1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener Discretion advised. If you 3 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: were a time traveler arriving at Prague Castle at the 4 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: start of the sixteen hundreds, you would find yourself at 5 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,319 Speaker 1: the epicenter of the Holy Roman Empire, a hub of 6 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:35,919 Speaker 1: culture where scholars, scientists, artists, diplomats and religious officials milled 7 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: and mingled in the castle's grand corridors. But few of 8 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: those illustrious visitors would have had the privilege of visiting 9 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 1: the most private and opulent chambers in the castle, the 10 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: personal domain of the Emperor Rudolf the Second of Habsburg. 11 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: Rudolph was an accomplished, even obsessive collector, and his private 12 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: chambers housed the paintings, sculptures, and other treasures he had 13 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: gathered over the course of his reign. This section of 14 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: the palace was known as the Kunstkamer, which translates to 15 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: cabinet of curiosities. That said, Rudolph's Kunstkamer was no mere cabinet. 16 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: The collection took up an entire wing of the castle. 17 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: The existence of the Kunstkamer itself was not a secret 18 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: Rudolf's political advisers were familiar with the emperor's collection hobby 19 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: as an annoying distraction from his more important task of 20 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: ruling the Holy Roman Empire. But no matter how much 21 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: his advisers protested, Rudolf poured more and more of his 22 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: time and energy into the Kunstkamer, meeting with artists that 23 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: could contribute to his collection, sending diplomats across the world 24 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: to bring back treasures, and wandering through the rooms to 25 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: gaze at his most prized possessions. But while everyone in 26 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: court had heard about the Kunstkamer, only a select few 27 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: had actually seen what was inside. If you were a 28 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: high level dignitary Rudolph wanted to impress, he might have 29 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: escorted you into the chamber and showed off the collection 30 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: to you himself. You could have also tried to bribe 31 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: Rudolph by bringing him an especially rare painting or sculpture, 32 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: hoping that it might earn you an hour or two inside. 33 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: If you were feeling especially brave, you could have tried 34 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: to sneak in. One merchant pulled that off. He arrived 35 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: at the castle to visit his friend, a painter that 36 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: Rudolf had employed. The painter managed to bring the merchant 37 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: into the Kunstkammer in secret while Rudolph was eating. In 38 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: any case, if you were lucky enough to see the Kunstkamer, 39 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: you'd be led through a narrow corridor tucked between a 40 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: study and a courtyard, up a set of stairs. Upon 41 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: entering the main chamber, you'd encounter a large, green table 42 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:28,559 Speaker 1: covered with well stuff, globes, clocks, caskets, strange musical instruments. 43 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: At the head of the table you would see a 44 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: peacock automaton that operated by clockwork. It could walk, squawk, 45 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: and wave its tail, which was made out of actual 46 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: peacock feathers. Surrounding the table on all sides was a 47 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 1: variety of paintings, statues, clocks, goblets, and more. Some of 48 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: the items were free standing on the floor, others were 49 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: perched on writing desks, chests, or cabinets made of ebony 50 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: and marble. A unicorn horn, which was most likely a 51 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: narwhale tusk, lay on a green writing desk off to 52 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: the side of the chamber, while a bust of Rudolph 53 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: himself sat on a case pushed up against a wall. 54 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: If you opened up these chests, and cabinets, you would 55 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: find even more treasures. One small gray writing desk contained 56 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: forty eight rings, shells, spoons, and various pieces of coral. 57 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: Another case was filled with one hundred and five knives 58 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: and daggers, one of which was rumored to be the 59 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: very weapon that killed Julius Caesar. The Kunstcomer was so 60 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: vast and chaotic that an archivist started compiling an inventory 61 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: of the space in sixteen o seven and wouldn't finish 62 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: until four years later, just before Rudolph would die. It wasn't, 63 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: and still isn't clear how the collection was organized. It's 64 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: even less clear why Rudolf the second was so consumed 65 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: with collecting all of these objects in the first place. 66 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: On one hand, the Kunstkamer was an artistic and scientific achievement, 67 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: which reflected Rudolph's commitment to expanding the frontiers of human knowledge. 68 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: Rudolph was the patron of many artists and scientists, some 69 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: of whose work ran up against the worldview of the 70 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: Catholic Church. The Church's attempt to stem the spread of 71 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: Protestantism and protect their faith often meant punishing individuals whose 72 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: ideas challenged it. Rudolf hoped his objects might become a 73 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: universal encyclopedia of nature, which could lead to scientific breakthroughs, 74 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: even if those discoveries didn't happen during his lifetime. His 75 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: collection and patronage laid the groundwork for further scientific exploration 76 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 1: that would continue long after his death. But at the 77 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:23,359 Speaker 1: same time, the Kunstkammer reflected Rudolph's paranoia and gullibility. Throughout 78 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: his life, Rudolf suffered from what we now might call depression. 79 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 1: When his mental health worsened, Rudolf would spend months nearly 80 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: catatonic with despair, Unable to engage in official business. He 81 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: had a persistent fear of assassination, and so he avoided 82 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: people altogether, even his closest advisors. He spent all of 83 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: his time alone in his Kunstkammer, the only place he 84 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: felt truly safe. In the face of increasing uncertainty, anxiety, 85 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: and hopelessness, Rudolph developed an obsession with alchemy and magic. 