Ferdinand Ernst Habsburg: heir of the Habsburg House

Abstract

This article concerns the education of the Austrian archduke and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand the Third, known also before his coronation as Ferdinand Ernst Habsburg. The goal of this work is to show a model or a system of categories on which the ideal image of the Austrian Habsburg monarch was build. This ideal image is discovered through the historical sources of didactic nature, that is – princely mirrors given to the future emperor. In that sense, the subject matter of this article is the education of the royal heir and the impression of royal discourse of power upon him. The authors deem the ideal image of the ruler to be representative of the state ideology, and thus, through the institution of the succession to the throne and the example of Ferdinand Ernst Habsburg, they arrive at the wider subject matter of the state ideology of the European nations during the first half of the 17th century. The ideal image of the ruler is accessed mainly through his role in foreign policy. Through careful study of the relevant writings, the following precepts of the royal government were found: the ruler must be a "Christian politician"; the ruler must carry the will of the Habsburg dynasty; the ruler should seek compromise in his policy. As an addition, certain conclusions were made on the specificity of the studied writings as opposed to the writings of the same genre from other parts of Europe.