Frederick V, Elector Palatine
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Frederick V (16 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was Elector Palatine (1610–23), and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia (1619–20, for his short reign he is often nicknamed the Winter King, Czech
: Zimní král; German: Winterkönig).
Frederick was born at the (a hunting lodge) near Amberg
in the Upper Palatinate
. He was the son and heir of Frederick IV
and of Louise Juliana of Nassau
, the daughter of William the Silent
and Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier
. He – an intellectual, a mystic
, and a Calvinist – succeeded his father as Prince-Elector
of the Rhenish Palatinate in 1610. He was responsible for the construction of the famous Hortus Palatinus
gardens in Heidelberg
.
In 1618 the Protestant estates of Bohemia
rebelled against the Roman Catholic King Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
and offered the crown of Bohemia to Frederick, choosing him since he was the leader of the Protestant Union
, a military alliance founded by his father. Frederick duly accepted the crown (coronation on 4 November 1619), which triggered the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War
.
Frederick's father-in-law, James VI of Scotland and I of England
, opposed the takeover of Bohemia from the Habsburgs. Additionally, Frederick's allies in the Protestant Union failed to support him militarily by signing the Treaty of Ulm (1620)
. His brief reign as King of Bohemia ended with his defeat at the Battle of White Mountain
on 8 November 1620 – a year and four days after his coronation. This earned him the derisive nickname of 'the Winter King'. After this battle, the Imperial forces invaded
Frederick's Palatinate lands and he had to flee to Holland in 1622. An Imperial edict formally deprived him of the Palatinate in 1623. He lived the rest of his life in exile with his wife and family, mostly at the Hague, and died in Mainz
in 1632.
His eldest surviving son Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
returned to power in 1648 with the end of the war. His daughter Princess Sophia
was eventually named heiress presumptive to the British throne, and was the founder of the Hanoverian
line of kings.
Frederick was born on 16 August 1596 at the (a hunting lodge) near Amberg
in the Upper Palatinate
. His father, Frederick IV
was the ruler of Electoral Palatinate; his mother was Louise Juliana of Nassau
, the daughter of William I of Orange and Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier
. A member of the House of Palatinate-Simmern, Frederick was related to almost all of the leading families of the Holy Roman Empire
and a number of diplomats and dignitaries attended his baptism
at Amberg
on 6 October 1596. The House of Palatinate-Simmern, a cadet branch
of the House of Wittelsbach, was noted for its attachment to Calvinism
; this was in marked contrast to the wider House of Wittelsbach, headed by Duke Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
, which was deeply devoted to the Roman Catholic Church.
The capital of the Electoral Palatinate, Heidelberg
, was suffering from an outbreak of Bubonic plague
at this time, so Frederick spent his first two years in the Upper Palatinate before being brought to Heidelberg in 1598. In 1604, at his mother's urging, he was sent to Sedan to live in the court of his uncle Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon. During his time at Sedan, Frederick was a frequent visitor to the court of Henry IV of France
. His tutor was Calvinist theologian Daniel Tilenius, a professor of theology at the Academy of Sedan
. During the Eighty Years' War and the French Wars of Religion
, Tilenius called for the unity of Protestant princes, and taught that it was their Christian duty to intervene if their brethren were being harassed. These views are likely to have shaped Frederick's future policies.
On 19 September 1610, Frederick's father, Frederick IV, died from "extravagant living"; Frederick V was only 14 years old at the time of his father's death.
Under the terms of the Golden Bull of 1356
, Frederick's closest male relative would serve as his guardian
and as regent
of Electoral Palatinate until Frederick reached the age of majority. However, his nearest male relative, Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg, was a Catholic, so, shortly before his death, Frederick IV had named John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
as his son's guardian.
In fall 1610, Frederick V – now returned to Heidelberg – welcomed John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken in Heidelberg as his new guardian; Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg was not allowed to enter Heidelberg.
This created a heated dispute amongst the families of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1613, Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
intervened in the dispute, with the result being that Frederick V was able to begin his personal rule in the Electoral Palatinate even though he was still underage. The dispute was ended in 1614, when Frederick reached the age of majority upon his eighteenth birthday. However, much bad blood among the houses was caused by this dispute, and the senior House of Wittelsbach re-asserted its claims over the Electoral Palatinate at this time.
, and his sister Elizabeth Charlotte to George William, Elector of Brandenburg
. Frederick IV had hoped that his daughter Katharina Sofie would marry the future Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
, although this never came to pass.
In keeping with his father's policy, Frederick V sought a marriage to Elizabeth Stuart
, daughter of James I of England
. However, Frederick was only an Elector, and it was likely that James would seek to marry his daughter to a king. James had initially considered marrying Elizabeth to Louis XIII of France
, but these plans were rejected by his advisers. Frederick's advisers in the Electoral Palatinate were worried that if Elizabeth Stuart were married to a Catholic prince, this would upset the confessional balance of Europe, and they were thus determined that she would marry Frederick V. Hans Meinhard von Schönberg
, who had served as Frederick V's hofmeister
since his return to Heidelberg, was sent to London to court the princess in spring 1612. After intense negotiations, a marriage contract was signed on 26 May 1612, over the objection of the queen, Anne of Denmark
.
Frederick travelled to London to retrieve his bride, landing on English soil on 6 October 1612. Frederick and Elizabeth, who had previously corresponded in French, now met each other for the first time, and got on well together. They were formally engaged in January 1613. They were subsequently married on 14 February 1613 at the royal chapel at the Palace of Whitehall
. The event was celebrated in John Donne's
poetic masterpiece Epithalamion, or Mariage Song on the Lady Elizabeth, and Count Palatine being married on St. Valentines Day. Shortly before the ceremony, Frederick was inducted into the Order of the Garter
and he wore the Order's chain during the wedding ceremony. Elaborate celebrations, organised by Francis Bacon
, followed the ceremony; these included a performance of The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn
by Francis Beaumont
and The Memorable Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn
by George Chapman
.
On their return trip to Heidelberg, Frederick and Elizabeth travelled to The Hague
to visit Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
before leaving for Germany on 5 May 1613. The couple entered Heidelberg on 12 June 1613, amidst widespread celebration. Elizabeth was popular with her new subjects, and this popularity grew when, on 1 January 1614, she gave birth to a son, Frederick Henry.
As part of the marriage negotiations, Frederick had agreed to expand Heidelberg Castle
. These renovations were completed in 1615 and the "Elizabeth Entrance" to Heidelberg Castle was dedicated.
Upon his eighteenth birthday on 26 August 1614, Frederick assumed personal control of Electoral Palatinate. One of his first acts was to attend a meeting of the Protestant Union
. During this meeting, Frederick was struck by a fever and nearly died. This illness changed his personality profoundly: in the wake of the illness, contemporaries described him as melancholy and possibly depressed. As such, Frederick placed large amounts of responsibility in his chancellor
, Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg.
Frederick undertook a large building campaign, designed to glorify his regime. In addition to the renovations to Heidelberg Castle
mentioned above, Frederick commissioned a new courtyard garden, the Hortus Palatinus
, designed by English gardener Inigo Jones
and French engineer Salomon de Caus
. Frederick was depicted as Apollo
and as Hercules
.
Politically, Frederick positioned himself as a leader of the Protestant princes in the Holy Roman Empire, and as a defender of the liberty of the German nobles against the Catholic emperor, Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
. Since the Peace of Augsburg
, the Holy Roman Empire had been delicately balanced between Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist principalities (although Calvinism was not recognised in the Peace of Augsburg). The conflicts between princes of these three faiths developed into a deep struggle over the constitution of the Holy Roman Empire. Furthermore, the Twelve Years' Truce
, a hiatus in the Eighty Years' War, was set to expire in 1621, and would probably lead to renewed fighting between the Dutch Republic
and the Spanish Empire
.
With its central location in Germany, the Electoral Palatinate was vulnerable to incursions of imperial troops from the Habsburg hereditary lands. Unlike many other principalities of the Holy Roman Empire, Electoral Palatinate was not a closed dominion, but instead consisted of two unconnected provinces surrounded by foreign lands. Lower Palatinate centred on Heidelberg
, while Upper Palatinate
centred on Amberg
. Lower Palatinate's economy was dominated by agriculture, while Upper Palatinate was a mining region with one of the most successful economies in Europe.
was an elective monarchy
, and, in spite of the high title of a kingdom, was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Since 1526, the Kings of Bohemia had all been members of the House of Habsburg; since 1555, these Kings had also been Holy Roman Emperors. In the early seventeenth century, however, Bohemia faced a political crisis. The Estates of the realm
of Bohemia became worried that the Habsburgs were planning to transform Bohemia into an absolute monarchy
. A large number of Bohemian nobles were Protestant and they feared that a Catholic emperor would attempt to impose Catholicism on Bohemia. Thus, a substantial opposition movement developed in opposition to Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
. Rudolf had waged a war against the Ottoman Empire
– known as the Long War
– from 1593 to 1606. Dissatisfied with the outcome of the Long War, Rudolf sought to launch a new war against the Ottomans. To gain Bohemian support for this war, Rudolf agreed to guarantee Bohemian religious liberty, issuing his so-called Letter of Majesty in 1609. Still, the Bohemian nobles remained suspicious of Rudolf and were in contact with the Protestant Union
.
The Bohemian Estates elected Matthias
as Rudolf's heir and when Rudolf died in 1611, Matthias became King of Bohemia. As early as 1612, there was discussion within the Protestant Union about fielding a Protestant candidate to become King of Bohemia, and Frederick's name was discussed in this regard. Strategists at the Palatinate believed that if Frederick became King of Bohemia, this would lead John George I, Elector of Saxony
to break his alliance with the Habsburgs and come fully to the Protestant cause. This assumption would later prove to be unfounded.
