He accomplished some reforms in the
German empire, and the only interest his name now excites is the
interest necessarily involved in the sublime drama of his long and
eventful reign.
It is now necessary to retrace our steps for a few years, that we may
note the vicissitudes of Austria, while the empire was passing through
the scenes we have narrated.
Ferdinand I., the brother of Charles V., who was left alone in the
government of Austria, was the second son of Philip the Handsome and
Joanna of Spain. His birth was illustrious, the Emperor Maximilian being
his paternal grandfather, and Ferdinand and Isabella being his
grandparents on his mother's side. He was born in Spain, March 10, 1503,
and received a respectable education. His manners were courteous and
winning, and he was so much more popular than Charles as quite to excite
the jealousy of his imperious and imperial spirit. Charles, upon
attaining the throne, ceded to his brother the Austrian territories,
which then consisted of four small provinces, Austria, Styria, Carinthia
and Carniola, with the Tyrol.
Ferdinand married Ann, princess of Hungary and Bohemia. The death of his
wife's brother Louis made her the heiress of those two crowns, and thus
secured to Ferdinand the magnificent dowry of the kingdoms of Hungary
and Bohemia.
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