Page 372 - Stati inu obstati, revija za vprašanja protestantizma, letnik XI (2015), številka 21-22, ISSN 1408-8363
P. 372
SYNOPSES, ZUSAMMENFASSUNGEN
In Slovene history writing, the figure of Ferdinand II is often presented in the shadow
of Tomaž Hren, the Bishop of Ljubljana, who led the Counter-Reformation committee
in Carniola and engaged in fierce conflicts with the Protestant nobility in the Provincial
Assembly, yet despite his own fervour in his home region, he actually only implemented
Ferdinand’s political programme. Ferdinand carried out his Counter-Reformation policy
gradually and within legal boundaries, in accordance with the programme formulated in
1598 by the Lavantine bishop Jurij Stobej. This study presents the progress of the Provincial
Prince’s Counter-Reformation in the case of Carniola, focusing on the period after 1603,
when the Archduke had already won a key political victory over the Provincial Estates of
the Inner Austrian lands by not confirming the religious concessions from the Pacification
of Bruck (1578), and the provinces, including Carniola, had already been combed through
by Counter-Reformation committees. Despite the success of the Counter-Reformation,
which converted all the Carniolan population to Catholicism except the nobility, the
nobles themselves mostly still persisted in the Augsburg Confession and in the period
1604–1609 led a decisive opposition to the Counter-Reformation policy of the court. The
Protestant nobility of Carniola, together with their Styrian and Carinthian colleagues,
demanded the restoration of the religious concessions, which was flatly rejected by the
emperor. In the realm of domestic politics, life was marked by the conflict between the
Protestant nobility and Bishop Tomaž Hren, which considerably eased the emperor’s po-
sition. In the following stage, 1610–1624, the Protestant nobles were rendered politically
passive, although the majority still persisted in their faith. Conflicts with the Jesuits calmed
down, and the conflict with Bishop Hren also lessened, which indicates the weakening of
the Protestant side. Then the Provincial Prince, who had been strengthened by his army’s
victories in the Holy Roman Empire from 1625 to 1630, finally and decisively took over
the initiative. Ferdinand’s political and military strength influenced the process whereby
the Protestant nobility in Carniola began to cross over into the Catholic confession. The
wave of conversions began in 1625 with the Auerspergs converting to Catholicism and
reached its peak when the emperor, using a special patent in 1628, commanded the no-
bles still persisting in Protestantism to convert within one year or else leave the country.
Approximately one third of the nobles then left. New Catholic aristocratic families, mostly
from Italy and the Military Frontier, moved in. Among the nobles who remained and
converted there were many lukewarm Catholics.
A Jesuit chronicle records that 133 persons were considered to have converted dur-
ing the years 1627–1633; most of these are likely to have belonged to the nobility. In his
list (1629) Philipp Hainhoffer cited somewhat fewer than 102 aristocratic persons who
left Carniola between 1628 and 1629. These included 32 adult males, who cannot all be
definitely classed as Carniolan. Nevertheless, on the basis of these data we can deduce
that approximately one third of aristocratic countrymen left Carniola, or one quarter of
all the members of the Provincial Estates.
Moreover, on the basis of several sources we know that in the period 1630–1635,
36 new countrymen from several noble families (these numbered between 22 and 27)
moved into Carniola.
370
In Slovene history writing, the figure of Ferdinand II is often presented in the shadow
of Tomaž Hren, the Bishop of Ljubljana, who led the Counter-Reformation committee
in Carniola and engaged in fierce conflicts with the Protestant nobility in the Provincial
Assembly, yet despite his own fervour in his home region, he actually only implemented
Ferdinand’s political programme. Ferdinand carried out his Counter-Reformation policy
gradually and within legal boundaries, in accordance with the programme formulated in
1598 by the Lavantine bishop Jurij Stobej. This study presents the progress of the Provincial
Prince’s Counter-Reformation in the case of Carniola, focusing on the period after 1603,
when the Archduke had already won a key political victory over the Provincial Estates of
the Inner Austrian lands by not confirming the religious concessions from the Pacification
of Bruck (1578), and the provinces, including Carniola, had already been combed through
by Counter-Reformation committees. Despite the success of the Counter-Reformation,
which converted all the Carniolan population to Catholicism except the nobility, the
nobles themselves mostly still persisted in the Augsburg Confession and in the period
1604–1609 led a decisive opposition to the Counter-Reformation policy of the court. The
Protestant nobility of Carniola, together with their Styrian and Carinthian colleagues,
demanded the restoration of the religious concessions, which was flatly rejected by the
emperor. In the realm of domestic politics, life was marked by the conflict between the
Protestant nobility and Bishop Tomaž Hren, which considerably eased the emperor’s po-
sition. In the following stage, 1610–1624, the Protestant nobles were rendered politically
passive, although the majority still persisted in their faith. Conflicts with the Jesuits calmed
down, and the conflict with Bishop Hren also lessened, which indicates the weakening of
the Protestant side. Then the Provincial Prince, who had been strengthened by his army’s
victories in the Holy Roman Empire from 1625 to 1630, finally and decisively took over
the initiative. Ferdinand’s political and military strength influenced the process whereby
the Protestant nobility in Carniola began to cross over into the Catholic confession. The
wave of conversions began in 1625 with the Auerspergs converting to Catholicism and
reached its peak when the emperor, using a special patent in 1628, commanded the no-
bles still persisting in Protestantism to convert within one year or else leave the country.
Approximately one third of the nobles then left. New Catholic aristocratic families, mostly
from Italy and the Military Frontier, moved in. Among the nobles who remained and
converted there were many lukewarm Catholics.
A Jesuit chronicle records that 133 persons were considered to have converted dur-
ing the years 1627–1633; most of these are likely to have belonged to the nobility. In his
list (1629) Philipp Hainhoffer cited somewhat fewer than 102 aristocratic persons who
left Carniola between 1628 and 1629. These included 32 adult males, who cannot all be
definitely classed as Carniolan. Nevertheless, on the basis of these data we can deduce
that approximately one third of aristocratic countrymen left Carniola, or one quarter of
all the members of the Provincial Estates.
Moreover, on the basis of several sources we know that in the period 1630–1635,
36 new countrymen from several noble families (these numbered between 22 and 27)
moved into Carniola.
370