Meanwhile, the sectarian conflicts in Bohemia continued. In 1617, Matthias prevailed on the Bohemian Estates to elect Ferdinand, Duke of Styria
as heir to the throne of Bohemia. Ferdinand was an intensely loyal Catholic, and many Protestant noblemen believed that Ferdinand intended to withdraw the protections of Rudolf II's Letter of Majesty. These suspicions were further aroused when imperial officials ordered Protestants to stop erecting Protestant churches on the land of the prince of the church
or Stifts, which the Protestants claimed to be comprised under the term "royal land" (the Stifts did not belong to the Bohemian Estates) which was open to them due to the Letter of Majesty – a very disputed legal interpretation of which the government disapproved. On 23 May 1618, an assembly of Protestant noblemen, led by Count Jindrich Matyas Thurn
, stormed Prague Castle
, and tried two Imperial governors, Vilem Slavata of Chlum
and Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice with violating the Letter of Majesty, found them guilty, and threw them, together with their scribe Philip Fabricius, out of the windows of the Bohemian Chancellery. This event – known as the Second Defenestration of Prague – marked the beginning of the Bohemian Revolt, and with it, the beginning of the Thirty Years' War
.
In these circumstances, Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, Frederick V's governor of the Upper Palatinate, moved to intervene in Bohemia. He did not initially propose nominating Frederick as King of Bohemia because the young elector was still seen as politically inexperienced and he was a Calvinist, while there were virtually no Calvinists in Bohemia. At any rate, Frederick was not initially eager to defy the emperor, who had praised Frederick's loyalty. Frederick did not publicly break with the emperor, but in a letter to his father-in-law, James I of England
, he placed the blame for the Bohemian vote on the Jesuits and the Spanish party at the Habsburg court. This is a questionable evasion of Frederick's own agents.
The first mention in Prague
of Frederick's name as a possible candidate as King of Bohemia came in November 1618. It is not known if Frederick's agents played a role in talking up his possible candidacy. Palatine diplomat Christoph von Dohna
approached James I of England
with the possibility of Frederick becoming King of Bohemia, but James reacted negatively to this idea. The princes of the Protestant Union
similarly rejected the idea, fearing it might lead to religious war. John George I, Elector of Saxony
was staunchly opposed to the idea.
Behind the scenes, Frederick authorised sending a force under Ernst von Mansfeld
to support the Bohemian rebels. In August 1618, forces under Mansfeld entered Bohemia and led the Siege of Pilsen, which saw Pilsen fall to rebel forces on 21 November 1618, leaving the entire kingdom in Protestant hands.
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
died on 20 March 1619. Although his successor, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
, had previously been crowned King of Bohemia, the Estates of Bohemia now refused to recognise Ferdinand as their king. Fearing an invasion by Imperial forces the Estates of Bohemia sought an alliance with the other members of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown
(Silesia
, Lusatia
, Moravia
) and on 31 July 1619 at Prague, these states formed the Bohemian Confederacy, dedicated to opposing the Habsburgs; under the terms of this agreement, Protestantism became virtually the state religion of the Bohemian lands. In August 1619, the general parliament of all the Bohemian lands declared that Ferdinand had forfeited the Bohemian throne. This formally severed all ties between Bohemia and the Habsburgs and made war inevitable. Ferdinand of Bavaria
, Archbishop of Cologne predicted this decision would lead to twenty, forty, or sixty years of war.
The preferred candidate of Bohemians as their new king was John George I, Elector of Saxony
, but John George let it be known he would not accept the throne. This left Frederick as the most senior Protestant prince since no one else was willing to risk conflict with the emperor. In August 1619, the chances of Frederick becoming King of Bohemia became greater when Gabriel Bethlen
launched an anti-Habsburg revolt in Royal Hungary
. This was also precisely the period when Ferdinand was travelling to Frankfurt
for his coronation.
.
Two days later, Ferdinand II was elected as Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick was the only elector
who voted against Ferdinand; even the Protestant electors John George I, Elector of Saxony
and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg
voted for Ferdinand. The electoral college also condemned the Bohemian Confederation's attempt to remove Ferdinand from the throne of Bohemia and declared that the 1617 vote of the Estates of Bohemia making Ferdinand King of Bohemia was binding.
Frederick's decision to accept the Bohemian crown has been the subject of much historical speculation. Later Catholic propaganda, in a view later accepted by Friedrich Schiller
, portrayed the decision as based mainly on Elizabeth Stuart's desire to be a queen. More recently, historians have concluded that Frederick's decision was based primarily on a sense of his duty to fellow Protestants, although Frederick wavered between his duty of loyalty to the emperor and his sense of duty to his religious brethren. There also seem to have been economic considerations: the Upper Palatinate was at that time the European iron center, while Bohemia was a focal point for the tin and glass trade: Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg told Frederick that a union of the two areas could be financially advantageous.
On 12 September 1619, the Protestant Union
met at Rothenburg ob der Tauber
and called on Frederick not to intervene in Bohemian affairs. Other possible allies – the Dutch Republic
, Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
, and the Republic of Venice
– sent letters saying they would not be able to offer Frederick assistance if he accepted the Bohemian offer; only Gabriel Bethlen
offered words of encouragement.
Between 24 September and 28, Frederick reached his decision "not to resist the will of the Almighty" and thus decided to accept the Bohemian crown. The Dutch Republic, the Republic of Venice, Denmark
, and Sweden
recognised Frederick as King of Bohemia.
On 29 September 1619, Frederick left Heidelberg for Prague. He travelled through Ansbach
, Amberg
, Neumarkt, and Waldsassen
, where he was met by representatives from the Bohemian Estates. Together, they then travelled through Cheb
, Sokolov
, Žatec
, Louny
, and Slaný
. Finally on 31 October 1619, Frederick entered Prague
, along with 568 people and 100 cars, and was greeted enthusiastically.
in St. Vitus Cathedral
on 4 November 1619. The coronation
was conducted not by the Archbishop of Prague
but by the Utraquist administrator of the diocese, Georg Dicastus, and a Protestant elder, Johannes Cyrill von Třebič. The liturgy
was modelled on that used at the coronation of Charles IV
, with only a few parts altered. The litany
was sung – per the Catholic tradition – rather than spoken as was normally done by the Calvinists. Frederick was anointed
with little objection. At the end of the coronation, the Estates paid homage
to Frederick.
Although a large part of the country was already devastated by war, and many refugees were encamped in the town, the coronation was celebrated with lavish parties.
. The Protestant nobles felt that higher taxes were necessary to pay for war against the German Catholic League
, but the country already felt overburdened in the wake of the Long War
. Further limiting Frederick's ability to manoeuvre was the need to distribute royal bounty to supporters in order to ensure their loyalty to his regime.
In Prague, Frederick soon came to be alienated from a portion of the nobility and the clergy. Neither Frederick nor his wife spoke Czech
, so court offices were staffed primarily with foreigners, while the administration of the localities was left to the local nobles. This made an alliance of the royal family with the corporate bodies of the realm difficult.
Further alienation was caused by Frederick V's court preacher, Abraham Scultetus
, who was determined to use his new post to advance the cause of Calvinism
in Bohemia. The Utraquist churches had retained the use of relics and images in church, but Scultetus now launched an iconoclastic crusade against images: beginning on 21 December 1619, images were removed from St. Vitus Cathedral
, and on 27–28 December, a famous altarpiece
by Lucas Cranach the Younger
depicting the Virgin Mary was destroyed. There was even a rumour that the grave of St. Wenceslaus was to be desecrated. Scultetus' iconoclasm was deeply unpopular, and Frederick attempted to distance himself from it, claiming that his orders were not being carried out by his followers.
The nickname "The Winter King" appeared shortly after the beginning of Frederick's reign and our first printed reference using the term came in a 1619 Imperial pamphlet that presented the phrase in the context of a royal chronogram
. Frederick's propagandists attempted to respond to the phrase by arguing that Frederick was in fact a "Winter Lion" who defended the crown of Bohemia against troublemakers and liars, and that he would also be a "Summer Lion."
Meanwhile, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
rallied his forces against Frederick. On 21 October 1619, he signed a treaty with Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria
, leader of the Catholic League
. This treaty provided that Maximilian would be commander of the forces against Frederick and promised that Maximilian would be able to retain all of the occupied Bohemian lands for himself and would be granted Frederick's electoral title as well. The emperor was also able to obtain the support of John George I, Elector of Saxony
; John George's court preacher, Matthias Hoe von Hoenegg
, encouraged the emperor to smash Frederick and the Bohemians.
Frederick's chancellor, Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, urged Frederick to call a meeting of Protestant princes at Nuremberg
in December 1619. This conference was a fiasco, as few princes bothered to send representatives. John George of Saxony declined to send a representative. Those who did attend halfheartedly promised to secure Frederick's Rhineland
territories during Frederick's absence in Bohemia.
In March 1620, during a meeting of the Imperial party at Mulhouse
, Frederick despatched a legal defense of his actions. He argued that he had not broken the imperial peace because Bohemia was located outside of the Holy Roman Empire
and there was not, therefore, a conflict between an imperial prince and the emperor. Frederick argued that it would therefore be illegal for Ferdinand to use imperial power against him. This meeting, which included John George of Saxony and Maximilian of Bavaria, rejected Frederick's argument, finding that Bohemia was an indivisible part of the empire.
On 1 April 1620, the Imperial party issued an ultimatum calling on Frederick to leave Bohemia by 1 June. If Frederick did not comply by this date, Ferdinand threatened to use force to enforce his right as Holy Roman Emperor and rightful King of Bohemia to overthrow the usurper
.
A little later, John George of Saxony signed a treaty with Ferdinand in which Ferdinand guaranteed the practice of Lutheranism
in Bohemia and recognized the secular areas in the Netherlands. Ferdinand also agreed to give John George Lusatia
, thus cementing John George's dominance of the Upper Saxon Circle
.
This was the context when the parliament of the Bohemian Confederacy met on 25 March 1620. Frederick called for massive tax increases and conscription to fight the impending Imperial threat. To raise money for the Bohemian forces, Frederick used his private funds, pawned his jewels and, in May 1620, drove the Electoral Palatinate into insolvency when he decided to move two tons of gold to Bohemia.
Bad news continued to arrive for Frederick. James I of England
refused to support his son-in-law militarily. The Netherlands sent only a small force and promised only 50,000 florins a month for Frederick. Worst of all for Frederick, on 3 July 1620, the Protestant Union
signed the Treaty of Ulm (1620)
, thereby withdrawing their support for Frederick and declaring neutrality in the conflict between Frederick and the Catholic League.
region.
