The Empire of Austria; Its Rise and Present Power | Page 7

had chosen Rhodolph of
Hapsburg as his successor. Rhodolph himself was so much astonished
at the announcement, that for some time he could not be persuaded that
the intelligence was correct.

To wage war against the Emperor of Germany, who could lead almost
countless thousands into the field, was a very different affair from
measuring strength with the comparatively feeble Count of Hapsburg.
The news of his election flew rapidly. Basle threw open her gates, and
the citizens, with illuminations, shouts, and the ringing of bells, greeted
the new emperor. The bishop was so chagrined at the elevation of his
foe, that he smote his forehead, and, looking to heaven, profanely said,
"Great God, take care of your throne, or Rhodolph of Hapsburg will
take it from you!"
Rhodolph was now fifty-five years of age. Alphonso, King of Castile,
and Ottocar, King of Bohemia, had both been candidates for the
imperial crown. Exasperated by the unexpected election of Rhodolph,
they both refused to acknowledge his election, and sent ambassadors
with rich presents to the pope to win him also to their side. Rhodolph,
justly appreciating the power of the pope, sent him a letter couched in
those terms which would be most palatable to the pontiff.
"Turning all my thoughts to Him," he wrote, "under whose authority
we live, and placing all my expectations on you alone, I fall down
before the feet of your Holiness, beseeching you, with the most earnest
supplication, to favor me with your accustomed kindness in my present
undertaking; and that you will deign, by your mediation with the Most
High, to support my cause. That I may be enabled to perform what is
most acceptable to God and to His holy Church, may it graciously
please your Holiness to crown me with the imperial diadem; for I trust I
am both able and willing to undertake and accomplish whatever you
and the holy Church shall think proper to impose upon me."
Gregory X. was a humane and sagacious man, influenced by a
profound zeal for the peace of Europe and the propagation of the
Christian faith. Gregory received the ambassadors of Rhodolph
graciously, extorted from them whatever concessions he desired on the
part of the emperor, and pledged his support.
Ottocar, King of Bohemia, still remained firm, and even malignant, in
his hostility, utterly refusing to recognize the emperor, or to perform

any of those acts of fealty which were his due. He declared the electoral
diet to have been illegally convened, and the election to have been the
result of fraud, and that a man who had been excommunicated for
burning a convent, was totally unfit to wear the imperial crown. The
diet met at Augsburg, and irritated by the contumacy of Ottocar, sent a
command to him to recognize the authority of the emperor,
pronouncing upon him the ban of the empire should he refuse. Ottocar
dismissed the ambassadors with defiance and contempt from his palace
at Prague, saying,
"Tell Rhodolph that he may rule over the territories of the empire, but
he shall have no dominion over mine. It is a disgrace to Germany, that
a petty count of Hapsburg should have been preferred to so many
powerful sovereigns."
War, and a fearful one, was now inevitable. Ottocar was a veteran
soldier, a man of great intrepidity and energy, and his pride was
thoroughly roused. By a long series of aggressions he had become the
most powerful prince in Europe, and he could lead the most powerful
armies into the field. His dominions extended from the confines of
Bavaria to Raab in Hungary, and from the Adriatic to the shores of the
Baltic. The hereditary domains of the Count of Hapsburg were
comparatively insignificant, and were remotely situated at the foot of
the Alps, spreading through the defiles of Alsace and Suabia. As
emperor, Rhodolph could call the armies of the Germanic princes into
the field; but these princes moved reluctantly, unless roused by some
question of great moment to them all. And when these heterogeneous
troops of the empire were assembled, there was but a slender bond of
union between them.
But Rhodolph possessed mental resources equal to the emergence. As
cautious as he was bold, as sagacious in council as he was impetuous in
action, he calmly, and with great foresight and deliberation, prepared
for the strife. To a monarch in such a time of need, a family of brave
sons and beautiful daughters, is an inestimable blessing. Rhodolph
secured the Duke of Sclavonia by making him the happy husband of
one of his daughters. His son Albert married Elizabeth, daughter of the

Count of Tyrol, and thus that powerful and noble family was secured.
Henry of Bavaria he intimidated, and by force of arms compelled him
to lead his troops to