Rudolf II and His World: A Study in Intellectual History, 1576-1612

by R.J.W. Evans

Rudolf II of Hapsburg, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and Hungary, was an extraordinary ruler, a monarch whose court occupied a central position in 16th-century Europe - yet he remained a shadowy and fugitive figure. The decades around 1600 saw sweeping cultural changes in Europe, with the waning of an old-world view and the beginnings of the 17th-century intellectual revolution. The author argues that the conflict which played itself out in the Hapsburg lands during these years was a political manifestation of the intellectual confrontation between the old guard and and their preoccupation with the mystical, spiritual and hermetic sciences, and the rise of a more rational and empirical view of the world. Rudolf, as the embodiment of the old philosophy, failed to grasp this profound shift in the prevailing climate of Professor Evans argues that it was this failure which led to his eventual tragic downfall.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction

354 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Professor emeritus at the university of Oxford, Robert John Weston Evans is a British historian specialising in the post-medieval history of central and Eastern Europe.

Reviews

[Alex Archeveque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful but, unfortunately, a tad outdated

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was just terrific: a hybrid of not-exactly-biography and not-entirely-history that somehow succeeds in communicating the motion (the >emblem< even) that unified Intellectual Humanism, the Occult, Mannerist Art--in Rudolphine Prague and Bohemia generally and cosmopolitan Europe ubergenerally.

It was both flattering and annoying that Evans didn't think I needed translations of quotations in German, Spanish, French, Italian, Latin -- and I was made a little weary by the exhaustive accounts of who owned which occult volumes in the libraries section....but the prose is otherwise just exceptionally strong and engaging for this kind of work. I was more than satisfied in the quest which led me to this volume: understanding what was known and thought about the occult in the real Bohemia during the decade when Shakespeare wrote The Winter's Tale. Apart from all that, though, triangulation between Evans' work and Frances Yates' has proved to be such an enjoyable rabbit's hole all on its own. Recommended.

[Meeg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally written in the '30s, this is still the best history/biography of Rudolph II. The others I've seen usually have a narrower focus--e.g., Rudolph and art history or Rudolph and occultists. Here Evans discusses his political and religious views as well as his role as patron of the arts and sciences. Evans even (contrary to the usual idea of a dichotomy between ineffectual ruler and great patron) argues that the elements fit together to form a cohesive portrait of Rudolph as a man of the late Renaissance.
That said, this is--to a fault--a dense history book. There are many places where the discussion devolves into a long list of people you've never heard of. I would still recommend it to anyone interested in learning about Rudolph II--such an interesting historical personality, and yet there's so little written about him.

[Lette Hass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tal vez no existió una corte igual a la suya... Rudolf II, el centro cultural, científico y hermético del último humanismo.

RECOMENDADO AL 100...