In early August 1620, 25,000 trooops, under the command of Spinola marched into Bohemia. In the third week of August, they shifted their focus and marched into the nearly unarmed Electoral Palatinate, occupying Mainz
. The Electoral Palatinate was defended by only 2,000 English volunteers and the country was easily taken. Imperial troops set up camp in Frankenthal
and Mannheim
. Spinola crossed the Rhine on 5 September 1620 and proceeded to capture Bad Kreuznach
on 10 September and Oppenheim
on 14 September. From Bohemia, Frederick was powerless to stop the occupation of his ancestral homeland.
After capturing Linz
, Upper Austria
, Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria
crossed the Bohemian border on 26 September 1620. At Rokycany
, Maximilian's forces first met with the 15,000 ragtag, poorly paid, poorly equipped troops that Frederick had managed to raise. Frederick visited his army on 28 September 1620, but, lacking a military background, left the conduct of the war to his generals. Frederick focused his attention on organizing supplies and preparing fortifications.
After a series of skirmishes, on 5 November 1620, Frederick drew his forces back towards Prague and Imperial troops followed them. On 7 November, Bohemian forces determined to make a stand at White Mountain
, just outside of Prague. The day before King Frederick had ridden down the lines, and exhorted the soldiers. He then rushed to Prague to implore the Bohemian Estates to raise money for his troops and to receive the envoys of the English king. However, it was too late. When, on 8 November 1620, Frederick wanted to ride back to the troops, he was met at the gate of Prague by fleeing soldiers of his army and his chancellor, Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, who informed him of the disaster: the Bohemian army had received a crushing defeat that morning in the Battle of White Mountain
.
n capital of Breslau, along with his wife, some advisers, and not much more baggage than the Czech Crown Jewels.
Maximilian took Prague shortly after Frederick's departure. From Silesia, Frederick wanted to plan revenge for the Battle of White Mountain, but the Silesian Estates refused to support this project, and he was forced to leave Silesia in early 1621.
Contemporary pamphleteers – both Catholic and Protestant – were merciless in their portrayal of Frederick's flight from Prague. After Frederick's Garter
was found in Prague, pamphleteers routinely portrayed him with his stockings falling down.
On 21 January 1621, Ferdinand issued a decree against Frederick and Christian, accusing them of breach of peace, supporting rebels, and treason. Ferdinand decreed that Frederick's lands and titles within the Holy Roman Empire were now forfeited. On 6 February 1621, representatives of the Protestant Union met with Ferdinand at Heilbronn
to protest, but they soon agreed to support the settlement in the Palatinate, and the Palatinate remained occupied by Spanish troops. At this point, the Protestant Union had essentially ceased to exist.
The Twelve Years' Truce
ended on 9 April 1621. On 14 April, Frederick joined his wife at The Hague. The Dutch Republic and Frederick signed a contract in which he accepted the support of the Netherlands for the reconquest of his dominions.
In Bohemia, the crushing of the Bohemian Revolt had terrible consequences. Twenty-eight Bohemian nobles were executed at Old Town Hall (Prague) on 21 June 1621, and the heads of twelve of them, along with the hand of Joachim Andreas von Schlick
were nailed to the Old Town Tower of Charles Bridge
, where they remained for ten years. The elective monarchy was now abolished; the role of the Estates greatly curtailed; and the Letter of Majesty was torn by Ferdinand himself. Only Lutheranism
remained tolerated in Bohemia, and in the coming years, the rest of the population would be actively re-Catholicized. Bohemia would remain part of the Habsburg Monarchy
until 1918.
, Frederick's former guardian who had served as regent of the Electoral Palatinate when Frederick left for Prague, resigned.
However, Ernst von Mansfeld
continued to occupy a portion of the Upper Palatinate
and had successfully resisted efforts by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly to dislodge him. Mansfeld crossed into Rhenish Palatinate in early 1622, and on 21 April 1622, Frederick joined Mansfeld there. Frederick attempted to convince other Protestant princes to reconstitute the Protestant Union, but met with limited success. Frederick's cause was boosted by an 27 April 1622 victory over Tilly's forces at the Battle of Wiesloch
near Wiesloch
, but this boost was short lived. Frederick's forces under the command of Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach
were defeated at the Battle of Wimpfen
on 6 May 1622; and then forces under Christian the Younger of Brunswick were soundly defeated at the Battle of Höchst
on 20 June 1622.
Frederick was increasingly under Mansfeld's influence at this time, and was growing disillusioned with the Protestant cause. With Frederick's knowledge, Mansfeld raided Darmstadt
and captured Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
and his son Johann as hostages. This was clearly a violation of Imperial law, and cost Frederick whatever remaining sympathy he still had in Europe. During his retreat into Alsace
, Mansfeld burned a city and thirty villages.
Frederick dismissed Mansfeld after he became convinced he would be unable to reconquer his hereditary lands. Frederick then spent the summer with his uncle, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon, in Sedan.
Shortly thereafter, troops under Tilly and Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba completed the Spanish conquest of the Electoral Palatinate. After an eleven-week siege, Heidelberg
fell on 19 September 1622; Mannheim
similarly fell on 5 November 1622. Only the British garrison in Frankenthal
now held out. After the conquest of Heidelberg, the Protestant churches were closed, the university was closed, and at the request of Maximilian, the great library, the famous Bibliotheca Palatina
(3500 manuscripts), was presented as a Thank you gift to Pope Gregory XV
for the 620,000 guilders he had provided for financing of the campaigns of the Catholic League.
On 23 February 1623, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor awarded Frederick's electoral title to Maximilian of Bavaria, who now became Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
. Maximilian was also awarded the conquered territory of Upper Palatinate as a fief. Other territories of the Electoral Palatinate (Parkstein
, Weiden in der Oberpfalz
, and Peilstein im Mühlviertel
) were awarded to Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg.
.
During the negotiations for the Spanish Match
, Frederick urged his father-in-law not to go through with the Match.
There were attempts at reconciling Frederick with the emperor in 1624–25 and in 1627, but these came to naught. Frederick was willing to compromise with the emperor, but he wanted the restoration of his lands and electoral title, and the emperor was not inclined to restore these to Frederick. Frederick held out some hope that his lands might be retaken militarily, but these hopes were crushed on 27 August 1626, when the forces of Christian IV of Denmark
were crushed by Tilly at the Battle of Lutter
.
Frederick left most of the day-to-day business of his government-in-exile to his counselors, although he did take some interest in his finances. Frederick was very stingy in funding his administration, and yet, in order to maintain the dignity of a royal court, he spent vast sums on building and entertainment, quickly blowing through donations from the English and Dutch governments. For example, in 1629, Frederick commissioned Bartholoeus van Bassen to build him a large winter palace in Rhenen
. When completed in 1631, this palace had a large central residence, a courtyard, a two-storey main building with two wings projecting to the south, and was surrounded by large gardens. Frederick spent much of his time there in hunting and long walks.
Frederick suffered a personal tragedy on 17 January 1629. He was traveling to Amsterdam
to view the Spanish treasure fleet
captured by the Dutch West India Company
when his boat capsized while crossing the Haarlemmermeer
, a body of water near Haarlem
. Frederick nearly drowned, and his eldest son, Frederick Henry of the Palatinate did drown (he was only 15 years old). James I of England had been attempting to broker a marriage between Frederick Henry and a Spanish princess that could see the Palatinate returned to the family, but these hopes were dashed by his untimely death. What's more, Frederick was physically damaged from the accident, and would not fully recover for 15 months.
At the Diet of Regensburg (1630)
, Frederick formally petitioned to be forgiven for having accepted the crown of Bohemia and admitted his wrongdoing. But nothing came of this. In March 1631, Frederick despatched diplomat Sir Robert Anstruther
to hold discussions with Ernst Egon VIII, Count of Fürstenberg, president of the Imperial Privy Council
, about restoring Frederick's lands, but Frederick died before these could bear any fruit.
intervened in the Thirty Years' War
. On 16 September 1631, Gustavus Adolphus' forces defeated Tilly's forces at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)
. Tilly was defeated the following year, and Gustavus Adolphus' forces swept into southern Germany. When Oppenheim
was captured in December 1631, Frederick believed the time was ripe for him to reestablish himself in the Palatinate, and he left for Heidelberg
.
In February 1632, Frederick met Gustavus Adolphus at Frankfurt
, with Gustavus Adolphus paying Frederick full royal honours. However, Gustavus Adolphus was not prepared to offer Frederick support for restoring him in the Palatinate because England and the Netherlands had not signed off on such a proposal.
Frederick subsequently took part in Gustavus Adolphus' march into the Duchy of Bavaria
, and was present for the march in to Munich
on 17 May 1632. Upon Frederick's pressing his case with Gustavus Adolphus, Gustavus Adolphus told Frederick that he would accept Frederick's restoration without Dutch / British support only if Frederick would agree to hold the Palatinate as a fief of the King of Sweden. The lands of the Palatinate were simply too important strategically for Gustavus Adolphus to hand them over to Frederick. Gustavus Adolphus also insisted that Frederick would have to agree to establish equal rights for Lutherans in his territories. Frederick refused Gustavus Adolphus' conditions and they parted, with Frederick travelling to Swedish-occupied Mainz
, intending to return to The Hague
.
Gustavus Adolphus was killed at the Battle of Lützen (1632)
on 16 November 1632. About this time, the English finally determined to send an expeditionary force to participate in the Thirty Years' War. Unfortunately for Frederick, it was too late. Beginning in October 1632, he had suffered from an infection that got worse in the following weeks. The famed physician Peter Spina was summoned from Darmstadt to Mainz, but nothing could be done for Frederick. Frederick died on the morning of 29 November 1632, of a "pestilential fever".
Frederick's son and heir, Charles Louis
. was only 15 years old. Therefore Frederick's brother (Charles Louis' uncle), Ludwig Philipp of Pfalz-Simmern-Kaiserslautern, served as regent. Frederick's internal organs were buried at St. Catherine's in Oppenheim
and his embalmed body was taken to Frankenthal
. On 9 June 1635, with Spanish troops approaching, Ludwig Philipp of Pfalz-Simmern-Kaiserslautern fled to Kaiserslautern
with Frederick's body. It is believed that Ludwig Philipp of Pfalz-Simmern-Kaiserslautern transferred Frederick's body to the Sedan in September 1637, but Frederick's final resting place is unknown.