86 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: He fixated on finding the Philosopher's Stone, which would give 87 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: him eternal life and assuage his fears about an untimely death. 88 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: Once and for all. That interest manifested in the Kunstkammer, 89 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: as well. It contained magical objects like the aforementioned unicorn horn. 90 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: Towards the end of Rudolph's life, he started casting spells 91 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: and even conducting sex rituals in the secret chambers. The 92 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: question of how to understand the Kunstkamer and its Emperor 93 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: has vexed scholars for centuries. During his lifetime, Rudolph the 94 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 1: Second was known by two very different nicknames that represent 95 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: his diametrically opposed qualities. He was known as the Great 96 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: Master of Prague and the Recluse of Prague. Which one 97 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: was he the Great Master, a wise tolerant leader who 98 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: championed intellectual freedom, or the Recluse, debilitated by anxiety and 99 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: depression and led astray by the fruitlessness of his quest 100 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: for eternal life. These are the questions we can't find 101 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: answers to in a cabinet of curiosities, no matter how vast. 102 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: I'm Danish Schwartz and this is noble blood. Rudolph the 103 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: Second was not the first Habsburg with an extensive art collection. 104 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 1: His paternal grandfather, Ferdinand the First had one too, in 105 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:53,000 Speaker 1: Ambress Castle in Austria, where he Ferdinand stored his fragments 106 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: from classical coins, statues, rare books, paintings and jewels. Rudolph's father, 107 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: Maximilian the Second, inherited Ferdinand's passion for art collection and philosophy. 108 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: While Maximilian never had a Kunstkammer of his own, he 109 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: did build a number of royal gardens in Vienna and 110 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: Prague that displayed exotic plants and animals like lions, tigers, bears, 111 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: oh mai, and parrots which Renaissance Europeans called Indian crows. Maximilian, 112 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,679 Speaker 1: Rudolph's father was also the first to catalog and organize 113 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: the Hebsburg holdings of books, which became the Austrian National 114 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: Library that still exists to this day. In fifteen twenty two, 115 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: Rudolph the second was born. He was Maximilian's oldest son, 116 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 1: and he grew up in Vienna into a freethinking scholarly environment. 117 00:09:56,679 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: Maximilian attracted some of the greatest humanist, philosoph and scientists 118 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: in Western Europe to his castle in Vienna, and some 119 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 1: of them became Rudolph's earliest tutors. Rudolf spent his childhood 120 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: listening in on cutting edge scholarly conversations about neoplatonism or 121 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: decoding Egyptian hieroglyphics while wandering through the palace's vast collection 122 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: of books and admiring plants like lilacs and tulips, plants 123 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: that you would only be able to find within the 124 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: castle's walls. Rudolf's mother, Maria, was not happy with such 125 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: an environment for her first born son. Maria was also 126 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: a Habsburg surprise, surprise, Maximilian was her cousin, but she 127 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: grew up in Spain, and aside from blood, she had 128 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: almost nothing in common with her husband. In contrast to 129 00:10:54,360 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: the gentle intellectual Maximilian, Maria was severe and moreau, always 130 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: dressed in black, as was typical for the Spanish court. 131 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: Their greatest disagreement was religion. Maria, whose parents started the 132 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: Spanish Inquisition, was staunchly Catholic. She was so religious that 133 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,360 Speaker 1: she refused to take anything to ease the pain when 134 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: she was giving birth to Rudolph, not even a glass 135 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:31,320 Speaker 1: of water. Meanwhile, Rudolph's dad, Maximilian, had a pretty nonchalant 136 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:36,440 Speaker 1: relationship with Christianity. He was ostensibly Catholic, but he was 137 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: so averse to the Vatican that many thought he was 138 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: a closet Lutheran. That worried Maria's side of the family. 139 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: Maria's brother Philip insisted that young Rudolph spend his adolescence 140 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: in Spain to make sure that he would be faithful 141 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: to the church. Maximilian initially bulked at the request. Maximilian 142 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 1: himself had been and shipped off to Spain when he 143 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: was a teen, and he hated it. The Spanish court 144 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,560 Speaker 1: was known for being cold, rigid, and formal, but the 145 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:14,240 Speaker 1: disagreements between him and his wife Maria were hard on Rudolph. 146 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: Rudolf didn't like harsh noises, bright lights, or conflict of 147 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: any kind. When his parents began to fight, he would flee, 148 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 1: retreating into his own internal world. In the end, Maximilian 149 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:35,839 Speaker 1: and Maria sent eleven year old Rudolph and his brother 150 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: ernst Off to Spain for eight years. Like his father, 151 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 1: Rudolph hated Spain. When those eight years were finally up, 152 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: Rudolph typically reserved and morose, was uncharacteristically thrilled. Recalling this 153 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: period later in his life, he said he was seized 154 00:12:56,760 --> 00:13:00,960 Speaker 1: with such joy that it was impossible to sleep. Upon 155 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: Rudolf's return, Maximilian was happy to see his son back 156 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:10,120 Speaker 1: in Vienna. But noted that his boy had changed. Rudolf 157 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: had always been quiet, but now, at twenty years old, 158 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: his reservedness came off as prideful, as if he was 159 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:23,319 Speaker 1: too high status to talk to lowly political advisers. Maximilian 160 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,439 Speaker 1: encouraged his son to loosen up so he could win 161 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,559 Speaker 1: more friends and allies at court, but Rudolf couldn't let 162 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:34,319 Speaker 1: his guard down so easily. His stiffness had been a 163 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:40,559 Speaker 1: survival strategy in Spain, which demanded absolute formality and piousness 164 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:45,679 Speaker 1: at all times. Maximilian had actually officially become the Holy 165 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 1: Roman Emperor a year after Rudolf arrived in Spain, and 166 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: he had spent the last seven years on the throne, 167 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: so Rudolf got a promotion too. He went from being 168 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: the Prince of Hungary to the King of Hungary and 169 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,719 Speaker 1: then three years later to the King of Bohemia and 170 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:07,959 Speaker 1: King of the Romans. Rudolf didn't do all that much 171 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: with his first taste of political power, and there isn't 172 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: a lot to say about his early years on the throne. 