Chapter 7

(A. E. J.)

MAXIMIANUS,a Latin elegiac poet who flourished during the 6th centuryA.D.He was an Etruscan by birth, and spent his youth at Rome, where he enjoyed a great reputation as an orator. At an advanced age he was sent on an important mission to the East, perhaps by Theodoric, if he is the Maximianus to whom that monarch addressed a letter preserved in Cassiodorus (Variarum, i. 21). The six elegies extant under his name, written in old age, in which he laments the loss of his youth, contain descriptions of various amours. They show the authorâ€™s familiarity with the best writers of the Augustan age.

Editions by J. C. Wernsdorf,Poetae latini minores, vi.; E. BÃ¤hrens,Poetae latini minores, v.; M. Petschenig (1890), in C. F. Aschersonâ€™sBerliner Studien, xi.; R. Webster (Princeton, 1901; seeClassical Review, Oct. 1901), with introduction and commentary; see also Robinson Ellis inAmerican Journal of Philology, v. (1884) and Teuffel-Schwabe,Hist. of Roman Literature(Eng. trans.), Â§ 490. There is an English version (as from Cornelius Gallus), by Hovenden Walker (1689), under the title ofThe Impotent Lover.

MAXIMIANUS, MARCUS AURELIUS VALERIUS,surnamed Herculius, Roman emperor fromA.D.286 to 305, was born of humble parents at Sirmium in Pannonia. He achieved distinction during long service in the army, and having been made Caesar by Diocletian in 285, received the title of Augustus in the following year (April 1, 286). In 287 he suppressed the rising of the peasants (Bagaudae) in Gaul, but in 289, after a three yearsâ€™ struggle, his colleague and he were compelled to acquiesce in the assumption by his lieutenant Carausius (who had crossed over to Britain) of the title of Augustus. After 293 Maximianus left the care of the Rhine frontier to Constantius Chlorus, who had been designated Caesar in that year, but in 297 his arms achieved a rapid and decisive victory over the barbarians of Mauretania, and in 302 he shared at Rome the triumph of Diocletian, the last pageant of the kind ever witnessed by that city. On the 1st of May 305, the day of Diocletianâ€™s abdication, he also, but without his colleagueâ€™s sincerity, divested himself of the imperial dignity at Mediolanum (Milan), which had been his capital, and retired to a villa in Lucania; in the following year, however, he was induced by his son Maxentius to reassume the purple. In 307 he brought the emperor Flavius Valerius Severus a captive to Rome, and also compelled Galerius to retreat, but in 308 he was himself driven by Maxentius from Italy into Illyricum, whence again he was compelled to seek refuge at Arelate (Arles), the court of his son-in-law, Constantine. Here a false report was received, or invented, of the death of Constantine, at that time absent on the Rhine. Maximianus at once grasped at the succession, but was soon driven to Massilia (Marseilles), where, having been delivered up to his pursuers, he strangled himself.

See Zosimus ii. 7-11; Zonaras xii. 31-33; Eutropius ix. 20, x. 2, 3; Aurelius Victor p. 39. For the emperor Galerius Valerius Maximianus seeGalerius.

MAXIMILIAN I.(1573-1651), called â€œthe Great,â€ elector and duke of Bavaria, eldest son of William V. of Bavaria, was born at Munich on the 17th of April 1573. He was educated by the Jesuits at the university of Ingolstadt, and began to take part in the government in 1591. He married in 1595 his cousin, Elizabeth, daughter of Charles II., duke of Lorraine, and became duke of Bavaria upon his fatherâ€™s abdication in 1597. He refrained from any interference in German politics until 1607, when he was entrusted with the duty of executing the imperial ban against the free city of DonauwÃ¶rth, a Protestant stronghold. In December 1607 his troops occupied the city, and vigorous steps were taken to restore the supremacy of the older faith. Some Protestant princes, alarmed at this action, formed a union to defend their interests, which was answered in 1609 by the establishment of a league, in the formation of which Maximilian took an important part. Under his leadership an army was set on foot, but his policy was strictly defensive and he refused to allow the league to become a tool in the hands of the house of Habsburg. Dissensions among his colleagues led the duke to resign his office in 1616, but the approach of trouble brought about his return to the league about two years later.

Having refused to become a candidate for the imperial throne in 1619, Maximilian was faced with the complications arising from the outbreak of war in Bohemia. After some delay he made a treaty with the emperor Ferdinand II. in October 1619, and in return for large concessions placed the forces of the league at the emperorâ€™s service. Anxious to curtail the area of the struggle, he made a treaty of neutrality with the Protestant Union, and occupied Upper Austria as security for the expenses of the campaign. On the 8th of November 1620 his troops under Count Tilly defeated the forces of Frederick, king of Bohemia and count palatine of the Rhine, at the White Hill near Prague. In spite of the arrangement with the union Tilly then devastated the Rhenish Palatinate, and in February 1623 Maximilian was formally invested with the electoral dignity and the attendant office of imperial steward, which had been enjoyed since 1356 by the counts palatine of the Rhine. After receiving the Upper Palatinate and restoring Upper Austria to Ferdinand, Maximilian became leader of the party which sought to bring about Wallensteinâ€™s dismissal from the imperial service. At the diet of Regensburg in 1630 Ferdinand was compelled to assent to this demand, but the sequel was disastrous both for Bavaria and its ruler. Early in 1632 the Swedes marched into the duchy and occupied Munich, and Maximilian could only obtain the assistance of the imperialists by placing himself under the orders of Wallenstein, now restored to the command of the emperorâ€™s forces. The ravages of the Swedes and their French allies induced the elector to enter into negotiations for peace with Gustavus Adolphus and Cardinal Richelieu. He also proposed to disarm the Protestants by modifying the Restitution edict of 1629; but these efforts were abortive. In March 1647 he concluded an armistice with France and Sweden at Ulm, but the entreaties of the emperor Ferdinand III. led him to disregard his undertaking. Bavaria was again ravaged, and the electorâ€™s forces defeated in May 1648 at Zusmarshausen. But the peace of Westphalia soon put an end to the struggle. By this treaty it was agreed that Maximilian should retain the electoral dignity, which was made hereditary in his family; and the Upper Palatinate was incorporated with Bavaria. The elector died at Ingolstadt on the 27th of September 1651. By his second wife,Maria Anne, daughter of the emperor Ferdinand II., he left two sons, Ferdinand Maria, who succeeded him, and Maximilian Philip. In 1839 a statue was erected to his memory at Munich by Louis I., king of Bavaria. Weak in health and feeble in frame, Maximilian had high ambitions both for himself and his duchy, and was tenacious and resourceful in prosecuting his designs. As the ablest prince of his age he sought to prevent Germany from becoming the battleground of Europe, and although a rigid adherent of the Catholic faith, was not always subservient to the priest.

