History of the Germans from the Middle Ages to Reunification
von Dirk Hoffmann-Becking
- #103 -2Geschichte
- #101beste Platzierung
- wöchentlichErscheinungsrhythmus
- 36 mintypische Länge
- 20. März 2025letzte Folge
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Ep. 158: Karl IV (1346-1378) - Prague - a new Rome
“Karl, by the grace of God, King of the Romans, ever august, and King of Bohemia [ ] We have turned over in careful contemplation, and have been diligently pondering how our hereditary kingdom of Bohemia may flourish in all its beauty, thri
Ep. 157: The Black Death and other Calamities (1346-1400)
In around 1320 near the lake Issy-Kul in Kyrgysistan the rats started dying. Shortly after the inhabitants became affected with terrible diseases. Some started coughing up blood and all who did, died within 3 days. Others developed swelling
Ep. 156: Karl IV (1346-1378) - What Price a Crown
The year is 1346 and we have, yes, another succession crisis. Without checking through my 1500 pages of transcripts, I have counted a total f 14 contested imperial elections in the 427 years we have covered so far. Henry the Fowler, Herny I
Ep. 155: Karl IV (1346-1378) - Youth of an Emperor
You have heard me complaining regularly over the last 154 episodes that what we report as political ambitions or strategic plans of the kings and emperors was pure conjecture derived from their actions and public statement. But we could nev
Ep. 154 - The Blind King John of Bohemia (1296-1346)
The noble and gallant King of Bohemia, also known as John of Luxemburg because he was the son of the Emperor Henry of Luxemburg, was told by his people that the battle had begun. Although he was in full armour and equipped for combat, he co
Ep. 153: The Rise of the City of Nürnberg in the 14th Century
“In the same way that Jerusalem is the navel of the world, is Nurnberg the navel of Germany” is how Matthäus Dresser described the city in 1581. The astronomer Johannes Regiomontanus moved to Nurnberg in 1471 because there" ...one can easil
Ep.152: Ludwig the Bavarian (1314-1347) - The (not so) Ugly Duchess Margarete Maultasch
“The twelve-year-old Margarete, Princess of Carinthia and Tyrol, was travelling from her seat near Meran to Innsbruck for her wedding with the ten-year old Prince Johann of Bohemia. [..] Still and serious she sat, in ceremonial pomp. Her bo
Ep. 151: Ludwig the Bavarian (1314-1347) - The Kurverein zu Rhens
This week we look at the central intellectual debate of the 14th century, did Jesus own property? If yes, then it was right and proper that the church owned land, privileges, entire counties and duchies, yes that the pope was not just the s
Ep. 150: Ludwig the Bavarian (1314-1347) - The Last Chivalric Battles – Morgarten and Mühldorf
The 14th century is a time of fundamental change in practically all areas of social, political and economic life. It is a time when the certainties of the Middle Ages are replaced by a process of trial and error, sometimes successful, but a
Ep. 149: Ludwig the Bavarian (1314-1347) - The Real Ludwig of Bavaria
A few months after emperor Henry VII had died in the Tuscan village of Buonconvento and before a successor had been elected, a young man, Ludwig, second son of the duke of Upper Bavaria made his name defeating a much larger Habsburg force.
