Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg (1469 – 30 March 1540) was a statesman of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1519 to 1540.

Life

Matthäus Lang was the son of a burgher of

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

and later received the noble title of ''Wellenburg'' after a castle near his hometown that came into his possession in 1507. After studying at

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

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

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

he entered the service of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg and quickly made his way to the front. He was also one of the most trusted advisers of Frederick's son and successor Maximilian I, and his services were rewarded in 1500 with the provostship of the cathedral at Augsburg and five years later with the position of the Bishop of Gurk. He also received the Bishopric of Cartagena in

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

in 1510 and was appointed cardinal by

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

one year later. In 1514 he became coadjutor to Leonhard von Keutschach, the Salzburg Prince-Archbishop, whom he succeeded in 1519. He received the title of a Cardinal Bishop of the Suburbicarian diocese of Albano in 1535. In the course of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

Lang's adherence to the older faith, together with his pride and arrogance, made him very unpopular in his Salzburg diocese. As early as in 1523 he was involved in a serious struggle with his subjects in the City of Salzburg, and in 1525, during the German Peasants' War, he had again to fight hard to hold his own. Insurgents occupied the town of

Hallein Hallein () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is the capital of Hallein (district), Hallein district. Geography The town is located in the ''Tennengau'' region south of the City of Salzburg, stretching alo ...

, devastated the archbishop's Burg Hohenwerfen and even laid siege to his residence at Hohensalzburg, until they were finally defeated with the aid of troops provided by the Swabian League. Cardinal Lang was one of the chief ministers of Charles V; he played an important part in the tangled international negotiations of his time; and he was always loyal to his imperial masters. Not without reason has he been compared with

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...

. The writer and courtier Maximilianus Transylvanus, a secretary to Charles V, is often said to be a son of Lang's (see Maximilianus Transylvanus for this discussion).

Bibliography

* Nicole Riegel: ''Die Bautätigkeit des Kardinals Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg (1468–1540)'', Münster (Westf.) 2009.

References

External links

Salzburg Coins
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang von Wellenburg, Matthaus 1469 births 1540 deaths 16th-century German cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Albano Bishops of Cartagena Roman Catholic archbishops of Salzburg People from Augsburg 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain Prince-archbishops of Salzburg