See P. P. Wolf,Geschichte KurfÃ¼rst Maximilians I. und seiner Zeit(Munich, 1807-1809); C. M. Freiherr von Aretin,Geschichte des bayerschen Herzogs und KurfÃ¼rsten Maximilian des Ersten(Passau, 1842); M. Lossen,Die Reichstadt DonauwÃ¶rth und Herzog Maximilian(Munich, 1866); F. Stieve,KurfÃ¼rst Maximilian I. von Bayern(Munich, 1882); F. A. W. Schreiber,Maximilian I. der Katholische KurfÃ¼rst von Bayern, und der dreissigjÃ¤hrige Krieg(Munich, 1868); M. HÃ¶gl,Die Bekehrung der Oberpfalz durch KurfÃ¼rst Maximilian I.(Regensburg, 1903).

MAXIMILIAN I.(Maximilian Joseph) (1756-1825), king of Bavaria, was the son of the count palatine Frederick of ZweibrÃ¼cken-Birkenfeld, and was born on the 27th of May 1756. He was carefully educated under the supervision of his uncle, Duke Christian IV. of ZweibrÃ¼cken, took service in 1777 as a colonel in the French army, and rose rapidly to the rank of major-general. From 1782 to 1789 he was stationed at Strassburg, but at the outbreak of the revolution he exchanged the French for the Austrian service, taking part in the opening campaigns of the revolutionary wars. On the 1st of April 1795 he succeeded his brother, Charles II., as duke of ZweibrÃ¼cken, and on the 16th of February 1799 became elector of Bavaria on the extinction of the Sulzbach line with the death of the elector Charles Theodore.

The sympathy with France and with French ideas of enlightenment which characterized his reign was at once manifested. In the newly organized ministry Count Max Josef von Montgelas (q.v.), who, after falling into disfavour with Charles Theodore, had acted for a time as Maximilian Josephâ€™s private secretary, was the most potent influence, an influence wholly â€œenlightenedâ€ and French. Agriculture and commerce were fostered, the laws were ameliorated, a new criminal code drawn up, taxes and imposts equalized without regard to traditional privileges, while a number of religious houses were suppressed and their revenues used for educational and other useful purposes. In foreign politics Maximilian Josephâ€™s attitude was from the German point of view less commendable. With the growing sentiment of German nationality he had from first to last no sympathy, and his attitude throughout was dictated by wholly dynastic, or at least Bavarian, considerations. Until 1813 he was the most faithful of Napoleonâ€™s German allies, the relation being cemented by the marriage of his daughter to EugÃ¨ne Beauharnais. His reward came with the treaty of Pressburg (Dec. 26, 1805), by the terms of which he was to receive the royal title and important territorial acquisitions in Swabia and Franconia to round off his kingdom. The style of king he actually assumed on the 1st of January 1806.

The new king of Bavaria was the most important of the princes belonging to the Confederation of the Rhine, and remained Napoleonâ€™s ally until the eve of the battle of Leipzig, when by the convention of Ried (Oct. 8, 1813) he made the guarantee of the integrity of his kingdom the price of his joining the Allies. By the first treaty of Paris (June 3, 1814), however, he ceded Tirol to Austria in exchange for the former duchy of WÃ¼rzburg. At the congress of Vienna, too, which he attended in person, Maximilian had to make further concessions to Austria, ceding the quarters of the Inn and Hausruck in return for a part of the old Palatinate. The king fought hard to maintain the contiguity of the Bavarian territories as guaranteed at Ried; but the most he could obtain was an assurance from Metternich in the matter of the Baden succession, in which he was also doomed to be disappointed (seeBaden:History, iii. 506).

At Vienna and afterwards Maximilian sturdily opposed any reconstitution of Germany which should endanger the independence of Bavaria, and it was his insistence on the principle of full sovereignty being left to the German reigning princes that largely contributed to the loose and weak organization of the new German Confederation. The Federal Act of the Vienna congress was proclaimed in Bavaria, not as a law but as an international treaty. It was partly to secure popular support in his resistance to any interference of the federal diet in the internal affairs of Bavaria, partly to give unity to his somewhat heterogeneous territories, that Maximilian on the 26th of May 1818 granted a liberal constitution to his people. Montgelas, who had opposed this concession, had fallen in the previous year, and Maximilian had also reversed his ecclesiastical policy, signing on the 24th of October 1817 a concordat with Rome by which the powers of the clergy, largely curtailed under Montgelasâ€™s administration, were restored. The new parliament proved so intractable that in 1819 Maximilian was driven to appeal to the powers against his own creation; but his Bavarian â€œparticularismâ€ and his genuine popular sympathies prevented him from allowing the Carlsbad decrees to be strictly enforced within his dominions. The suspects arrested by order of the Mainz Commission he was accustomed to examine himself, with the result that in many cases the whole proceedings were quashed, and in not a few the accused dismissed with a present of money. Maximilian died on the 13th of October 1825 and was succeeded by his son Louis I.

