Austria

	King Maximilian I of the Romans is one of the most important characters in the history of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign saw the Empire begin its long series of reforms, and laid the foundation for the Habsburg dominance over the world for the next 250 years. A restless soul, he spent his entire adult life traveling around the Empire, leading armies when capable. He viewed himself as the ideal Christian knight, vowing to take the fight to the Turks who had been raiding his land. Though his wars and ambitions were not cheap, driving his lands into near bankruptcy at times, he was an effective administrator, turning the counties and duchies within the Archduchy of Austria into prosperous regions.

The year 1500 sees Maximilian of Austria at a turning point in his life. He has been Holy Roman Emperor (de facto) for almost 7 years, since the death of his father Frederick III. Where his youth was spent undergoing the daring adventures of the classic chivalric knight, he has begun to view himself more as a statesman than a warrior. A patron of the arts and philosophies, Maximilian has begun a monumental series of works that will propagandize him and his family. His dynastic strategy has almost come to fruition in Spain, and possibly Bohemia-Hungary.

Diplomatically, Maximilian’s world is in turmoil. His heroic victories have now been marred with a mild defeat in the Swiss Alps, but he succeeded in curbing the power of the Swiss Confederation for now. His alliance to the Milanese Sforzas, through his current marriage, is endangered by the French encroachment in Italy and exile of Duke Ludovico, who has turned to Maximilian for aid. The power of the Jagiellon King to the east has been curbed, but Maximilian’s claim on Bohemia and Hungary will not last if the King has a son. Maximilian’s own son, Philip, is Lord of the Netherlands and Duke of Burgundy, and will likely soon be King of Castile jure uxoris, but only if the young Miguel de Paz of Portugal dies in infancy. Meanwhile the Turks have been making raids into the heart of his eastern territories, and Maximilian wishes to push back.

In the middle of all of this war and diplomacy are the reforms taking place in the empire. In 1495, at the Diet of Worms, Maximilian worked with Prince-Elector Berthold of Henneberg, Archbishop of Mainz, the leader of the reform party of the Princes, to implement the Reichskammergericht, or Imperial Chamber Court, and the Reichspfennig, or Common Penny. The Ewiger Landfriede, or Eternal Peace, bans all feuds, and instead encourages imperial subjects to use the Reichskammergericht to solve their disputes legally. The Empire is now changing from the chaotic mess of the past centuries into something with a more codified legal structure. But this path needs to be tended to carefully to ensure the success of the reforms. The next Imperial Reforms​ on the table are the Reichsregiment, a government ran by the Princes, promised by Maximilian at the last Diet, an Imperial Militia, and the Reichskreise, administrative districts with their own miniature “Diet” and taxation structure. Whether or not these reforms pass is up to both the Princes and the Emperor, who must work together to ensure the continued strength and unity of the Empire.

Maximilian has insofar spent his life in pursuit of glory and conquest, spending every penny he has gained through his administrative efforts on the glorification of himself and his house. Through sheer determination and skill he has seen victories across the Empire and Europe, both militarily and diplomatically. Whether or not his luck continues will be seen in the upcoming years.


I have four main goals for Austria. First, and most importantly, I wish to see Maximilian’s dynastic strategy come to fruition in Spain, and conclude successfully in Hungary/Bohemia. At a close second on my list of priorities is the Empire. It is pertinent to many players/characters that it stays intact, and that reforms are pushed through that enable its defense. Thirdly, I would like to ensure that Austrian interests in Italy are fulfilled, and that the French encroachment on the region is put to an end. Lastly, but not unimportant, is the issue of the succession of the Empire. Keeping a Habsburg on the Imperial throne will ensure that the first two goals are achieved more definitely. More minor are effectively bolstering the economic output of regions like Tyrol (where his court typically resides), and going on Maximilian’s personal crusade against the Turks (something he always dreamed of). But these are “stretch goals.”

These goals may seem simple to some, but they provide a decently-sized challenge. I may be wishing for too much, given the nature and amount of anti-Habsburg sentiment that our player base has (due to a mainly Prusso-centric view on German history), but I feel that my goals should be the same as those of Maximilian himself. I have spent the past month undergoing a large amount of research on his character and his ambitions, and believe that these goals reflect his own personal ones.

Regarding the actual roleplay, I plan on making Maximilian fit what I have learned of him. As his life progresses, he will become more brooding. He will embody the “Renaissance man,” seeking to master many trades and slipping into that fashionable “melancholia” of old age. The prestige of himself and his house will be at the forefront of his mind, driving him in every decision. Restless will mark his nature, with no prolonged periods spent in one place. Wars and the florins that finance them will be what he focuses his immediate attention on. His relationship with his wife will be strained, but he will have mistresses to make up for that, and memories of a long-passed Mary of Burgundy to keep him awake in the long hours of the night. To demonstrate some of this, I have included a draft of my first RP post planned for the season, at the end of the claim.


While I don’t think my own experience with the character gives me enough credentials for this claim, I do think that the amount of work I have put into it this time surely qualifies me. Whether it be the amount of research I’ve done on the Maximilian himself, the Holy Roman Empire, and the states within it, I have put in a large amount of work towards this claim. I will be sure to do Maximilian and the Empire justice, to the best of my ability.


Personal Resources:
>Map of Austrian land in 1500
>>http://imgur.com/a/LYnn9

>Notes on Maximilian
>>https://docs.google.com/document/d/16ydOlj8dZMPSAZY0a2SGkysjO0okyAT4mFfw_TjAt8U/edit?usp=sharing

>Sample RP (WIP)
>>https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vrUgzrDvrt3KmVVXZANsWHozB3NzXabsq0aUXd-wMLM/edit?usp=sharing

>Estates of the HRE
>>https://www.reddit.com/r/empirepowers/comments/6f5owj/meta_a_list_of_the_estates_of_the_hre/


Sources:
>Benecke, Gerhard: Maximilian I 1459-1519
>>Hands-down the absolute best English resource I have found

>Multiple JSTOR Biography Reviews
>>For the non-translated German biographies

>Wilson, Peter H.: Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire
>>Just got this book, but it has already proved useful

>Wilson, Peter H.: The Holy Roman Empire 1495-1806
>>Extremely helpful quick-reference for the HRE

>Wikipedia
>>Quick references