Paris ne vaut pas une messe! - A Huguenot IN AAR

Chapter XXXIII – And Quiet Flows the Rhine


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Our Lord, Austria Arise!
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Throughout the most Holy Roman Empire, one thing echoed through the minds of princes of all the Christian confessions; Spain’s Habsburgs had proven to be a rather incompetent and inbred bunch not capable of reigning the Empire, let alone style themselves as “for ever Augustus.” Disillusioned, the electors began to wonder who to elect. The incumbent emperor in the year of our lord 1629 was Philip of Spain and he had been more than a broken man after the peace of Madrid with France. As such it was believed that he would not last long on the Roman throne. But who would then rule after Philip? The old emperor had no heirs of useful character (and even if he had had one, it would have been hard for him to get his candidate elected) and as such it seemed that Imperial rule from Madrid would come to a close with the death of Philip. The Protestants might have wished for Nicolas to take over the mantle and defend them from the Habsburg Catholics, but on the other hand they feared the power a French emperor would be able to wield by uniting the most populous country in Europe with the fealty of the hundred nations of the Empire. No, it wouldn’t be France’s time to rule the Empire of the German Nation; rather the electors looked to Austria in order to keep the status quo of Europe. The Austrian archdukes had fought wars against the Turks and retaken much of Hungary while rooting out the Protestant faiths in Bohemia and Württemberg, and even though they had suffered defeats at the hands of the Bourbons they had always held the upper hand at the negotiations, despite the well known French ambition across the Rhine. In 1630, Philip died and the electors chose Albrecht IV of Austria as their new sovereign at an Imperial diet in Munich. The French delegation left the council in anger and threatened to pull back their support of the most vocal Protestant electors.



This proved to be a serious mistake. Albrecht was no fool and immediately saw the tiny crack in the Protestant armour. Soon his own diplomats carried Austrian guarantees and letters of Friendship to the German princes, Protestant and Catholic alike. Nicolas didn’t care much as according to the Charlemagne Plan, the French armies would soon cross the border into Austria anyways as a response to the Habsburg scheming and expulsion of French merchants. Yet once again, Albrecht proved a cunning adversary and revoked the ban in the Austrian lands while convincing the regency in Madrid to expulse French merchants there[1]. Without a valid reason for war Nicolas backed down grumbling. He wouldn’t risk his attempts at winning Germany because of one incident with the newly elected emperor, but to Albrecht it was an important victory as the French diplomatic offensive had been seemingly stopped.



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Imperial Opposition
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In some ways the Austrian inheritance came as a blessing to France, in others it was a curse. Nicolas was getting distracted by the power games within the Empire to such a degree that he failed to see the troubles and tribulations the wars had caused within the French society. He was almost absent when the first Fronde had erupted in Guyenne, Poitou and Picardy and when the nobles within the first estate began to plot and bicker as they always did, the young king was more concerned about the progress of negotiations with some obscure and obstinate Protestant Prince on the Rhine. The estates were demanding a sovereign that would take care of them and engage himself in the internal situation before looking outwards. Sully tried to stress this to Nicolas, but was brushed aside by Rohan who loved the king’s interest in the fields of foreign policy (which is somewhat logical as Rohan had originally been made part of the Triumvirate because of his expertise on matters abroad). As the years passed Sully and Rohan continued to compete with each other over the favour of the king, for with the king’s favour was the policy of France. The young monarch had a hard time at first getting to know the two old men and their schemes and games, but in the end his talents began to serve him well. By 1632 he had completed the conversion work in the March of the Ebro and in the former Spanish Navarre. This won Nicolas some much needed prestige on the home front and strengthened him in the German Empire where Albrecht had more or less taken over.



But although the Austrian influence continued to rise[2] Nicolas couldn’t let the matters of the Empire be. He firmly believed that the Protestant princes needed and wanted him as their liege although it was clear to most that they really did not - at least not at that moment. Yet even as the nobility and peasantry were trying to find each other in order to combat absolutism events changed drastically in Germany. The Prince of the small protestant country of Ansbach died without any successor and left his throne in the hands of Nicolas. This was immediately disputed by emperor Albrecht who saw any further French gains within the Empire as anathema to the Catholic cause. Sensing the danger, Nicolas immediately demanded the annexation of what remained of the principality of Alsace such that his new duchy in Germany could be accessed easily (but also in order to send a message of resolution to Albrecht). The Prince gave in and as such Nicolas Henri’s plan regarding the Rhine had succeeded, both banks were now either in French hands or occupied by allied powers. The alarms immediately sounded in the Austrian palaces. The French offensive had been resumed and Albrecht was certain what to do…




[1]Austria revokes embargo, Spain issues one.
[2]Several electors change allegiance to Austria



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Chapter XXXIV – Cloak and Dagger