In private life Maximilian was kindly and simple. He loved to play the part ofLandesvater, walking about the streets of his capitalen bourgeoisand entering into conversation with all ranks of his subjects, by whom he was regarded with great affection. He was twice married: (1) in 1785 to Princess Wilhelmine Auguste of Hesse-Darmstadt, (2) in 1797 to Princess Caroline Friederike of Baden.

See G. Freiherr von Lerchenfeld,Gesch. Bayerns unter KÃ¶nig Maximilian Joseph I.(Berlin, 1854); J. M. SÃ¶ltl,Max Joseph, KÃ¶nig von Bayern(Stuttgart, 1837); L. von Kobell,Unter den vier ersten KÃ¶nigen Bayerns. Nach Briefen und eigenen Erinnerungen(Munich, 1894).

MAXIMILIAN II.(1811-1864), king of Bavaria, son of king Louis I. and of his consort Theresa of Saxe-Hildburghausen, was born on the 28th of November 1811. After studying at GÃ¶ttingen and Berlin and travelling in Germany, Italy and Greece, he was introduced by his father into the council of state (1836). From the first he showed a studious disposition, declaring on one occasion that had he not been born in a royal cradle his choice would have been to become a professor. As crown prince, in the chÃ¢teau of Hohenschwangau near FÃ¼ssen, which he had rebuilt with excellent taste, he gathered about him an intimate society of artists and men of learning, and devoted his time to scientific and historical study. When the abdication of Louis I. (March 28, 1848) called him suddenly to the throne, his choice of ministers promised a liberal rÃ©gime. The progress of the revolution, however, gave him pause. He strenuously opposed the unionist plans of the Frankfort parliament, refused to recognize the imperial constitution devised by it, and assisted Austria in restoring the federal diet and in carrying out the federal execution in Hesse and Holstein. Although, however, from 1850 onwards his government tended in the direction of absolutism, he refused to become the tool of the clerical reaction, and even incurred the bitter criticism of the Ultramontanes by inviting a number of celebrated men of learning and science (e.g.Liebig and Sybel) to Munich, regardless of their religious views. Finally, in 1859, he dismissed the reactionary ministry of von der Pfordten, and met the wishes of his people for a moderate constitutional government. In his German policy he was guided by the desire to maintain the union of the princes, and hoped to attain this as against the perilous rivalry of Austria and Prussia by the creation of a league of the â€œmiddleâ€ and small statesâ€”the so-called Trias. In 1863, however, seeing what he thought to be a better way, he supported the project of reform proposed by Austria at the FÃ¼rstentag of Frankfort. The failure of this proposal, and the attitude of Austria towards the Confederation and in the Schleswig-Holstein question, undeceived him; butbefore he could deal with the new situation created by the outbreak of the war with Denmark he died suddenly at Munich, on the 10th of March 1864.

Maximilian was a man of amiable qualities and of intellectual attainments far above the average, but as a king he was hampered by constant ill-health, which compelled him to be often abroad, and when at home to live much in the country. By his wife, Maria Hedwig, daughter of Prince William of Prussia, whom he married in 1842, he had two sons, Louis II., king of Bavaria, and Otto, king of Bavaria, both of whom lost their reason.

See J. M. SÃ¶ltl,Max der Zweite, KÃ¶nig von Bayern(Munich, 1865); biography by G. K. Heigel inAllgem. Deutsche Biographie, vol. xxi. (Leipzig, 1885). Maximilianâ€™s correspondence with Schlegel was published at Stuttgart in 1890.

MAXIMILIAN I.(1459-1519), Roman emperor, son of the emperor Frederick III. and Leonora, daughter of Edward, king of Portugal, was born at Vienna Neustadt on the 22nd of March 1459. On the 18th of August 1477, by his marriage at Ghent to Mary, who had just inherited Burgundy and the Netherlands from her father Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, he effected a union of great importance in the history of the house of Habsburg. He at once undertook the defence of his wifeâ€™s dominions from an attack by Louis XI., king of France, and defeated the French forces at Guinegatte, the modern Enguinegatte, on the 7th of August 1479. But Maximilian was regarded with suspicion by the states of Netherlands, and after suppressing a rising in Gelderland his position was further weakened by the death of his wife on the 27th of March 1482. He claimed to be recognized as guardian of his young son Philip and as regent of the Netherlands, but some of the states refused to agree to his demands and disorder was general. Maximilian was compelled to assent to the treaty of Arras in 1482 between the states of the Netherlands and Louis XI. This treaty provided that Maximilianâ€™s daughter Margaret should marry Charles, the dauphin of France, and have for her dowry Artois and Franche-ComtÃ©, two of the provinces in dispute, while the claim of Louis on the duchy of Burgundy was tacitly admitted. Maximilian did not, however, abandon the struggle in the Netherlands. Having crushed a rebellion at Utrecht, he compelled the burghers of Ghent to restore Philip to him in 1485, and returning to Germany was chosen king of the Romans, or German king, at Frankfort on the 16th of February 1486, and crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle on the 9th of the following April. Again in the Netherlands, he made a treaty with Francis II., duke of Brittany, whose independence was threatened by the French regent, Anne of Beaujeu, and the struggle with France was soon renewed. This war was very unpopular with the trading cities of the Netherlands, and early in 1488 Maximilian, having entered Bruges, was detained there as a prisoner for nearly three months, and only set at liberty on the approach of his father with a large force. On his release he had promised he would maintain the treaty of Arras and withdraw from the Netherlands; but he delayed his departure for nearly a year and took part in a punitive campaign against his captors and their allies. On his return to Germany he made peace with France at Frankfort in July 1489, and in October several of the states of the Netherlands recognized him as their ruler and as guardian of his son. In March 1490 the county of Tirol was added to his possessions through the abdication of his kinsman, Count Sigismund, and this district soon became his favourite residence.

