6 Matthias’s Reign, Ferdinand’s Succession
Matthias’s early years, 1612 to 1616
‘Emperor Matthias’, begins his biographer disparagingly, ‘is historically
important for one thing, and one thing only, namely that the notori-
ous defenestration of Prague took place during his reign.’^1 Such obvious
hyperbole need not, of course, be taken too literally, but few have dis-
agreed with the underlying assessment of Matthias’s character. The best
most say of him is that for a Habsburg he was unusually personable and
approachable, without the Spanish-style aloofness of his elder broth-
ers, although they quickly add that this easy-going exterior accurately
reflected the essential superficiality of his nature. His ambitions, it is
said, were for position and status rather than for power and authority,
and his principal concern was with outward show rather than the sub-
stance of his offices. Nor was he inclined to involve himself in the work
which went with his role, whether through laziness or lack of interest,
and often he did not deal with even the most important documents,
sending letters from princes unopened to Khlesl in Vienna, so that the
latter often chided him for his lack of effort: ‘Everyone knows that Your
Majesty asks about nothing and lets everything go just as it will.’^2
Matthias’s saving grace may well have been his choice of his prin-
cipal adviser. Khlesl first came to his attention in Austria around 1598,
quickly becoming first influential and then indispensable during the fol-
lowing twenty years. They were in a sense complementary, in that Khlesl
had the very qualities which Matthias most lacked. A self-made man
from modest origins, he was penetratingly intelligent, clear-sighted,
hard-working, and sharply focussed on his objectives, as well as being,
according to his enemies, devious and Machiavellian. Above all he was
totally committed to two interests, those of the Catholic church and
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