, father =
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria ...
, mother =
Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg
Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg (Eleonore Magdalene Therese; 6 January 1655 – 19 January 1720) was a princess of the House of Wittelsbach who became Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia as the ...
, birth_date =
, birth_place =
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria
, death_date =
, death_place =
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria
, burial_place =
Imperial Crypt
The Imperial Crypt (german: Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neu ...
, Vienna
, religion =
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Joseph I (Joseph Jacob Ignaz Johann Anton Eustachius; 26 July 1678 – 17 April 1711) was
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
and ruler of the Austrian
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
from 1705 until his death in 1711. He was the eldest son of
Emperor Leopold I from his third wife,
Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg. Joseph was crowned
King of Hungary at the age of nine in 1687 and was elected
King of the Romans
King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward.
The title originally referred to any German k ...
at the age of eleven in 1690. He succeeded to the thrones of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
when his father died.
Joseph continued the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
, begun by his father against
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of ...
, in an attempt to make his younger brother
Charles (later Emperor Charles VI)
King of Spain
, coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg
, coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain
, image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg
, incumbent = Felipe VI
, incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
. In the process, however, owing to the victories won by his military commander, Prince
Eugene of Savoy, he did succeed in establishing Austrian hegemony over Italy. Joseph also had to contend with a protracted revolt in Hungary, fomented by Louis XIV. Neither conflict was resolved until the
Treaty of Utrecht, after his death.
[David Crowe (2004): A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia (Palgrave Macmillan) p.XI p.36-37]
His motto was ''Amore et Timore'' (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for "Through Love and Fear").
Early life
Born in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Joseph was educated strictly by
Charles Theodore, Prince of Salm, and became a good linguist. Perhaps due to the influence of his formerly Protestant tutor he was a less devout Catholic than his parents and other relatives and developed into an adherent of the early Enlightenment.
He had two great enthusiasms: music and hunting.
Although Joseph was the first son and child born of his parents' marriage, he was his father's third son and seventh child. Previously, Leopold had been married to Infanta
Margaret Theresa of Spain, who had given him four children, one of whom survived infancy. He then married
Claudia Felicitas of Austria, who gave him two short-lived daughters. Thus, Joseph had six half-siblings. In 1684, the six-year-old Archduke had his first portrait painted by
Benjamin Block. At the age of nine, on 9 December 1687, he was crowned
King of Hungary; and at the age of eleven, on 23 January 1690,
King of the Romans
King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward.
The title originally referred to any German k ...
.
Military service
In 1702, at the outbreak of the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
, Joseph saw his only military service. He joined the Imperial General,
Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden, in the
Siege of Landau.
Holy Roman Emperor
Prior to his ascension, Joseph had surrounded himself with reform-hungry advisors and the young court of Vienna was ambitious in the elaboration of innovative plans. He was described as a "forward-looking ruler".
The large number of privy councillors was reduced and attempts were made to make the bureaucracy more efficient. Measures were taken to modernize the central bodies and a certain success was achieved in stabilizing the chronic Habsburg finances. Joseph also endeavoured to strengthen his position in the Holy Roman Empire – as a means of strengthening Austria’s standing as a great power. When he sought to lay claim to imperial rights in Italy and gain territories for the Habsburgs, he even risked a military conflict with the Pope over the
duchy of Mantua
The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to ...
.
Joseph I was threatened with excommunication by
Pope Clement XI on 16 June 1699.
[Joaquín Lorenzo Villanueva]
Misapprehension of Patrick Curties and James Doyle concerning the oath which the bishops of Ireland take to the Roman Pontiff
(1825) page 64
In Hungary, Joseph had inherited the
kuruc rebellion from his father Leopold I: once again, nobles in Transylvania (Siebenbürgen) had risen against Habsburg rule, even advancing for a time as far as Vienna. Although Joseph was compelled to take military action, he refrained – unlike his predecessors – from seeking to teach his subjects a lesson by executing the leaders. Instead, he agreed to a compromise peace, which in the long term facilitated the integration of Hungary into the Habsburg domains.
It was his good fortune to govern the Austrian dominions and to be head of the Empire, during the years in which his trusted general,
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
, either acting alone in Italy or with the
Duke of Marlborough in Germany and
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, was beating the armies of
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of ...
. During the whole of his reign, Hungary was disturbed by the conflict with
Francis Rákóczi II, who eventually took refuge in the Ottoman Empire. The emperor reversed many of the authoritarian measures of his father, thus helping to placate opponents. He began the attempts to settle the question of the Austrian inheritance by a
pragmatic sanction, which was continued by his brother
Charles VI.
