Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg
Encyclopedia
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
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...
, a Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg
Archbishopric of Salzburg
The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire, its territory roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg....
from 1519 to his death.
Matthäus Lang was the son of a burgher of Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
and later received the noble title of Wellenburg after a castle near his hometown that came into his possession in 1507. After studying at Ingolstadt
University of Ingolstadt
The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law and medicine, all of which were contained in the Hoheschule...
, Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and Tübingen he entered the service of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
and quickly made his way to the front. He was also one of the most trusted advisers of Frederick's son and successor Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
, and his services were rewarded in 1500 with the provostship of the cathedral at Augsburg and five years later with the position of the Bishop of Gurk
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gurk is a diocese comprising the Austrian state of Carinthia and is part of the Ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. Due to the presence of Carinthian Slovenes the Slovenian language is, together with Latin and German, the language of the liturgy in the Southern parts...
. He also received the Bishopric of Cartagena in Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
in 1510 and was appointed cardinal by Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...
one year later. In 1514 he became coadjutor
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
to Leonhard von Keutschach
Leonhard von Keutschach
Leonhard von Keutschach was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1495 until his death, the last to rule in the feudal style.- Biography :...
, the Salzburg Prince-Archbishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
, whom he succeeded in 1519. He received the title of a Cardinal Bishop of the Suburbicarian diocese
Suburbicarian diocese
The seven suburbicarian dioceses are Roman Catholic dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome, whose bishops form the highest-ranking order of Cardinals, the Cardinal Bishops....
of Albano
Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano
The Diocese of Albano is a suburbicarian see of the Roman Catholic Church in a diocese in Italy, comprising seven towns in the Province of Rome...
in 1535.
In the course of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
Lang's adherence to the older faith, together with his pride and arrogance, made him very unpopular in his Salzburg diocese. As early as in 1523 he was involved in a serious struggle with his subjects in the City of Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, and in 1525, during the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
, he had again to fight hard to hold his own. Insurgents occupied the town of Hallein
Hallein
Hallein is a historic town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, the capital of the Hallein district. It is located in the Tennengau region south of the City of Salzburg, along the Salzach river in the shadow of the Untersberg massif, near the border with Germany. With a population of c...
, devastated the archbishop's Burg Hohenwerfen
Burg Hohenwerfen
Hohenwerfen Castle stands on a rock approximately 40 km south of the Austrian city of Salzburg. The castle is majestically surrounded by the Berchtesgaden Alps and the Tennengebirge mountain range...
and even laid siege to his residence at Hohensalzburg, until they were finally defeated with the aid of troops provided by the Swabian League
Swabian League
The Swabian League was an association of Imperial States - cities, prelates, principalities and knights - principally in the territory of the Early medieval stem duchy of Swabia, established in 1488 at the behest of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg and supported as well by Bertold von...
.
Cardinal Lang was one of the chief ministers of Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
; he played an important part in the tangled international negotiations of his time; and he was always loyal to his imperial masters. Not without reason has he been compared with Cardinal Wolsey. The writer and courtier Maximilianus Transylvanus
Maximilianus Transylvanus
Maximilianus Transylvanus , also Maximilianus of Transylvania and Maximilian von Sevenborgen , was a sixteenth century author based in Flanders who wrote the earliest account published on Magellan and Elcano's first circumnavigation of the world...
, a secretary to Charles V, is often said to be a son of Lang's (see Maximilianus Transylvanus
Maximilianus Transylvanus
Maximilianus Transylvanus , also Maximilianus of Transylvania and Maximilian von Sevenborgen , was a sixteenth century author based in Flanders who wrote the earliest account published on Magellan and Elcano's first circumnavigation of the world...
for this discussion). In any case, Transylvanus addressed his De Moluccis Insulis, the first published description of Magellan's
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
voyage around the world, to Lang.