173 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: Biographers note that he brought a bunch of imperial women 174 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: to the palace so that he could finally get laid, 175 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: which needless to say, was not a priority for the 176 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: deeply Catholic Spanish court where Rudolph spent his adolescence. Rudolf 177 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,880 Speaker 1: had barely gotten his political bearings as King of Hungary, 178 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: King of Bohemia and King of the Romans when his 179 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: father Maximilian died in fifteen seventy six. Suddenly it was 180 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: intimidating enough for Rudolph to inherit the Holy Roman Empire 181 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: at just twenty three years old. It was also an 182 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: incredibly politically fraught time after the Protestant Reformation. There were 183 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: increasingly violent conflicts between Catholics and Protestants and other religious groups. Meanwhile, 184 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: the Habsburgs were also at war with the Ottoman Empire 185 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: over territory in Cyprus and hungry. Maximilian had done his 186 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: best to balance those competing interests with policies that emphasized 187 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 1: religious tolerance, barely keeping a civil war between the Catholics 188 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: and Protestants at Bay, but his death would cause those 189 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: tensions to rise up. Maximilian's death also caused conflict within 190 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: his own family. In a move that was considered unusual, 191 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: Maximilian gave all of his land to his oldest son Rudolph, 192 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: leaving out Rudolf's younger brothers entirely. Rudolf tried to rectify 193 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: the situation by giving two of his brothers political control 194 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: of Austria, but it was too little, too late. The 195 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 1: pressure proved to be too much for Rudolph. His brothers 196 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: had come to resent him, and his father, the family 197 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: member he had been closest to, was dead. His empire 198 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: was beset by internal conflicts from the Protestants and external 199 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: threats from the Ottoman Empire. Terrified that he wouldn't be 200 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: able to live up to the expectations, Rudolf spiraled into 201 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:33,240 Speaker 1: a debilitating depression for a full year. He withdrew to 202 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: his private chambers, so despondent that he could barely walk. 203 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 1: His attendants carried him from room to room. His entourage 204 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: was worried. Madness was an inheritance in the Habsburg family 205 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,640 Speaker 1: just as much as Kunskammer's. Rudolf was the great grandson 206 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: of Juana le Looka, whom you might remember from her 207 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: eponymous episode on this podcast back in twin vent twenty one, 208 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 1: who became infamous after her supposed descent into madness after 209 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: her husband's death. Rudolf's cousin, Don Carlos, also suffered from 210 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 1: poor mental health issues. During Rudolf's stint in Spain, he 211 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: had witnessed Don Carlos's erratic behavior, like roasting live animals 212 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: and forcing a shoemaker to eat a particularly ugly pair 213 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 1: of shoes he had made. After Don Carlos tried to 214 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: stab a duke, he was imprisoned by his own father 215 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:42,720 Speaker 1: and starved himself to death. Rudolf's court and Rudolf himself 216 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,880 Speaker 1: feared that he might lose touch with reality and might 217 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: suffer a similar fate. In the face of all of 218 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:58,680 Speaker 1: these familial, personal, and political stresses, there was one silver 219 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:04,560 Speaker 1: lining in rudolphe life. He inherited his father's collection of art. 220 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 1: Throughout his childhood, Rudolf escaped the pressures of early royal 221 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 1: life by exploring the art that his father, grandfather, and 222 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: uncle had accumulated. Now that Rudolf ruled over the Holy 223 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: Roman Empire, he would no longer have to rely on 224 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,880 Speaker 1: his family's good graces to explore his passions for art 225 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 1: and science. He could finally start a collection of his 226 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 1: very own. Rudolf began his reign by moving out of 227 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:45,160 Speaker 1: his parents' house. He was sick of refereeing his brother's 228 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 1: dramas and having to involve his mother in his political affairs. 229 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 1: Vienna's bustling vibrants may have enchanted Rudolf as a child, 230 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: but it overwhelmed him as an adult. He much preferred 231 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:04,080 Speaker 1: the peaceful and austere Prague, which was a better fit 232 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 1: for his reserved personality. Rudolph's new home was Prague Castle 233 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:15,760 Speaker 1: atop Fradkinney Hill, surrounded by foreboding walls and a moat. 234 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:20,639 Speaker 1: This was perfect for Rudolph, who preferred to be alone, 235 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: but even that isolation wasn't enough for him. Rudolf hated 236 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 1: being seen so much that he built roofed, wooden corridors 237 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,879 Speaker 1: and staircases across the castle so members of his court 238 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:37,960 Speaker 1: wouldn't be able to find him as he moved from 239 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:42,399 Speaker 1: room to room. These new corridors were just one part 240 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:47,119 Speaker 1: of the major home renovation project Rudolph undertook when he 241 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 1: moved into Prague Castle in fifteen eighty. He built new 242 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 1: stables for his favorite