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Elimination of the Jaw
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Austria and France continued their rivalry in what later became known as the “Scramble for Germany” while doing their best to provoke each other at every turn. Nicolas continued to insist on his claim on Barcelona and argued for a greater cooperation between the Protestant princes against the Habsburgs while Albrecht disputed the French union with Ansbach and demanded Nicolas to reinstate the duke of Alsace on his throne. This caused Nicolas great pain as it seemed to him that Albrecht always was in the lead both when it came to secure German support and aid. But the greatest trick Albrecht pulled on Nicolas Henri was when he managed to tie the Habsburg line to the house of Romanov by marrying himself to one of Tsar Michael’s daughters in 1634. The wedding sealed one of the most potent pacts Austria had ever agreed on. Without a male heir Michael’s death would most likely lead to the union of the Austrian and Russian thrones under Austrian leadership, and even though such a union most likely wouldn’t last long it would strengthen the ties between the two major powers. Panic almost erupted at the Conceil des Affairs. Russian manpower, Spanish gold and Austrian powder would be a mix most unhealthy for France and her Reformation. To Nicolas’ great regret he knew that it was what Albrecht had planned, for although the Austrian had cared for the Catholics of Germany he had masterfully lured France into a petty bickering over few duchies and principalities while obtaining the favour of Mother Russia.
The Russian connection had the potential to become deadly, thus the threat had to be removed.
Albrecht’s bride Eleanor of Kiev arrived in a splendid decorated Vienna haunted with great festivities under heavy clouds. Soon she came to carry his child.



What happened next has been the subject of much discussion within historical circles as very few sources and clues remain from those days in late 1635 when Vienna was in an eerie mood and priests spoke of trials and hell’s fire. What we do know, is that on Christmas Day in the year of our Lord 1635 a deranged Bohemian forced his way to the Imperial carriage, drew two pistols and fired at the most holy emperor Albrecht. The first bullet hit Albrecht in his upper body while the second stroke the wooden ornaments supporting the carriage. Guards threw the assailer to the ground and held him still with their muskets while helpers rushed to the bleeding sovereign and the terrified empress. However, their aid came far too late and the Austrian Emperor died later that evening. Mourning and rage engulfed Vienna to such a degree that the insane Bohemian was forcefully seized by a mob that had him beaten until he gave up his spirit. With the death of Albrecht the male Habsburg line of Austria came to an immediate end. In Spain a regency of dukes and lesser nobles governed the Spaniard Empire after the passing of their own sovereign and Albrecht’s wife hadn’t managed to bring his child into the world yet – no pure Habsburg prince was within reach. The Austrian lands and the very Empire itself were thrown into uncertainty and mourning. Albrecht’s wife, Eleanor of Russia, was carrying his only child and successor to the Austrian throne, but while she awaited the birth, the Imperial crown was slipping out of her and the duchy’s hands.


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The Election of 1636
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Suspicion immediately fell upon Nicolas and his Protestant kingdom and although the accusations could be logically deduced from of the well known rivalry between the two monarchs, there was no solid proof that named Nicolas the culprit. However some interesting facts were produced by the Austrian investigators. First of all the Bohemian had been a Huguenot, secondly Francs had been found on his person and thirdly the pistols were of a calibre only produced in the workshops of Paris. Sully denied all of this on behalf of his monarch and dismissed the Austrian “evidence” as simply speculations and forgeries. Insult followed insult and in May 1636 after the funeral of Albrecht, Austria cut all diplomatic ties with France, Spain, Portugal and Savoy soon following their ally’s example. This tense situation greatly affected the electors’ voting in the new race for the imperial crown which already had an extraordinary status as no Habsburg subject had been presented as claimant to the throne. In the Habsburg’s place four candidates were presented at the Imperial diet at Regensburg:

• The duke of Mantua with support from the duchy Savoy.
• Count Anton of Holstein was backed by a number of Protestant princes most notably the electors of the Palatinate, Saxony and Brandenburg.
• The king of Portugal with support from most of the Catholic electors, Salzburg and Cologne. The Portuguese king was seen as the successor or guardian of the Habsburg throne as he was in alliance with Spain and had close contact with the Austrian lands. Furthermore Portugal and Spain had been in a personal union until the Portuguese nobles elected their present king after the disastrous first Bourbon-Habsburg War.
• Lastly the electors of Baden and Trier presented Nicolas I Henri as their candidate for the Imperial crown.

In the end it was the duke of Holstein that carried the victory due in no small part to the division within the Catholic bloc.


For the first time in many years, a lesser candidate had won the imperial crown against the major houses of Europe. The reason for this will have to be found in the Catholic division between Mantua and Portugal and the Protestant scruples at granting the throne to the ever powerful France.
Anton was thus elected because the states of the Empire were sick and tired of being used as pawns without influence for the games of the greater powers. Furthermore Anton was well liked throughout the Holy Roman Empire for his tolerant beliefs towards both the Catholic and Protestant faiths and because of his reputation as a great diplomat, making him capable of possibly settling the tense situation between the French and Austrian blocs.



Yet the fate of the Austrian monarchy was still to be decided as Albrecht's bride sent messengers to Moscow..

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