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Habsburg dynasty 323

into two branches of the family, the Albertines and the
Leopoldines.
The return of the Habsburgs to the imperial throne in
the 15th century began their entry into the top-ranking
European dynasties. Despite family conflict in Austria, the
animosity of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs, and the military
successes of the king of HUNGARY, Matthias CORVINUS,
FREDERICKIII (r. 1440–93) managed to hold the throne
and even held the Hungarian Crown between 1463 and

1491. He also obtained the hand of the daughter of the

duke of BURGUNDYfor his son, the emperor Maximilian (r.

1493– 1519). This was the real foundation for the domi-

nance of the family in the 16th century.

See alsoWILLIAMTELL;VIENNA.

Further reading: Gerhard Benecke, Maximilian I,

1459–1519: An Analytical Biography(Boston: Routledge

and Kegan Paul, 1982); Jean Bérenger, A History of the

Habsburg Empire, 1273–1700,trans. C. A. Simpson (1990;

reprint, New York: Longman, 1994); Adam Wandruszka,

The House of Habsburg: Six Hundred Years of a European