horses. He loved horses, particularly and 243 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 1: a Lucian grays, and he devoted an entire room to 244 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 1: his collection of rare saddles. Rudolf also loved birds and 245 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 1: created a heated, walled aviary filled with parrots, birds of paradise, 246 00:20:13,119 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 1: and even a dodo. He created an enclosure with tigers, bears, 247 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:23,720 Speaker 1: and wolves. His favorite animal was a pet lion, which 248 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: he occasionally let roam around inside the palace. Rudolf also 249 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,679 Speaker 1: built a new wing of the castle to house the 250 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:38,880 Speaker 1: paintings he inherited from Phillip, Maximilian, and Ferdinand's respective collections, 251 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:41,879 Speaker 1: along with a tower from which he could view the 252 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: night sky, laboratories for alchemical and scientific experiments, and a 253 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:53,840 Speaker 1: botanical garden full of plants like orange, olive and pomegranate trees, 254 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,639 Speaker 1: which were exceptionally rare in Eastern Europe at the time. 255 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 1: This new wing of Prague Castle reflected Rudolph's evolving vision 256 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:08,159 Speaker 1: of his role as emperor. Back in the depressive episode 257 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:12,240 Speaker 1: in the wake of his father's death, Rudolph's rule seemed 258 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 1: as though it was promising to be an endless diplomatic 259 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 1: nightmare of trying to appease power hungry relatives and quash 260 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: increasing religious conflict. But Rudolph believed that his reign could 261 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: transcend those political struggles. After all, he had been taught 262 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: his entire life that he was chosen by God to rule, 263 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 1: which put him at an advantage when it came to 264 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: pursuing deeper existential and philosophical questions. Rudolph took it upon 265 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: himself to figure out the meaning of life, and in 266 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:54,920 Speaker 1: doing so, unite not only his empire but all of humanity. 267 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 1: If that goal feels a little vague, it's because it 268 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:04,680 Speaker 1: ended up being a moving target. Sometimes Rudolf was more 269 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: focused on more typical scientific concerns, like cataloging the world's 270 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: animals and plants, or mapping the skies. Other times he 271 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:19,159 Speaker 1: had more pie in the sky ambitions, like finding the 272 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:23,040 Speaker 1: key to eternal life. In any case, he thought that 273 00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: by attaining this knowledge for himself, he could save the world. 274 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: As a homebody, Rudolf wasn't going to go out into 275 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,920 Speaker 1: the world to search for knowledge. He wanted the world 276 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: to come to him. So Rudolf became a patron of 277 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: the arts and sciences, bringing the greatest intellects to his 278 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,399 Speaker 1: court and supporting their work. He set up studios for 279 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 1: artists to work in, gave them rooms in the castle, 280 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 1: and paid them annual stipends with bonuses for commissioned work. 281 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 1: As such, the artists that worked for Rudolf tended to 282 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 1: indulge his personal preferences, which were paintings that featured either 283 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:15,920 Speaker 1: one hot naked women, two flattering depictions of Rudolph, or 284 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: three symbols from Greek mythology, ideally all three at the 285 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 1: same time. Rudolf also loved hidden sources of knowledge and 286 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: searching for meaning underneath appearances, a proto da Vinci Coode lover. 287 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: He was particularly fond of allegorical art. A perfect example 288 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,679 Speaker 1: of his preferred style of art was Allegory of the 289 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:46,199 Speaker 1: Virtues of Rudolf the Second by Bortolomeus Spranger, an artist 290 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:51,119 Speaker 1: originally from Antwerp who was appointed the Rudolphine Court's master 291 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: painter around fifteen ninety. The painting features Beloona, the Roman 292 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:00,800 Speaker 1: goddess of war, surrounded by other naked gold goddesses and 293 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:05,200 Speaker 1: mythological figures. What clues us in to the fact that 294 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 1: this painting is an allegory, aside from the title, is 295 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:14,280 Speaker 1: that the goddesses are wearing emblems of hungry, symbolizing Rudolf 296 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,879 Speaker 1: and his empire's power and virtue. Another common feature of 297 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 1: these kinds of allegorical paintings were depictions of Rudolph atop 298 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: one of his beloved horses wielding a sword, Even though 299 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,760 Speaker 1: Rudolf would never even come close to going into battle. 300 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:36,959 Speaker 1: Rudolf visited the artists he sponsored every day, spending the 301 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,680 Speaker 1: mornings admiring what they managed to get done the day before. 302 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 1: This obsession with art was annoying to politicians hoping for 303 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:51,120 Speaker 1: Rudolf's guidance on religious conflicts and skirmishes with the Ottoman Empire, 304 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:57,640 Speaker 1: but particularly shrewd diplomats found that Rudolph's love of art 305 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:02,959 Speaker 1: could be manipulated to ser diplomatic ends. There was no 306 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:07,560 Speaker 1: surer way of getting Rudolph's attention than by bringing him 307 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:13,119 Speaker 1: a particularly rare painting or sculpture. In sixteen o five, 308 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:17,400 Speaker 1: an ambassador for the Duke of Savoy wrote that Rudolph 309 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 1: spent two and a half hours sitting motionless looking at 310 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:25,760 Speaker 1: paintings of fruit and fish markets that the Duke had 311 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:31,760 Speaker 1: given him as a gift. Rudolf also collected scientific drawings 312 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: and telescopes and clocks, along with curios and objects which 313 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,879 Speaker 1: he believed had mystical powers. He wanted his Kunstkamer to 314 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: function as an encyclopedia of natural phenomenon, including skeletons, drawings, 315 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: and preserved specimens of various animals and plants. He also 316 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: had what he believed was a Greek siren's jawbone, gullstones 317 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: from animals that were supposedly antidotes to poison, feathers from 318 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:09,920 Speaker 1: a phoenix, and a biological drawing of a