Thursday, September 17, 2020

Rudolf

the Great Founder of the House of Austria: "The Austrian Empire under the Habsburgs, became arguably the greatest and most influential in European history. When Rudolf I (1218-1291), 'the 'Great Founder of the House of Austria,' came to power with the ascension to the throne in 1273, this marked the beginning of over 600 years of Habsburg rule in Europe. His death was mourned throughout his entire kingdom and he was recognised as having been an upright and popular monarch. . . ." (Ertl: 313)

the Magnanimous: . "Rhodolph was comely in person, and elegant in manners; he possessed a cultivated mind, and was distinguished for his knowledge and taste in the arts and sciences... [H]e was distinguished for his benefactions to the church, and among various ecclesiastical foundations, built the splendid cathedral of Vienna. . . From his lofty spirit and love of pomp he obtained the epithet of the Magnanimous, and, from his numerous buildings and institutions, received the honourable appellation of the Founder. . . ." (History of the House of Austria, Vol 1: 122)
the Stammerer
der Scheerer.

the Idle, the Lazy, Sluggard (Fr. le Fainéant; Ger. der Faule):
--" . . . Rudolf III (993-1032), often called 'le Faineant' by modern scholars, has been accused of indolence since the eleventh century. Thietmar of Merseburg, who called him 'soft and effeminate,' complained that no other king was so careless of his kingdom, not even defending his bishops. During Rudolf's reign, the counts and castellans of the kingdom of Upper Burgundy acted increasingly independently. The first revolt of his fideles took place shortly after his coronation. The elderly empress Adelaide, his aunt, had to intervene in Burgundy in 999 to restore peace. . . ." (The New Cambridge Medieval History: Vol 3, c.900-c.1024: 342)

--"The last King of independent Burgundy has received a bad name from the chroniclers as 'the sluggard,' and making allowance for the depletion of the royal demesne and the consequent smallness of his means, the results of his reign too well accord with the character given him for us to disbelieve that in this case it was the King himself who gave the coup de grace to the royal power. Yet he began his reign with an act of vigour. He attempted to recover for the crown either some of the benefices which were still nominally non-hereditary or some lands and rights long before usurped. The nobles concerned looked on his action as a robbery of their inheritance, and revolted. In the war that followed Rudolf was easily defeated, and presumably made his submission and his peace." (The Early History of the House of Savoy: 1000-1233: 6)

--"As the last member of the Burgundian Welfs, Rudolph was considered a weak ruler by his contemporaries. The chronicler Wipo of Burgundy called him effete; according to Hermann of Reichenau, his rule was marked by idleness and chaos. Thietmar of Merseburg named the Burgundian counts the actual rulers, while Rudolph only held the royal title." (Wikipedia)

Schweigsame.

the Founder:"The next Habsburg to make a really profound impression on Vienna was another Rudolf, known as 'Der Stifter' (The Founder, 1339-65), whose zeal in founding institutions was only equalled by his diligence in forging documents to further his dynastic claims. The most notorious of these was the Privilegium Maius, a fraudulent expansion of the (genuine) Privilegium Minus granted by Frederick Barbarossa to the Babenbergs in 1156. . . ." (Parsons: 118)

Rudolf of Swabia

Rudolf
Maccabeus

Duke of Austria and Styria, 1282-1283
the Debonair

Holy Roman Emperor, 1576-1612
King of Hungary and Croatia, 1572-1608
King of Bohemia, 1575-1608
Archduke of Austria, 1576-1608
Rudolf I of Hungary and Croatia
Rudolf II of Bohemia
Rudolf V of Austria
the German Hermes Trismegistus
the Prince of Alchemy
"...The Malgrave (sic) John of Brandenburg was so great a proficient in the labors of the crucible, that he was surnamed 'the Alchemist,' and his residence at the Plassenburg, near Culmbach, was a headquarter for the profession.  His fame, however, was outdone in the following century by that of the Emperor Rudolph II, whose sobriquets were 'the Prince of Alchemy' and 'the German Hermes Trismegistus.'  His superstitious dreams, which cost the empire dear at a time when intellect and energy were required to steer her through her troubles, gave an impetus to 'gold-cookery' throughout his dominions such as it never received before or after...."  (Every Saturday, Vol. 8, p. 67)

    le Paisable
    the Old

    the Bold

    the Black

    the Silent

    Rudolph Hesso
    at

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