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 RUDOLPH II. (1552–1612), Roman emperor, son of the emperor Maximilian II. by his wife Maria, daughter of the emperor Charles V., was born in Vienna on the 18th of July 1552. In 1563 he was sent to Spain, where his natural abilities were improved by a good education, but he lacked the frank and tolerant spirit of his father, resembling rather his uncle Philip II. of Spain. In 1572 he was crowned king of Hungary, three years later king of Bohemia; and in October 1575 he was chosen king of the Romans, or German king, at Regensburg, becoming emperor on his father’s death in October 1576. The importance of Rudolph’s reign is negative rather than positive, consisting more in what he did not do than in what he did; although it is questionable whether any ruler could have prevented the religious struggles of Germany and the Thirty Years War.

The more active part of the emperor’s life was the period from his accession to about 1597. During that time he attended the infrequent imperial diets, and took an interest in the struggle in the Netherlands and the defence of the empire against the Turks. He was at times suspicious of the papal policy, while his relations with Spain were somewhat inharmonious. As a convinced Roman Catholic he forwarded the progress of the counter-reformation, and in general the tolerant policy of Maximilian II. was reversed. Political as well as religious privileges were attacked; the administration was conducted by Germans; and the result was a considerable amount of discontent which became very pronounced about the opening of the 17th century. Concurrently with the growth of this unrest Rudolph had become increasingly subject to attacks of depression and eccentricity, which were so serious as to amount almost to insanity. In 1604, after a war with Turkey had been in progress since 1593, many of the Hungarians rebelled against Rudolph and chose Stephen Bocskay as their prince. By this time the members of the Habsburg family were thoroughly alarmed at the indifference or incompetence of the emperor; and their anxieties were not diminished by the knowledge that he was in feeble health, was unmarried, and had refused to take any steps towards securing the election of a successor. In April 1606 they declared Rudolph incapable of ruling, and recognized one of his younger brothers, the archduke Matthias, afterwards emperor, as their head; and in the following June Matthias, having already with the emperor’s reluctant consent taken the conduct of atiairs into his own hands, made peace by granting extensive concessions to the rebellious Hungarians, and concluded a treaty with the sultan in November of the same year. Then shaking off his lethargy Rudolph prepared to renew the war with the Turks; a move which Matthias met by throwing himself upon the support of the national party in Hungary. Matthias also found adherents in other parts of his brother’s dominions, with the result that in June 1608 the emperor was compelled to cede to him the kingdom of Hungary together with the government of Austria and Moravia. Rudolph now sought the aid of the princes of the empire, and even of the Protestants; but he had met with no success in this direction when trouble arose in Bohemia. Having at first rejected the demand of the Bohemians for greater religious liberty, the emperor was soon obliged to yield to superior force, and in 1609 he acceded to the popular wishes by issuing the Letter of Majesty (M ajestdtsbrief), and then made similar concessions to his subjects in Silesia and elsewhere. A short reconciliation with Matthias was followed by further disorder in Bohemia, which was invaded by Rudolph’s cousin, the archduke Leopold (1586–1632). The Bohemians invoked the aid of Matthias, who gathered an army; and in 1611 the emperor, practically a prisoner at Prague, was again forced to cede a kingdom to his brother. Rudolph died at Prague, his usual place of residence, on the 20th of January 1612, and was succeeded as emperor by Matthias.

Rudolph was a clever and cultured man, greatly interested in chemistry, alchemy, astronomy and astrology; he was a patron of Tycho Brahe and Kepler, and was himself something of a scholar and an artist. He was the greatest collector of his age, his agents ransacking Europe to fill his museums with rare works of art. His education at the Spanish court and an hereditary tendency to insanity, however, made him haughty, suspicious and consequently very unpopular, while even in his best days the temper of his mind was that of a recluse rather than of a ruler.

RUDOLPH, or (d. 936), king of the Franks and duke of Burgundy, was a son of Richard duke of Burgundy, and was probably a member of the Carolingian family. He became duke of Burgundy on his father’s death in 921, and having married Emma, daughter of Robert duke of the Franks, assisted his father-in-law to drive the Frankish king, Charles III. (the Simple), from his throne. Robert then became king of the Franks, and when he was killed in battle in June 923 he was succeeded by Rudolph, who was crowned at Soissons in the following month. Giving Burgundy to his brother-in-law Giselbert of Vergi (d. 956), the new king was fully occupied in resisting the attacks of the Normans, and in combating the partisans of Charles the Simple; but his enterprises were mainly unsuccessful, and his authority was not generally recognized. But when engaged in a struggle with his brother-in-law, Herbert II. count of Verrnandois, over the possession of the county of Laon, Rudolph experienced happier fortunes. At Limoges a great victory was gained over the Normans, whose duke, William I., did homage to him in 933; invasions of Aquitaine led to his recognition as king by the powerful lords of that district; and Herbert of Vermandois was defeated and put to flight. In 935 peace was made between these rivals; and on the 14th of January 936 Rudolph died at Auxerre, leaving no sons.

RUDOLPH (d. 1080), German king, and duke of Swabia, Opponent of the emperor Henry IV., was a son of Kuno count of Rheinfelden, who possessed estates in both Burgundy and Swabia. He received the duchy of Swabia from Agnes, regent and mother of the young king, Henry IV., in 1057, and two years later married the king’s sister Matilda (1045–1060), and was made administrator of the kingdom of Burgundy, or Arles. Differences soon arose between the king and his brother-in-law, whose loyalty was suspected during the Saxon War of 1073. When Henry was excommunicated and deposed by pope Gregory VII., the princes met at Forchheim, and elected Rudolph as German king. He renounced the right of investiture, disclaimed any intention of making the crown hereditary in his family, and was crowned at Mainz on the 27th of March 1077. He found no support in Swabia, but, uniting with the Saxons, won two victories over Henry’s troops, and, in 1080, was recognized by the pope. On the 15th of October 1080, Rudolph was severely wounded at Hohenmolsen, and died the next day. He was buried at Merseburg, where his beautiful bronze tomb is still to be seen.

RUDOLPH, or, known as (Rudolph the Bald) (d. c. 1050), French chronicler, was born in