, the daughter of James VI of Scotland and of Anne of Denmark
in the Chapel Royal
, Whitehall
on 14 February 1613 and had the following children:
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
: Zimní král; German: Winterkönig).
Frederick was born at the (a hunting lodge) near Amberg
Amberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
in the Upper Palatinate
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...
. He was the son and heir of Frederick IV
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine , only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" .-Life:Born in Amberg, his father died in October 1583 and...
and of Louise Juliana of Nassau
Louise Juliana of Nassau
Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau was the eldest daughter of prince William of Orange and his third spouse Charlotte of Bourbon.-Biography:...
, the daughter of William the Silent
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
and Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier
Charlotte of Bourbon
Charlotte of Bourbon , was the fourth daughter of Louis, Duke of Montpensier and Jacqueline de Longwy, Countess of Bar-sur-Seine...
. He – an intellectual, a mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, and a Calvinist – succeeded his father as Prince-Elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
of the Rhenish Palatinate in 1610. He was responsible for the construction of the famous Hortus Palatinus
Hortus Palatinus
The Hortus Palatinus, or Garden of the Palatinate, was a Baroque garden in the Italian Renaissance style attached to Heidelberg Castle, Germany. The garden was commissioned by Frederick V, Elector Palatine in 1614 for his new wife, Elizabeth Stuart, and became famous across Europe during the 17th...
gardens in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
.
In 1618 the Protestant estates of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
rebelled against the Roman Catholic King Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand 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 :...
and offered the crown of Bohemia to Frederick, choosing him since he was the leader of the Protestant Union
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union or Evangelical Union was a coalition of Protestant German states that was formed in 1608 to defend the rights, lands and person of each member....
, a military alliance founded by his father. Frederick duly accepted the crown (coronation on 4 November 1619), which triggered the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
Frederick's father-in-law, James VI of Scotland and I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, opposed the takeover of Bohemia from the Habsburgs. Additionally, Frederick's allies in the Protestant Union failed to support him militarily by signing the Treaty of Ulm (1620)
Treaty of Ulm (1620)
The Treaty of Ulm was signed on 3 July 1620 between representatives of the Catholic League and the Protestant Union. Based on the terms of the accord, the Protestant Union declared neutrality and ceased its support of Frederick V of Bohemia.-External links:*...
. His brief reign as King of Bohemia ended with his defeat at the Battle of White Mountain
Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval,...
on 8 November 1620 – a year and four days after his coronation. This earned him the derisive nickname of 'the Winter King'. After this battle, the Imperial forces invaded
Palatinate campaign
The Palatinate Campaign or the Spanish conquest of the Palatinate, were a series of sieges, battles and conquests of the Bohemian Revolt in the Thirty Years' War, that were carried out by Spain's Tercios of the Army of Flanders, under Don Ambrosio Spinola, and the Spanish-Imperial troops under the...
Frederick's Palatinate lands and he had to flee to Holland in 1622. An Imperial edict formally deprived him of the Palatinate in 1623. He lived the rest of his life in exile with his wife and family, mostly at the Hague, and died in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
in 1632.
His eldest surviving son Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles Louis, , Elector Palatine KG was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England ....
returned to power in 1648 with the end of the war. His daughter Princess Sophia
Sophia of Hanover
Sophia of the Palatinate was an heiress to the crowns of England and Ireland and later the crown of Great Britain. She was declared heiress presumptive by the Act of Settlement 1701...
was eventually named heiress presumptive to the British throne, and was the founder of the Hanoverian
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
line of kings.
Youth, 1596–1610
Amberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
in the Upper Palatinate
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...
. His father, Frederick IV
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine , only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" .-Life:Born in Amberg, his father died in October 1583 and...
was the ruler of Electoral Palatinate; his mother was Louise Juliana of Nassau
Louise Juliana of Nassau
Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau was the eldest daughter of prince William of Orange and his third spouse Charlotte of Bourbon.-Biography:...
, the daughter of William I of Orange and Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier
Charlotte of Bourbon
Charlotte of Bourbon , was the fourth daughter of Louis, Duke of Montpensier and Jacqueline de Longwy, Countess of Bar-sur-Seine...
. A member of the House of Palatinate-Simmern, Frederick was related to almost all of the leading families of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and a number of diplomats and dignitaries attended his baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
at Amberg
Amberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
on 6 October 1596. The House of Palatinate-Simmern, a cadet branch
Cadet branch
Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have...
of the House of Wittelsbach, was noted for its attachment to Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
; this was in marked contrast to the wider House of Wittelsbach, headed by Duke Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....
, which was deeply devoted to the Roman Catholic Church.
The capital of the Electoral Palatinate, Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, was suffering from an outbreak of Bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
at this time, so Frederick spent his first two years in the Upper Palatinate before being brought to Heidelberg in 1598. In 1604, at his mother's urging, he was sent to Sedan to live in the court of his uncle Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon. During his time at Sedan, Frederick was a frequent visitor to the court of Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
. His tutor was Calvinist theologian Daniel Tilenius, a professor of theology at the Academy of Sedan
Academy of Sedan
The Academy of Sedan was a Huguenot academy in Sedan, founded in 1579 and suppressed in 1681. It was one of the main centres for the production of Reformed pastors in France for a hundred years.-History:...
. During the Eighty Years' War and the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
, Tilenius called for the unity of Protestant princes, and taught that it was their Christian duty to intervene if their brethren were being harassed. These views are likely to have shaped Frederick's future policies.
Controversy over guardianship, 1610–1614
Under the terms of the Golden Bull of 1356
Golden Bull of 1356
The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Reichstag assembly in Nuremberg headed by the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire...
, Frederick's closest male relative would serve as his guardian
Legal guardian
A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity, or disability...
and as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of Electoral Palatinate until Frederick reached the age of majority. However, his nearest male relative, Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg, was a Catholic, so, shortly before his death, Frederick IV had named John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
John II the Younger was the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1604 until 1635.-Life:John was born in Bergzabern in 1584 as the eldest son of John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife, Magdalene. He succeeded his father in 1604. In 1606 he acquired the County of Bischweiler in Alsace...
as his son's guardian.
In fall 1610, Frederick V – now returned to Heidelberg – welcomed John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken in Heidelberg as his new guardian; Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg was not allowed to enter Heidelberg.
This created a heated dispute amongst the families of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1613, Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias of Austria was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611...
intervened in the dispute, with the result being that Frederick V was able to begin his personal rule in the Electoral Palatinate even though he was still underage. The dispute was ended in 1614, when Frederick reached the age of majority upon his eighteenth birthday. However, much bad blood among the houses was caused by this dispute, and the senior House of Wittelsbach re-asserted its claims over the Electoral Palatinate at this time.
Marriage to Elizabeth Stuart
Frederick IV's marriage policy had been designed to solidify Electoral Palatinate's position within the Reformed camp in Europe. Two of Frederick V's sisters were married to leading Protestant princes: his sister Luise Juliane to his one-time guardian John II, Count Palatine of ZweibrückenJohn II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
John II the Younger was the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1604 until 1635.-Life:John was born in Bergzabern in 1584 as the eldest son of John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife, Magdalene. He succeeded his father in 1604. In 1606 he acquired the County of Bischweiler in Alsace...
, and his sister Elizabeth Charlotte to George William, Elector of Brandenburg
George William, Elector of Brandenburg
George William of Brandenburg , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was margrave and elector of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia from 1619 until his death. His reign was marked by ineffective governance during the Thirty Years' War...
. Frederick IV had hoped that his daughter Katharina Sofie would marry the future Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
, although this never came to pass.
In keeping with his father's policy, Frederick V sought a marriage to Elizabeth Stuart
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
, daughter of James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. However, Frederick was only an Elector, and it was likely that James would seek to marry his daughter to a king. James had initially considered marrying Elizabeth to Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
, but these plans were rejected by his advisers. Frederick's advisers in the Electoral Palatinate were worried that if Elizabeth Stuart were married to a Catholic prince, this would upset the confessional balance of Europe, and they were thus determined that she would marry Frederick V. Hans Meinhard von Schönberg
Hans Meinhard von Schönberg
Count Hans Meinhard von Schönberg auf Wesel was a German nobleman and soldier, who served as the hofmeister of Frederick V, Elector Palatine....
, who had served as Frederick V's hofmeister
Hofmeister (office)
In medieval Europe, a Hofmeister was a house tutor, also responsible for the care of his students beyond their education....
since his return to Heidelberg, was sent to London to court the princess in spring 1612. After intense negotiations, a marriage contract was signed on 26 May 1612, over the objection of the queen, Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
.
Frederick travelled to London to retrieve his bride, landing on English soil on 6 October 1612. Frederick and Elizabeth, who had previously corresponded in French, now met each other for the first time, and got on well together. They were formally engaged in January 1613. They were subsequently married on 14 February 1613 at the royal chapel at the Palace of Whitehall
Palace of Whitehall
The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire...
. The event was celebrated in John Donne's
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
poetic masterpiece Epithalamion, or Mariage Song on the Lady Elizabeth, and Count Palatine being married on St. Valentines Day. Shortly before the ceremony, Frederick was inducted into the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
and he wore the Order's chain during the wedding ceremony. Elaborate celebrations, organised by Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
, followed the ceremony; these included a performance of The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn
The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn
The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn was a Jacobean era masque, written by Francis Beaumont. It was performed on 20 February 1613 in the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace, as part of the elaborate wedding festivities surrounding the marriage of Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of King...
by Francis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher....
and The Memorable Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn
The Memorable Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn
The Memorable Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn was a Jacobean era masque, written by George Chapman, and with costumes, sets, and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones...
by George Chapman
George Chapman
George Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
.
On their return trip to Heidelberg, Frederick and Elizabeth travelled to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
to visit Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange was sovereign Prince of Orange from 1618, on the death of his eldest half brother, Philip William, Prince of Orange,...
before leaving for Germany on 5 May 1613. The couple entered Heidelberg on 12 June 1613, amidst widespread celebration. Elizabeth was popular with her new subjects, and this popularity grew when, on 1 January 1614, she gave birth to a son, Frederick Henry.
