Disquisition on the Celebrated Poetic Book Theuerdanck

Ferdinand, etc. etc. Honorable and Devout, etc. etc.

We are informed that our dear Lord and Ancestor, Emperor Maximilian of highly praiseworthy memory, sold the Lordship of Gmunden Gmünd in Carinthia, an important strategic and mining town to the late Bishop Leonhard with a right of repurchase original: Wiederkauff; a legal clause allowing the seller to buy back property at a later date. We are also informed that the current Cardinal and Archbishop of Salzburg later issued a formal declaration original: Revers; a written legal obligation stating that the aforementioned late Emperor Maximilian and his heirs possess the right of repurchase and redemption for that same Lordship of Gmunden, and that you in particular possess specific knowledge regarding this transaction and the declaration. Accordingly, we request of you with special diligence that you inform us, via this messenger of ours, as to the nature of the situation, etc.

To understand the subject of this letter, it must be known that Leonhard von Keutschach, the Archbishop of Salzburg, having amassed great wealth from the metal mines in his territory, enriched the Church of Salzburg with many benefits. He redeemed many properties that had been alienated or seized, and likewise brought Gmunden—a town in Carinthia situated on the Lieser river—back under the power of the Bishopric by paying thirty thousand Florins (some say silver ounces) to Maximilian. There, he also rebuilt the citadel that had been destroyed by fire. See Wiguleus Hund in Metropolis of Salzburg, Vol. I, p. 31; Matthäus Merian in Topography of Carinthia, p. 95; Hieronymus Megiser in Chronicle of Carinthia, Book XI, ch. 2, p. 1260; and Johann Weichard von Valvasor in Topography of Carinthia, p. 61.

However, when Leonhard's successor, Matthäus Lang A powerful diplomat and advisor to both Maximilian and Charles V—who was Maximilian’s Chancellor—entered into an agreement for redemption out of devotion to Austria, Ferdinand also intended to redeem this notable territory and return it to Austria. But because various difficulties were raised either by the Archbishop (who had changed his mind) or by the Cathedral Chapter, Ferdinand wished to learn—by writing this letter to Pfintzing, who was knowledgeable about the sale made by Maximilian—by what method and under what conditions it had been carried out. These matters clearly demonstrate once again that Pfintzing was not merely a counselor to Maximilian in name only, but was a figure of the greatest importance...