dragon. These 319 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:15,160 Speaker 1: more mythical objects are of dubious origin. It is likely 320 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: that these jawbones and feathers came from other animals, and 321 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:24,000 Speaker 1: even more likely that they did not have the magical 322 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: powers that Rudolph thought they did. Still, if Rudolf was 323 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:33,600 Speaker 1: feeling poorly, he would go to his Kunstkamer, take out 324 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: one of his enchanted objects, and draw a magic circle 325 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: around himself for protection. Rudolf's strong draw toward both science 326 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: and the occult may seem contradictory from a modern point 327 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:58,360 Speaker 1: of view. Particularly, we think of science as a position 328 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: of skepticism, a way of disproving conspiratorial or speculative theories 329 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 1: about how the world works. But we have to first 330 00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:13,120 Speaker 1: remember that the world was less connected in the sixteenth century. 331 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 1: And knowledge was less centralized. If you lived in fifteen 332 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: hundreds Prague, a dodo bird or polar bear or penguin 333 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:28,480 Speaker 1: might have seemed just as fantastical as a dragon or 334 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:33,359 Speaker 1: a phoenix. I mean, really, a narwhale really is kind 335 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: of as magical as a unicorn. Most scholars in the 336 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:44,679 Speaker 1: sixteenth century thought that magic, science, and religion all reinforced 337 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: one another. Like the paintings in Rudolph's Kunstkammer, the natural 338 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:54,480 Speaker 1: world functioned as a kind of allegory that could expose 339 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:59,480 Speaker 1: God's designs for the universe or clarify this seeming chaos 340 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: of the world. The best example of this is in 341 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:09,320 Speaker 1: Rudolph's Passion for astronomy and astrology. Rudolf supported a lot 342 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: of astronomers at Prague Castle, giving them a salary, a 343 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,200 Speaker 1: rent free place to live, and state of the art telescopes. 344 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: In return, the astronomers were expected to provide Rudolph with 345 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:30,399 Speaker 1: personalized star charts. This wasn't uncommon, as astronomy and astrology 346 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: were considered parts of the same discipline. Astronomers had to 347 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: accurately map the movement of celestial bodies in order to 348 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: figure out what they might portend about the future. Rudolf 349 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:49,520 Speaker 1: consulted these astrologers nearly every day to get their advice 350 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,200 Speaker 1: about how to rule, while they also worked on their 351 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 1: scientific projects. Rudolph relied so heavily on his favorite astrologer, 352 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:03,320 Speaker 1: Tak o'brie, that other members of the court referred to 353 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: him as the evil spirit of the Emperor because of 354 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: his potential to influence the emperor for the worse. True 355 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 1: to his nickname, in sixteen hundred, Briy forecasted that Rudolf 356 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:20,640 Speaker 1: would be assassinated sometime that year. A biography of Rudolf 357 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: notes that Briy was in a bad mood when he 358 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 1: made this prediction. He was particularly unhappy that Rudolf had 359 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: made him move to Prague from Denmark so that he 360 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:37,600 Speaker 1: could receive more regular astrological readings. Rudolf took that prophecy 361 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 1: very seriously, and it amplified his already simmering paranoia and depression. 362 00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: Rudolf had already suspected that he would die before his 363 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 1: fiftieth birthday, and he had just turned forty eight. Fearing 364 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:57,080 Speaker 1: that any member of his court could assassinate him at 365 00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:02,560 Speaker 1: any time, Rudolf refused to leave his Kunstkammer or entertain 366 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:07,479 Speaker 1: any visitors. As time passed, he grew so despondent that 367 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 1: he couldn't even manage to visit his artists' studios or 368 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:16,600 Speaker 1: the scientific laboratories in his castle. Some of his previously 369 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 1: more reliable sources of joy. Brahi's dire astrological prediction would 370 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: turn out to be wrong. Rudolf survived sixteen hundred without 371 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 1: any assassination. That said, Rudolf's paranoia wasn't entirely misplaced. While 372 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:41,440 Speaker 1: Rudolf was busy pursuing artistic and intellectual flights of fancy, 373 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:48,520 Speaker 1: long simmering political, religious, and family conflicts were reaching a 374 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,800 Speaker 1: breaking point. Sixteen hundred may not have been the year 375 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,520 Speaker 1: that Rudolf died, but it was the year his rule 376 00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:07,760 Speaker 1: would begin to fall apart. Beyond the walls of Rudolf's Kunstkammer, 377 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:13,280 Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire was in crisis after the Protestant 378 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 1: Reformation challenged the Vatican's authority. The Catholic Church pursued a 379 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:26,640 Speaker 1: counter Reformation, trying to squash Protestant influence once and for all. Meanwhile, 380 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: the Holy Roman Empire's relationship with the Ottoman Empire was deteriorating. 381 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 1: For a while, Rudolf had been paying forty five thousand 382 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 1: sailers to the Ottomans in exchange for peace, but in 383 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: fifteen ninety two, the Sultan Grand Vizier suddenly demanded double 384 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 1: the payment. Rudolf tried to get away with sending the 385 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:54,440 Speaker 1: Sultan gifts rather than money, but it didn't work. The 386 00:31:54,440 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: Ottomans declared war on Rudolph, invading Vienna and Hungary. Rudolph 387 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: convened the Imperial Parliament to request funds for the war, 388 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: and it took months of arguments between the Catholics and 389 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: Protestants before they finally agreed to send over the money. 390 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:16,960 Speaker 1: As much as Rudolf tried to distract himself with his 391 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 1: impressive collection of curios in his Kunstkamer, Rudolf was increasingly 392 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:27,760 Speaker 1: nervous about these sources of unrest growing in his empire. 