Columbus:

(1451- 1506) Genoan explorer, navigator & colonizer; under the patronage of Ferdinand & Isabell of Spain he discovers North America (which he believes is India); he completed 4 voyages across the Atlantic.  Those voyages & his efforts to establish settlements on the island of Hispaniola, initiated permanent European colonization of the New World.

 

Francis I:

(1494- 1547) first Valois King of France, reigning from 1515 until his death.   Under him the French Renaissance is initiated.  A great patron of the arts, he attracts many Italian artists to work on the Château de Chambord (including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the Mona Lisa with him).  In France humanism spreads along with Calvanism; the French begin their exploration of the New World.  We also see the rise of absolute monarchy.  His foreign policy was dominated by his personal rivalry with the Holy Roman Emperor & King of Spain, Charles V.

 

Spaniard Charles V: * see Endnote 36

(1500- 1558) his inheritance brought together extensive territories in western, central & southern Europe, and the Spanish viceroyalties in the Americas & Asia, a domain spanning 1.5 million square miles.  He faced hostility as many feared his vast inheritance would lead to a universal monarchy & a European hegemony.  He spent most of his rule at war with France, in struggles resulting from the Protestant Reformation in Germany as well as the Ottoman advances in Hungary & the Mediterranean.

 

the imperial crown (and Francis I & Charles V):

In 1519 Maximilian died, triggering an election for the office of Holy Roman Emperor.  The 7 electors included the 3 Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz & Trier, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Brandenburg & King of Bohemia.  There were 3 candidates: Francis I, Charles I & Henry VII (a dark horse).  None were German; Charles as grandchild of Maximillian held an advantage.  He was also able to outbid his main rival Francis.  Charles was elected unanimously, though Brandenburg expressed misgivings; he was duly crowned in 1520, later by the pope (1530).

 

Sack of Rome:

assault & sack of Rome (6 May 1527) during the War of the League of Cognac (1526–30).between Charles V & the League (France, Milan, Venice, Florence & the Papacy).  Following the death of the Imperial commander, Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, all discipline & control of the Imperial army broke down.   They easily captured the walls of Rome & began indiscriminate looting & killing.  Pope Clement VII just escaped to safety, using a secret corridor linking the Vatican City to Castel Sant'Angelo. It was a crucial imperial victory in the conflict between Charles & the League.

 

Peace of Westphalia:

peace treaties signed 1648 in Münster & Osnabrück, ending the 30 Years' War (1618–1648) within the Holy Roman Empire between the Habsburgs & their Catholic allies versus the Protestant powers & their Catholic French allies.  The treaties also ended the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain & the Dutch Republic, Spain recognising Dutch independence.

 

Philip II: * see Endnote 37

(1527- 1598)  King of Spain & Portugal; like his father Charles, he was a European hegemon who attracted opposition & like his father he saw himself as a protector of Christendom & the Church.  He successfully opposed Ottoman naval expansion in the Mediterranean & succeeded in defeating the French.  Under him Spain reached the height of its influence and power, the Golden Age.  His empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippines.  A devout Catholic, Philip is famous for the ill-fated Armada, unsuccessful due to storms and logistical problems.

 

Alva:

(1507-1582), Spanish noble, general & diplomat, titled the 3rd Duke of Alva; an adviser to Charles V & Philip II of Spain.  Enjoed successful military career, especially distinguished at the conquest of Tunis (1535) during the Ottoman-Habsburg wars when Charles V defeated Barbarossa, returning supremacy of the western Mediterranean to Spain. He distinguished himself at Mühlberg (1547), where Charles defeated the German Protestant princes. He is best known for his actions against the revolt of the Netherlands, where he instituted the Council of Troubles & repeatedly defeated the troops of William of Orange and Louis of Nassau & won a great victory at Jemmingen (1568) during the Eighty Years' War.  Despite ssuccesses, the Dutch were not broken &  he was recalled to Spain.  His last military successes were in the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580, winning the Battle of Alcantara & conquering Portugal for Philip II. 

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Cervantes:

(1547- 1616) greatest writer in the Spanish language, one of the world's pre-eminent novelists.  His masterpiece Don Quixote has been widely translated & his influence on the Spanish language has been paramount.  Exiled in 1569 he moved to Rome & worked for a Cardinal.  He enlisted as a soldier in the Spanish Navy & in 1575 was captured by Barbery pirates, freed in 1580 when his family paid a ransom.  In Spain 1585, he published a pastoral novel titled La Galatea.  He worked as a purchasing agent for the Spanish Armada & tax collector; jailed for discrepancies in the accounts (1597).  In 1605 volume 1 of Don Quixote published, an immediate success.  From 1607 to 1616 he worked in Madrid, finishing volume 2 of Don Quixote in 1615.

 

Calderon:

(1600-1681) Spanish dramatist, poet & writer; served as a soldier & Catholic priest.  Born when the theatre of the Spanish Golden Age was being defined by Lope de Vega, he developed it & is the culmination of Spanish Baroque theatre, one of Spain's foremost dramatists & one of the finest playwrights of world literature.

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Velasquez:

(1599-1660) Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV, one of the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical & cultural significance, he painted portraits of the Spanish royal family, other notable European figures, and commoners, culminating in the production of his masterpiece Las Meninas (1656).  From the first quarter of the nineteenth century, his artwork was a model for the realist and impressionist painters, in particular Manet.

