The Princes' War in South Germany 1458-1463
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The Princes’ War in South Germany 1458-1463 Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philosophischen Fakultät I der Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg Vorgelegt von Daniel Filin aus Beer-Sheva Würzburg 2017 i The Princes’ War in South Germany 1458-1463 Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philosophischen Fakultät I der Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg Vorgelegt von Daniel Filin aus Beer-Sheva Würzburg 2017 i Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Franz Fuchs Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Helmut Flachenecker Tag des Kolloquiums: 4.7.2017 i Acknowledgement 1 1. Preface 2 1.1 Sources 2 1.2 Unprinted sources 2 1.3 Printed sources 3 1.4 State of the art 5 2. Historical Background 6 2.1 The Emergence of the rivalling parties 8 2.2 Kaiserliche Landgericht Nürnberg 10 2.3 The warring parties take shape 14 3. Widdern – the first test of strength 19 3.1 The conclusions of the first clash 27 4. The seizure of Donauwörth by Ludwig the Rich 27 5. The path to the “blinden Sprüch” 35 5.1 The meeting in Bamberg 36 5.2 The “Egerer Tag” 36 5.3 War declaration on Duke Ludwig 37 5.4 The imperial cities draw attention 39 5.5 War is avoided in the last moment 40 5.6 The “Blinder Spruch” 41 5.7 The reaction to the “blinder Spruch” 44 5.8 Resume – blinden Spruch and its consequences 49 6. The road to war 50 6.1 The Congress of Mantua 50 6.2 Few short remarks on the imperial cities and Nördlingen during the first 52 interbellum 6.3 The Last attempt of reconciliation 52 6.4 The tensions rise in the “Western Front” 54 7. First phase of the armed conflict 55 7.1 The fighting ignites in the West 55 7.2 Duke Ludwig occupies Eichstätt 58 7.3 The unsuccessful diplomatic efforts of Albrecht Achilles 59 7.4 A competition for the hearts and minds of the imperial cities and 63 Nördlingen’s participation in the first phase of the conflict 7.5 The efforts of the Emperor to end the conflict 66 7.6 The standing by Roth 67 ii 7.7 Rother Richtung and its implications 69 7.8 Bishop Diether changes sides 70 7.9 Cease-fire in the Rhine area 71 8. A very shaky peace 72 8.1 Back to the drawing board 72 8.2 King’s George Imperial project 73 8.3 The plans of Pope Pius II to organize a crusade 74 8.4 The prospects of George’s plan diminish 75 8.5 The build-up of the Mergentheim coalition 76 8.6 Albrecht Achilles and Duke Ludwig quarrel again 77 8.7 Diplomatic efforts 78 8.8 A convergence of views between King George and Albrecht Achilles? 79 8.9 The tensions keep escalating 80 8.10 King George final bid for the crown 81 8.11 The “Tag” in Eger 2.2.1461 82 8.12 The Emperor tries to suppress the actions of his foes 83 8.13 Princely diet in Nuremberg 84 8.14 Albrecht and the Emperor let go of old grudges 87 8.15 The actions of the Emperor 88 8.16 The last months of peace 90 8.17 Nördlingen’s shaky neutrality 92 8.18 Diether von Isenburg crosses the line 93 8.19 Attempts to prevent war at a cost of an imperial war 94 8.20 The developments on the Western front 96 8.21 On a collision path 100 8.22 The conflict between Friedrich III with Archduke Albrecht affects the 101 imperial war 9. “The imperial cities 15 minutes of fame” 102 9.1 Imperial cities in Germany in the middle of the 15th century 103 9.2 „Second Nördlingen Tag“ 105 9.3 The Emperor declares an imperial war on Duke Ludwig 106 9.4 The meeting of the cities representatives in Dinkelsbühl 108 9.5 The last reconciliation attempt between Albrecht and Ludwig 110 9.6 The Duke’s diplomatic activities 111 9.7 Diplomatic efforts of the opponents 112 9.8 The meeting in Nuremberg 115 10. From the war declaration to the negotiations in Prague 116 10.1 Third city meeting in Nördlingen 118 10.2 The diplomatic struggle intensifies 119 10.3 Cease-fire in Austria 120 10.4 A battle for hearts, swords, riders and canons 120 10.5 Ulmer Städtetag 125 iii 10.6 The city meeting in Esslingen on 15.10.1461 128 10.7 Further diplomatic efforts 128 10.8 The city meeting in Ulm 129 10.9 Margrave Friedrich enters the conflict 130 10.10 Albrecht’s distrust of the Emperor 130 10.11 Cities meeting in Esslingen in November 130 10.12 The developments in the Rheine region 132 10.13.1 Albrecht and the