393 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 1: He had little sympathy for the Catholics and for the Protestants, 394 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:37,680 Speaker 1: and like his father, refused to take either side. Even 395 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,959 Speaker 1: though he had never been more depressed in his life 396 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:45,960 Speaker 1: and his empire was splintering beneath his feet, Rudolf held 397 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 1: out hope that he could unite all religions under his 398 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 1: dominion and usher in an era of peace. Meanwhile, there 399 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:59,719 Speaker 1: were two forces conspiring against Rudolf to try to remove 400 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:03,760 Speaker 1: him from the throne. On one side was the Vatican, 401 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,960 Speaker 1: which had a number of issues with Rudolf's reign. Not 402 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,400 Speaker 1: only was Rudolph too easy on the Protestants, but he 403 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:16,480 Speaker 1: was also turning his attention towards magic, alchemy and the occult, 404 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:22,959 Speaker 1: which the Church considered heretical. Rumors spread that Rudolf refused 405 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: to go to Mass fearing the sign of the Cross. 406 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,320 Speaker 1: Even his depression was used as proof that Rudolph had 407 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:34,640 Speaker 1: turned his back on the Church. The court's papal ambassador 408 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:39,280 Speaker 1: wrote in a letter in sixteen hundred that Rudolph's melancholy 409 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:43,840 Speaker 1: suggested that he was quote bewitched and in league with 410 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:49,720 Speaker 1: the devil. In September of sixteen sixty, the papal ambassador 411 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: sat down with Rudolf and explained to him that he 412 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 1: was in serious threat of excommunication. Rudolf didn't take it 413 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 1: well at that the moment. The only response he had 414 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,440 Speaker 1: was that the ambassador had bad breath. The President of 415 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 1: the Chamber of Finances believed that Rudolph was more agitated 416 00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:14,319 Speaker 1: than he was letting on writing. Quote night and day, 417 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:18,279 Speaker 1: the Emperor is tortured by the idea that he is abandoned, 418 00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:21,480 Speaker 1: that he can have confidence in no one, that his 419 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,160 Speaker 1: subjects have lost their respect for him, that one wants 420 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:30,200 Speaker 1: to take his power and his life from him. Later 421 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,680 Speaker 1: that night, Rudolph was in such a state of panic 422 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,719 Speaker 1: that he couldn't sleep. He called for one of his ministers, 423 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:41,800 Speaker 1: and when he arrived, tried to stab him with a dagger. 424 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:48,000 Speaker 1: A sudden clap of thunder outside startled Rudolph narrowly, allowing 425 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:53,120 Speaker 1: the minister to escape. Servants heard the commotion and rushed 426 00:34:53,280 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: to Rudolph's room, arriving to find him about to attempt suicide. 427 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,080 Speaker 1: They managed to wrest the dagger away from him and 428 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:08,239 Speaker 1: calm him down, but Rudolph was immobile for days afterward, 429 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:17,080 Speaker 1: refusing to leave his chambers or let anyone inside. The 430 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:22,120 Speaker 1: other force rooting for Rudolph's downfall was his own family, 431 00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:26,880 Speaker 1: who had little to know sympathy for his depression. One 432 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:31,480 Speaker 1: family member in particular, had a vendetta against Rudolph his 433 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 1: younger brother Matthias. When their father Maximilian had died and 434 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:39,279 Speaker 1: left all of his land to Rudolph. Rudolf had done 435 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,840 Speaker 1: his best to distribute the land equally among his brothers, 436 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:47,160 Speaker 1: with the exception of Matthias. At the time, Rudolf had 437 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:50,839 Speaker 1: been angry at Matthias because he had taken on a 438 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:55,719 Speaker 1: diplomatic role without Rudolph's permission, and Rudolph viewed that as 439 00:35:55,760 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 1: a direct threat to his rule. In retaliation, when Rudolph 440 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:05,000 Speaker 1: tried to more evenly distribute their father's lands among the brothers, 441 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:09,360 Speaker 1: he refused to give Matthias a share of their father's land. 442 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:14,000 Speaker 1: He also prevented Matthias from marrying and spread a rumor 443 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:19,160 Speaker 1: that Matthias was impotent. Matthias had been waiting for decades 444 00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:25,080 Speaker 1: to get revenge, and Rudolph's debilitating depression gave Matthias the 445 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: perfect opportunity to try and take over the empire. In 446 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: November of sixteen hundred, Matthias and his two youngest brothers 447 00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: signed an agreement of concerted opposition against Rudolph. Rudolf was 448 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:46,920 Speaker 1: terrified that Matthias would send someone to assassinate him, just 449 00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 1: like his court astrologer had predicted. Rudolph finally turned his 450 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,759 Speaker 1: attention to marrying and producing an air. Just so he 451 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:59,959 Speaker 1: could keep Matthias off the throne, he disguised his court 452 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:05,160 Speaker 1: painters as ambassadors and sent them across Europe to create 453 00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:10,879 Speaker 1: portraits of the available bachelorettes. But when the artists presented 454 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:14,640 Speaker 1: their portraits to Rudolph, he found he had no desire 455 00:37:14,719 --> 00:37:18,759 Speaker 1: to reach out to any of the women. Instead, he 456 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:22,680 Speaker 1: found that he much preferred staring at the paintings in 457 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:28,120 Speaker 1: the safety of his Kunstcomer. Rudolph responded to his fears 458 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:32,799 Speaker 1: of losing political power by delving deeper into alchemy and 459 00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:38,080 Speaker 1: the occult. He had become obsessed with finding the Philosopher's Stone, 460 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,880 Speaker 1: which would grant him eternal life, but had, as you 461 00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:47,560 Speaker 1: can imagine, very little success. Rudolph spent less and less 462 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:51,440 Speaker 1: time in the outside world and more and more time 463 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:56,040 Speaker 1: in his Kunstcomer. He was so separate from public life 464 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:59,800 Speaker 1: that he became known as the Recluse of Prague. Some 465 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:05,680 Speaker 1: people even assumed he had died. Matthias began ousting Rudolph 466 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:10,400 Speaker 1: from the throne, officially maneuvering around the emperor to pursue 467 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:15,719 Speaker 1: his own ambitions. In sixteen o six, Matthias consulted with 468 00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:20,600 Speaker 1: the rest of the Habsburgs and formally declared Rudolph insane. 