 

Loyola: * see Endnote 38

a Basque nobleman from the Pyrenees N Spain; In 1534 he & 6 followers, including Francis Xavier and Peter Faber, gathered & took vows poverty, chastity & obedience to the Pope; this established the Jesuit order which was approved by Pope Paul III (1540).  Their loyalty to Rome was always absolute & they were especially useful at the Council of Trent. 

and see page 141

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Council of Trent:

ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held beteen1545-1563, at Trent, N Italy; prompted by the Protestant Reformation, triggered the Counter-Reformation.  Reformed the Church in key areas, maintained papal domination of the Church ending councillor claims to sovereignty.  It dealt with Protestant heresies & established Catholic dogma (justification by faith & works, 7 sacraments, priesthood, clerical celibacy)   Defined the Mass & Catholic dogma until Vatican 2 (1962).

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Spanish captains (war techniques):

The tercio was a Spanish infantry organization in Habsburg Spain in the Early Modern era.  Considered the best infantry in Europe from the 16th century to the first half of the 17th century.  An administrative unit with command of up to 3,000 soldiers, subdivided into 10 or12 compañías, made up of pike men, swordsmen & musketeers. These companies were deployed in battle & were further subdivided into units of 30 soldiers, which could be deployed individually or brought together to form Spanish squares.  Care that was taken to maintain a high number of veterans in the units with their professional training & their particular personality of the proud hidalgos of the lower nobility.  It was the first to efficiently mix pikes and firearms. The formation with its powerful infantry squares was popular with other European powers, especially the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire.

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Spanish Cardinals (diplomacy of): * see Endnote 39

a reference to Churchman & diplomat Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (1517- 1586) who served both Charles V & Philip II from 1545 until his death in 1586.  He was a negotiator, strategist and advisor to the Hapsburgs in all of their foreign policies.  A Burgundian statesman, he followed his father as a leading minister of the Spanish Habsburgs, influential European politician in Reformation Crisis & the dominating Imperial statesman of the century. 

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Escorial:

(aka El Escorial) historical residence of the Kings of Spain, royal palace built 1563-84 by Philip II in the Sierra de Guadarrama, 28 miles NW of Madrid;; has functioned as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school and hospital.

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Congress of Vienna:

meeting of ambassadors of European states chaired by Austrian statesman Metternich, in Vienna from 1814-15; aimed to create a balance of power & a long-term peace plan, settled issues arising from the French Revolutionary & Napoleonic Wars; its leaders were conservatives hostile to republicanism or revolutions.  France lost all its recent conquests, other counties gained: Prussia (acquired small W. German states, Swedish Pomerania, most of the Kingdom of Saxony), Austria (acquired Venice & N. Italy) & Russia (acquired Poland).  Often criticized for suppression of the emerging national & liberal movements, seen as a reactionary movement for the benefit of traditional monarchs; however it did provide long-term stability & peace for Europe.

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Philip II's wars: * see Endnote 40

He considered himself the defender of Catholic Europe against the Ottoman Turks & the Protestant Reformation which also threated his rule in the Spanish Netherlands.  Against the Ottoman Turks he initially suffered setbacks in the Mediterranean but achieved a decisive victory at Lepanto (1571), with the allied fleet of the Holy League.  He fought France, emerging victorious with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis (1559) ending 60-year of Franco-Spanish conflict over Italy.  It confirmed Spanish rule of Milan, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, indirectly almost of all Italy; this would last until the early 18th century.  Habsburg Spain became the premier power of Europe at the cost of France.  Against England Phillip was not so successful.  His union with Mary I (1554) failed to bear fruit as did the Armada in 1588.  Likewise he failed to suppress heresy in the Netherlands.  From 1568, he waged a war against the Dutch, a conflict which would last for the rest of his life & take a major toll on his treasury, causing economic difficulties & 5 state bankruptcies.  He successfully secured his succession to the throne of Portugal in 1580-81.

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Vignola::

(1507-1573) Italian architect of 16th century Mannerism, famous for the Villa Farnese (Caprarola) & Church of the Gesù (Rome).  He worked for Pope Julius III in Rome & after 1555 he was patronized by the papal family of the Farnese.  He worked with Michelangelo, who deeply influenced his style.  In 1558, he was in Piacenza to revise the designs of Palazzo Farnese (Rome), commissioned by Margaret of Austria (daughter of Emperor Charles V).  From 1564 he worked on St Peter's Basilica & constructed the 2 subordinate domes according to Michelangelo's plans.  He, along with Serlio & Palladio, were the 3 architects who spread the Italian Renaissance style.

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great Revolution:

an epochal (as distinct from episodic) event, the French Revolution (1789) designated by Spengler as the point of transition from the Faustian Culture to the Faustian Civilization (from spring to summer).

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epoch:

a transition period in the lifecycle of a culture, marking the changeover from one stage to another, such as  the movement from Culture to Civilization.  A period necessary and predetermined to happen at a specific point in time.

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incidental:

events which are only superficial, secondary occasions, which may be represented by other appropriate events, not destined or predetermined.

 

epochal...or episodic...:

According to Spengler the Classical world perceived history as a series of unrelated events, the present being the sole focus of interest, a singularity. Its history is always in the foreground, on the surface, without long range distant horizons or depth.  History is a series of points with no reference to a trend line.  In contrast the Faustian Culture looks keenly to the past & future, & attached great significance to tendencies or progression.  The trend line is the focus rather than the specific point.  The West projects such events back & forward in Time; the Classical world sees them as a mere sequence of events without further meaning.  For them any given happening is simply an event; for the West events are loaded with meaning, depth, a portent of the Future, an echo of the Past.