Georg Erasmus

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

von Tschernembl (26 January 1567 – 18 November 1626) was a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

Austrian nobleman. Tschernembl was born on 26 January 1567 in

Schwertberg Schwertberg is a market town in the district of Perg in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Geography Schwertberg lies in the Mühlviertel The Mühlviertel () is an Austrian region belonging to the state of Upper Austria: it is one of four " ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

into the noble . At the time, the Austrian nobility was predominantly

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and Tschernembl's family was no exception. His grandfather had moved the family there from

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

. His father, Hans, purchased the local castle. He was educated at home until he entered the

University of Altdorf The University of Altdorf () was a university in Altdorf bei Nürnberg, a small town outside the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg. It was founded in 1578 and received university privileges in 1622 and was closed in 1809 by Maximilian I Joseph of Ba ...

in November 1580. He left the university a committed Calvinist. With

Paulus Melissus Paulus Melissus (also: ''Paul Melissus,'' ''Paul Schede'', or ''Paulus Schedius Melissus''; 20 December 1539 – 3 February 1602) was a humanist Neo-Latin writer, translator and composer. Life Melissus was born in Mellrichstadt. He studied ...

, he undertook a grand tour of Europe, visiting London, Paris and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. He returned home no less Calvinist but with an ecumenical spirit. He was studying law in Italy in 1588. During the of 1596–1597, Tschernembl condemned the peasants for resorting to violence but urged a settlement of their grievances. With Gotthard von Starhemberg, he opposed the policies of

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

and

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. Notable people Notable people named Matthias include the following: Religion * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Isca ...

against Protestants and resisted the efforts of the commander to transfer Protestant churches to the Catholic church. In

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in 1600 he won concessions for Protestants, but in August 1601 he was summoned to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and held practically a prisoner until he agreed to implement certain anti-Protestant decrees. Following the

Bocskai uprising The Bocskai uprising, known in Hungary as Bocskai's War of Independence () was a revolt which took place in Hungary, Transylvania and modern Slovakia during the Long Turkish War (between 1604 and 1606) against Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, Emper ...

of 1604 in Hungary, Tschernembl renewed his efforts to obtain freedom for Austrian Protestants. He supported the and sought alliances with foreign nobles, like , ,

György Thurzó György Thurzó (, ; 2 September 1567 – 24 December 1616) was a prominent Hungarian nobleman and Palatine of Hungary between 1609 and 1616, a position equivalent to a prime minister or viceroy, serving under the rule of the Habsburgs in the ...

and Prince

Christian of Anhalt Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, also known as Christian of Anhalt, (11 May 1568 – 17 April 1630) was a German prince of the House of Ascania. He was ruling prince of Anhalt and, from 1603, ruling prince of the revived principality of An ...

. He won concessions from the estates of

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

in 1608 and from Matthias in 1609 and 1610, but the outbreak of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

in 1618 considerably weakened the Protestant position in Austria. When Upper Austria was overrun by

Bavarians Bavarians are a Germans, German ethnographic group native to Bavaria, a state in Germany. The group's dialect or speech is known as Bavarian language, Bavarian, native to Altbayern ("Old Bavaria"), roughly the territory of the historic Electo ...

in 1620, he fled to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. In 1622, the Jesuit

Jakob Keller Jacob Keller (1568 – 23 February 1631) was a German Jesuit theologian, author, and religious instructor. Life He was born in Säckingen, Baden, Germany. After entering the Society of Jesus in 1589 and completing his studies, he taught the clas ...

published a manuscript of Tschernembl's recommendations to King

Frederick of Bohemia Frederick () ( – 25 March 1189), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1172 to 1173 and again from 1178 to his death. Life Frederick was the eldest son of King Vladislav II of Bohemia and Gertrude of Babenberg, ...

with his own commentary under the title ''Consultationes''. The document had been captured after the siege of Heidelberg. As published, it contains 38 recommendations. After the Protestant defeat in the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

in 1620, Tschernembl spent the next two years in exile in the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...

and the

Duchy of Württemberg The Duchy of Württemberg () was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a Imperial Estate, state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1803. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries was mainly du ...

. After the fall of Heidelberg, he moved to Geneva in the autumn of 1622, where the Calvinist authorities welcomed him. He died on 18 November 1626 in Geneva.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control 1567 births 1626 deaths Austrian barons 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed Christians Austrian Protestants