Ep. 148: Henry VII (1308-1313) - Imperial Swansong
The year is 1312 and Henry VII is finally embarking on his journey to Rome that will bring about the first imperial coronation in almost a century and hence the formal end to the Interregnum, the time without emperors. Becoming emperor is h
Ep. 147: Henry VII (1308-1313) - Brescia or Bust
Henry VII had gained control of most of Northern Italy in less than three months. It will take him 9 months to lose it all again. How did he go from bringer of peace and justice and all out saviour of Italy to brutal conqueror and godless t
Ep. 146: Henry VII (1308-1313) - The Return of the Emperor to Rome
In the winter of 1310 the emperor elect Henry VII not yet 40 years of age and every inch a king appears in Italy. An Italy torn apart by incessant violence, between and within the cities. Allegedly it is a struggle between the pro-imperial
Ep. 145: Henry VII (1308-1313) - How to make Friends and Influence People
Henry, the new king of the Romans, just 30 years of age, tall and blond, every inch his forebearer the great Charlemagne had a one track mind. There was one thing he wanted and that was the imperial crown. It is now 60 years since there las
Ep. 144: Henry VII (1308-1313) -The Rise of the House of Luxembourg
On November 27th, 1308 the prince electors chose Henry VII, count of Luxemburg to be their new king of the Romans and future emperor. Little did they know that this decision will give rise to a dynasty that will rule the empire for as many
Ep. 143: Albrecht I (1298-1308) -The Murder of a King
The late 13th century was the sniper’s alley for many a powerful family. The disappearance of great dynasties, the Arpads of Hungary, the Premyslids of Bohemia, the Zaehringer, Babenbergs, the counts of Holland to name just a few wasn’t dow
Ep. 142: Adolf von Nassau (1292-1298) - A Shadow of a King
After the death of Rudolf von Habsburg the Prince Electors chose another, now truly impecunious count, Adolf von Nassau to be king. They chose him over Rudolf’s son Albrecht and over the overwhelmingly most powerful prince in the empire, Ki
Ep. 141: Rudolf of Habsburg (1273-1291) - Semper Augustus / Allezeit Mehrer des Reiches
Martin Rady in his highly amusing and exceptionally well written book on the Habsburg said: “The remainder of Rudolf’s reign up to his death in 1291 was a failure. He did not manage to have himself crowned emperor by the pope and had to mak
Ep. 140: Rudolf of Habsburg (1273-1291) and the Golden King Ottokar of Bohemia
This week we will look at what the poor count Rudolf of Habsburg does once he had been elected King of the Romans. This is not the first time the electors have chosen a man of much more modest means than themselves. William of Holland and H
Ep. 139: Rudolf of Habsburg (1273-1291) - The End of the Interregnum
On October 1, 1273 seven princes elected a new king of the Romans. Their choice was a momentous one that set European history further down its path away from a universal empire to separate kingdoms and principalities. The pope had demanded
Ep. 138: The Holy Roman Empire from 919 – 1250: Catch-up and Season Opener
This episode is something I never thought I would do, it is a run through the history of the Holy Roman Empire from 919 AD to 1250, pretty much most of the periods I have covered so far. Why do it? If you’re one of those who have listened r
Ep. 137: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - The Conversion and the End
This week we will talk about the end of the rule of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. Instead of a land ruled by a chivalric order answering to the pope, Prussia became a secular state, ruled by a protestant prince and run by a newly created
Ep. 136: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - 13 Years of War
The theocratic state of the Teutonic Knights had survived the devastating defeat at Tannenberg with most of its territory intact. But underneath the foundations of the edifice are crumbling. The economy is in tatters, the theological justif
Ep. 135: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - After Tannenberg
Last week we ended with the famous battle of Tannenberg or as the Poles would call it Grunwald and the Lithuanians Zalgiris. This battle is not just famous for its outcome but also for the various accounts of what happened. There is a Polis
Ep. 134: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - Tannenberg / Grunwald / Žalgiris
This week we look at the reasons the golden age of the Teutonic knights came to an abrupt end at the beginning of the 15th century. It is a sequence of events that involve some remarkable Polish and Lithuanian princes, the Templars, and of
Ep. 133: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - The Order of the Order
In the century that followed the last of the Prussian and Livonian uprisings the states of the Teutonic Order in the Baltic experienced a period of economic growth and internal and external stability that is almost unique in the chaotic 14t
Ep. 132: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - The Battle on the Ice
This week we look at the activities of the Teutonic order in Livonia during the 13th century. The situation in Livonia was profoundly different to Prussia and posed a number of new challenges for the brothers. In Livonia there were the powe
Ep. 131: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - The Conquest of Prussia (Part II)
Last week we left the action after the Teutonic Knights had signed the peace of Christburg in 1249 to put an end to the first Prussian revolt. The local population had risen up with the help of duke Swantopolk of Pomerelia who feared for th
Ep. 130: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - The Conquest of Prussia (Part I)
Last week we heard about Konrad of Masovia’s offer of the Kulmer Land to the Teutonic knight. This week we will talk about what they did once they had accepted the offer. The first knights arrived in 1226 but it would take almost 6o years b
Ep. 129: The Teutonic Knights (1190-1525) - The First Grand Master - Hermann von Salza
“.. the far-sighted planning of Grand Master Brother Hermann von Salza had so strengthened the Teutonic Order that it had many members and such power, riches and honour that word of its fame and good reputation had spread the length and bre