In 1710, Joseph extended his father's edict of
outlawry against the
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
(
Gypsies) in the Habsburg lands. Per Leopold, any Romani who entered the kingdom was to be declared an outlaw by
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...
. If the same person returned to Bohemia a second time, they were to be "treated with all possible severity". Joseph ordered that in the
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...
they were to have their right ears cut off; in the
March of Moravia
The Margraviate of Moravia ( cs, Markrabství moravské; german: Markgrafschaft Mähren) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administrated by a margrave in cooperat ...
, the left ear was to be cut off; in Austria, they would be branded on the back with a
branding iron, representing the
gallows. These mutilations were to enable the authorities to identify Romani who had been outlawed and returned. Joseph's edict specified "that all adult males were to be hanged without trial, whereas women and young males were to be flogged and banished forever." Officials who failed to enforce the edict could be fined 100
Reichsthaler. Helping Romani was punishable by a half-year's
forced labor. "Mass killings" of Romani were reported as a result.
[David Crowe (2004): A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia (Palgrave Macmillan) p.XI p.36-37]
Death
During the
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
epidemic of 1711, which killed
Louis, le Grand Dauphin and three siblings of the future
Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, Joseph became infected. He died on 17 April in the
Hofburg Palace. He had previously promised his wife to stop having affairs, should he survive.
The Emperor was buried in the
Imperial Crypt
The Imperial Crypt (german: Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neu ...
, resting place of the majority of the Habsburgs. His funeral took place on 20 April, in tomb
no. 35 in
Karl's Vault. His tomb was designed by
Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt
Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (14 November 1668 – 16 November 1745) was an Austrian baroque architect and military engineer who designed stately buildings and churches and whose work had a profound influence on the architecture of the Habsburg E ...
, decorated with pictures of various battles from the War of Spanish Succession.
Josefstadt
Josefstadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Josefstod'') is the eighth district of Vienna (german: 8. Bezirk, Josefstadt). It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily p ...
(the eighth district of
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
) is named for Joseph.
Marriage and lack of heirs
On 24 February 1699, he married
Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Wilhelmine Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (21 April 1673 – 10 April 1742) was Holy Roman Empress, Queen of the Germans, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Bohemia, Archduchess consort of Austria etc. as the spouse of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor.
...
in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. They had three children and their only son died of
hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is a condition in which an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs within the brain. This typically causes increased pressure inside the skull. Older people may have headaches, double vision, poor balance, urinary i ...
before his first birthday. Joseph had a passion for love affairs (none of which resulted in illegitimate children) and he caught a
sexually transmittable disease, probably
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...
, which he passed on to his wife while they were trying to produce a new heir. This incident rendered her
sterile
Sterile or sterility may refer to:
*Asepsis
Asepsis is the state of being free from disease-causing micro-organisms (such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses, pathogenic fungi, and parasites). There are two categories of asepsis: medical and surgi ...
.
Their father, who was still alive during these events, made Joseph and his brother Charles sign the
Mutual Pact of Succession
The Mutual Pact of Succession (Latin: ''Pactum Mutuae Successionis'', ) was a succession device secretly signed by archdukes Joseph and Charles of Austria, the future emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1703.
In 1700 the senior line of the Hous ...
, under which Joseph's daughters would have precedence over Charles's daughters, in case neither fathered a son. This ruling, ignored in the accession of Charles's daughter
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
, led to the
War of Austrian Succession.
Issue
Ancestors
References
*
Bibliography
* C. W. Ingrao, In Quest and Crisis: Emperor Joseph I and the Habsburg Monarchy (1979)
* F. Krones von Marchiand, ''Grundriss der Oesterreichischen Geschichte'' (1882)
* F. Wagner, ''Historia Josephi Caesaris'' (1746)
* J. C. Herchenhahn, ''Geschichte der Regierung Kaiser Josephs I'' (1786–1789)
* C. van Noorden, ''Europäische Geschichte im achtzehnten Jahrhundert'' (1870–1882).
External links
*
Joseph I.: ''"Regina coeli"''(
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060509014835/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552898/Joseph_I_(Holy_Roman_Empire).html Archived2009-10-3
Regnal titles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
1678 births
1711 deaths
18th-century Holy Roman Emperors
18th-century archdukes of Austria
17th-century Kings of the Romans
Nobility from Vienna
Dukes of Teschen
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
Grand Masters of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Knights of the Golden Fleece
Deaths from smallpox
Infectious disease deaths in Austria
Burials at the Imperial Crypt
Burials at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
17th-century House of Habsburg
Dukes of Carniola
Sons of emperors
Children of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor