Ferdinand of Bavaria (soldier)
Encyclopedia
- This article covers the life and career of the soldier, Ferdinand of Bavaria (1550–1608).
- For the life and career of his nephew, the Prince-elector of Cologne, Ferdinand of Bavaria (1577–1650), see Ferdinand of Bavaria (archbishop).
- For the article on Ferdinand of Bavaria 1884–1958, Infante of Spain, see Prince Ferdinand of BavariaPrince Ferdinand of BavariaPrince Ferdinand of Bavaria was the eldest son and child of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria and his wife Infanta María de la Paz of Spain...
.
Ferdinand of Bavaria was born 20 January 1550, in Landshut
Landshut
Landshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the...
, in the Duchy of Bavaria
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria was the only one of the stem duchies from the earliest days of East Francia and the Kingdom of Germany to preserve both its name and most of its territorial extent....
, and died 30 January 1608 in Munich, at the age of 58. He was the second surviving son of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Albert V was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to William IV and Marie Jacobaea of Baden.-Early life:Albert was educated at Ingolstadt under good Catholic teachers...
, and his wife Archduchess Anna of Austria, and consequently was prepared for a military career. Ferdinand is also known for the two extraordinary diaries he kept, one as fifteen year old boy on a journey from Munich to Florence, for his aunt's wedding, and a second journey to Florence, this time as young and experienced man of affairs.
Youth
In 1565, the 15 year old Ferdinand made a widely publicized journey to FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, to attend the wedding of his maternal aunt, Johanna of Austria
Johanna of Austria
Joanna of Austria was born an Archduchess of Austria as the youngest daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. By marriage, she was the Grand Princess of Tuscany and later the Grand Duchess of Tuscany...
, to Francesco I de' Medici, and to visit with other maternal aunts in the city. Johanna's marriage to the Medici was a politically expedient one: she was expected to produce heirs. The groom's mistress, whom he married after the death of his wife in 1579, was already well-established in 1565: this was a political marriage, and an extravagant one, and cost Duke Cosimo
Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo I de' Medici was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574, reigning as the first Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1569.-Biography:...
, father of the groom, over 60,000 ducats, a phenomenal sum.
Sending a teen-aged boy into the hot-house of Medici
Medici
The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...
intrigue might have seemed questionable to the sober-minded Wittelsbachs. Albert had supported whole-heartedly the Catholic Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
; Jesuits were entrenched at Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
, and had raised his children accordingly. Ferdinand's older brother earned for himself the sobriquet "the Pius" for his melancholy demeanor, his ardent attachment to prayer and meditation, and, more obviously, for his eschewal of hunting, dancing, and other frivolities that dominated social life in a 16th century court.
The Emperor chided his father on sending his second son, not sending William, heir to the duchy, but Albert pointed out that he was not able, on such short notice, to put together an appropriate entourage for the heir; the second son would have to do. Ferdinand's entourage was no mean affair. His chief financial adviser, Hanns Jakob Fugger, served as chief steward on the journey, and Fugger's son as Ferdinand's cup-bearer. They traveled by horse, sledge (sled), boat, and carriage in the journey that took four months, from Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and back to Munich, and throughout the entire journey, Ferdinand maintained a journal, unusually written in the third person, about his adventure. Through Ferdinand's eyes, via his journal, we have an unusual picture of mid-16th century masquerades, musical performances, and comedies, the experience of which Ferdinand brought with him when he returned to Munich in February of the following year.
On another journey, as a guest of the emperor in Vienna, he recorded the near riot during the Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
procession of 1578. As he and the archdukes Ferdinand and Maximilian heard the mass, the population harassed the celebrant priests, and interfered with the conduct of the procession itself.
Career
His younger brother, Ernst, was elected to the Archbishopric of Cologne, in 1583, as part of the conflict over the control of the electoral see. Ferdinand took command of his brother's army during the Cologne WarCologne War
The Cologne War devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, present-day North-Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany...
; his able management of the army, plus the support of troops from the Duke of Alba in the Spanish Netherlands, secured the electoral dignity for his brother, and consolidated the family's place in imperial politics.
Personal life
Ferdinand made a morganatic marriage with Maria Pettenbeck on 26 September 1588. The 16 children of this marriage were raised to the status of Counts and Countesses of Wartenburg. The line died out in 1736.- Maria Maximliane, Countess, Nun in Munich's Riedler Regelhaus, 1589-1538
- Maria Magdalena, Countess, Nun in Munich's Riedler Regelhaus 1590–1620
- Maria Magdalena von Wartenberg, 1592–1598
- Franz Wilhelm, Count of Wartenberg, Bischop of Osnabruck 1593–1661
- Maria Anna of Wartenberg, Nun in Kuhbach Benedictine Cloister, 1594–1629
- Sebastian of Wartenberg 1595–1596
- Ernst of Wartenberg 1596–1597
- Maximillian, Count of Wartenberg 1602–1679
- Ernst Benno, Count of Wartinberg 1605–1606
- Maria Katharina of Wartenberg, 1605–1606
- Ferdinand Lorenz, Count of Wartenberg 1606–1666
- Maria Klara Theresia of Wartenberg 1608–1635
He is buried in the cathedral in Munich, Bavaria.
His surviving siblings were
- William V, Duke of BavariaWilliam V, Duke of BavariaWilliam V, Duke of Bavaria , called the Pious, was Duke of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597.- Education and early life :...
1548–1626 - Maria Anna of Bavaria, 1551–1608, married her uncle, Charles II, archduke of Austria, and was the mother of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman EmperorFerdinand II, Holy Roman EmperorFerdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
- Maximiliana Maria of Bavaria, 1553–1614
- Ernst of Bavaria, Elector of Cologne, 1554–1612