King Frederick III of Germany

Frederick III (1415-1493), the son of Ernest of Habsburg, Duke of Styria and Carinthia (1377-1424), was elected Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany in 1440.

Disregarding the neutral attitude of German electors towards the papal schism, he agreed to a secret treaty with Pope Eugenius IV which later became the Concordat of Vienna signed by Pope Nicholas V. This treaty provided Frederick with a large sum of money and in return he pledged the obedience of the German People to Rome, checking for a time the rising tide of liberty in the German church.

Frederick married Leonora of Portugal on March 16th, 1452 in Rome, and three days later was crowned Emperor by the pope-the last time an emperor was crowned in that city. Because he had sacrificed the liberty of the German church in order to secure papal support, he incurred the disfavor of the German princes.

Frederick was a disinterested ruler who ignored revolts and failed to defend the Habsburg domains against invasion, but was spoken of as being mild and just, with a love of learning.

By marrying his son and successor Maximillian to Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482), daughter of Charles the Bold, in 1477, he increased the wealth and power of his dynasty. In 1486, when Maximilian was elected King of Germany, Frederick turned the government over to his son and settled in Linz, where he devoted himself to the study of the sciences.