469 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:26,200 Speaker 1: The family nominated Matthias to lead the Holy Roman Empire, but, 470 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:31,480 Speaker 1: in perhaps a rare moment of sympathy for Rudolph, refused 471 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:36,560 Speaker 1: to forcibly remove him from power. Instead, Matthias just took 472 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 1: on de facto political power. He went behind Rudolph's back 473 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:45,080 Speaker 1: and negotiated peace with the Ottoman Empire later that year, 474 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:50,560 Speaker 1: much to Rudolph's chagrin. Over the next five years, Rudolf 475 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 1: hemorrhaged authority and political goodwill, until finally, in sixteen eleven, 476 00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:03,000 Speaker 1: Matthias and his forces invaded Prague and forced Rudolph to 477 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:08,560 Speaker 1: finally abdicate the throne. Matthias was crowned King of Bohemia 478 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:16,400 Speaker 1: in the city Rudolph had made his home. Rudolf was 479 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,640 Speaker 1: allowed to retain the title of Emperor and to continue 480 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:25,320 Speaker 1: to live in Prague Castle until his death. During this time, 481 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:30,719 Speaker 1: Rudolf drank heavily and barely left his chambers, unable to 482 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:34,200 Speaker 1: make it to his stables. He would have his favorite 483 00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:38,440 Speaker 1: horses paraded outside his windows so that he could admire 484 00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:42,920 Speaker 1: them from a distance. Rudolph reserved his energy to try 485 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:47,120 Speaker 1: and put a hex on Matthias. This part is a 486 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:52,480 Speaker 1: little gruesome. Apologies. Rudolph baptized a dog and then killed it, 487 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:57,520 Speaker 1: hoping that Matthias would suffer a similar tragedy, and even 488 00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:01,880 Speaker 1: witnessed ritual sex in a mass magic circle in an 489 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:07,800 Speaker 1: attempt to reverse his bad fortune. In sixteen twelve, Rudolf 490 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:12,400 Speaker 1: caught a bad case of bronchitis and his legs started 491 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:16,120 Speaker 1: to swell. Physicians told him not to put shoes on, 492 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:20,480 Speaker 1: but Rudolf didn't listen because he insisted on still going 493 00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:24,680 Speaker 1: to the Kunstkamer to see his collection, the only thing 494 00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:29,160 Speaker 1: that still gave him pleasure. After a while, his legs 495 00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:32,520 Speaker 1: had swollen so much that he couldn't take his shoes 496 00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:37,400 Speaker 1: off for days, and he developed gangreen. He died a 497 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:42,560 Speaker 1: few days later of those complications. It turned out that 498 00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:47,000 Speaker 1: Rudolf's death aligned with at least one of his court 499 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:53,000 Speaker 1: astrologer's predictions. One astrologer pointed out that Rudolf and his 500 00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:58,200 Speaker 1: beloved pet Lion had a similar star chart and forecasted 501 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:02,360 Speaker 1: that they would die within day of each other. Sure enough, 502 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:08,279 Speaker 1: Rudolf's pet Lion had died just three days before Rudolph did. 503 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:13,320 Speaker 1: Seemingly terrified of the vengeful spirit of his dead brother, 504 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:19,120 Speaker 1: Matthias refused to pay his respects to Rudolph's corpse. He 505 00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:25,840 Speaker 1: had similarly dismissive attitudes towards Rudolf's achievements. He fired most 506 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:30,160 Speaker 1: of the scholars, artists, and alchemists Rudolf had supported over 507 00:41:30,239 --> 00:41:35,040 Speaker 1: his rule, and moved the Imperial court officially back to Vienna. 508 00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:40,839 Speaker 1: Matthias and his youngest brother, Maximilian took a few paintings 509 00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:44,600 Speaker 1: from the Kunstkamer, but left most of it to get 510 00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:50,040 Speaker 1: pillaged by various merchants. Only a fraction of Rudolf's vast 511 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:55,720 Speaker 1: collection has been saved. Given the tragic ending of his story, 512 00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:59,680 Speaker 1: it's easy to see Rudolf as a failure. He was 513 00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:04,759 Speaker 1: a superstitious, spacey, timid ruler who was ill equipped to 514 00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:09,720 Speaker 1: handle the demands of the throne. It's hard to rationalize 515 00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:14,040 Speaker 1: Rudolph's obsession with the occult and his fruitless pursuit for 516 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:18,360 Speaker 1: eternal life, and easy to dismiss the real work he sponsored, 517 00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:23,080 Speaker 1: especially because a century later the Enlightenment would undermine the 518 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:30,000 Speaker 1: scholarly achievements of the Rudolphine court. The enlightenments most archetypal figures. 519 00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:34,839 Speaker 1: Descartes and Newton established that the world is reducible to 520 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:39,279 Speaker 1: what can be observed and logically deduced, which is now 521 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:43,600 Speaker 1: the foundation of modern science. This is not to say 522 00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:48,200 Speaker 1: that Rudolph's occult beliefs were particularly out there for the time. 523 00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:54,480 Speaker 1: Plenty of respected scientists practiced alchemy on the side, including 524 00:42:54,640 --> 00:42:59,799 Speaker 1: Isaac Newton, who had a fascination with alchemy that dominated 525 00:42:59,840 --> 00:43:03,080 Speaker 1: the back half of his life. But the consequences of 526 00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:07,680 Speaker 1: Rudolph's fixation on the supernatural were so dire that they 527 00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:12,000 Speaker 1: threatened to overshadow the rest of his legacy. His political 528 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:16,839 Speaker 1: inaction stoked tensions that would lead to the Thirty Years War, 529 00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:22,719 Speaker 1: one of the deadliest conflicts in European history. Meanwhile, Rudolf's 530 00:43:22,719 --> 00:43:28,360 Speaker 1: greatest achievement, arguably the Kunstkamer itself, has been lost to time. 531 00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:32,840 Speaker 1: All that remains of it is an inventory, a list 532 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:37,320 Speaker 1: of the many, many objects that were once inside, along 533 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:41,600 Speaker 1: with whatever those who rated it had cared to preserve. 534 00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:53,160 Speaker 1: But those same qualities that probably led to Rudolph's downfall 535 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:58,680 Speaker 1: had made his court vibrant and unique. Rudolf never questioned 536 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:02,520 Speaker 1: the value of art and knowledge. While he had his, 537 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:07,719 Speaker 1: let's say, quirks, he paid the artists and scientists that 538 00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:10,799 Speaker 1: set up shop in his palace, and he had deep 539 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:15,719 Speaker 1: respect for their work. Rudolf's utter devotion to knowledge and 540 00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:20,040 Speaker 1: to the people who produced it allowed both to flourish. 