As part of the marriage negotiations, Frederick had agreed to expand Heidelberg Castle
Heidelberg Castle
The Heidelberg Castle is a famous ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps....
. These renovations were completed in 1615 and the "Elizabeth Entrance" to Heidelberg Castle was dedicated.
Electoral reign before the Thirty Years' War, 1614–1618
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union or Evangelical Union was a coalition of Protestant German states that was formed in 1608 to defend the rights, lands and person of each member....
. During this meeting, Frederick was struck by a fever and nearly died. This illness changed his personality profoundly: in the wake of the illness, contemporaries described him as melancholy and possibly depressed. As such, Frederick placed large amounts of responsibility in his chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
, Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg.
Frederick undertook a large building campaign, designed to glorify his regime. In addition to the renovations to Heidelberg Castle
Heidelberg Castle
The Heidelberg Castle is a famous ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps....
mentioned above, Frederick commissioned a new courtyard garden, the Hortus Palatinus
Hortus Palatinus
The Hortus Palatinus, or Garden of the Palatinate, was a Baroque garden in the Italian Renaissance style attached to Heidelberg Castle, Germany. The garden was commissioned by Frederick V, Elector Palatine in 1614 for his new wife, Elizabeth Stuart, and became famous across Europe during the 17th...
, designed by English gardener Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
and French engineer Salomon de Caus
Salomon de Caus
Salomon de Caus was a French engineer and once credited with the development of the steam engine.Salomon was the elder brother of Isaac de Caus. Being a Huguenot, he spent his life moving across Europe....
. Frederick was depicted as Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
and as Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
.
Politically, Frederick positioned himself as a leader of the Protestant princes in the Holy Roman Empire, and as a defender of the liberty of the German nobles against the Catholic emperor, Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias of Austria was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611...
. Since the Peace of Augsburg
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
, the Holy Roman Empire had been delicately balanced between Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist principalities (although Calvinism was not recognised in the Peace of Augsburg). The conflicts between princes of these three faiths developed into a deep struggle over the constitution of the Holy Roman Empire. Furthermore, the Twelve Years' Truce
Twelve Years' Truce
The Twelve Years' Truce was the name given to the cessation of hostilities between the Habsburg rulers of Spain and the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic as agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609. It was a watershed in the Eighty Years' War, marking the point from which the independence of the...
, a hiatus in the Eighty Years' War, was set to expire in 1621, and would probably lead to renewed fighting between the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
and the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
.
With its central location in Germany, the Electoral Palatinate was vulnerable to incursions of imperial troops from the Habsburg hereditary lands. Unlike many other principalities of the Holy Roman Empire, Electoral Palatinate was not a closed dominion, but instead consisted of two unconnected provinces surrounded by foreign lands. Lower Palatinate centred on Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, while Upper Palatinate
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...
centred on Amberg
Amberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
. Lower Palatinate's economy was dominated by agriculture, while Upper Palatinate was a mining region with one of the most successful economies in Europe.
Background and plans
The Kingdom of BohemiaKingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
was an elective monarchy
Elective monarchy
An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...
, and, in spite of the high title of a kingdom, was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Since 1526, the Kings of Bohemia had all been members of the House of Habsburg; since 1555, these Kings had also been Holy Roman Emperors. In the early seventeenth century, however, Bohemia faced a political crisis. The Estates of the realm
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
of Bohemia became worried that the Habsburgs were planning to transform Bohemia into an absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
. A large number of Bohemian nobles were Protestant and they feared that a Catholic emperor would attempt to impose Catholicism on Bohemia. Thus, a substantial opposition movement developed in opposition to Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...
. Rudolf had waged a war against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
– known as the Long War
Long War (Ottoman wars)
The Long War took place from 1591 or 1593 to 1604 or 1606 and was one of the numerous military conflicts between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire that developed after the Battle of Mohács.- History :The major participants of this war were the Habsburg Monarchy ,...
– from 1593 to 1606. Dissatisfied with the outcome of the Long War, Rudolf sought to launch a new war against the Ottomans. To gain Bohemian support for this war, Rudolf agreed to guarantee Bohemian religious liberty, issuing his so-called Letter of Majesty in 1609. Still, the Bohemian nobles remained suspicious of Rudolf and were in contact with the Protestant Union
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union or Evangelical Union was a coalition of Protestant German states that was formed in 1608 to defend the rights, lands and person of each member....
.
The Bohemian Estates elected Matthias
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias of Austria was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611...
as Rudolf's heir and when Rudolf died in 1611, Matthias became King of Bohemia. As early as 1612, there was discussion within the Protestant Union about fielding a Protestant candidate to become King of Bohemia, and Frederick's name was discussed in this regard. Strategists at the Palatinate believed that if Frederick became King of Bohemia, this would lead John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
to break his alliance with the Habsburgs and come fully to the Protestant cause. This assumption would later prove to be unfounded.
Meanwhile, the sectarian conflicts in Bohemia continued. In 1617, Matthias prevailed on the Bohemian Estates to elect Ferdinand, Duke of Styria
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand 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 :...
as heir to the throne of Bohemia. Ferdinand was an intensely loyal Catholic, and many Protestant noblemen believed that Ferdinand intended to withdraw the protections of Rudolf II's Letter of Majesty. These suspicions were further aroused when imperial officials ordered Protestants to stop erecting Protestant churches on the land of the prince of the church
Prince of the Church
The term Prince of the Church is nowadays used nearly exclusively for Catholic Cardinals. However the term is historically more important as a generic term for clergymen whose offices hold the secular rank and privilege of a prince or are considered its equivalent...
or Stifts, which the Protestants claimed to be comprised under the term "royal land" (the Stifts did not belong to the Bohemian Estates) which was open to them due to the Letter of Majesty – a very disputed legal interpretation of which the government disapproved. On 23 May 1618, an assembly of Protestant noblemen, led by Count Jindrich Matyas Thurn
Jindrich Matyas Thurn
Jindřich Matyáš Thurn-Valsassina , was a leading Bohemian nobleman, one of leaders against Ferdinand II of Bohemia and in events that led to the Thirty Years War, and in the end a...
, stormed Prague Castle
Prague Castle
Prague Castle is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here...
, and tried two Imperial governors, Vilem Slavata of Chlum
Vilem Slavata of Chlum
Vilém Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka was a Czech nobleman from old Bohemian family. As viceregent of Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg he became famous as co-victim, along with Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice, of the 1618 Defenestration of Prague.-Life:Vilém was born at his family's estates in...
and Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice with violating the Letter of Majesty, found them guilty, and threw them, together with their scribe Philip Fabricius, out of the windows of the Bohemian Chancellery. This event – known as the Second Defenestration of Prague – marked the beginning of the Bohemian Revolt, and with it, the beginning of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
In these circumstances, Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, Frederick V's governor of the Upper Palatinate, moved to intervene in Bohemia. He did not initially propose nominating Frederick as King of Bohemia because the young elector was still seen as politically inexperienced and he was a Calvinist, while there were virtually no Calvinists in Bohemia. At any rate, Frederick was not initially eager to defy the emperor, who had praised Frederick's loyalty. Frederick did not publicly break with the emperor, but in a letter to his father-in-law, James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, he placed the blame for the Bohemian vote on the Jesuits and the Spanish party at the Habsburg court. This is a questionable evasion of Frederick's own agents.
The first mention in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
of Frederick's name as a possible candidate as King of Bohemia came in November 1618. It is not known if Frederick's agents played a role in talking up his possible candidacy. Palatine diplomat Christoph von Dohna
Christoph von Dohna
Burgrave Christopher von Dohna was a German politician and scholar during the time of the Thirty Years' War...
approached James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
with the possibility of Frederick becoming King of Bohemia, but James reacted negatively to this idea. The princes of the Protestant Union
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union or Evangelical Union was a coalition of Protestant German states that was formed in 1608 to defend the rights, lands and person of each member....
similarly rejected the idea, fearing it might lead to religious war. John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
was staunchly opposed to the idea.
Behind the scenes, Frederick authorised sending a force under Ernst von Mansfeld
Ernst von Mansfeld
Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld , was a German military commander during the early years of the Thirty Years' War.-Biography:...
to support the Bohemian rebels. In August 1618, forces under Mansfeld entered Bohemia and led the Siege of Pilsen, which saw Pilsen fall to rebel forces on 21 November 1618, leaving the entire kingdom in Protestant hands.
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Matthias of Austria was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611...
died on 20 March 1619. Although his successor, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand 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 :...
, had previously been crowned King of Bohemia, the Estates of Bohemia now refused to recognise Ferdinand as their king. Fearing an invasion by Imperial forces the Estates of Bohemia sought an alliance with the other members of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown
Lands of the Bohemian Crown
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown , also called the Lands of the Crown of Saint Wenceslas or simply the Bohemian Crown or Czech Crown lands , refers to the area connected by feudal relations under the joint rule of the Bohemian kings...
(Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
) and on 31 July 1619 at Prague, these states formed the Bohemian Confederacy, dedicated to opposing the Habsburgs; under the terms of this agreement, Protestantism became virtually the state religion of the Bohemian lands. In August 1619, the general parliament of all the Bohemian lands declared that Ferdinand had forfeited the Bohemian throne. This formally severed all ties between Bohemia and the Habsburgs and made war inevitable. Ferdinand of Bavaria
Ferdinand of Bavaria
-Biography:Ferdinand was born in Munich, one of the sons of William V, Duke of Bavaria.His parents decided early that he would have church life, and they sent him to the Jesuit school at Ingolstadt for education in early 1587. He quickly became a canon in: Mainz, Cologne, Würzburg, Trier, Salzburg,...
, Archbishop of Cologne predicted this decision would lead to twenty, forty, or sixty years of war.
The preferred candidate of Bohemians as their new king was John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
, but John George let it be known he would not accept the throne. This left Frederick as the most senior Protestant prince since no one else was willing to risk conflict with the emperor. In August 1619, the chances of Frederick becoming King of Bohemia became greater when Gabriel Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen was a prince of Transylvania , duke of Opole and leader of an anti-Habsburg insurrection in the Habsburg Royal Hungary. His last armed intervention in 1626 was part of the Thirty Years' War...
launched an anti-Habsburg revolt in Royal Hungary
Royal Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
. This was also precisely the period when Ferdinand was travelling to Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
for his coronation.
