the eldest son of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. As a result of his parents genetic closeness (they were double first cousins), Ferdinand suffered from epilepsy, an abnormally large head, neurological problems, and a speech impediment. Upon his marriage to Maria Anna of Savoy, the court physician rendered it unlikely that he would be able to consummate the marriage.^[3]

Ferdinand has been depicted as feeble-minded and incapable of ruling, but although he was epileptic and certainly not intelligent, he kept a coherent and legible diary and has even been said to have a sharp wit. Having as many as twenty seizures per day, however, severely restricted his ability to rule with any effectiveness.

Though he was not declared incapacitated, a regent's council (Archduke Lewis, Count Kolowrat and Prince Metternich) steered the government. His marriage to Princess Maria Anna of Sardinia (1803-1884) was probably never consummated, nor is he believed to have had any other liaisons. He is famous for his one coherent command: when his cook told him he could not have apricot dumplings because they were out of season, he said “I'm the Emperor, and I want dumplings!” (German: Ich bin der Kaiser und ich will Knödel.) ^[4]

As the revolutionaries of 1848 were marching on the palace, he is supposed to have asked Metternich for an explanation. When Metternich answered that they were making a revolution, Ferdinand is supposed to have said “But are they allowed to do that?” (Viennese German: Ja, dürfen's denn des?) He was convinced by Felix zu Schwarzenberg to abdicate in favour of his nephew, Franz Joseph (the next in line was Ferdinand's younger brother Franz Karl, but he was persuaded to waive his succession rights in favour of his son) who would occupy the Austrian throne for the next sixty-eight years.

Ferdinand recorded the events in his diary : "The affair ended with the new Emperor kneeling before his old Emperor and Lord, that is to say, me, and asking for a blessing, which I gave him, laying both hands on his head and making the sign of the Holy Cross ... then I embraced him and kissed our new master, and then we went to our room. Afterward I and my dear wife heard Holy Mass ... After that I and my dear wife packed our bags"

Ferdinand was the last King of Bohemia to be crowned as such. Due to his sympathy with Bohemia (where he spent the rest of his life in Prague Castle) he was given the Czech nickname “Ferdinand V, the Good” (Ferdinand Dobrotivý). In Austria, Ferdinand was similarly nicknamed “Ferdinand der Gütige” (Ferdinand the Benign), but also ridiculed as "Gütinand der Fertige" (Goodinand the Finished).

He is interred in tomb number 62 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

Austrian Royalty House of Habsburg-Lorraine Francis I (Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor) Children include    Archduchess Marie Louise    Ferdinand I    Archduchess Maria Leopoldina    Archduchess Clementina    Archduke Franz Karl Grandchildren include    Franz Joseph I    Archduke Maximilian    Archduke Karl Ludwig    Archduke Ludwig Viktor Great-grandchildren include    Archduke Franz Ferdinand    Archduke Otto Franz Ferdinand I Franz Joseph I Children    Archduchess Sophie    Archduchess Gisela    Crown Prince Rudolf    Archduchess Marie Valerie Grandchildren include    Archduchess Elisabeth Marie Charles I Children include    Crown Prince Otto    Archduke Robert    Archduke Felix    Archduke Karl Ludwig    Archduke Rudolf Grandchildren include    Archduchess Andrea    Archduchess Monika    Archduchess Michaela    Archduchess Gabriela    Archduchess Walburga    Archduke Karl    Archduke Georg    Archduke Lorenz Great-Grandchildren include    Archduke Ferdinand Zvonimir    Archduke Amedeo

Titles

He used the titles: We, Ferdinand the First, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria; King of Hungary, Bohemia, fifth by this name, king of Lombardy, Venice, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria, King of Jerusalem etc.; Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Upper and Lower Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla, Auschwitz and Zator, Teschen, Friule, Ragusa, Zadar; Princely Count of Habsburg, Kyburg, Tyrol, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trent, Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria, Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Triest, Cattaro and over the Wendish March; president of The German Confederation.

Ancestors

Ferdinand's parents were double first cousins as they shared all four grandparents (Francis' paternal grandparents were his wife's maternal grandparents and vice versa). Therefore Ferdinand only had four great-grandparents, being descended from each of them twice. Further back in his ancestry there is more pedigree collapse due to the close intermarriage between the Houses of Austria and Spain and other Catholic monarchies.

See also

• Rulers of Germany family tree. He was related to every other ruler of Germany.

References

1. ^ Taylor, AJP: "The Habsburg Monarchy 1809-1918" Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1990, ISBN 978-0-14-013498-8, pp.52-53
2. ^ van der Kiste, p 16
3. ^ van der Kiste, John: Emperor Francis Joseph, Sutton Publishing London, 2005 ISBN 0-7509-3787-4, p 2
4. ^ According to A.J.P. Taylor, he was in fact asking for noodles - "But it is an unacceptable pun in English for a noodle to ask for noodles" - The Habsburg Monarchy 1809–1918

External links

Monarchical Styles of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria
Reference style	His Imperial Majesty
Spoken style	Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style	My Lord

• "Biography of Emperor Ferdinand"

v • d • e German Confederations 1806–1871 Confederation of the Rhine 1806–1813 Protector: Napoleon I of France (1806–1813) Prince primate: Karl Theodor von Dalberg (1806–1813) • Eugene de Beauharnais (1813) German Confederation 1815–1866 Presidents: Francis I of Austria (1815–1835) • Ferdinand I of Austria (1835–1848) • Francis Joseph I of Austria (1849–1866) Imperial regent: Archduke Johann of Austria (1848–1849) North German Confederation 1867–1871 President: Wilhelm I of Prussia (1867–1871) List of German monarchs – History of Germany – House of Habsburg-Lorraine – House of Hohenzollern