541 00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:25,560 Speaker 1: Rudolf's kcomer may have looked haphazard, but it did have 542 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:31,759 Speaker 1: an organizational principle. It wanted to surprise and delight in 543 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:37,200 Speaker 1: exposing that which was once hidden. The randomness heightened the 544 00:44:37,239 --> 00:44:41,320 Speaker 1: pleasure of finding something you might not expect by opening 545 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:45,320 Speaker 1: a cabinet or peering around the corner, whether it was 546 00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:49,319 Speaker 1: an allegory that explains a painting or a map of 547 00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:53,399 Speaker 1: the planet that could predict the future. Rudolph's passion for 548 00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:58,759 Speaker 1: discovering hidden meanings was infectious. You can still feel Rudolph's 549 00:44:58,800 --> 00:45:03,959 Speaker 1: whimsy and carry out through the artworks he commissioned. One 550 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:08,120 Speaker 1: of these is a portrait of Rudolph as Vertumnus, the 551 00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:12,680 Speaker 1: Roman god of the seasons, a painting by Giuseppe Arsimbaldo. 552 00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:17,279 Speaker 1: This is no standard portrait. In fact, you might have 553 00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:20,880 Speaker 1: actually seen this portrait and not known it was of Rudolf. 554 00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:27,080 Speaker 1: Archimbaldo paints a Rudolf constructed out of fruits and vegetables, 555 00:45:27,480 --> 00:45:31,640 Speaker 1: with a pair for a nose, apples for cheeks, blueberries 556 00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:36,000 Speaker 1: for eyes, grapes for hair, and cabbage for shoulders. The 557 00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:40,720 Speaker 1: portrait shows Rudolf not as a recluse, or as a savior, 558 00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:45,400 Speaker 1: or even a human being, but as nature itself in 559 00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:50,120 Speaker 1: all of its beauty and abundance. This is what Rudolph wanted, 560 00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:55,239 Speaker 1: after all, to transcend the chaos of everyday existence and 561 00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:59,359 Speaker 1: find the meaning of life, absurd as it is in 562 00:45:59,400 --> 00:46:12,200 Speaker 1: its pure form. That's the story of Rudolf and his Kunstkamer. 563 00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:15,160 Speaker 1: But stick around to hear about how Rudolph's love of 564 00:46:15,239 --> 00:46:18,560 Speaker 1: astrology led to the discovery of some of the most 565 00:46:18,640 --> 00:46:30,320 Speaker 1: fundamental laws of physics. The most famous of Rudolph's court 566 00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:35,440 Speaker 1: astronomers was Johannes Kepler. Kepler had been brought to Prague 567 00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:42,160 Speaker 1: as an assistant to Rudolph's head astrologer, Tico Brahe. Unlike Tico, 568 00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:48,080 Speaker 1: whose dire predictions sent Rudolph spiraling, Kepler was more interested 569 00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:53,880 Speaker 1: in formulating the laws that governed celestial bodies movement in space. 570 00:46:54,640 --> 00:46:58,640 Speaker 1: Kepler had bad eyesight, so he couldn't map planets like 571 00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:03,440 Speaker 1: Brahi did. Instead, his strength was in mathematics. He wanted 572 00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:06,800 Speaker 1: to find out what caused the planet to move in 573 00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:13,240 Speaker 1: certain patterns at certain speeds. Kepler mostly stayed under the radar, 574 00:47:13,719 --> 00:47:18,600 Speaker 1: letting Brahi deal with Rudolph's whims. After Brahie's death, an 575 00:47:18,719 --> 00:47:22,719 Speaker 1: unfortunate urination incident that you can hear about in our 576 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:27,239 Speaker 1: episode that we've done on Brahi and Rudolph's brief experiment 577 00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:31,440 Speaker 1: in attempting to bring Brahi back to life, Rudolph turned 578 00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:38,640 Speaker 1: his attention to Kepler, naming him the new Imperial Mathematician. Kepler, 579 00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:43,640 Speaker 1: like Brahi before him, had to give Rudolph personalized star 580 00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:48,520 Speaker 1: charts in addition to continuing his scholarly work. Kepler didn't 581 00:47:48,560 --> 00:47:53,279 Speaker 1: necessarily mind Like many astronomers at the time, He believed 582 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:59,279 Speaker 1: in astrology's ability to explain people's personalities and futures, but 583 00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:04,040 Speaker 1: he also recognized that astrology was vulnerable to grifters that 584 00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:09,680 Speaker 1: manipulated their readings for their own personal gain. Because of 585 00:48:09,800 --> 00:48:15,880 Speaker 1: Rudolph's credulity, Kepler wrote in sixteen eleven, I hold that 586 00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:20,520 Speaker 1: astrology must not only be banished from the Senate, but 587 00:48:20,680 --> 00:48:23,520 Speaker 1: also from the heads of all those who wish to 588 00:48:23,560 --> 00:48:28,000 Speaker 1: advise the Emperor in his best interests, it must be 589 00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:34,320 Speaker 1: kept entirely out of his sight. Rudolph didn't follow Kepler's advice, 590 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:39,160 Speaker 1: and Kepler still acted as one of Rudolph's personal astrologers. 591 00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:44,400 Speaker 1: Kepler tended to use astrology to hype up his patron 592 00:48:44,880 --> 00:48:48,319 Speaker 1: a strategy that allowed him to stay in Rudolph's good 593 00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:53,680 Speaker 1: graces during his time under Rudolph's patronage. When he wasn't 594 00:48:53,680 --> 00:49:00,000 Speaker 1: doing star charts, Kepler was wildly productive, producing thirty astronomers 595 00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:05,000 Speaker 1: called treatises. In one of them, Astronomia Nova, he found 596 00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:09,239 Speaker 1: that Earth's orbit was elliptical around the Sun. In the 597 00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:14,840 Speaker 1: introduction to Astronomy and Nova, Kepler explains how Rudolph's astrological 598 00:49:14,880 --> 00:49:20,600 Speaker 1: profile made him a particularly powerful ruler. Kepler's reading was 599 00:49:20,640 --> 00:49:26,040 Speaker 1: so flattering and effective that Galileo might have actually ripped 600 00:49:26,080 --> 00:49:29,919 Speaker 1: him off. A year after Astronomy and Nova came out, 601 00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:36,120 Speaker 1: Galileo dedicated his Astronomical treatise to Rudolph and included a 602 00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:41,120 Speaker 1: lengthy appreciation of Rudolph's star chart that was so similar 603 00:49:41,160 --> 00:49:46,960 Speaker 1: to Coupler's that some scholars think Galileo plagiarized it. This 604 00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:49,759 Speaker 1: is not to say that Rudolf and Kepler didn't have 605 00:49:49,840 --> 00:49:55,240 Speaker 1: their disagreements, especially because Rudolf rarely paid Kepler on time 606 00:49:55,880 --> 00:50:00,640 Speaker 1: and sometimes withheld payments and bonuses because of the Empire's 607 00:50:00,719 --> 00:50:08,360 Speaker 1: financial trouble. But Keupler appreciated Rudolph's patronage. He described Rudolph 608 00:50:08,440 --> 00:50:13,120 Speaker 1: as a star around which he orbited, like the Earth 609 00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:26,160 Speaker 1: around the sun. Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio 610 00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:30,319 Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manke. Noble Blood is 611 00:50:30,440 --> 00:50:34,960 Speaker 1: created and hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing 612 00:50:35,080 --> 00:50:40,760 Speaker 1: and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, 613 00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:45,040 Speaker 1: and Lori Goodman. The show is edited and produced by 614 00:50:45,120 --> 00:50:50,480 Speaker 1: Noemi Griffin and rima Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh 615 00:50:50,600 --> 00:50:56,000 Speaker 1: Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 616 00:50:56,520 --> 00:51:01,040 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the Eyeheart Radio app, 617 00:51:01,239 --> 00:51:04,960 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.