Frederick in Prague
On 26 August 1619, the states of the Bohemian Confederacy elected Frederick as new King of Bohemia; Frederick first learned of his election on 29 August in AmbergAmberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
.
Two days later, Ferdinand II was elected as Holy Roman Emperor. Frederick was the only elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
who voted against Ferdinand; even the Protestant electors John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg
John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg
John Sigismund was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from the House of Hohenzollern. He also served as a Duke of Prussia.-Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia:...
voted for Ferdinand. The electoral college also condemned the Bohemian Confederation's attempt to remove Ferdinand from the throne of Bohemia and declared that the 1617 vote of the Estates of Bohemia making Ferdinand King of Bohemia was binding.
Frederick's decision to accept the Bohemian crown has been the subject of much historical speculation. Later Catholic propaganda, in a view later accepted by Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, portrayed the decision as based mainly on Elizabeth Stuart's desire to be a queen. More recently, historians have concluded that Frederick's decision was based primarily on a sense of his duty to fellow Protestants, although Frederick wavered between his duty of loyalty to the emperor and his sense of duty to his religious brethren. There also seem to have been economic considerations: the Upper Palatinate was at that time the European iron center, while Bohemia was a focal point for the tin and glass trade: Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg told Frederick that a union of the two areas could be financially advantageous.
On 12 September 1619, the Protestant Union
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union or Evangelical Union was a coalition of Protestant German states that was formed in 1608 to defend the rights, lands and person of each member....
met at Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken , the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City...
and called on Frederick not to intervene in Bohemian affairs. Other possible allies – the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
, Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel I , known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630...
, and the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
– sent letters saying they would not be able to offer Frederick assistance if he accepted the Bohemian offer; only Gabriel Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen was a prince of Transylvania , duke of Opole and leader of an anti-Habsburg insurrection in the Habsburg Royal Hungary. His last armed intervention in 1626 was part of the Thirty Years' War...
offered words of encouragement.
Between 24 September and 28, Frederick reached his decision "not to resist the will of the Almighty" and thus decided to accept the Bohemian crown. The Dutch Republic, the Republic of Venice, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
recognised Frederick as King of Bohemia.
On 29 September 1619, Frederick left Heidelberg for Prague. He travelled through Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
, Amberg
Amberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
, Neumarkt, and Waldsassen
Waldsassen
Waldsassen is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth bordering the Czech Republic in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria.As of June 2005, Waldsassen had a population of 7,483....
, where he was met by representatives from the Bohemian Estates. Together, they then travelled through Cheb
Cheb
Cheb is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře , at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany...
, Sokolov
Sokolov (Sokolov District)
Sokolov , Falknov nad Ohří until 1948 is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, located to the north-east of Cheb. It has about 28,000 inhabitants....
, Žatec
Žatec
Žatec is an old town in the Czech Republic, in Louny District, Ústí nad Labem Region. It has a population of 19,813 .The earliest historical reference to Sacz is in the Latin chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg of 1004. During the 11th century it belonged to the Vršovci - a powerful Czech...
, Louny
Louny
Louny is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It is situated on the River Ohře.-History:The city was founded in the 12th century . The Church of St Peter stands on the site of the original fort...
, and Slaný
Slaný
The Royal town1 of Slaný is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, located about 25 km northwest of Prague. The town is part of the Prague metropolitan area....
. Finally on 31 October 1619, Frederick entered Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, along with 568 people and 100 cars, and was greeted enthusiastically.
Coronation
Frederick was crowned with the Crown of Saint WenceslasCrown of Saint Wenceslas
Crown of Saint Wenceslas is the part of Bohemian crown jewels made in 1347. The eleventh king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV had it made for his coronation and forthwith he dedicated it to the first patron saint of the country St...
in St. Vitus Cathedral
St. Vitus Cathedral
Saint Vitus' Cathedral is as a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral...
on 4 November 1619. The coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
was conducted not by the Archbishop of Prague
Archbishop of Prague
The following is a list of bishops and archbishops of Prague. The bishopric of Prague was established in 973, and elevated to an archbishopric on 30 April 1344. The today's Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Prague is the continual successor of the bishoprie established in 973...
but by the Utraquist administrator of the diocese, Georg Dicastus, and a Protestant elder, Johannes Cyrill von Třebič. The liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
was modelled on that used at the coronation of Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
, with only a few parts altered. The litany
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
was sung – per the Catholic tradition – rather than spoken as was normally done by the Calvinists. Frederick was anointed
Anointing
To anoint is to pour or smear with perfumed oil, milk, water, melted butter or other substances, a process employed ritually by many religions. People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit, power or God...
with little objection. At the end of the coronation, the Estates paid homage
Homage (medieval)
Homage in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position . It was a symbolic acknowledgment to the lord that the vassal was, literally, his man . The oath known as...
to Frederick.
Although a large part of the country was already devastated by war, and many refugees were encamped in the town, the coronation was celebrated with lavish parties.
Reign
Frederick assumed a weak crown and a state torn with internal divisions. The state's finances had been disrupted for years, and, at any rate, Bohemian kings had only very limited ability to raise funds, being primarily dependent on the goodwill of the nobility and the tax allocations of the dietsDiet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
. The Protestant nobles felt that higher taxes were necessary to pay for war against the German Catholic League
Catholic League (German)
The German Catholic League was initially a loose confederation of Roman Catholic German states formed on July 10, 1609 to counteract the Protestant Union , whereby the participating states concluded an alliance "for the defence of the Catholic religion and peace within the Empire." Modeled...
, but the country already felt overburdened in the wake of the Long War
Long War (Ottoman wars)
The Long War took place from 1591 or 1593 to 1604 or 1606 and was one of the numerous military conflicts between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire that developed after the Battle of Mohács.- History :The major participants of this war were the Habsburg Monarchy ,...
. Further limiting Frederick's ability to manoeuvre was the need to distribute royal bounty to supporters in order to ensure their loyalty to his regime.
In Prague, Frederick soon came to be alienated from a portion of the nobility and the clergy. Neither Frederick nor his wife spoke Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, so court offices were staffed primarily with foreigners, while the administration of the localities was left to the local nobles. This made an alliance of the royal family with the corporate bodies of the realm difficult.
Further alienation was caused by Frederick V's court preacher, Abraham Scultetus
Abraham Scultetus
Abraham Scultetus was a German professor of theology, and the court preacher for the Elector of the Palatinate Frederick V.- Early life :...
, who was determined to use his new post to advance the cause of Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
in Bohemia. The Utraquist churches had retained the use of relics and images in church, but Scultetus now launched an iconoclastic crusade against images: beginning on 21 December 1619, images were removed from St. Vitus Cathedral
St. Vitus Cathedral
Saint Vitus' Cathedral is as a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral...
, and on 27–28 December, a famous altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
by Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger was a German Renaissance artist, known for his woodcuts and paintings.He was the youngest son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Barbara Brengebier, and began his career as an apprentice in his father's workshop alongside his brother Hans. Henceforth, his own reputation and...
depicting the Virgin Mary was destroyed. There was even a rumour that the grave of St. Wenceslaus was to be desecrated. Scultetus' iconoclasm was deeply unpopular, and Frederick attempted to distance himself from it, claiming that his orders were not being carried out by his followers.
The nickname "The Winter King" appeared shortly after the beginning of Frederick's reign and our first printed reference using the term came in a 1619 Imperial pamphlet that presented the phrase in the context of a royal chronogram
Chronogram
A chronogram is a sentence or inscription in which specific letters, interpreted as numerals, stand for a particular date when rearranged. The word, meaning "time writing", derives from the Greek words chronos and gramma . In the pure chronogram each word contains a numeral, the natural chronogram...
. Frederick's propagandists attempted to respond to the phrase by arguing that Frederick was in fact a "Winter Lion" who defended the crown of Bohemia against troublemakers and liars, and that he would also be a "Summer Lion."
Meanwhile, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand 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 :...
rallied his forces against Frederick. On 21 October 1619, he signed a treaty with Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....
, leader of the Catholic League
Catholic League (German)
The German Catholic League was initially a loose confederation of Roman Catholic German states formed on July 10, 1609 to counteract the Protestant Union , whereby the participating states concluded an alliance "for the defence of the Catholic religion and peace within the Empire." Modeled...
. This treaty provided that Maximilian would be commander of the forces against Frederick and promised that Maximilian would be able to retain all of the occupied Bohemian lands for himself and would be granted Frederick's electoral title as well. The emperor was also able to obtain the support of John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
; John George's court preacher, Matthias Hoe von Hoenegg
Matthias Hoe von Hoenegg
Matthias Hoë von Hoënegg was a German Lutheran theologian.- Life :Matthias's father was Leonhard Höe von Höenegg, a Lutheran imperial councillor and doctor of law descended from old Austrian nobility. Matthias was born prematurely and so his health was weak during his early years, meaning he only...
, encouraged the emperor to smash Frederick and the Bohemians.
Frederick's chancellor, Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, urged Frederick to call a meeting of Protestant princes at Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
in December 1619. This conference was a fiasco, as few princes bothered to send representatives. John George of Saxony declined to send a representative. Those who did attend halfheartedly promised to secure Frederick's Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
territories during Frederick's absence in Bohemia.
In March 1620, during a meeting of the Imperial party at Mulhouse
Mulhouse
Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...
, Frederick despatched a legal defense of his actions. He argued that he had not broken the imperial peace because Bohemia was located outside of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and there was not, therefore, a conflict between an imperial prince and the emperor. Frederick argued that it would therefore be illegal for Ferdinand to use imperial power against him. This meeting, which included John George of Saxony and Maximilian of Bavaria, rejected Frederick's argument, finding that Bohemia was an indivisible part of the empire.
On 1 April 1620, the Imperial party issued an ultimatum calling on Frederick to leave Bohemia by 1 June. If Frederick did not comply by this date, Ferdinand threatened to use force to enforce his right as Holy Roman Emperor and rightful King of Bohemia to overthrow the usurper
Usurper
Usurper is a derogatory term used to describe either an illegitimate or controversial claimant to the power; often, but not always in a monarchy, or a person who succeeds in establishing himself as a monarch without inheriting the throne, or any other person exercising authority unconstitutionally...
