Vincent, Holy Roman Emperor (Merveilles des Morte)

Vincent
File:Emperor Feinsen (Merveilles du Monde Map game).jpg Emperor Vincent popularized the chaperon hat
Holy Roman Emperor
Reign	1379-1418
Coronation	21 January 1379 in Aachen
Predecessor	Charles IV
Successor	Sigismund I
King of Lothringia
Reign	1378-1422
Coronation	20 September 1378 in Brussels
Predecessor	Charles
Successor	Godfried I
Duke of Brabant, Limburg, Frisia, Count of Holland and Zeeland, etc.
Reign	1378-1422
Coronation	20 September 1378 in Brussels
Predecessor	Charles
Successor	Godfried I
Born	1 August 1361 Cologne, Kingdom of Germany
Died	21 May 1437 Myerebeke, Lotharingia, Kingdom of Germany
Burial	Church of Saint Sebastian located south of the Nete River, Myerebeke
Issue	Henri, Count of Bar Godfried, King of Lothiers
House	Luxembourg-Reginars
Father	Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Unknown
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Vincent of Luxembourg-Reginar (1361-1437), also known as Feinsan of Lothiers (alternatively known as Vincent the Admirable, Vincent the Pious, Vincent the Heretic, and Vincent the Terrible), was the King of Lothringia, Duke of Brabant, Limbourg, Frisia, and Moselle, and Count of Holland, Zeeland, Loon, Hainault, and Namur (among other titles) from 1378 to 1422. He also held title of Holy Roman Emperor, King of Italy, King of the Romans, and King of Germany from 1379 to 1418. He is the penultimate ruler of the House of Luxembourg to hold title of Roman Emperor, which he then abdicated in favor of the rival House of Premyslid.

Emperor Vincent is simultaneously considered one of the most influential and controversial monarchs of Western Europe during the Renaissance. The events he set in motion transformed the national and cultural identity of the Lowlands, and laid the foundations of the Early Reformation that completely overturned the religious makeup of Europe over the next two hundred years. His radical social and religious reforms have been admired by many, especially later leaders of the Belgian Reformation and the Belgian Republic, but also became a target of criticism from his many political enemies.

Vincent's contributions to art and literature propelled the Dutch Renaissance. His various attempts to colonize Africa, either by religious or economic motivation, earned him a notable status within the Catholic world, as well as a special place within West African mythology. His foreign policy, however, proved to be the most complex part of his personality, if not self-contradictory at times. Humanist philosophers since the 16th century have often used Emperor Vincent as an archetypical example of Realpolitik. His work as German Emperor, however, is often assessed as lacking, and ironically led to the collapse of Habsburg power that allowed for the Premyslids to rise.

Assessment

Use of Realpolitik