Meanwhile the king had formed an alliance with Henry VII. king of England, and Ferdinand II., king of Aragon, to defend the possessions of the duchess Anne, daughter and successor of Francis, duke of Brittany. Early in 1490 he took a further step and was betrothed to the duchess, and later in the same year the marriage was celebrated by proxy; but Brittany was still occupied by French troops, and Maximilian was unable to go to the assistance of his bride. The sequel was startling. In December 1491 Anne was married to Charles VIII., king of France, and Maximilianâ€™s daughter Margaret, who had resided in France since her betrothal, was sent back to her father. The inaction of Maximilian at this time is explained by the condition of affairs in Hungary, where the death of king Matthias Corvinus had brought about a struggle for this throne. The Roman king, who was an unsuccessful candidate, took up arms, drove the Hungarians from Austria, and regained Vienna, which had been in the possession of Matthias since 1485; but he was compelled by want of money to retreat, and on the 7th of November 1491 signed the treaty of Pressburg with Ladislaus, king of Bohemia, who had obtained the Hungarian throne. By this treaty it was agreed that Maximilian should succeed to the crown in case Ladislaus left no legitimate male issue. Having defeated the invading Turks at Villach in 1492, the king was eager to take revenge upon the king of France; but the states of the Netherlands would afford him no assistance. The German diet was indifferent, and in May 1493 he agreed to the peace of Senlis and regained Artois and Franche-ComtÃ©.

In August 1493 the death of the emperor left Maximilian sole ruler of Germany and head of the house of Habsburg; and on the 16th of March 1494 he married at Innsbruck Bianca Maria Sforza, daughter of Galeazzo Sforza, duke of Milan (d. 1476). At this time Biancaâ€™s uncle, Ludovico Sforza, was invested with the duchy of Milan in return for the substantial dowry which his niece brought to the king. Maximilian harboured the idea of driving the Turks from Europe; but his appeal to all Christian sovereigns was ineffectual. In 1494 he was again in the Netherlands, where he led an expedition against the rebels of Gelderland, assisted Perkin Warbeck to make a descent upon England, and formally handed over the government of the Low Countries to Philip. His attention was next turned to Italy, and, alarmed at the progress of Charles VIII. in the peninsula, he signed the league of Venice in March 1495, and about the same time arranged a marriage between his son Philip and Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Castile and Aragon. The need for help to prosecute the war in Italy caused the king to call the diet to Worms in March 1495, when he urged the necessity of checking the progress of Charles. As during his fatherâ€™s lifetime Maximilian had favoured the reforming party among the princes, proposals for the better government of the empire were brought forward at Worms as a necessary preliminary to financial and military support. Some reforms were adopted, the public peace was proclaimed without any limitation of time and a general tax was levied. The three succeeding years were mainly occupied with quarrels with the diet, with two invasions of France, and a war in Gelderland against Charles, count of Egmont, who claimed that duchy, and was supported by French troops. The reforms of 1495 were rendered abortive by the refusal of Maximilian to attend the diets or to take any part in the working of the new constitution, and in 1497 he strengthened his own authority by establishing an Aulic Council (Reichshofrath), which he declared was competent to deal with all business of the empire, and about the same time set up a court to centralize the financial administration of Germany.

In February 1499 the king became involved in a war with the Swiss, who had refused to pay the imperial taxes or to furnish a contribution for the Italian expedition. Aided by France they defeated the German troops, and the peace of Basel in September 1499 recognized them as virtually independent of the empire. About this time Maximilianâ€™s ally, Ludovico of Milan, was taken prisoner by Louis XII., king of France, and Maximilian was again compelled to ask the diet for help. An elaborate scheme for raising an army was agreed to, and in return a council of regency (Reichsregiment) was established, which amounted, in the words of a Venetian envoy, to a deposition of the king. The relations were now very strained between the reforming princes and Maximilian, who, unable to raise an army, refused to attend the meetings of the council at Nuremberg, while both parties treated for peace with France. The hostility of the king rendered the council impotent. He was successful in winning the support of many of the younger princes, and in establishing a new court of justice, the members of which were named by himself. The negotiations with France ended in the treaty of Blois, signed in September 1504, whenMaximilianâ€™s grandson Charles was betrothed to Claude, daughter of Louis XII., and Louis, invested with the duchy of Milan, agreed to aid the king of the Romans to secure the imperial crown. A succession difficulty in Bavaria-Landshut was only decided after Maximilian had taken up arms and narrowly escaped with his life at Regensburg. In the settlement of this question, made in 1505, he secured a considerable increase of territory, and when the king met the diet at Cologne in 1505 he was at the height of his power. His enemies at home were crushed, and their leader, Berthold, elector of Mainz, was dead; while the outlook abroad was more favourable than it had been since his accession.

