Report and Answer to the Bavarian-Anhalt Secret Chancellery

Report and Answer

B

[he is] powerful, rich in income and revenues. His house, and he himself, as well as currently the Prince, his eldest son, have allied themselves through marriage with the most prominent crowns of Christendom, such as France, Spain, and Portugal. He also precedes and sits before all the princes in Italy, and even before the Grand Duke of Florence himself; for Pius V, in his bull by which he conferred the dignity of Grand Duke original: dignitatem magni Ducis upon Cosimo de' Medici, explicitly reserved this prerogative|A special right or privilege, in this case regarding diplomatic rank and seating order for the House of Savoy. Furthermore, the House of Savoy holds the title and dignity of the Imperial Vicar|An official deputy of the Holy Roman Emperor, authorized to exercise imperial authority in certain regions (like Italy) when the Emperor is absent. Following the dissolution of the League in France|The Catholic League, which had fought against the Protestant Henry of Navarre (Henry IV), the said Duke entered into close and confidential correspondence with Henry IV, as well as with the King of Great Britain, which continues to this very hour.

Therefore, no one should be surprised that the Elector Palatine and other members of the Union, following the example of these two kings, also entered into correspondence with the said Duke. He made fruitful use of these connections when the Spaniards fell out with him and began to attack him with force—especially when Don Pedro de Toledo, the Governor of Milan, marched hostiley into Piedmont with 40,000 men in the name of the King of Spain. For when the said Don Pedro besieged the city of Vercelli and took it by treaty, and the rest of the land stood in great danger, the Duke sought refuge among others with several high-ranking members of the Union. Through their assistance, he recruited several thousand men in Germany under the command of the Count of Mansfeld to lead them into Piedmont for his defense.

After peace was established and the city of Vercelli was restored, the said Duke wished to remain somewhat armed in one way or another (as he had reserved for himself in the articles of peace). To that end, he had the necessary funds sent to the Count of Mansfeld in Germany, with orders to keep the best officers and commanders, along with a good number of the most experienced soldiers, on retainer and ready at hand.

Now, around the same time, it happened in Prague that original: ex patientia sæpius læsa ein furor worden "out of patience too often wounded, a fury emerged," and the Bohemian Estates had cause to fear that their adversaries at the Imperial Court and their own wicked countrymen would seek the lives of the Directors and other faithful Evangelical Protestant patriots, and seek to strip the Crown of its liberty, the Letter of Majesty|A 1609 charter signed by Emperor Rudolf II granting religious freedom to Bohemian Protestants, and other magnificent privileges. They deemed it a necessity, and recognized it as their duty original: ad conservationem vitæ, libertatis, & religionis "for the preservation of life, liberty, and religion," to place themselves in a defensive posture. Thus, they accepted the offer of the said Count of Mansfeld (who, as can be assumed, had sufficient permission...