Emperor promote their interests during the peace 134 talks in Prague 10.13.2 The settlement attempt in Prague 135 11. Victories and defeats 138 11.1 Albrecht continues the war despite the cease-fire 138 11.2 The choice between peace and war 138 11.3 The countermeasures of Duke Ludwig 142 11.4 Duke Ludwig attempts to transform the conflict into a personal feud with 143 Albrecht Achilles 11.5 The Mainzer Stiftsfehde 145 11.6 The balance of power after the failed Prague talks 148 11.7 The Bishops of Bamberg and Würzburg get the attention of Duke Ludwig 150 and Albrecht Achilles 11.8 King George enters the conflict on the side of Duke Ludwig 151 11.9 Last preparations of Duke Ludwig 152 11.10 The imperial cities enter the conflict 153 11.11 Actions of the Emperor 154 11.12 Situation on the front 156 11.13 New diplomatic efforts 159 11.14 The temporary neutrality of Bishop Georg and Johann 161 11.15 The “Western Front” 161 11.16 The Bishops of Bamberg and Würzburg intervene on behalf of Duke 165 Ludwig 11.17 Developments on the Western front and the battle of Seckenheim 169 11.18 The battle by Giengen and the last phase of the armed conflict 171 11.19 The Emperor tries to play his own game 174 11.20 The war between Duke Ludwig and Albrecht Achilles comes to a standstill 175 12. The difficult road to peace 177 12.1 The meeting in Regensburg 178 12.2 King George intervention in favour of the Emperor 179 12.3 The attempt to involve the duke of Burgundy in the war against the Elector 179 12.4 The relationship between Albrecht Achilles and the Emperor during the 181 cease-fire 12.5 To keep an old friendship alive 182 12.6 The road to peace 183 12.7 The Conquest of Mainz 185 12.8 Détente in the West 186 iv 12.9 The conclusion of the peace in Prague 188 13. Aftermath 190 14. Conclusions 190 Part II. Honour and reputation 193 15.Honor: now and then 193 15.1 Between theory and practice 193 15.2 Honour in the 21st century 193 15.3 What is Honour? 194 15.4 Between honour and reputation 195 15.5 “Social honour” and “self-respect” 196 15.6 Honour and reputation in the Late Middle Ages 198 15.7 Honour - a balancing or a destabilizing force? 202 15.8 Honour and rights in a war 204 16. Insults, reputation and anger in the War. 207 16.1 The influence of anger and resentment on honour 207 16.2 The incident in Bamberg 207 16.3 Torn-up letters 212 16.4 War propaganda. To strike a public blow against the enemy 218 16.5 Trust 218 16.6 Duke Ludwig’s attempt to guarantee the neutrality of the knights of Saint 222 George Shield 16.7 Right 222 16.8 Noble Birth and high standing 224 16.9 Hostility through public propaganda 227 16.10 Albrecht uses public humiliation for provoking Duke Ludwig 229 16.11 Insults as a motive to action 229 16.12 It takes time to make a good name 230 16.13 Discussion on the honour issues in November 1460 230 16.14 Further reconciliation attempts 233 16.15 It’s all about convincing the right man. 234 16.16 Menschliches, Allzumenschliches 235 16.17 Reputational awareness. 237 16.18 A question of honour 237 16.19 Intermediate results 237 17. Between words and deeds 238 17.1 Widdern 239 17.2 The seizure of Donauwörth 240 17.3 Treaties do not worth the paper they are written on 242 v 18. “For with wise advice [war ruse] thou shalt make thy war” 242 18.1 Deceit 242 18.2 Choose your words carefully 243 18.3 Albrecht’s reaction to the accusations of Duke Ludwig, that he is forging 243 letters with the Emperor’s seal 18.4 The reaction of Friedrich the Victorious to the letter Adolf of Nassau 244 apparently forged 19. The importance of honour and reputation 244 19.1 Albrecht’s ideas about the importance of his honour 244 19.2 Albrecht and King George 245 19.3 King George concern for his reputation 246 19.4 Does honour really matter? 247 19.5 The importance of rank in diplomacy 247 20. Symbolism in the conduct of the princes 248 20.1 The importance of the demonstrative entrance into a town 248 20.2 A public honouring as a demonstration of friendship 249 20.3 The symbolism of the written document 250 20.4 What can be more symbolical than a symbol itself? 252 20.5 Public humiliation 253 20.6 The symbolic power of the oath 253 20.7 The importance of the correct form of address 254 20.8 The release of Karl of Baden and Count Ulrich from captivity 255 20.9 Mockery and honouring 257 21.