Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
Maximilian II (1527-1576) was the son of Emperor Ferdinand I. He served during the Italian Wars in 1544, as well as the Schmalkadic War. His uncle, Emperor Charles V, made him marry his cousin and Charles' daughter Mary of Spain in 1548, and Maximilian acted temporarily as the emperor's representative in Spain. Questions of succession soon saw trouble brew between the German and Spanish branches of the Habsburg dynasty, and it was suspected that Maximilian was poisoned in 1552 by those in league with his cousin and brother-in-law, Philip II.<br/><br/> The relationship between Maximilian and his cousin Philip soon became uneasy, with Philip being a Spaniard born and raised, while Maximilian idenitifed himself as the quintessential German prince: outgoing, charismatic and religiously tolerant. He governed the Austrian hereditary lands alongside his father, defending them against Ottoman incursions. He was chosen and crowned as King of Germany in 1562 after assuring the Catholic electors of his faith, and was crowned a year later as King of Hungary. By the time his father died in 1564, Maximilian had inherited the crowns of Croatia, Bohemia and of the Holy Roman emperor.<br/><br/> Maximilian's rule was marred by the ongoing Ottoman-Habsburg wars as well as deteriorating relations with his Habsburg cousins in the Spanish Empire. By the time of his death in 1576, he had not succeeded in achieving his three major goals: rationalising the governmental structure, unifying Christianity and evicting the Ottomans from Hungary. He refused to receive the last sacraments of the Church while on his deathbed.
Václav Hollar, known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar (13 July 1607 – 25 March 1677), was a Bohemian etcher, who lived in England for much of his life. He was born in Prague, and died in London, being buried at St Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Wenceslaus I (Czech: Václav; c. 907 – September 28, 935), or Wenceslas I, was the duke (kníže) of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935, purportedly in a plot by his own brother, Boleslav the Cruel.<br/><br/> His martyrdom, and the popularity of several biographies, quickly gave rise to a cult-like following and reputation of superhuman goodness, resulting in his being elevated to Sainthood, posthumously declared king, and seen as the patron saint of the Czech state. He is even the subject of a Christmas carol written in 1853 that remains popular to this day, Good King Wenceslas.<br/><br/> The Codex Manesse, Manesse Codex, or Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift is a Liederhandschrift (medieval songbook), the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German Minnesang poetry, written and illustrated between ca. 1304 when the main part was completed, and ca. 1340 with the addenda. The codex was produced in Zürich , for the Manesse family.