It is at this period that Ranke believes Maximilian to have entertained the idea of a universal monarchy; but whatever hopes he may have had were shattered by the death of his son Philip and the rupture of the treaty of Blois. The diet of Cologne discussed the question of reform in a halting fashion, but afforded the king supplies for an expedition into Hungary, to aid his ally Ladislaus, and to uphold his own influence in the East. Having established his daughter Margaret as regent for Charles in the Netherlands, Maximilian met the diet at Constance in 1507, when the imperial chamber (Reichskammergericht) was revised and took a more permanent form, and help was granted for an expedition to Italy. The king set out for Rome to secure his coronation, but Venice refused to let him pass through her territories; and at Trant, on the 4th of February 1508, he took the important step of assuming the title of Roman Emperor Elect, to which he soon received the assent of pope Julius II. He attacked the Venetians, but finding the war unpopular with the trading cities of southern Germany, made a truce with the republic for three years. The treaty of Blois had contained a secret article providing for an attack on Venice, and this ripened into the league of Cambray, which was joined by the emperor in December 1509. He soon took the field, but after his failure to capture Padua the league broke up; and his sole ally, the French king, joined him in calling a general council at Pisa to discuss the question of Church reform. A breach with pope Julius followed, and at this time Maximilian appears to have entertained, perhaps quite seriously, the idea of seating himself in the chair of St Peter. After a period of vacillation he deserted Louis and joined the Holy League, which had been formed to expel the French from Italy; but unable to raise troops, he served with the English forces as a volunteer and shared in the victory gained over the French at the battle of the Spurs near ThÃ©rouanne on the 16th of August 1513. In 1500 the diet had divided Germany into six circles, for the maintenance of peace, to which the emperor at the diet of Cologne in 1512 added four others. Having made an alliance with Christian II., king of Denmark, and interfered to protect the Teutonic Order against Sigismund I., king of Poland, Maximilian was again in Italy early in 1516 fighting the French who had overrun Milan. His want of success compelled him on the 4th of December 1516 to sign the treaty of Brussels, which left Milan in the hands of the French king, while Verona was soon afterwards transferred to Venice. He attempted in vain to secure the election of his grandson Charles as king of the Romans, and in spite of increasing infirmity was eager to lead the imperial troops against the Turks. At the diet of Augsburg in 1518 the emperor heard warnings of the Reformation in the shape of complaints against papal exactions, and a repetition of the complaints preferred at the diet of Mainz in 1517 about the administration of Germany. Leaving the diet, he travelled to Wels in Upper Austria, where he died on the 12th of January 1519. He was buried in the church of St George in Vienna Neustadt, and a superb monument, which may still be seen, was raised to his memory at Innsbruck.

Maximilian had many excellent personal qualities. He was not handsome, but of a robust and well-proportioned frame. Simple in his habits, conciliatory in his bearing, and catholic in his tastes, he enjoyed great popularity and rarely made a personal enemy. He was a skilled knight and a daring huntsman, and although not a great general, was intrepid on the field of battle. His mental interests were extensive. He knew something of six languages, and could discuss art, music, literature or theology. He reorganized the university of Vienna and encouraged the development of the universities of Ingolstadt and Freiburg. He was the friend and patron of scholars, caused manuscripts to be copied and medieval poems to be collected. He was the author of military reforms, which included the establishment of standing troops, calledLandsknechte, the improvement of artillery by making cannon portable, and some changes in the equipment of the cavalry. He was continually devising plans for the better government of Austria, and although they ended in failure, he established the unity of the Austrian dominions. Maximilian has been called the second founder of the house of Habsburg, and certainly by bringing about marriages between Charles and Joanna and between his grandson Ferdinand and Anna, daughter of Ladislaus, king of Hungary and Bohemia, he paved the way for the vast empire of Charles V. and for the influence of the Habsburgs in eastern Europe. But he had many qualities less desirable. He was reckless and unstable, resorting often to lying and deceit, and never pausing to count the cost of an enterprise or troubling to adapt means to ends. For absurd and impracticable schemes in Italy and elsewhere he neglected Germany, and sought to involve its princes in wars undertaken solely for private aggrandizement or personal jealousy. Ignoring his responsibilities as ruler of Germany, he only considered the question of its government when in need of money and support from the princes. As the â€œlast of the knightsâ€ he could not see that the old order of society was passing away and a new order arising, while he was fascinated by the glitter of the medieval empire and spent the better part of his life in vague schemes for its revival. As â€œa gifted amateur in politicsâ€ he increased the disorder of Germany and Italy and exposed himself and the empire to the jeers of Europe.Maximilian was also a writer of books, and his writings display his inordinate vanity. HisGeheimes Jagdbuch, containing about 2500 words, is a treatise purporting to teach his grandsons the art of hunting. He inspired the production ofThe Dangers and Adventures of the Famous Hero and Knight Sir Teuerdank, an allegorical poem describing his adventures on his journey to marry Mary of Burgundy. The emperorâ€™s share in the work is not clear, but it seems certain that the general scheme and many of the incidents are due to him. It was first published at Nuremberg by Melchior Pfintzing in 1517, and was adorned with woodcuts by Hans Leonhard SchÃ¤ufelein. TheWeisskunigwas long regarded as the work of the emperorâ€™s secretary, Marx Treitzsaurwein, but it is now believed that the greater part of the book at least is the work of the emperor himself. It is an unfinished autobiography containing an account of the achievements of Maximilian, who is called â€œthe young white king.â€ It was first published at Vienna in 1775. He also is responsible forFreydal, an allegorical account of the tournaments in which he took part during his wooing of Mary of Burgundy;Ehrenpforten,TriumphwagenandDer weisen kÃ¶nige Stammbaum, books concerning his own history and that of the house of Habsburg, and works on various subjects, asDas Stahlbuch,Die BaumeistereiandDie GÃ¤rtnerei. These works are all profusely illustrated, some by Albrecht DÃ¼rer, and in the preparation of the woodcuts Maximilian himself took the liveliest interest. A facsimile of the original editions of Maximilianâ€™s autobiographical and semi-autobiographical works has been published in nine volumes in theJahrbÃ¼cher der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Kaiserhauses(Vienna, 1880-1888). For this edition S. Laschitzer wrote an introduction toSir Teuerdank, Q. von Leitner toFreydal, and N. A. von Schultz toDer Weisskunig. The Holbein society issued a facsimile ofSir Teuerdank(London, 1884) andTriumphwagen(London, 1883).SeeCorrespondance de lâ€™empereur Maximilien I. et de Marguerite dâ€™Autriche, 1507-1519, edited by A. G. le Glay (Paris, 1839);Maximilians I. vertraulicher Briefwechsel mit Sigmund PrÃ¼schenk, edited by V. von Kraus (Innsbruck, 1875); J. Chmel,Urkunden, Briefe und AktenstÃ¼cke zur Geschichte Maximilians I. und seiner Zeit. (Stuttgart, 1845) andAktenstÃ¼cke und Briefe zur Geschichte des Hauses Habsburg im Zeitalter Maximilians I.(Vienna, 1854-1858); K. KlÃ¼pfel,Kaiser Maximilian I.(Berlin, 1864); H. Ulmann,Kaiser Maximilian I.(Stuttgart, 1884); L. P. Gachard,Lettres inÃ©dites de Maximilien I. sur les affaires des Pays Bas(Brussels, 1851-1852); L. von Ranke,Geschichte der romanischen und germanischen VÃ¶lker, 1494-1514(Leipzig, 1874); R. W. S. Watson,Maximilian I.(London, 1902); A. JÃ¤ger,Ãœber Kaiser Maximilians I. VerhÃ¤ltnis zum Papstthum(Vienna, 1854); H. Ulmann,Kaiser Maximilians I. Absichten auf das Papstthum(Stuttgart, 1888), and A. Schulte,Kaiser Maximilian I. als Kandidat fÃ¼r den pÃ¤pstlichen Stuhl(Leipzig, 1906).

