Customer Reviews

The Last Descendant of Aeneas: The Hapsburgs and the Mythic Image of the Emperor

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book focuses on the mythical elements of royal genealogy. Vergil's effort in "The Aeneid" to deify Augustus Caesar by establishing his descent from Aeneas and through him and the Trojans to the Greek gods was duplicated by all the dynasties of the Frankish kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire. From the Merovingians (Clovis was descended from Aeneas's brother) to the Carolingians to the German dynasties down to the Hapsburgs, descent from the Trojans, the kings of Judea, and the Caesars was central to their claim to world rule. The ultimate effect would be a universal empire, universal peace, and the end of the world under the Last World Emperor. Philip II of Spain, who ruled the New World, came close and took his role very seriously, as the construction of the Escorial Palace in Madrid testifies. Philip was the sovereign of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which is based on an earlier Trojan legend of the Argonauts. Note that the flagship of the battle of Lep! anto, Philip's greatest victory, was named the Argo ! The book has too many typos for a Yale UP book but the production is elegant. I would have liked the mythical genealogies spelled out rather than summarized, but that might seem to be taking the myths too seriously.