son, Philip the Handsome (1476–1506), to the Infanta
Joanna, thus ensuring the Spanish inheritance for his
grandson, CHARLES V. The marriage of his two grandchil-
dren to Hungarian royalty brought Bohemia and Hungary
to the Hapsburgs after the death of Louis II of Hungary at
the battle of MOHÁCS(1526).
Further reading: Gerhard Benecke, Maximilian I
(1459–1519): An Analytical Biography (London and
Boston, Mass.: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982).
Maximilian II (1527–1576) Holy Roman Emperor
(1564–76)
Maximilian was the eldest son of Emperor FERDINAND I
and Anna of Hungary. Born in Vienna but educated mainly
in Spain, he was early involved in the business of empire.
He married his cousin Maria, daughter of CHARLES V, in
- During the 1550s he was principally involved in
protecting Austria against the Turks. Like his father, he
adopted a tolerant policy in religious matters, and was
even accused of being a crypto-Lutheran. In 1562 he was
chosen king of the Romans and succeeded to the empire
on his father’s death (1564).
Maximilian inherited his father’s taste for the arts and
sciences; he tried unsuccessfully to lure PALESTRINAand
GIAMBOLOGNAto his court in Vienna and employed the
painters ARCIMBOLDOand SPRANGERand the architect and
sculptor Hans Mont of Ghent. The business of his reign,
like that of his father, was chiefly taken up with defending
the empire’s eastern border against the Turks and trying to
ensure peaceful coexistence between Catholics and
Protestants in Hapsburg lands. The ambiguity of Maximil-
ian’s own theological position is highlighted by his
deathbed refusal to receive the Catholic sacrament. He
was succeeded by his son, RUDOLF II.
May, Jan See VERMEYEN, JAN CORNELIS
Mazarine Bible See GUTENBERG, JOHANN
Mazzoni, Guido (Paganino) (c. 1450–1518) Italian
sculptor
Born at Modena, Mazzoni worked there and at Ferrara,
Venice, and Naples, specializing in dramatic and realistic
Nativity and Lamentation scenes. In 1495 he traveled with
Charles VIII from Naples to France and helped to popu-
larize the ideals of the Italian Renaissance there. In 1498
he worked on a monument to Charles VIII in the abbey of
St. Denis (destroyed in the French Revolution) and later
executed an equestrian statue of Louis XII at Blois, also
later destroyed. Subsequently he was approached by
Henry VIII of England to design a monument for Henry
VII in Westminster Abbey, a project which was later un-
dertaken by Pietro TORRIGIANO. Much of the realism in
Mazzoni’s works was achieved through his frequent use of
both life and death masks. In 1516 he returned to Mod-
ena, where he died.Mechlin orMechelen See MALINESmedals See NUMISMATICSMedici, Cosimo de’ (Cosimo Il Vecchio 1389–1464)
Italian financier and patron of artists and scholars
The son of the very successful banker, Giovanni de’
Medici, Cosimo was exiled from Florence by the ALBIZZI
(1433) but promptly recalled by a newly elected council
(1434). Thereafter he used his wealth to establish Medici
power in the city. While overtly respecting republican
forms of government he put his supporters in control of
Florentine institutions, notably the balìa (committee of
magistrates). Cosimo brought prosperity and stability to
Florence, spending generously on art and public works.
BRUNELLESCHI, MICHELOZZO, GHIBERTI, DELLA ROBBIA, AL-
BERTI, Fra ANGELICO, and UCCELLOall lived in Florence in
Cosimo’s time. Cosimo also protected Marsilio FICINOand
encouraged the study of Greek.
In Italian affairs Cosimo brought the struggle against
Milan to a successful conclusion at the Peace of Cavriana
(1441), but his main concern was to preserve stability and
freedom from foreign intervention. Cosimo played an im-
portant part in the formation of the Italian League (see
LODI, PEACE OF). He allied Florence with Francesco Sforza,
duke of Milan, from 1450. After his death he was honored
with the title pater patriae (father of his country), which is
signified by the letters P.P. carved on his chair in the
posthumous portrait of him by PONTORMO(1519; Uffizi,
Florence).
Further reading: Dale Kent, Cosimo de’ Medici and the
Florentine Renaissance: The Patron’s Oeuvre (New Haven,
Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000).Medici, Lorenzo de’ (Lorenzo the Magnificent)
(1449–1492) Italian scholar-prince
Although Lorenzo outwardly respected republican tradi-
tions and never adopted a formal title, he governed Flo-
rence with the splendor of a typical Italian Renaissance
prince. His lavish entertainments made him popular and
his manipulation of Florentine institutions gave him near-
autocratic power. He arranged noble marriages for his
family and procured a cardinal’s hat for his son Giovanni,
later Pope LEO X. Lorenzo integrated the administration of
Florence with Tuscany and tightened his control through
the Council of Seventy and the balìa (committee of mag-
istrates). He clashed with Pope SIXTUS IV, whose nephew
organized the PAZZI CONSPIRACY (1478), in which Lo-
renzo’s brother was murdered at Mass. Lorenzo ended the
war with the papacy that followed (1478–79) by persuad-
ing the pope’s ally, Naples, to make peace.33008 8 MMaaxxiimmiilliiaann IIII