Maximilian was also a writer of books, and his writings display his inordinate vanity. HisGeheimes Jagdbuch, containing about 2500 words, is a treatise purporting to teach his grandsons the art of hunting. He inspired the production ofThe Dangers and Adventures of the Famous Hero and Knight Sir Teuerdank, an allegorical poem describing his adventures on his journey to marry Mary of Burgundy. The emperorâ€™s share in the work is not clear, but it seems certain that the general scheme and many of the incidents are due to him. It was first published at Nuremberg by Melchior Pfintzing in 1517, and was adorned with woodcuts by Hans Leonhard SchÃ¤ufelein. TheWeisskunigwas long regarded as the work of the emperorâ€™s secretary, Marx Treitzsaurwein, but it is now believed that the greater part of the book at least is the work of the emperor himself. It is an unfinished autobiography containing an account of the achievements of Maximilian, who is called â€œthe young white king.â€ It was first published at Vienna in 1775. He also is responsible forFreydal, an allegorical account of the tournaments in which he took part during his wooing of Mary of Burgundy;Ehrenpforten,TriumphwagenandDer weisen kÃ¶nige Stammbaum, books concerning his own history and that of the house of Habsburg, and works on various subjects, asDas Stahlbuch,Die BaumeistereiandDie GÃ¤rtnerei. These works are all profusely illustrated, some by Albrecht DÃ¼rer, and in the preparation of the woodcuts Maximilian himself took the liveliest interest. A facsimile of the original editions of Maximilianâ€™s autobiographical and semi-autobiographical works has been published in nine volumes in theJahrbÃ¼cher der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Kaiserhauses(Vienna, 1880-1888). For this edition S. Laschitzer wrote an introduction toSir Teuerdank, Q. von Leitner toFreydal, and N. A. von Schultz toDer Weisskunig. The Holbein society issued a facsimile ofSir Teuerdank(London, 1884) andTriumphwagen(London, 1883).

SeeCorrespondance de lâ€™empereur Maximilien I. et de Marguerite dâ€™Autriche, 1507-1519, edited by A. G. le Glay (Paris, 1839);Maximilians I. vertraulicher Briefwechsel mit Sigmund PrÃ¼schenk, edited by V. von Kraus (Innsbruck, 1875); J. Chmel,Urkunden, Briefe und AktenstÃ¼cke zur Geschichte Maximilians I. und seiner Zeit. (Stuttgart, 1845) andAktenstÃ¼cke und Briefe zur Geschichte des Hauses Habsburg im Zeitalter Maximilians I.(Vienna, 1854-1858); K. KlÃ¼pfel,Kaiser Maximilian I.(Berlin, 1864); H. Ulmann,Kaiser Maximilian I.(Stuttgart, 1884); L. P. Gachard,Lettres inÃ©dites de Maximilien I. sur les affaires des Pays Bas(Brussels, 1851-1852); L. von Ranke,Geschichte der romanischen und germanischen VÃ¶lker, 1494-1514(Leipzig, 1874); R. W. S. Watson,Maximilian I.(London, 1902); A. JÃ¤ger,Ãœber Kaiser Maximilians I. VerhÃ¤ltnis zum Papstthum(Vienna, 1854); H. Ulmann,Kaiser Maximilians I. Absichten auf das Papstthum(Stuttgart, 1888), and A. Schulte,Kaiser Maximilian I. als Kandidat fÃ¼r den pÃ¤pstlichen Stuhl(Leipzig, 1906).

