Details
MAXIMILIAN I (1459-1519), Holy Roman Emperor. Autograph letter signed ('Maxi[milian]us'), addressed to the Governor of Holland, n. p. [Ghent?], incompletely dated, 'Escript de n[ost]re main Salmedy lan lxxxiii [1483]', 10 lines written in French in brown ink, one page, oblong 8vo, 140 x 215 mm, autograph address panel on verso.
Maximilian writes as Archduke and Regent of the Low Countries for his son, Philip III ('the Fair'), referring to an instruction sent to him the same day by the Governor's maître d'hôtel ('mesterdostel'), requiring him to pay those soldiers of Holland sent for the [relief?] of Upper Germany, and commanding him to raise a loan of 300 livres for the purpose: 'No[u]s vo[u]s ordinnons et requirrons que troves moien de fere ung pret de troes cens L[ivres] jousques a mon advenement a Hollande'. There must be no shortfall for all will be lost if they go to Clèves. The bearer of the letter is recommended in a postscript.
Maximilian, son of Frederick III, married Maria, Duchess of Burgundy, the daughter of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and ruler of the Low Countries, in 1477 and this alliance transformed the fortunes of the House of Habsburg. Maximilian and Maria ruled jointly over Flanders and the Low Countries and, following her death in 1482, he acted as Regent for their son, Philip III. The conclusion of the Treaty of Arras in March 1482/83 brought peace with France, leaving Maximilian free to tackle the unrest in Holland and to reassert his authority in Germany, which had been brought by his father's indifference to its
lowest ebb. His itinerary for 1483 seems not to have survived, but his presence is recorded in other years in Brussels, Ghent, Louvain, Malines and elsewhere in Flanders and less frequently in Holland.
Maximilian writes as Archduke and Regent of the Low Countries for his son, Philip III ('the Fair'), referring to an instruction sent to him the same day by the Governor's maître d'hôtel ('mesterdostel'), requiring him to pay those soldiers of Holland sent for the [relief?] of Upper Germany, and commanding him to raise a loan of 300 livres for the purpose: 'No[u]s vo[u]s ordinnons et requirrons que troves moien de fere ung pret de troes cens L[ivres] jousques a mon advenement a Hollande'. There must be no shortfall for all will be lost if they go to Clèves. The bearer of the letter is recommended in a postscript.
Maximilian, son of Frederick III, married Maria, Duchess of Burgundy, the daughter of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and ruler of the Low Countries, in 1477 and this alliance transformed the fortunes of the House of Habsburg. Maximilian and Maria ruled jointly over Flanders and the Low Countries and, following her death in 1482, he acted as Regent for their son, Philip III. The conclusion of the Treaty of Arras in March 1482/83 brought peace with France, leaving Maximilian free to tackle the unrest in Holland and to reassert his authority in Germany, which had been brought by his father's indifference to its
lowest ebb. His itinerary for 1483 seems not to have survived, but his presence is recorded in other years in Brussels, Ghent, Louvain, Malines and elsewhere in Flanders and less frequently in Holland.
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