Background
Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg was the son of a burgher of Augsburg. He was born in 1469 in Augsburg, Germany.
Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg was the son of a burgher of Augsburg. He was born in 1469 in Augsburg, Germany.
Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg studied at Ingolstadt, Vienna and Tubingen.
After studying at Ingolstadt, Vienna and Tubingen he entered the service of the emperor Frederick III and quickly made his way to the front. He was also one of the most trusted advisers of Frederick's son and successor Maximilian I, and his services were rewarded in 1500 with the provostship of the cathedral at Augsburg and in the following year with the bishopric of Gurk.
Lang's adherence to the older faith, together with his pride and arrogance, made him very unpopular in his diocese of Salzburg; in 1523 he was involved in a serious struggle with his subjects, and in 1525, during the Peasants' War, he had again to fight hard to hold his own. He was one of the chief ministers of Charles V. ; he played an important part in the tangled international negotiations of his time; and he was always loyal to his imperial masters. Not without reason has he been compared with Cardinal Wolsey.
