“Great Atlant”: Emperor Ferdinand III (1637—1657) as a German National Hero

Abstract

The article deals with the appearance of the image of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III as a national hero in German journalism. There are still not many works devoted to Ferdinand III in historiography. The discussion surrounding his reign continues to highlight the weakness of imperial power during the Congress of Westphalia. The traditions of glorification of rulers were acquired in German printed publications of the middle of the 17th century pronounced national connotation. The Peace of Westphalia gave a new impetus to the development of the German national idea. Despite the emperor’s loss of some important prerogatives during the Congress of Westphalia, Ferdinand III turned on the pages of printed matter into a “German hero” who ended the Thirty Years’ War (1618—1648), who recreated the unity of the Empire and became its full head. The emperor is presented in the writings of the era as the defender of the German nation, thanks to whom the Empire was not only able to withstand thirty years of military chaos, but proved its viability and even reached a new peak. Constructing the image of a national hero, the authors addressed both the real political possibilities of the imperial power after the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia, and the moral arsenal of virtues, which the emperor had. The ideas of his inherent patriotism and his desire to care for the Fatherland constituted the main components of the image of the ideal ruler and national hero and firmly entered the national discourse. During his lifetime, publicists turned Ferdinand III into a symbol of the German nation and laid the foundation for similar writings in subsequent eras.