16 Wallenstein
perfect balances of age, wealth, nobility and religion were not always
achievable, particularly when the lady was a widow. Nevertheless Wallen-
stein made a fortunate marriage, as indeed his sister had done, and this
existing connection with the Moravian aristocracy in the person of
Zierotin probably helped his cause. Even so his success may reflect the
‘fine and laudable qualities’ and ‘good manners’ which the latter had
earlier ascribed to him; brokered marriages were not forced marriages,
and Lucretia was not only rich but independent, so that she had a
choice.
As yet Wallenstein had taken no more than a marginal part in affairs
of the world. He had made a good start at soldiering but pursued it no
further, and he had made an entry into the lower levels of the hierarchy
of royal courtiers but had been only briefly involved in political matters.
He had, however, become notably rich and a substantial landowner by
virtue of his wife, and at the time this seems to have been sufficient for
him. His skill and energy in managing still larger estates later in life is
well documented, and although equivalent evidence is lacking it may
well be that he adopted a similar approach to his Moravian properties
at this time. An early account of his life suggests that he also emulated
other wealthy country gentlemen by making regular visits to the city,
in his case Vienna, and spending lavishly there before returning home
to restore his finances for the next visit.^20 This would not be surprising
for a young man newly become rich, and anxious to make an impres-
sion in the aristocratic company of the gentlemen of the chamber. In
the early modern world display was closely linked to status, and kings,
princes, nobles and others of the well-to-do were positively expected
to maintain levels of spending and ostentation appropriate to their
standing, so Wallenstein was not unusual in this respect either as an
inconsequential but rich young nobleman or later as one of the leading
princes of the Empire.
Even if his new lands satisfied Wallenstein’s ambitions, he also had to
defend what he had gained. Property rights were often less than clear-
cut in this period, particularly where inheritances were involved, and
Lucretia’s Protestant relatives were not disposed to give up their claims
without a fight. Only the smaller part of her estates was unquestion-
ably hers, having been left to her by her father, whereas the position
concerning lands which came from her first husband was less certain,
and in particular there was a possibility that some were hers for life
only and liable to revert to the family on her death. Between 1610 and
1612 Wallenstein and Lucretia made attempts to buy off claimants, and
they carried out various transactions to try to secure the legal status of