Research on Emperor Maximilian II's Religious Policies

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01039
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03040:History of Europe and America-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: Watanabe Shinn 京都府立大学, 文学部, 教授 (70202413)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: ドイツ史 / 宗教改革 / 紛争解決 / 宗教平和

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines the religious policy of Emperor Maximilian II, who has traditionally been regarded negatively as an emperor, focusing on his dealing with religious conflicts, especially his attitude to the General Council in the Imperial Diets and negotiations.
The results show that, on the basis of his father Ferdinand I's policy of ecclesiastical reform and his antagonistic relationship with the Papacy, he adopted a policy of detaching himself from the Pope and could maintain peace in Germany, abandoning the traditional measure of General Council as a solution to the problem of religious conflict, and seeking to secure the agreement of both of Catholic and Protestant parties to Augsburg Religious Peace within the Empire.

Free Research Field

ヨーロッパ史およびアメリカ史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、社会制度・生活規範を規定する宗教・信仰をめぐって、相互に対立する集団がそれぞれ武装自衛している状況のもとで、平和はどのようにして維持できるのか、この問題をドイツ宗教改革における1555年のアウクスブルク宗教平和とその後の展開から考察した。
その結果、公会議という信仰問題を解決する方法を放棄したことが大きな転換となったこと、対立する双方が絶えず合意確認を求めるという手続きをとったことが、信仰平和がたんなる法的合意ではなく実質的な平和となるために必要であったことを明らかにした。