Ep. 229: Joanna the (not?) Mad (1504-1555) - How the Habsburgs gained Spain

Ep. 229: Joanna the (not?) Mad (1504-1555) - How the Habsburgs gained Spain

From History of the Germans by Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

March 19, 2026 · 48 min · Episode 229

About this episode

This episode explores how the Habsburgs acquired the crown of Spain amidst a backdrop of war and political maneuvering.

“Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube" – ‘Let others wage war; thou, happy Austria, marry’ is one of the few terms that almost anyone with a cursory interest in European history knows, only rivalled by the Voltaire quote thou shall not utter in my presence ever. It evokes the image of a handsome alpine boy full of charm and apple strudel wooing some princess into peacefully handing over the richest lands is Europe. And this narrative of peaceful transition to a benign dynasty is another one of the great propaganda successes of the house of Habsburg. The saying was attributed to Matthias Corvinus, the king of Hungary who had once occupied Vienna, then to the humanist Ulrich von Hutten, but first evidence of its use dates back to 1654, more than 150 years after the famous marriages that made an empire. From 1680 it was read out at Habsburg weddings to emphasise the peaceful nature of its rulers. It definitely did not originate in the days of Maximilian I when all these dynastic alliances were formed and bore fruit. Talking about gentle and peaceful transition was preposterous against the backdrop of a 15 -year long war over the succession to the grand Dukes of Burgundy, and the…

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