.
A little later, John George of Saxony signed a treaty with Ferdinand in which Ferdinand guaranteed the practice of Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
in Bohemia and recognized the secular areas in the Netherlands. Ferdinand also agreed to give John George Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
, thus cementing John George's dominance of the Upper Saxon Circle
Upper Saxon Circle
The Upper Saxon Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire, created in 1512.The circle was dominated by the electorate of Saxony and the electorate of Brandenburg. It further comprised the Saxon Ernestine duchies and Pomerania...
.
This was the context when the parliament of the Bohemian Confederacy met on 25 March 1620. Frederick called for massive tax increases and conscription to fight the impending Imperial threat. To raise money for the Bohemian forces, Frederick used his private funds, pawned his jewels and, in May 1620, drove the Electoral Palatinate into insolvency when he decided to move two tons of gold to Bohemia.
Bad news continued to arrive for Frederick. James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
refused to support his son-in-law militarily. The Netherlands sent only a small force and promised only 50,000 florins a month for Frederick. Worst of all for Frederick, on 3 July 1620, the Protestant Union
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union or Evangelical Union was a coalition of Protestant German states that was formed in 1608 to defend the rights, lands and person of each member....
signed the Treaty of Ulm (1620)
Treaty of Ulm (1620)
The Treaty of Ulm was signed on 3 July 1620 between representatives of the Catholic League and the Protestant Union. Based on the terms of the accord, the Protestant Union declared neutrality and ceased its support of Frederick V of Bohemia.-External links:*...
, thereby withdrawing their support for Frederick and declaring neutrality in the conflict between Frederick and the Catholic League.
Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620
With the signing of the Treaty of Ulm, Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases began raising Imperial troops in the Spanish Netherlands and in the AlsaceAlsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
region.
In early August 1620, 25,000 trooops, under the command of Spinola marched into Bohemia. In the third week of August, they shifted their focus and marched into the nearly unarmed Electoral Palatinate, occupying Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. The Electoral Palatinate was defended by only 2,000 English volunteers and the country was easily taken. Imperial troops set up camp in Frankenthal
Frankenthal
Frankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
and Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
. Spinola crossed the Rhine on 5 September 1620 and proceeded to capture Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach is the capital of the district of Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located on the Nahe river, a tributary of the Rhine...
on 10 September and Oppenheim
Oppenheim
Oppenheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is well known as a wine town, the site of the German Winegrowing Museum and particularly for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbrunnen vineyards.- Location :...
on 14 September. From Bohemia, Frederick was powerless to stop the occupation of his ancestral homeland.
After capturing Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
, Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
, Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....
crossed the Bohemian border on 26 September 1620. At Rokycany
Rokycany
Rokycany , is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It lies to the East from the region capital of Pilsen on the confluence of the River Klabava and the Holoubkov Brook . Alternatively, the Holoubkovský potok is referred to as the Borecký potok and the section of the Klabava River down...
, Maximilian's forces first met with the 15,000 ragtag, poorly paid, poorly equipped troops that Frederick had managed to raise. Frederick visited his army on 28 September 1620, but, lacking a military background, left the conduct of the war to his generals. Frederick focused his attention on organizing supplies and preparing fortifications.
After a series of skirmishes, on 5 November 1620, Frederick drew his forces back towards Prague and Imperial troops followed them. On 7 November, Bohemian forces determined to make a stand at White Mountain
Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval,...
, just outside of Prague. The day before King Frederick had ridden down the lines, and exhorted the soldiers. He then rushed to Prague to implore the Bohemian Estates to raise money for his troops and to receive the envoys of the English king. However, it was too late. When, on 8 November 1620, Frederick wanted to ride back to the troops, he was met at the gate of Prague by fleeing soldiers of his army and his chancellor, Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, who informed him of the disaster: the Bohemian army had received a crushing defeat that morning in the Battle of White Mountain
Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval,...
.
Escape
Christian could recommend only one option to Frederick: immediate flight. As such, on 9 November, Frederick fled to the SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n capital of Breslau, along with his wife, some advisers, and not much more baggage than the Czech Crown Jewels.
Maximilian took Prague shortly after Frederick's departure. From Silesia, Frederick wanted to plan revenge for the Battle of White Mountain, but the Silesian Estates refused to support this project, and he was forced to leave Silesia in early 1621.
Contemporary pamphleteers – both Catholic and Protestant – were merciless in their portrayal of Frederick's flight from Prague. After Frederick's Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
was found in Prague, pamphleteers routinely portrayed him with his stockings falling down.
On 21 January 1621, Ferdinand issued a decree against Frederick and Christian, accusing them of breach of peace, supporting rebels, and treason. Ferdinand decreed that Frederick's lands and titles within the Holy Roman Empire were now forfeited. On 6 February 1621, representatives of the Protestant Union met with Ferdinand at Heilbronn
Heilbronn
Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
to protest, but they soon agreed to support the settlement in the Palatinate, and the Palatinate remained occupied by Spanish troops. At this point, the Protestant Union had essentially ceased to exist.
The Twelve Years' Truce
Twelve Years' Truce
The Twelve Years' Truce was the name given to the cessation of hostilities between the Habsburg rulers of Spain and the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic as agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609. It was a watershed in the Eighty Years' War, marking the point from which the independence of the...
ended on 9 April 1621. On 14 April, Frederick joined his wife at The Hague. The Dutch Republic and Frederick signed a contract in which he accepted the support of the Netherlands for the reconquest of his dominions.
In Bohemia, the crushing of the Bohemian Revolt had terrible consequences. Twenty-eight Bohemian nobles were executed at Old Town Hall (Prague) on 21 June 1621, and the heads of twelve of them, along with the hand of Joachim Andreas von Schlick
Joachim Andreas von Schlick
Joachim Andreas von Schlick, Count of Passaun and Weißkirchen was one of the leaders of the Protestant estates general in Bohemia. He was executed in Prague in 1621....
were nailed to the Old Town Tower of Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century...
, where they remained for ten years. The elective monarchy was now abolished; the role of the Estates greatly curtailed; and the Letter of Majesty was torn by Ferdinand himself. Only Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
remained tolerated in Bohemia, and in the coming years, the rest of the population would be actively re-Catholicized. Bohemia would remain part of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
until 1918.
Fall of Frederick's ancestral lands, 1621–22
In summer 1621, John II, Count Palatine of ZweibrückenJohn II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
John II the Younger was the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1604 until 1635.-Life:John was born in Bergzabern in 1584 as the eldest son of John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife, Magdalene. He succeeded his father in 1604. In 1606 he acquired the County of Bischweiler in Alsace...
, Frederick's former guardian who had served as regent of the Electoral Palatinate when Frederick left for Prague, resigned.
However, Ernst von Mansfeld
Ernst von Mansfeld
Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld , was a German military commander during the early years of the Thirty Years' War.-Biography:...
continued to occupy a portion of the Upper Palatinate
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...
and had successfully resisted efforts by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly to dislodge him. Mansfeld crossed into Rhenish Palatinate in early 1622, and on 21 April 1622, Frederick joined Mansfeld there. Frederick attempted to convince other Protestant princes to reconstitute the Protestant Union, but met with limited success. Frederick's cause was boosted by an 27 April 1622 victory over Tilly's forces at the Battle of Wiesloch
Battle of Wiesloch
The Battle of Mingolsheim was fought on April 27, 1622, near the German village of Wiesloch, 14 miles south of Heidelberg , between a Protestant army under General von Mansfeld and the margrave of Baden against a Roman Catholic army under Count Tilly.Early in the spring of 1621, mercenary forces...
near Wiesloch
Wiesloch
Wiesloch is a city in Germany, in northern Baden-Württemberg. It is situated 13 kilometres south of Heidelberg.After Weinheim, Sinsheim and Leimen it is the fourth largest city of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and is in the north-central area near Heidelberg with its neighbouring town Walldorf...
, but this boost was short lived. Frederick's forces under the command of Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach
Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach
George Frederick of Baden-Durlach was Margrave of Baden-Durlach from 1604 until his abdication in 1622. He also ruled Baden-Baden....
were defeated at the Battle of Wimpfen
Battle of Wimpfen
The Battle of Wimpfen was a battle in the Bohemian Revolt period of the Thirty Years' War on 6 May 1622 near Wimpfen. The forces of the Holy Roman Empire and Catholic League under Marshal Tilly and Gonzalo de Córdoba defeated the Protestant forces of General Ernst von Mansfeld and Georg Friedrich,...
on 6 May 1622; and then forces under Christian the Younger of Brunswick were soundly defeated at the Battle of Höchst
Battle of Höchst
The Battle of Höchst was fought on June 20, 1622, between the combined army led by Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly and Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba against Protestant forces led by Christian of Brunswick. It was a strategic Roman Catholic victory....
on 20 June 1622.
Frederick was increasingly under Mansfeld's influence at this time, and was growing disillusioned with the Protestant cause. With Frederick's knowledge, Mansfeld raided Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
and captured Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1596 to 1626.He was born on 24 September 1577 as the son of George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Magdalene of Lippe....
and his son Johann as hostages. This was clearly a violation of Imperial law, and cost Frederick whatever remaining sympathy he still had in Europe. During his retreat into Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, Mansfeld burned a city and thirty villages.
Frederick dismissed Mansfeld after he became convinced he would be unable to reconquer his hereditary lands. Frederick then spent the summer with his uncle, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon, in Sedan.
Shortly thereafter, troops under Tilly and Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba completed the Spanish conquest of the Electoral Palatinate. After an eleven-week siege, Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
fell on 19 September 1622; Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
similarly fell on 5 November 1622. Only the British garrison in Frankenthal
Frankenthal
Frankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
now held out. After the conquest of Heidelberg, the Protestant churches were closed, the university was closed, and at the request of Maximilian, the great library, the famous Bibliotheca Palatina
Bibliotheca Palatina
The Bibliotheca Palatina of Heidelberg was the most important library of the German Renaissance, numbering approximately 5,000 printed books and 3,524 manuscripts....
