Ep. 231: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - Marrying Bohemia and Hungary

Ep. 231: Maximilian I (1493-1519) - Marrying Bohemia and Hungary

From History of the Germans by Dirk Hoffmann-Becking

April 2, 2026 · 41 min · Episode 231

About this episode

This episode explores the family portrait of Maximilian I and its implications on succession and inheritance.

You have almost certainly seen the image in today’s episode artwork before. It is a family portrait showing Maximilian, his first wife Marie of Burgundy, his son, Philip the Handsome and three children. When Bernhard Strigel painted this image in around the year 1516, Philip the Handsome was already dead for 10 years and Marie of Burgundy had gone more than 30 years before. Then there are the inscriptions over the heads of these well-known and easily identifiable figures. There is a lot of Habsburg chin on show here. But they do not describe Maximilian as emperor, but as Cleophas, blood brother of Joseph, husband of the divine Virgin Mary, Marie of Burgundy is Mary Cleophas, sister of the Virgin Mary, and Philip the Handsome as James the Lesser, apostle and son of the other two. Two of the three little boys are named as Joseph the Just and Simon the Zealot, the cousin of the lord. Who are these saints? Well they do appear in the bible, so they are real, but in very minor roles. One of them was even rejected as an apostle. But they do have something special, they are Jesus’ aunt, uncle, nephews and cousin. And since he had died without offspring, his heirs. So this is a picture…

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