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Maximilian III of Austria (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618), briefly known as Maximilian of Poland during his claim for the throne, was the Archduke of
Further Austria from 1612 until his death.
In 1585, Maximilian became the
Grand Master of the Teutonic Order; thanks to this he was known by the epithet der Deutschmeister ("the German Master") for much of his later life.[1]
In the
1587 Polish–Lithuanian royal election Maximilian stood as a candidate for the throne of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, following the death of the previous king,
Stephen Báthory. A portion of the Polish nobility elected Maximilian king, but another faction elected Prince Sigismund of Sweden, grandson of
Sigismund I the Old, as
Sigismund III Vasa. Maximilian then invaded Poland, starting the
War of the Polish Succession (1587–1588). He had considerable support in Poland, but fewer Poles flocked to his army than to that of his rival. In late 1587, he tried and failed to storm
Kraków. At Pitschen in Silesia, he met Sigismund's army, commanded by Polish
hetmanJan Zamojski. In the
Battle of Byczyna (24 January 1588), Maximilian was defeated and captured. He was released a year and half later after the intervention of
Pope Sixtus V in the aftermath of the
Treaty of Bytom and Będzin. In 1598, he formally renounced his claim to the Polish crown.[2] The inactivity of his brother, Emperor
Rudolf II, in this matter contributed to Rudolf's poor reputation.[citation needed]
Today, Maximilian is perhaps best remembered for his
baroquearchducal hat, exhibited in the treasury of the
monastery of
Klosterneuburg and was used for ceremonial purposes as late as 1835.
He died at Vienna in 1618, and is buried in the canopied tomb in
Innsbruck Cathedral.
^The Deutschmeister ("German Master") was the Order's third-highest officer, who administered its
bailiwicks in the
Holy Roman Empire. The
State of the Teutonic Order in
Prussia and
Livonia was administered by the Grand Master. But after 1525, the Order had only its German holdings, and after 1561, these offices were united and the Grand Master was also German Master.
^Boureau, Alain (1995). The Lord's First Night: The Myth of the Droit de Cuissage. Translated by Cochrane, Lydia G. The University of Chicago Press. p. 96.
^Noubel, P., ed. (1877). Revue de l'Agenais [Review of the Agenais]. Vol. 4. Société académique d'Agen. p. 497.
^
abHarris, Carolyn (2017). Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting. Dundurn Press. p. 78.
Generations are numbered by male-line descent from the first archdukes. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished in 1919.