Ferdinand I of Austria

Ferdinand I (German: Ferdinand I. 19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) was the Emperor of Austria from March 1835 until his abdication in December 1848. As ruler of Austria, he was also President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia (as Ferdinand V), King of Lombardy–Venetia and holder of many other lesser titles (see grand title of the Emperor of Austria). Due to his rocky, passive but well-intentioned character, he gained the sobriquet The Benign (German: Der Gütige) or The Benevolent (Czech: Ferdinand Dobrotivý).[2]

Not to be confused with Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor.
Ferdinand I & V
Ferdinand I wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece, portrait by Leopold Kupelwieser, 1847
Emperor of Austria
Reign2 March 1835 – 2 December 1848
Coronation7 September 1836, Prague (as king of Bohemia)
PredecessorFrancis I
SuccessorFranz Joseph I
Prime MinisterSee list
Head of the Präsidialmacht Austria
In office2 March 1835 – 1 May 1850
PredecessorFrancis I
SuccessorFranz Joseph I
King of Hungary
Reign28 September 1830 – 2 December 1848
Coronation28 September 1830, Pressburg
PredecessorFrancis I
SuccessorFranz Joseph I
Born(1793-04-19)19 April 1793
Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire[1]
Died29 June 1875(1875-06-29) (aged 82)
Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austria-Hungary[1]
Burial
Imperial Crypt, Vienna
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1831; his death 1875)​
Full name
German: Ferdinand Karl Leopold Joseph Franz Marcelin
English: Ferdinand Charles Leopold Joseph Francis Marcelin
HouseHabsburg-Lorraine
FatherFrancis II, Holy Roman Emperor
MotherMaria Theresa of the Two Sicilies
ReligionRoman Catholicism
Signature

Ferdinand succeeded on the death of his father Francis II and I on 2 March 1835. He was incapable of ruling his empire because of a mental deficiency, so his father, before he died, made a will which promulgated that Ferdinand should consult his uncle Archduke Louis on all aspects of internal policy and urged him to be influenced by Prince Metternich, Austria's Foreign Minister.[3]

Following the Revolutions of 1848, Ferdinand abdicated on 2 December 1848. He was succeeded by his nephew, Franz Joseph. Following his abdication, he lived in Hradčany Palace, Prague, until his death in 1875.[4]

Ferdinand married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child of Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia. They had no children.

Biography

Early life

Ferdinand was the eldest son of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. Possibly as a result of his parents' genetic closeness (they were double first cousins), Ferdinand suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems, and a speech impediment. He was educated by Baron Josef Kalasanz von Erberg, and his wife Josephine, by birth a Countess von Attems.[5]

Reign
Coronation of King Ferdinand V in 1836 in Prague

Ferdinand has been depicted as feeble-minded and incapable of ruling. Yet, although he had epilepsy, he kept a coherent and legible diary and has even been said to have had a sharp wit. However, suffering as many as twenty seizures per day severely restricted his ability to rule with any effectiveness. Though he was not declared incapacitated, a Regent's Council (Archduke Louis, Count Kolowrat, and Prince Metternich) steered the government.

When Ferdinand married Princess Maria Anna of Savoy, the court physician considered it unlikely that he would be able to consummate the marriage.[6] When he tried to consummate the marriage, he had five seizures. He is best remembered for his command to his cook: when told he could not have apricot dumplings (Marillenknödel) because apricots were out of season, he said "I am the Emperor, and I want dumplings!" (German: Ich bin der Kaiser und ich will Knödel!).[7][8]

1848 Revolution
Ferdinand's sarcophagus the Imperial Crypt, Vienna

As the revolutionaries of 1848 were marching on the palace, he is supposed to have asked Metternich for an explanation. When Metternich answered that they were making a revolution, Ferdinand is supposed to have said "But are they allowed to do that?" (Viennese German: Ja, dürfen's denn des?) He was convinced by Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg to abdicate in favour of his nephew, Franz Joseph (the next in line was Ferdinand's younger brother Franz Karl, but he was persuaded to waive his succession rights in favour of his son) who would occupy the Austrian throne for the next sixty-eight years.

Ferdinand recorded the events in his diary: "The affair ended with the new Emperor kneeling before his old Emperor and Lord, that is to say, me, and asking for a blessing, which I gave him, laying both hands on his head and making the sign of the Holy Cross ... then I embraced him and kissed our new master, and then we went to our room. Afterwards I and my dear wife heard Holy Mass ... After that I and my dear wife packed our bags."

In retirement (1848–1875)
Photograph of the aged Ferdinand dated circa 1870

Ferdinand was the last King of Bohemia to be crowned as such. Due to his sympathy with Bohemia (where he spent the rest of his life in Prague Castle) he was given the Czech nickname "Ferdinand V, the Good" (Ferdinand Dobrotivý). In Austria, Ferdinand was similarly nicknamed "Ferdinand der Gütige" (Ferdinand the Benign), but also ridiculed as "Gütinand der Fertige" (Goodinand the Finished).