(3500 manuscripts), was presented as a Thank you gift to Pope Gregory XV
Pope Gregory XV
Pope Gregory XV , born Alessandro Ludovisi, was pope from 1621, succeeding Paul V on 9 February 1621...
for the 620,000 guilders he had provided for financing of the campaigns of the Catholic League.
On 23 February 1623, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor awarded Frederick's electoral title to Maximilian of Bavaria, who now became Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....
. Maximilian was also awarded the conquered territory of Upper Palatinate as a fief. Other territories of the Electoral Palatinate (Parkstein
Parkstein
Parkstein is a district in the municipality of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria in Germany. In 2006, it counted approximately 2500 citizens within its district. The origins of its castle, built atop a conical shaped mountain, also called the Parkstein, date back to around the year 1000...
, Weiden in der Oberpfalz
Weiden in der Oberpfalz
Weiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 100 km east of Nuremberg and 35 km west of the Czech border. A branch of the German Army's NCO Academy is located here...
, and Peilstein im Mühlviertel
Peilstein im Mühlviertel
Peilstein im Mühlviertel is a municipality in the district of Rohrbach in Upper Austria, Austria....
) were awarded to Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg.
Exile, 1622–1632
In late 1622 / early 1623, Frederick organised a Palatinate government-in-exile at the Hague. This Palatinate Council was headed by Ludwig CamerariusLudwig Camerarius
Ludwig Camerarius was a German statesman, lawyer, minister and head of Frederick V's government-in-exile in the Hague. He also served Swedish interests later in his life...
.
During the negotiations for the Spanish Match
Spanish Match
The Spanish Match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles, the son of King James I of England, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain...
, Frederick urged his father-in-law not to go through with the Match.
There were attempts at reconciling Frederick with the emperor in 1624–25 and in 1627, but these came to naught. Frederick was willing to compromise with the emperor, but he wanted the restoration of his lands and electoral title, and the emperor was not inclined to restore these to Frederick. Frederick held out some hope that his lands might be retaken militarily, but these hopes were crushed on 27 August 1626, when the forces of Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
were crushed by Tilly at the Battle of Lutter
Battle of Lutter
The Battle of Lutter took place during the Thirty Years' War, on 27 August 1626, between the forces of the Protestant Christian IV of Denmark and those of the Catholic League...
.
Frederick left most of the day-to-day business of his government-in-exile to his counselors, although he did take some interest in his finances. Frederick was very stingy in funding his administration, and yet, in order to maintain the dignity of a royal court, he spent vast sums on building and entertainment, quickly blowing through donations from the English and Dutch governments. For example, in 1629, Frederick commissioned Bartholoeus van Bassen to build him a large winter palace in Rhenen
Rhenen
Rhenen is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands.The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, Remmerden, Elst and Laareind. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, namely on the southernmost part of the chain of hills known as the Utrecht Hill Ridge ,...
. When completed in 1631, this palace had a large central residence, a courtyard, a two-storey main building with two wings projecting to the south, and was surrounded by large gardens. Frederick spent much of his time there in hunting and long walks.
Frederick suffered a personal tragedy on 17 January 1629. He was traveling to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
to view the Spanish treasure fleet
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleets was a convoy system adopted by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790...
captured by the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
when his boat capsized while crossing the Haarlemmermeer
Haarlemmermeer
Haarlemmermeer is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water, and the name Haarlemmermeer means Haarlem's Lake, still referring to the body of water from which the region was reclaimed in the 19th century.Its main...
, a body of water near Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
. Frederick nearly drowned, and his eldest son, Frederick Henry of the Palatinate did drown (he was only 15 years old). James I of England had been attempting to broker a marriage between Frederick Henry and a Spanish princess that could see the Palatinate returned to the family, but these hopes were dashed by his untimely death. What's more, Frederick was physically damaged from the accident, and would not fully recover for 15 months.
At the Diet of Regensburg (1630)
Diet of Regensburg (1630)
The Diet of Regensburg was a meeting of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire which occurred at Regensburg from July to November 1630...
, Frederick formally petitioned to be forgiven for having accepted the crown of Bohemia and admitted his wrongdoing. But nothing came of this. In March 1631, Frederick despatched diplomat Sir Robert Anstruther
Robert Anstruther
Robert Anstruther may refer to:*Sir Robert Anstruther, 1st Baronet MP for Fife 1710*Sir Robert Anstruther, 3rd Baronet of the Anstruther Baronets...
to hold discussions with Ernst Egon VIII, Count of Fürstenberg, president of the Imperial Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, about restoring Frederick's lands, but Frederick died before these could bear any fruit.
Death, 1632
On 4 July 1630, Gustavus Adolphus of SwedenGustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
intervened in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
. On 16 September 1631, Gustavus Adolphus' forces defeated Tilly's forces at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)
Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)
The Battle of Breitenfeld or First Battle of Breitenfeld , was fought at the crossroads villages of Breitenfeld , Podelwitz , and Seehausen , approximately five miles northwest of the walled city of Leipzig on September 17 , or September 7 The Battle of Breitenfeld or First Battle of Breitenfeld...
. Tilly was defeated the following year, and Gustavus Adolphus' forces swept into southern Germany. When Oppenheim
Oppenheim
Oppenheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is well known as a wine town, the site of the German Winegrowing Museum and particularly for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbrunnen vineyards.- Location :...
was captured in December 1631, Frederick believed the time was ripe for him to reestablish himself in the Palatinate, and he left for Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
.
In February 1632, Frederick met Gustavus Adolphus at Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, with Gustavus Adolphus paying Frederick full royal honours. However, Gustavus Adolphus was not prepared to offer Frederick support for restoring him in the Palatinate because England and the Netherlands had not signed off on such a proposal.
Frederick subsequently took part in Gustavus Adolphus' march into 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 was present for the march in to 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...
on 17 May 1632. Upon Frederick's pressing his case with Gustavus Adolphus, Gustavus Adolphus told Frederick that he would accept Frederick's restoration without Dutch / British support only if Frederick would agree to hold the Palatinate as a fief of the King of Sweden. The lands of the Palatinate were simply too important strategically for Gustavus Adolphus to hand them over to Frederick. Gustavus Adolphus also insisted that Frederick would have to agree to establish equal rights for Lutherans in his territories. Frederick refused Gustavus Adolphus' conditions and they parted, with Frederick travelling to Swedish-occupied Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, intending to return to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.
Gustavus Adolphus was killed at the Battle of Lützen (1632)
Battle of Lützen (1632)
The Battle of Lützen was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years' War. It was a Protestant victory, but cost the life of one of the most important leaders of the Protestant alliance, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, which caused the Protestant campaign to lose direction.- Prelude to the...
on 16 November 1632. About this time, the English finally determined to send an expeditionary force to participate in the Thirty Years' War. Unfortunately for Frederick, it was too late. Beginning in October 1632, he had suffered from an infection that got worse in the following weeks. The famed physician Peter Spina was summoned from Darmstadt to Mainz, but nothing could be done for Frederick. Frederick died on the morning of 29 November 1632, of a "pestilential fever".
Frederick's son and heir, Charles Louis
Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Charles Louis, , Elector Palatine KG was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England ....
. was only 15 years old. Therefore Frederick's brother (Charles Louis' uncle), Ludwig Philipp of Pfalz-Simmern-Kaiserslautern, served as regent. Frederick's internal organs were buried at St. Catherine's in Oppenheim
Oppenheim
Oppenheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is well known as a wine town, the site of the German Winegrowing Museum and particularly for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbrunnen vineyards.- Location :...
and his embalmed body was taken to Frankenthal
Frankenthal
Frankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
. On 9 June 1635, with Spanish troops approaching, Ludwig Philipp of Pfalz-Simmern-Kaiserslautern fled to Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
with Frederick's body. It is believed that Ludwig Philipp of Pfalz-Simmern-Kaiserslautern transferred Frederick's body to the Sedan in September 1637, but Frederick's final resting place is unknown.
Ancestry
Family and children
He married Elizabeth StuartElizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
, the daughter of James VI of Scotland and of Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
in the Chapel Royal
Chapel Royal
A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
, Whitehall
Palace of Whitehall
The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire...
on 14 February 1613 and had the following children:
- Frederick HenryFrederick Henry von der PfalzHenry Frederick, Hereditary Prince of the Palatinate, was the eldest son of Frederick V, the Winter King, and his wife, Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I of England....
(1614–1629)—(drowned) - Charles LouisCharles I Louis, Elector PalatineCharles Louis, , Elector Palatine KG was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and his wife, Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England ....
(1617–1680), became Elector Palatine in 1648 - ElisabethElisabeth of Bohemia, Princess PalatineElisabeth of the Palatinate , also known as Elisabeth of Bohemia, was the eldest daughter of Frederick V, who was briefly elected King of Bohemia, and Elizabeth Stuart. She ruled the Herford Abbey as Princess-Abbess Elizabeth III...
(1618–1680) - RupertPrince Rupert of the RhineRupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...
(1619–1682) of English Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
fame. - MauricePrince Maurice von SimmernPrince Maurice of the Palatinate KG , Count Palatine of the Rhine, was the fourth son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Princess Elizabeth, only daughter of James I, King of England and Scotland and Anne of Denmark....
(1620–1652) who also served in the English Civil War. - Louise (1622–1709)
- Louis (1624–1625)
- EdwardEdward, Count Palatine of SimmernSir Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern KG was the sixth son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, of the House of Wittelsbach, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and Elizabeth Stuart....
(1625–1663) - Henriette MarieHenriette Marie of the PalatinateHenriette Marie, Princess Palatine -Birth & Family:Henriette Marie was the daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth of Bohemia, her paternal grandparents were Frederick IV and of Louise Juliana of Nassau and maternal grandparents were James I of England and Anne of...
(1626–1651) - John Philip Frederick (1627–1650)
- Charlotte (1628–1631)
- SophiaSophia of HanoverSophia of the Palatinate was an heiress to the crowns of England and Ireland and later the crown of Great Britain. She was declared heiress presumptive by the Act of Settlement 1701...
(1630–1714), married Elector Ernest Augustus of HanoverElectorate of HanoverThe Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
; heiress of England by the Act of SettlementAct of Settlement 1701The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
, 1701 - Gustavus Adolphus (1632–1641)