1068. At the Parting of the Ways
(Ezekiel)
Mecklenburg was one of the great hereditary duchies of the Empire,
significantly exceeded in size only by the electorates of Bavaria,
Brandenburg and Saxony. Its dukes could trace family ownership
back eight centuries or more, but the joint incumbents had been rash
enough to side openly with Christian of Denmark, and – unlike others
in the Lower Saxon Circle – imprudent enough to delay an ostentatious
show of renewed loyalty to the emperor until after it became clear that
Christian was going to be the loser. With victory in sight Ferdinand
moved to place them under the ban of the Empire and to begin the
process of expropriation. As a first step he granted a lien on their ter-
ritories to Wallenstein, who took possession in April 1628, while in the
same month he also extended the general’s authority to all Imperial
forces, promoting him to the unheard-of rank of General-Oberster
Feldhauptmann, usually abbreviated to generalissimo.^1
Mecklenburg was the private business which had been Wallenstein’s
main concern after the 1627 campaign. He was already a duke, as Fried-
land was indeed a duchy, but a very recent and much smaller one.
Mecklenburg had history and class. Moreover its duke stood directly
beneath the emperor, whereas in Friedland the king of Bohemia came
in between, and although Ferdinand occupied both offices this was nev-
ertheless an important difference, affecting both the status and the legal
scope for independent action of the ruler. Wallenstein behaved from the
beginning as though he were outright owner – and with good reason
as there was a private agreement behind the public arrangement –
but he had to wait until June 1629 for the last step in his elevation, the
formal document from the emperor which confirmed him in full and
hereditary possession.^2 Only then was he able to style himself Albrecht,