Archduke Maximilian Ernest of Austria

Archduke Maximilian Ernest with a hunting dog, oil in canvas by Joseph Heintz the Elder, 1604.

Maximilian Ernest of Austria (17 November 1583 – 18 February 1616), was a German prince member of the House of Habsburg and by birth Archduke of Austria.

He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Austria, in turn son of Emperor Ferdinand I, and Maria Anna of Bavaria. His elder brother Archduke Ferdinand, succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor in 1619.

Life

Born in Graz, little is known about his first years of life. His first notorious presence was in 1592, when Maximilian Ernest and his mother accompanied his older sister Anna to marry King Sigismund III of Poland.^[1]

Together with his brother Ferdinand and his cousins Maximilian III and Matthias, Maximilian Ernest signed a document dated 25 April 1606 in Vienna, under which his cousin, Emperor Rudolf II, was declared incapable of governing because of his mental illness and Matthias could assumed the headship of the Habsburg territories as regent.^[2][3]

His cousin Maximilian III, called the German Grand Master (der Deutschmeister), allowed Maximiliam Ernest to join the Teutonic Knights in 1615,^[4] and one year later, in 1616,^[5] he appointed him Landkomtur of the Bailiwick of Austria.^[6] Already named Coadjutor of the Teutonic Order was determined that Maximilian Ernest would succeed his cousin in the office of Grand Master, but he died unexpectedly aged thirty-two, unmarried and childless (however he left an illegitimate son, Don Carlos d'Austria, who died in 1638^[7]). He was buried in the Seckau Abbey.^[8]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Archduke Maximilian Ernest of Austria

16. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor               8. Philip I of Castile                       17. Mary of Burgundy               4. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor                             18. Ferdinand II of Aragon               9. Joanna of Castile                       19. Isabella I of Castile               2. Charles II of Austria                                   20. Casimir IV Jagiellon               10. Vladislas II of Bohemia and Hungary                       21. Elisabeth of Austria               5. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary                             22. Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale               11. Anna of Foix-Candale                       23. Catherine of Foix               1. Archduke Maximilian Ernest of Austria                                         24. Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria               12. William IV, Duke of Bavaria                       25. Kunigunde of Austria               6. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria                             26. Philip I of Baden               13. Marie of Baden-Sponheim                       27. Elisabeth of the Palatinate               3. Maria Anna of Bavaria                                   28. Philip I of Castile (= 8.)               14. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (= 4.)                       29. Joanna of Castile (= 9.)               7. Anna of Austria                             30. Vladislas II of Bohemia and Hungary (= 10.)               15. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (= 5.)                       31. Anna of Foix-Candale (= 11.)

References

1. Academy of Sciences in Vienna. Historical Commission: Archiv für österreichische Geschichte, vol. XV, 1856, p. 116.
2. Johann Sporschil, Geschichte des Entstehens, des Wachsthums und der Grösse der österreichischen Monarchie, vol. IV, F. Volckmar, 1844, p. 236.
3. Anton Schindling, Walter Ziegler, Die Kaiser der Neuzeit: 1519-1918, C. H. Beck, 1990, p. 118.
4. Imperial Academy of Sciences, Archiv für Österreichische Geschichte, vols. 33-34, 1865, p. 236.
5. Friedrich Emanuel von Hurter, Geschichte kaiser Ferdinands II und seiner eltern bis zu dessen krönung in Frankfurt, Hurter Bookstore, 1850, p. 230.
6. Johann Samuel Ersch, Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste, F. A. Brockhaus, 1830, S. 244. On-line
7. Marek, Miroslav. "Complete Genealogy to the House of Habsburg". Genealogy.EU.
8. Burials of the Habsburg family in Seckau