Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (Czech: Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian[a] military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). His successful martial career made him one of the richest and most influential men in the Holy Roman Empire by the time of his death. Wallenstein became the supreme commander of the armies of the Imperial Army of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and was a major figure of the Thirty Years' War.
"Wallenstein" redirects here. For other uses, see Wallenstein (disambiguation).
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein
25 February 1634 (aged 50)
Cheb, Bohemia
1604–1634
- • Battle of White Mountain (1620)
- • Battle of Dessau Bridge (1626)
- • Siege of Stralsund (1628)
- • Battle of Wolgast (1628)
- • Battle of the Alte Veste (1632)
- • Battle of Lützen (1632)
- • Battle of Steinau (1633)
Wallenstein was born in the Kingdom of Bohemia into a poor Protestant noble family. He acquired a multilingual university education across Europe and converted to Catholicism in 1606. A marriage in 1609 to the wealthy widow of a Bohemian landowner gave him access to considerable estates and wealth after her death at an early age in 1614.
Three years later, Wallenstein embarked on a career as a mercenary by raising forces for the Holy Roman Emperor in the Uskok War against the Republic of Venice.
Wallenstein fought for the Catholics in the Protestant Bohemian Revolt of 1618 and was awarded estates confiscated from the rebels after their defeat at White Mountain in 1620. A series of military victories against the Protestants raised Wallenstein's reputation in the imperial court and in 1625 he raised a large army of 50,000 men to further the Imperial cause. A year later, he administered a crushing defeat to the Protestants at Dessau Bridge. For his successes, Wallenstein became an imperial count palatine and made himself ruler of the lands of the Duchy of Friedland in northern Bohemia.[2]
An imperial generalissimo[3] by land, and Admiral of the Baltic Sea from 21 April 1628,[4] Wallenstein found himself released from service in 1630 after Ferdinand grew wary of his ambition.[5] Several Protestant victories over Catholic armies induced Ferdinand to recall Wallenstein (Gollersdorf April 1632), who then defeated the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus at Alte Veste. The Swedish king was later killed at the Battle of Lützen. Wallenstein realised the war could last decades and, during the summer of 1633, arranged a series of armistices to negotiate peace. These proved to be his undoing as plotters accused him of treachery and Emperor Ferdinand II ordered his assassination. Dissatisfied with the Emperor's treatment of him, Wallenstein considered allying with the Protestants. However, he was assassinated at Eger in Bohemia by one of the army's officials, with the emperor's approval.
Obsession with horoscopes[edit]
While a student at Padua, Wallenstein had followed the lessons of the prominent astrologer Andrea Argoli, who had also initiated him into the mysteries of the Kabbalah.[42]
In 1608, Wallenstein commissioned the imperial court mathematician Johannes Kepler issue his first horoscope through intermediaries.[43] It seems that he did not receive the horoscope until late 1614 or early 1615.[43] "Why delivery should have taken so long is anyone's guess. Perhaps Kepler had been defrauded too often and did not want too hand it over until he had his promised fee and that had been delayed."[43] Wallenstein, through the same intermediary (Gerhard von Taxis) reached out to Kepler again in 1625 for amendments and amplifications on the chart.[43]
Consulting astrologer was not unusual at the time. Though astrology had been forbidden by the Church at the Council of Trent, Emperor Rudolph II (a nominally Catholic monarch and the ruler of Bohemia where Wallenstein served as his vassal) frequently consulted astrologers as did many at his court.[43] Anyone who was wealthy and influential often had one. After a brief warning not to trust the stars alone, Kepler wrote that his client had a busy, restless mind who strove for new, untried or strange means. The horoscope characterized Wallenstein as a person with great ambition who strove for power. Dangerous enemies may challenge him, but he would mostly win. Wallenstein relied obsessively on horoscopes for the next several years prior to his death in 1634.[44][45]
Chronic illness[edit]
Wallenstein began to suffer joint inflammation in the feet in 1620. It was believed to be a case of gout, or by excessive drinking. His condition deteriorated rapidly.
In November 1629 he became so ill that he lay down for weeks. In March 1630 he travelled to Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) to seek relief. He found it difficult to walk. At the Battle of Lützen in November 1632, he mounted his horse in extreme pain. Half a year later he was no longer able to ride. On his flight to Eger in 1634 he had to be moved around in a wagon or lying in a transport litter.[46]
In the 1970s the skeleton of Wallenstein was examined. The inner core of the leg bones showed abnormal changes that suggest terminal syphilis.[47][48]
[in German] (1913). "Albrecht von Wallenstein". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
