Kaiser Maximilian I

Maximilian I, Kaiser (Wiener Neustadt, 1459-1519, Wels), was the son of the Emperor Friedrich III and his consort, a Portuguese princess. By his marriage to Marie of Burgundy in 1477 he united the extensive Burgundian territories (including the Netherlands), with the Habsburg dominions. He was elected German King (see Deutscher König) in 1486, and in 1493 became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (see Deutches Reich, Altes). He conducted numerous campaigns in the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Switzerland, the majority of which ended in defeat.

Although Maximilian's political career was largely unsuccessful because of his instability, recklessness, and inordinate self-esteem, he enjoyed considerable popularity and after his death became a legendary figure. An attractive personality and a gifted speaker, he was regarded as a symbol for German national aspirations, though his aims were in reality dynastic. Known as ‘der letzte Ritter’, he was skilled in knightly accomplishments, and well versed in hunting, in architecture, and in horticulture. He was also a patron of the New Learning, encouraging scholars. He was himself an author, writing essays on his favourite arts (Die Baumeisterei, Die Gärtnerei, Geheimes Jagdbuch) and contributing to two quasi-autobiographical works, Teuerdank and Der Weißkunig. A third work, Freydal, remained a plan.

Although he was buried in Wiener Neustadt, his ornate funeral monument (1584) is in the Hofkirche in Innsbruck. Contemporary likenesses exist by Dürer and Lucas von Leyden (1494-1533), and a posthumous portrait was painted by Rubens. He is the subject of a cycle of romances, Der letzte Ritter (1830), by Anastasius Grün.