The Search for Allies 191Maximilian became duke of Bavaria at the age of 24, when his father
abdicated and entrusted the heavily indebted duchy to his care, but by
1619, twenty years later, he had not only restored its finances but built
up a reserve of cash few princes of the time could match, reportedly say-
ing that in time of war the best fortresses were full coffers.^20 He was a
man of ability and application, speaking Italian, French and Latin flu-
ently, as well as learning Spanish late in life, and his working habits
were as disciplined as his religious observances. He usually started work
at four in the morning, often continuing until late at night, took exer-
cise only occasionally, and frowned upon the excesses of pleasure, eating
and particularly drinking which were the norm in most princely courts
of the time. He maintained an almost absolutist rule in Bavaria, sum-
moning the Estates only twice during his long reign, but he was wise
enough to listen to and to take advice, although avoiding dependence
on any one councillor and reserving the final decisions to himself.^21
In government he was careful and wary, always watchful for the interests
of his own duchy, but his most pronounced political characteristic was
an excessive caution which led him to be indecisive and unwilling to
commit himself on important matters in case of possible consequences.
Johann Georg of Saxony described him as ‘very timid’, while another
contemporary noted of him during the war that were a single cavalry-
man to appear outside Ingolstadt he would fear the city to be lost. He
was also mistrustful, even of his closest advisers, as well as being inclined
to see conspiracies and to suspect the motives of the princes and other
parties with whom he had to deal on affairs of state.^22
There was a long tradition of rivalry between the houses of Habsburg
and Wittelsbach, to which both Maximilian and Friedrich of the
Palatinate belonged, going back over three hundred years. During this
period Bavaria’s leading position in the south of the Empire had been
steadily eroded by growing Habsburg power, as the latter family had
both extended its possessions and consolidated its hold on the Imperial
crown. The relationship had been aggravated by boundary disputes con-
cerning their adjoining territories, most recently over the acquisition of
Mindelheim mentioned above, and although Maximilian maintained
a formal correctness in his dealings with Austria and the emperor he
also watched carefully for opportunities to further his territorial and
political ambitions on behalf of his dynasty. Nevertheless the families
had frequently inter-married, and Ferdinand and Maximilian were both
grandsons of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria, added to which Ferdinand’s
wife was Maximilian’s sister, so that they were not only cousins but also
brothers-in-law. In 1619 Ferdinand was 41, and although Maximilian