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Bohemia, Czech Čechy, historic region (20,368 sq mi/52,753 sq km) and former kingdom, in W and central Czech Republic. Bohemia is bounded by Austria in the southeast, by Germany in the west and northwest, by Poland in the north and northeast, and by Moravia in the east. Its natural boundaries are the Bohemian Forest, the Erzgebirge (ore mountains) chain, the Sudetes, and the Bohemian-Moravian heights. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Maria Theresa (mərē′ə tərā′zə), 1717–80, Austrian archduchess, queen of Bohemia and Hungary (1740–80), consort of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and dowager empress after the accession (1765) of her son, Joseph II. Her father, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, altered the Hapsburg family law by the pragmatic sanction of 1713 so that she might succeed to the Hapsburg lands. She was recognized by her subjects in the Austrian duchies and the Austrian Netherlands, in Bohemia, and in Hungary. The chief European powers had subscribed to the Pragmatic Sanction in Charles's lifetime, but when Maria Theresa acceded she was immediately confronted with a European coalition against her, and Frederick II of Prussia brazenly seized Silesia. In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), Maria Theresa lost most of Silesia to Prussia but secured (1745) in exchange the imperial election for her husband. Her warm personality and strength of will won her the loyalty of her subjects and troops, to whom she appealed directly in moments of crisis. Her husband was given a share in governing her hereditary lands, but the actual government was in the hands of Maria Theresa, assisted by her able chancellor, Kaunitz. After the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Kaunitz accomplished a diplomatic revolution in concluding an alliance with France, the traditional enemy. The Seven Years War (1756–63) exhausted the strength of Austria. Maria Theresa lost no territory, but leadership among German states had definitely passed to Prussia. In 1772, Maria Theresa shared with Prussia and Russia in the first partition of Poland (see Poland, partitions of). Partly under the influence of her son, Joseph II (with whom she jointly ruled her dominions after 1765), Maria Theresa carried out a series of agrarian reforms and centralized the administration of her lands. Unlike her son she followed no particular plan and was, on the whole, conservative. A devout Roman Catholic, her court was the most moral in Europe. During her reign Vienna increased its reputation as a center of the arts and of music. Among her 16 children were emperors Joseph II and Leopold II, Marie Caroline of Naples, and Marie Antoinette of France. Her authoritative biographer is Alfred von Arneth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Louis II, 1506–26, king of Hungary and Bohemia (1516–26), son and successor of Uladislaus II. He was the last of the Jagiello dynasty in the two kingdoms. In the face of intensified attacks by Sultan Sulayman I, Louis hastily sought (1526) to unite Hungary and Christendom behind him, but only the pope sent help. With a pitiful army, Louis joined battle with the Ottomans at Mohács. The Hungarian army was destroyed, and Louis was killed. Through the marriage treaty concluded by his father (see Uladislaus II) the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia passed to Louis's brother-in-law, Ferdinand of Hapsburg (later Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I), but Hungary fell under Ottoman rule. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Leopold II, 1747–92, Holy Roman emperor (1790–92), king of Bohemia and Hungary (1790–92), as Leopold I grand duke of Tuscany (1765–90), third son of Maria Theresa. Succeeding his father, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, in Tuscany, Leopold reorganized the Tuscan government, abolished torture and the death penalty, equalized taxation, and sought to gain control over the church. When Leopold succeeded (1790) his brother Joseph II as emperor and as ruler of the Hapsburg lands, he took over a nearly disrupted state. To pacify his subjects in the Austrian Netherlands (see Netherlands, Austrian and Spanish), in Hungary, and in Bohemia, he repealed most of Joseph's reforms. Unlike Joseph, he had himself crowned king at Pozsony in Hungary (now Bratislava) and at Prague in Bohemia; he was the last crowned king of Bohemia. Having reached an agreement (1790) with Frederick William II of Prussia, who wished to prevent Austrian expansion in the east and was about to side with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in its war against Russia and Austria, Leopold abandoned his alliance with the Russian czarina, Catherine II. He concluded a separate peace treaty at Sistova (1791) with Turkey by which the pre-war borders were substantially restored. Leopold's troops marched into the Austrian Netherlands and suppressed the Belgian insurrection in 1790. Although he hoped to avoid war with revolutionary France, Leopold instigated (1791) the Declaration of Pillnitz, by which the emperor and the king of Prussia stated that if all other European powers would join them, they were prepared to restore Louis XVI to his lawful powers by force. Contrary to his expectations, this declaration was a basic cause of the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars a few weeks after Leopold's death. Leopold was succeeded by his son, Francis II. Leopold II is generally considered a ruler of outstanding diplomatic and administrative abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ladislaus I, king of Bohemia: see Ladislaus V, king of Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Joseph I, 1678–1711, Holy Roman emperor (1705–11), king of Hungary (1687–1711) and of Bohemia (1705–11), son and successor of Leopold I. Joseph became Holy Roman emperor in the midst of the War of the Spanish Succession and died before it ended. He vigorously supported the claim of his brother (who succeeded him as Charles VI) to the Spanish throne. During his reign Hungary was in revolt under Francis II Rákóczy, but by 1711 the rebellion had been quelled. Joseph made some attempts at internal reform. A musician and an admirer of art, he encouraged cultural life in Vienna. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

John of Nepomuk, Saint (nā′pōmŏk), d. 1393, patron saint of Bohemia, a martyr. He is also called John Nepomucen. He was vicar general of Bohemia under King Wenceslaus IV (later Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslaus). When the king wished uncanonically to convert an abbey into a cathedral, St. John opposed him, in spite of torture. The king had him drowned in the Moldau. An earlier story, since disproved, attributes his drowning to his refusal to disclose the confessional secrets of the queen. Feast: May 16. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

John of Luxemburg, 1296–1346, king of Bohemia (1310–46). The son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, he married Elizabeth, sister of Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, and in 1310 he was chosen king of Bohemia, which had been in virtual anarchy since Wenceslaus's death (1306). As a condition of his accession John was forced to issue a charter guaranteeing the rights of the nobility and clergy. Perhaps disappointed that he was not elected to succeed his father, John spent much of his time in foreign wars. During his reign he extended Bohemian control to upper Lusatia and Silesia. He supported the Teutonic Knights in their wars against Lithuania. As a result of his campaigns he ruled parts of Lombardy and Tyrol briefly. He died fighting on the side of the French at Crécy though he had become blind. He was succeeded by his son, who later became Holy Roman emperor as Charles IV. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Johannes von Saaz (Johannes von Tepl) (yōhän′əs fən zäts, tĕp′əl), c.1350–c.1414, Bohemian humanist and writer. Johannes is best known for his powerful work Der Ackermann aus Böhmen (c.1400, tr. Death and the Plowman), a dialogue between Death and a recently widowed farmer. Among the first prose works in Modern High German, it is characterized by medieval style and form but it embodies Renaissance spirit in its defense of mankind. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Jerome of Prague, c.1370–1416, Bohemian religious reformer. During his studies at Prague and at Oxford, Jerome was influenced by the doctrinal views of John Wyclif. He continued to study and travel widely abroad, in constant conflict with the authorities. In 1407 he returned to Prague, where he joined forces with John Huss in advocating Bohemian control of the Univ. of Prague and in opposing the papal bulls against Lancelot of Naples. When Huss was summoned before the Council of Constance (see Constance, Council of), Jerome went there to defend him in 1415. Arrested while attempting to escape from the hostile churchmen, Jerome was brought back and imprisoned. After the burning of Huss, Jerome recanted his defenses of Huss and Wyclif, but his sincerity was doubted and he was not released. In 1416 he withdrew his recantation and was burned as a heretic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hollar, Václav or Wenzel (väts′läf, vĕn′tsəl hôl′ər), 1607–77, Bohemian etcher. He studied with Merian and after a period in Strasbourg and Cologne, he settled in England, working for Charles I. Despite distinguished patrons, ability, and industry, he lived and died in poverty. Much of his best work was done during his stay in Antwerp (1645–52). Hollar produced more than 2,500 plates of great variety, including portraits; animal studies; landscapes; and religious, still-life, and architectural subjects. His Theatrum Mulierum illustrates the costumes of his day. Other works include Views of London (before the great fire) and Edinburgh. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