He is interred in tomb number 62 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

Titles and honours

He used the titles:[9]

His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty Ferdinand the First, By the Grace of God

Honours

Ancestry

Ferdinand's parents were double first cousins as they shared all four grandparents (Francis' paternal grandparents were his wife's maternal grandparents and vice versa). Therefore, Ferdinand only had four great-grandparents, being descended from each of them twice. Further back in his ancestry there is more pedigree collapse due to the close intermarriage between the Houses of Austria and Spain and other Catholic monarchies.

See also

References
  1. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ferdinand I. of Austria" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. Thomas Nipperdey: Deutsche Geschichte 1800-1866. Bürgerwelt und starker Staat, C.H. Beck, broschierte Sonderausgabe 1998, S. 339.
  3. Taylor, A. J. P.: "The Habsburg Monarchy 1809-1918" (Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1990, ISBN 978-0-14-013498-8), pp 52-53
  4. van der Kiste, p 16
  5. Grafenauer, Bogo (1925–1991). "Erberg Jožef Kalasanc baron" [Erberg Joseph Calasanz baron]. In Cankar, Izidor; et al. (eds.). Slovenski biografski leksikon (in Slovenian). ISBN 978-961-268-001-5. Archived from the original on 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  6. van der Kiste, John. Emperor Francis Joseph London: Sutton Publishing, 2005 ISBN 0-7509-3787-4. p 2
  7. According to A.J.P. Taylor, he was in fact asking for noodles - "But it is an unacceptable pun in English for a noodle to ask for noodles" - The Habsburg Monarchy 1809–1918
  8. Regan, Geoffrey. Royal Blunders page 72
  9. Velde, Francois R. "Royal Styles". www.heraldica.org.
  10. "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Kaiserthumes Österreich, 1834, pp. 23, 34, 41, 57, retrieved 18 June 2020
  11. Boettger, T. F. "Chevaliers de la Toisón d'Or - Knights of the Golden Fleece". La Confrérie Amicale. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  12. "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Teulet, Alexandre (1863). "Liste chronologique des chevaliers de l'ordre du Saint-Esprit depuis son origine jusqu'à son extinction (1578-1830)" [Chronological List of Knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit from its origin to its extinction (1578-1830)]. Annuaire-bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de France (in French) (2): 114. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  14. Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1833. Landesamt. 1833. p. 6.
  15. Almanacco di corte (in Italian). 1858. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  16. "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen", Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Hessen: für das Jahr ... 1858 (in German), Darmstadt, 1858, p. 8, retrieved 12 March 2020
  17. Hessen-Kassel (1858). Kurfürstlich Hessisches Hof- und Staatshandbuch: 1858. Waisenhaus. p. 15.
  18. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1834), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 32, 50
  19. Sachsen (1866). Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1865/66. Heinrich. p. 3.
  20. Württemberg (1858). Königlich-Württembergisches Hof- und Staats-Handbuch: 1858. Guttenberg. p. 31.
  21. Luigi Cibrario (1869). Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri. Eredi Botta. p. 105.
  22. Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" p. 19
  23. J ..... -H ..... -Fr ..... Berlien (1846). Der Elephanten-Orden und seine Ritter. Berling. pp. 166–167.
  24. "Grand Crosses of the Order of the Tower and Sword". geneall.net. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  25. Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1864), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 11
  26. Sveriges och Norges Statskalender (in Swedish), 1864, p. 421, retrieved 2019-02-20 – via runeberg.org
  27. "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden", Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (in German), Coburg, Gotha: Meusel, 1843, p. 4, retrieved 12 March 2020
  28. Anhalt-Köthen (1851). Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch für die Herzogthümer Anhalt-Dessau und Anhalt-Köthen: 1851. Katz. p. 10.
  29. Staat Hannover (1865). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1865. Berenberg. pp. 37, 73.
  30. "Caballeros Grandes Cruces de la Real y distinguida orden de Carlos Terceros", Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish), 1868, p. 167, retrieved 18 June 2020
  31. Almanacco Toscano per l'anno 1855. Stamperia Granducale. 1855. p. 272.
  32. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Theresia (deutsche Kaiserin)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 60 – via Wikisource.
  33. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Franz I." . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 208 – via Wikisource.
  34. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Ludovica (deutsche Kaiserin)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 53 – via Wikisource.
  35. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 9.
  36. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Theresia von Neapel" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 81 – via Wikisource.
Ferdinand I of Austria
Cadet branch of the House of Lorraine
Born: 19 April 1793 Died: 29 June 1875
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Francis I		 Emperor of Austria
King of Hungary and Croatia
King of Bohemia
King of Lombardy–Venetia
1835–1848		 Succeeded by
Francis Joseph I
Political offices
Preceded by
Francis I of Austria		 Head of the Präsidialmacht Austria
1835–1848		 Succeeded by
Franz Joseph I of Austria
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