Much like his kneeling down in Germany in 1629, the death of King Gustavus Adolphus leveled the playing field of the Thirty Years War once again. The problem was that while Ferdinand again had a fighting chance at reimposing his will over the Holy Roman Empire, Adolphus had shattered the ascendancy the Emperor had enjoyed […]
Read more "The Death of Albrecht von Wallenstein"With the passing of Matthias, central Europe abruptly dissolved into a war zone. With no way out in sight, the more moderate Bohemian Protestants fell in line behind Thurn. Then, from bad to worse for Ferdinand, the remaining and long oppressed Protestants in his Austrian backyard of Lusatia and Moravia revolted. Yet at the start […]
Read more "The Season of the Winter King"Speaking of war, this is as good a segue as any to tell a small story. Thirty five years after the Peace of Westphalia put an end to Germany’s grief, the Ottoman Empire marched out for one final stab at Vienna. Under the leadership of Mehmet IV, the Turks mustered an army of somewhere between […]
Read more "The Weapons of War in the 17th Century"The Reformation had also prompted some Catholic soul searching of its own. For many of the more liberal figures in the Church it finally gave them the momentum to push through some long cherished reforms. At several Cardinal’s gatherings, a cherrypicked few of Luther’s suggestions were adopted as a carrot for the faithful.[1] However, it […]
Read more "The Henriad"
Bartered History 