Ep. 234: The Charisma of Emperor Maximilian (1493-1519)
Maximilian I died on January 12th, 1519. But his likeness is everywhere. None of his predecessors left behind as many depictions of their life, from being fed by his nurse as a toddler to the Totenbil...
23 Apr 37min
Ep. 233: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - Last Days and Legacy
The last decade of emperor Maximilian’s reign was overshadowed by all three challenges to the emerging Habsburg empire gaining strength. The Ottoman empire was piling on resources by taking over Syria...
16 Apr 39min
Ep. 232: The Ottomans – From Mehmet the Conqueror to Selim the Grim (1444-1520)
These last dozen or so episodes we have examined the genesis of two of the three major strategic preoccupations of the Habsburg empire, the rivalry with the French kings and the relationship with the ...
9 Apr 38min
Ep. 231: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - Marrying Bohemia and Hungary
You have almost certainly seen the image in today’s episode artwork before. It is a family portrait showing Maximilian, his first wife Marie of Burgundy, his son, Philip the Handsome and three childre...
2 Apr 41min
Ep.230: Margaret of Austria (1480-1530) - The League of Cambrai
Another Thursday and another episode dealing with another epic fail of our hero, Maximilian I. But despite a military campaign that once again failed for all the usual reasons, no money, no strategy, ...
26 Mar 43min
Ep. 229: Joanna the (not?) Mad (1504-1555) - How the Habsburgs gained Spain
“Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube" – ‘Let others wage war; thou, happy Austria, marry’ is one of the few terms that almost anyone with a cursory interest in European history knows, only rivall...
19 Mar 48min
Ep. 228: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - The Princes and the Emperor.
If there was one group that consistently thwarted Maximilian’s grand plans for world domination, it was the princes of the Holy Roman Empire. He had given in to their demands for Imperial Reform, had ...
12 Mar 26min
Ep. 227: Landsknechte vs. Swiss Mercenaries – The Swabian (Swiss) War of 1499
Why are the Swiss called the Swiss? After all, Schwyz in only of 26 cantons, and not one of the largest ones. How did the proud and prosperous citizens of Zurich or Berne, mighty city states in their ...
5 Mar 38min