George of Podebrad (pôd′yĕbrät), 1420–71, king of Bohemia (1458–71). A Bohemian nobleman, he became leader of the Utraquists, or the moderate Hussites, in the wars between Hussites and Catholics. He seized Prague (1448) during the minority of King Ladislaus V, was elected (1452) governor by the Bohemian diet, and continued to rule the country after the formal accession (1453) of Ladislaus. His relations with Ladislaus were friendly. In Ladislaus's reign, George ended the anarchy of the interregnum that had preceded Ladislaus's accession, restored the power of the courts, recovered lost crownlands, and secured the recognition of the central government at Prague in the Bohemian dependencies of Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia. Ladislaus died in 1457, and George was elected king in 1458. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III invested him with the kingdom in 1459. When in 1462, Pope Pius II abolished the Compactata, by which the Utraquists had been reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church, George promptly declared his loyalty to the Utraquists. An immediate break with Rome was averted through his alliance with France and Poland, and the emperor's intervention delayed papal action. In 1466, however, Pope Paul II excommunicated George, declared him deposed, and enlisted the aid of the emperor and of Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, against him. Matthias won Moravia and most of Silesia and Lusatia; in 1469 the Catholic party in Bohemia proclaimed Matthias king. George, at the head of the Utraquists, expelled Matthias. To strengthen his position George had signed a treaty with Casimir IV of Poland, naming Casimir's son as his successor. As a result, Ladislaus II (later, as Uladislaus II, also king of Hungary) became king on George's death. George of Podebrad unsuccessfully proposed a European alliance against the Turks. Bohemia recovered peace and prosperity in his reign, which, however, was marked by the persecution of the Bohemian and the Moravian Brethren, descendants of the more radical Hussites. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Frederick the Winter King, 1596–1632, king of Bohemia (1619–20), elector palatine (1610–20) as Frederick V. The Protestant diet of Bohemia deposed the Roman Catholic King Ferdinand (Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II) and chose Frederick as king. Influenced by his minister Christian of Anhalt, Frederick accepted but did not receive the aid expected from his father-in-law, James I of England, and from the Protestant Union against Ferdinand. After initial success, his supporters were routed at White Mt. (1620). Frederick thus lost Bohemia; from his short tenure came the derisive name, the Winter King. He was put under imperial ban and was stripped of all his remaining territories. The electorate was transferred to Maximilian I of Bavaria (see electors). These struggles were the first campaigns of the Thirty Years War. The Hanoverian kings of England were descended from Frederick and his wife, Elizabeth, through their daughter Sophia, who was the mother of George I of England. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ferdinand III, 1608–57, Holy Roman emperor (1637–57), king of Hungary (1626–57) and of Bohemia (1627–57), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. After the dismissal and assassination (1634) of the imperial commander Wallenstein, Ferdinand became nominal leader of the imperial forces in the Thirty Years War, but it was the imperial general Gallas who was responsible for the successes that culminated in the victory of Nördlingen (1634). After Ferdinand's accession, however, the war took a disastrous turn. Although anxious for peace, Ferdinand rejected the early peace proposals, but in 1648 he had to assent to the treaties negotiated at Münster and Osnabrück (see Westphalia, Peace of), which virtually ended the central power of the Holy Roman Empire. The emperor and his successors were left only the shadow of the imperial dignity, and their power was restricted to the hereditary Hapsburg dominions. In these dominions—a vast enough empire in themselves—Ferdinand devoted the rest of his reign to healing the wounds of war and to continuing administrative reforms. He was succeeded by his son, Leopold I. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Elizabeth, 1596–1662, queen of Bohemia, daughter of James I of England. Her beauty attracted most of the royal suitors of Europe (she was nicknamed the Queen of Hearts), but she was married (1613) to Frederick V, elector palatine (see Frederick the Winter King) in order to cement an alliance between English and German Protestantism. She became queen of Bohemia in 1619, when her husband accepted the crown offered by the Bohemian diet. After Frederick was defeated (1620) in the battle of the White Mt., Elizabeth took up her residence in Holland, where she courageously endured privation and misfortune. She received little support from abroad, even from her son Charles Louis, who was restored to the Palatinate in 1648. In 1661 she returned to England against the wishes of King Charles II, who, however, pensioned her. Among her children were Prince Rupert; Princess Elizabeth, who was the patroness of Descartes; and Sophia, who was electress of Hanover and mother of George I of England. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Boleslav II, d. 999, duke of Bohemia (967–99), son and successor of Boleslav I. Continuing his father's policies, he largely completed the Christianization of Bohemia. In 973 he agreed to the establishment of the bishopric of Prague under the archbishop of Mainz, and in 993 he founded the first monastery in Bohemia. He supported his German overlords against Poland but also clashed with them in two wars. Boleslav strengthened his internal rule by eliminating princely rivals to his own Premyslide dynasty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Zizka, John (zĭs′kə), Czech Jan Žižka (yän zhēsh′kä), d. 1424, Bohemian military leader and head of the Hussite forces during the anti-Hussite crusades of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. Before the Hussite Wars, which gave his military genius the opportunity to develop fully, Zizka served under various lords; he fought (1410) on the Polish side in the battle of Tannenberg, in which the Teutonic Knights were defeated. When the Hussite Wars broke out in 1420, Zizka was about 60 years old and blind in one eye. Having joined the Taborites (the radical Hussite wing), Zizka made Tábor in Bohemia into an almost impregnable fortress and led (July, 1420) the Taborite troops in their victory over Sigismund at Visehrad (now a part of Prague). In the following years he successfully withstood the anti-Hussite crusades and took one Catholic stronghold after another, continuing to command in person although he had become totally blind in 1421. He did not agree with the extreme religious views of the Taborites, and in 1423 formed his own Hussite wing, which, however, remained in close alliance with the Taborites. In the same year the tension between the Taborites and the moderate Utraquists, whose stronghold was at Prague, flared into open conflict, and late in 1424, Zizka led his army against Prague in order to compel that city to adhere to his uncompromising anti-Catholic policy. An armistice averted the outbreak of civil war between the two Hussite parties, which then decided on a joint expedition into Moravia under Zizka's command. Zizka died suddenly during the campaign. Although Zizka's fame is overshadowed by that of other commanders, he ranks with the great military innovators of all time. The bulk of his army consisted of peasants and townspeople, untrained in arms. Zizka did not attempt to make them adopt the conventional armament and tactics of the time, but let them make use of such weapons as iron-tipped flails and armored farm wagons, surmounted by small cannons of the howitzer type. His armored wagons, when used for offense, easily broke through the enemy lines, firing as they went, and thus enabled him to cut superior forces into pieces. When used for defense, the wagons were arranged into an impregnable barrier surrounding the foot soldiers; they also served to transport his men. Zizka thus fully anticipated the principles of tank warfare. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wenceslaus I, d. 1253, king of Bohemia (1230–53), son and successor of Ottocar I. He invited large numbers of Germans to settle in the villages and towns of Bohemia and Moravia. In some villages peasants of Czech origin became a minority or were forced to submit to German-style feudal obligations. Many towns were granted self-rule, with charters modeled on that of Magdeburg. After resisting the invasion of Batu Khan (1241), Wenceslaus and his nobles built or rebuilt many castles, giving them German names. Wenceslaus received Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II's support in his attempt to acquire Austria but later backed Pope Gregory IX against the emperor. He was succeeded by his son, Ottocar II. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wenceslaus, 1361–1419, Holy Roman emperor (uncrowned) and German king (1378–1400), king of Bohemia (1378–1419) as Wenceslaus IV, elector of Brandenburg (1373–76), son and successor of Emperor Charles IV. He was, even more than his father, a Bohemian rather than German king. Although gifted, he was given to drunkenness and violent fits of temper. It was largely through his support that his half-brother Sigismund was able to take possession (1387) of Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wenceslaus, Saint (wĕn′səsləs), d. 929, duke of Bohemia. He was reared in the Christian faith by his grandmother, St. Ludmilla. He became duke at an early age, and during his minority his mother, Drahomira, acted as regent. She, like many other Czech nobles, opposed Christianity and persecuted the Christians. She incurred the enmity of the German king, Henry I (Henry the Fowler), by aiding the Wends, a Slavic people, against Henry; Henry invaded Bohemia. Wenceslaus, who had then begun to rule, recognized the futility of resistance and negotiated a peace. During his reign Wenceslaus was noted for his piety; he worked vigorously to strengthen Christianity in Bohemia. His religion and his friendly relations with Henry I caused much discontent among the nobles, and he was assassinated by his brother Boleslav I, who succeeded him. By the beginning of the 11th cent., he was already recognized as the patron saint of Bohemia. Václav is the Czech form of his name. Feast: Sept. 28. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wallenstein or Waldstein, Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von (wäl′ənstīn, Ger. äl′brĕkht vĕn′tsəl oizā′bēŏs fən väl′ənshtīn, vält′shtīn), 1583–1634, imperial general in the Thirty Years War, b. Bohemia. He attended the Lutheran academy at Altdorf but at the age of 20 converted to Roman Catholicism. He advanced his fortune by marriage to a wealthy widow, and for his support of Archduke Ferdinand of Styria (Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II) before, during, and after the Bohemian revolt that started the Thirty Years War, he was well rewarded, becoming prince and then (1625) duke of Friedland. He built up a magnificent estate in Bohemia, expanding his fortune at the expense of the Bohemian Protestants, whose lands he confiscated with Ferdinand's authorization. In 1625, Wallenstein raised a large army for Ferdinand II and became chief imperial general, cooperating with the general of the Catholic League, Count Tilly, in the Danish phase of the war. Wallenstein in 1626 defeated Ernst von Mansfeld at the Dessau bridgehead, and some of his men helped Tilly to defeat the Danish king Christian IV at Lutter. The next year Wallenstein destroyed the remnants of Mansfeld's army and later defeated Christian IV's forces. Now at the height of his wealth and power, Wallenstein, having driven the dukes of Mecklenburg from their lands, was granted that duchy as a hereditary fief from the Holy Roman emperor. He was also given the title of admiral, but his hopes of founding a maritime empire were set back by the failure of the siege of Stralsund (1628) on the Baltic. Wallenstein had powerful enemies, particularly among the German princes, from whom he had extorted money for the support of the army. Finally, in 1630, they prevailed on Ferdinand to dismiss him. The failure of his successor, Tilly, against King Gustavus II of Sweden brought Wallenstein back to power (1632). With a huge army he cleared Bohemia and began a contest with the Swedish king that ended at Lützen (1632), where Wallenstein was defeated and the Swedish king was killed. Embittered by his earlier dismissal, Wallenstein was then determined to become more powerful than ever, controlling not only military decisions, but imperial policy also. His secret negotiations with the enemy brought down on his head accusations of treason. A number of his generals, including Matthias Gallas and Ottavio Piccolomini, were drawn into a conspiracy against him. Ferdinand secretly removed Wallenstein from command on Jan. 24, 1634. Wallenstein renewed his attempts to negotiate with the Swedes and with a few hundred troops fled to Eger (Cheb), where he was treacherously murdered (Feb., 1634). His assassin later had the emperor's favor. Wallenstein is the central figure in a dramatic trilogy by Schiller. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Vladislav (vlä′dyĭsläf), Czech version of the name Ladislaus. Two kings of Bohemia who were thus named were Vladislav I (who was Ladislaus V, king of Hungary) and Vladislav II (who was Uladislaus II, king of Hungary). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Uladislaus II (ōō″lä′dĭslous), Hung. Ulászló II, c.1456–1516, king of Hungary (1490–1516) and, as Ladislaus II, king of Bohemia (1471–1516); son of Casimir IV of Poland. Designated by George of Podebrad as his successor, he was elected to the Bohemian throne. Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, invaded his territories and in 1478 acquired Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia from him. In Bohemia, Uladislaus openly favored the Roman Church against the Hussites. His weak rule enabled the nobles to pass laws in the diets of 1487 and 1497 that made the peasants virtual serfs. On the death of Matthias Corvinus (1490), the Hungarian magnates elected Uladislaus king in preference to Maximilian of Hapsburg (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I). In Hungary the nobles also exploited the king's weakness, abolishing the reforms of Matthias Corvinus and worsening the lot of the peasants. When Cardinal Bakocz issued the call for a crusade against the Ottomans, the peasants revolted and were cruelly repressed by John Zapolya (later John I). In 1515, Uladislaus concluded with Maximilian I a treaty that eventually brought Hungary and Bohemia under Hapsburg rule—his daughter Anna was promised to Archduke Ferdinand (later Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I); his son and successor, Louis II, was to marry Ferdinand's sister, Mary; if Louis died childless (as he did), Hungary and Bohemia were to pass to the Hapsburgs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Stamitz, Johann (yō′hän shtä′mĭts), 1717–57, Bohemian-German composer. Stamitz came to Mannheim (1741) and became (1745) concertmaster of the Mannheim orchestra. He made it the best in Europe. Stamitz wrote more than 50 symphonies, a dozen violin concertos, concertos for various other instruments, and chamber music. In developing the form of the sonata movement with two contrasting subjects and increasing the complexity of the bass part, Stamitz crucially influenced the course of symphonic writing. His most prominent son was Karl Stamitz, 1745–1801, a musician and composer. Karl was taught music by his father and F. X. Richter. He was a violin and viola d'amore virtuoso and wrote more than 50 symphonies, 60 concertos, and vocal and chamber music in the galant style (a light, gay style used for short movements of the classicial suite). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sigismund (sĭj′ĭsmənd, sĭg′–), 1368–1437, Holy Roman emperor (1433–37), German king (1410–37), king of Hungary (1387–1437) and of Bohemia (1419–37), elector of Brandenburg (1376–1415), son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rudolf II, 1552–1612, Holy Roman emperor (1576–1612), king of Bohemia (1575–1611) and of Hungary (1572–1608), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Acceding to the Hapsburg lands, he reversed his father's tolerant policy toward Protestantism and gave assistance to the Counter Reformation. Although Rudolf was a learned man, he was incapable of ruling because he was plagued by melancholy and later became subject to occasional fits of insanity. Other members of his family began to intervene in imperial affairs. Following a revolt in Hungary (1604–6) by Stephen Bocskay and his Ottoman allies, most of the actual ruling power passed to Rudolf's brother Matthias; the revolt was provoked by Rudolf's attempt to impose Roman Catholicism in Hungary. In 1608, Matthias forced Rudolf to cede Hungary, Austria, and Moravia to him. Seeking to gain the support of the Bohemian estates, Rudolf issued (1609) a royal charter that guaranteed religious freedom to the nobles and cities. This effort was in vain, and Rudolf was forced to give up Bohemia to Matthias in 1611. Rudolf's turbulent reign was a prelude to the Thirty Years War. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Moscheles, Ignaz (ĭg′näts mōsh′əlĕs), 1794–1870, Bohemian-German musician. Born in Prague, Moscheles was a child prodigy. He studied in Vienna with Johann Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri and prepared a piano score of Beethoven's Fidelio under the composer's direction. Moscheles toured Europe as a pianist and in 1832 conducted the British premier of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. One of his pupils was Mendelssohn, at whose invitation he joined the Leipzig Conservatory faculty in 1846. There he became renowned for his teaching and his piano improvisation. In composition and performance he was unsympathetic to the romanticism of Chopin and Liszt. His works (142 opus numbers) include eight piano concertos. Moscheles translated A. F. Schindler's biography of Beethoven into English. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Maximilian II, 1527–76, Holy Roman emperor (1564–76), king of Bohemia (1562–76) and of Hungary (1563–76), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. Before acceding he evidenced a sympathy for Lutheranism that caused grave concern in imperial and papal circles and led Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to urge that his son King Philip II of Spain succeed Ferdinand. However, Maximilian yielded and in 1562 swore to remain a Catholic and to allow his immediate heirs to be educated in Spain. He thereupon was elected king of the Romans, or Holy Roman emperor-elect (1562), and king of Hungary (1563). On Ferdinand's death (1564) he took full direction of imperial affairs. He obtained funds from the diet for the defense of Austria against the Turks but did not press his advantage, and by the truce of 1568 with Selim II he agreed to continue paying tribute to the sultan for his part of Hungary. Maximilian granted a large degree of religious toleration in his Bohemian and Austrian possessions. His policy of neutrality, however, also allowed the Counter Reformation to make considerable gains in some parts of the empire. A candidate for the throne of Poland to succeed Henry of Anjou (Henry III of France), he was elected (1575) by the Polish diet as rival king to Stephen Báthory. Maximilian died, refusing the sacraments, while preparing to invade Poland. His son succeeded him as Rudolf II. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Albert II, 1397–1439, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Hungary and Bohemia (1438–39), duke of Austria (1404–38). He was the son-in-law of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, whom he aided against the Hussites of Bohemia. Albert was unable to suppress the Bohemian revolts (see Hussite Wars) and subsequently died on a disastrous campaign against the Turks. With Albert began the lasting Hapsburg rule over the Holy Roman Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]