(A. W. H.*)

MAXIMILIAN II.(1527-1576), Roman emperor, was the eldest son of the emperor Ferdinand I. by his wife Anne, daughter of Ladislaus, king of Hungary and Bohemia, and was born in Vienna on the 31st of July 1527. Educated principally in Spain, he gained some experience of warfare during the campaign of Charles V. against France in 1544, and also during the war of the league of Schmalkalden, and soon began to take part in imperial business. Having in September 1548 married hiscousin Maria, daughter of Charles V., he acted as the emperorâ€™s representative in Spain from 1548 to 1550, returning to Germany in December 1550 in order to take part in the discussion over the imperial succession. Charles V. wished his son Philip (afterwards king of Spain) to succeed him as emperor, but his brother Ferdinand, who had already been designated as the next occupant of the imperial throne, and Maximilian objected to this proposal. At length a compromise was reached. Philip was to succeed Ferdinand, but during the formerâ€™s reign Maximilian, as king of the Romans, was to govern Germany. This arrangement was not carried out, and is only important because the insistence of the emperor seriously disturbed the harmonious relations which had hitherto existed between the two branches of the Habsburg family; and the estrangement went so far that an illness which befell Maximilian in 1552 was attributed to poison given to him in the interests of his cousin and brother-in-law, Philip of Spain. About this time he took up his residence in Vienna, and was engaged mainly in the government of the Austrian dominions and in defending them against the Turks. The religious views of the king of Bohemia, as Maximilian had been called since his recognition as the future ruler of that country in 1549, had always been somewhat uncertain, and he had probably learned something of Lutheranism in his youth; but his amicable relations with several Protestant princes, which began about the time of the discussion over the succession, were probably due more to political than to religious considerations. However, in Vienna he became very intimate with Sebastian Pfauser (1520-1569), a court preacher with strong leanings towards Lutheranism, and his religious attitude caused some uneasiness to his father. Fears were freely expressed that he would definitely leave the Catholic Church, and when Ferdinand became emperor in 1558 he was prepared to assure Pope Paul IV. that his son should not succeed him if he took this step. Eventually Maximilian remained nominally an adherent of the older faith, although his views were tinged with Lutheranism until the end of his life. After several refusals he consented in 1560 to the banishment of Pfauser, and began again to attend the services of the Catholic Church. This uneasiness having been dispelled, in November 1562 Maximilian was chosen king of the Romans, or German king, at Frankfort, where he was crowned a few days later, after assuring the Catholic electors of his fidelity to their faith, and promising the Protestant electors that he would publicly accept the confession of Augsburg when he became emperor. He also took the usual oath to protect the Church, and his election was afterwards confirmed by the papacy. In September 1563 he was crowned king of Hungary, and on his fatherâ€™s death, in July 1564, succeeded to the empire and to the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia.

The new emperor had already shown that he believed in the necessity for a thorough reform of the Church. He was unable, however, to obtain the consent of Pope Pius IV. to the marriage of the clergy, and in 1568 the concession of communion in both kinds to the laity was withdrawn. On his part Maximilian granted religious liberty to the Lutheran nobles and knights in Austria, and refused to allow the publication of the decrees of the council of Trent. Amid general expectations on the part of the Protestants he met his first Diet at Augsburg in March 1566. He refused to accede to the demands of the Lutheran princes; on the other hand, although the increase of sectarianism was discussed, no decisive steps were taken to suppress it, and the only result of the meeting was a grant of assistance for the Turkish War, which had just been renewed. Collecting a large and splendid army Maximilian marched to defend his territories; but no decisive engagement had taken place when a truce was made in 1568, and the emperor continued to pay tribute to the sultan for Hungary. Meanwhile the relations between Maximilian and Philip of Spain had improved; and the emperorâ€™s increasingly cautious and moderate attitude in religious matters was doubtless due to the fact that the death of Philipâ€™s son, Don Carlos, had opened the way for the succession of Maximilian, or of one of his sons, to the Spanish throne. Evidence of this friendly feeling was given in 1570, when the emperorâ€™s daughter, Anne, became the fourth wife of Philip; but Maximilian was unable to moderate the harsh proceedings of the Spanish king against the revolting inhabitants of the Netherlands. In 1570 the emperor met the diet at Spires and asked for aid to place his eastern borders in a state of defence, and also for power to repress the disorder caused by troops in the service of foreign powers passing through Germany. He proposed that his consent should be necessary before any soldiers for foreign service were recruited in the empire; but the estates were unwilling to strengthen the imperial authority, the Protestant princes regarded the suggestion as an attempt to prevent them from assisting their coreligionists in France and the Netherlands, and nothing was done in this direction, although some assistance was voted for the defence of Austria. The religious demands of the Protestants were still unsatisfied, while the policy of toleration had failed to give peace to Austria. Maximilianâ€™s power was very limited; it was inability rather than unwillingness that prevented him from yielding to the entreaties of Pope Pius V. to join in an attack on the Turks both before and after the victory of Lepanto in 1571; and he remained inert while the authority of the empire in north-eastern Europe was threatened. His last important act was to make a bid for the throne of Poland, either for himself or for his son Ernest. In December 1575 he was elected by a powerful faction, but the diet which met at Regensburg was loath to assist; and on the 12th of October 1576 the emperor died, refusing on his deathbed to receive the last sacraments of the Church.

By his wife Maria he had a family of nine sons and six daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Rudolph, who had been chosen king of the Romans in October 1575. Another of his sons, Matthias, also became emperor; three others, Ernest, Albert and Maximilian, took some part in the government of the Habsburg territories or of the Netherlands, and a daughter, Elizabeth, married Charles IX. king of France.

The religious attitude of Maximilian has given rise to much discussion, and on this subject the writings of W. Maurenbrecher, W. Goetz and E. Reimann in theHistorische Zeitschrift, BÃ¤nde VII., XV., XXXII. and LXXVII. (Munich, 1870 fol.) should be consulted, and also O. H. Hopfen,Maximilian II. und der Kompromisskatholizismus(Munich, 1895); C. Haupt,Melanchthons und seiner Lehrer Einfluss auf Maximilian II.(Wittenberg, 1897); F. Walter,Die Wahl Maximilians II.(Heidelberg, 1892); W. Goetz,Maximilians II. Wahl zum rÃ¶mischen KÃ¶nige(WÃ¼rzburg, 1891), and T. J. Scherg,Ãœber die religiÃ¶se Entwickelung Kaiser Maximilians II. bis zu seiner Wahl zum rÃ¶mischen KÃ¶nige(WÃ¼rzburg, 1903). For a more general account of his life and work seeBriefe und Akten zur Geschichte Maximilians II., edited by W. E. Schwarz (Paderborn, 1889-1891); M. Koch,Quellen zur Geschichte des Kaisers Maximilian II. in Archiven gesammelt(Leipzig, 1857-1861); R. Holtzmann,Kaiser Maximilian II. bis zu seiner Thronbesteigung(Berlin, 1903); E. Wertheimer,Zur Geschichte der TÃ¼rkenkriege Maximilians II.(Vienna, 1875); L. von Ranke,Ãœber die Zeiten Ferdinands I. und Maximilians II.in Band VII. of hisSÃ¤mmtliche Werke(Leipzig, 1874), and J. Janssen,Geschichte des deutschen Volkes seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters,BÃ¤nde IV. to VIII. (Freiburg, 1885-1894), English translation by M. A. Mitchell and A. M. Christie (London, 1896 fol.).

MAXIMILIAN(1832-1867), emperor of Mexico, second son of the archduke Francis Charles of Austria, was born in the palace of SchÃ¶nbrunn, on the 6th of July 1832. He was a particularly clever boy, showed considerable taste for the arts, and early displayed an interest in science, especially botany. He was trained for the navy, and threw himself into this career with so much zeal that he quickly rose to high command, and was mainly instrumental in creating the naval port of Trieste and the fleet with which Tegethoff won his victories in the Italian War. He had some reputation as a Liberal, and this led, in February 1857, to his appointment as viceroy of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom; in the same year he married the Princess Charlotte, daughter of Leopold I., king of the Belgians. On the outbreak of the war of 1859 he retired into private life, chiefly at Trieste, near which he built the beautiful chateau of Miramar. In this same year he was first approached by Mexican exiles with the proposal to become the candidatefor the throne of Mexico. He did not at first accept, but sought to satisfy his restless desire for adventure by a botanical expedition to the tropical forests of Brazil. In 1863, however, under pressure from Napoleon III., and after General Foreyâ€™s capture of the city of Mexico and the plebiscite which confirmed his proclamation of the empire, he consented to accept the crown. This decision was contrary to the advice of his brother, the emperor Francis Joseph, and involved the loss of all his rights in Austria. Maximilian landed at Vera Cruz on the 28th of May 1864; but from the very outset he found himself involved in difficulties of the most serious kind, which in 1866 made apparent to almost every one outside of Mexico the necessity for his abdicating. Though urged to this course by Napoleon himself, whose withdrawal from Mexico was the final blow to his cause, Maximilian refused to desert his followers. Withdrawing, in February 1867, to QuerÃ©taro, he there sustained a siege for several weeks, but on the 15th of May resolved to attempt an escape through the enemyâ€™s lines. He was, however, arrested before he could carry out this resolution, and after trial by court-martial was condemned to death. The sentence was carried out on the 19th of June 1867. His remains were conveyed to Vienna, where they were buried in the imperial vault early in the following year. (SeeMexico.)

Maximilianâ€™s papers were published at Leipzig in 1867, in seven volumes, under the titleAus meinem Leben, Reiseskizzen, Aphorismen, Gedichte.See Pierre de la Gorce,Hist. du Second Empire, IV., liv. xxv. ii. (Paris, 1904); article by von Hoffinger inAllgemeine Deutsche Biographie, xxi. 70, where authorities are cited.

MAXIMINUS, GAIUS JULIUS VERUS,Roman emperor fromA.D.235 to 238, was born in a village on the confines of Thrace. He was of barbarian parentage and was brought up as a shepherd. His immense stature and enormous feats of strength attracted the attention of the emperor Septimius Severus. He entered the army, and under Caracalla rose to the rank of centurion. He carefully absented himself from court during the reign of Heliogabalus, but under his successor Alexander Severus, was appointed supreme commander of the Roman armies. After the murder of Alexander in Gaul, hastened, it is said, by his instigation, Maximinus was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers on the 19th of March 235. The three years of his reign, which were spent wholly in the camp, were marked by great cruelty and oppression; the widespread discontent thus produced culminated in a revolt in Africa and the assumption of the purple by Gordian (q.v.). Maximinus, who was in Pannonia at the time, marched against Rome, and passing over the Julian Alps descended on Aquileia; while detained before that city he and his son were murdered in their tent by a body of praetorians. Their heads were cut off and despatched to Rome, where they were burnt on the Campus Martius by the exultant crowd.

Capitolinus,Maximini duo; Herodian vi. 8, vii., viii. 1-5; Zosimus i. 13-15.

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