THE EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN I AND HIS FAMILY
FROM THE PAINTING BY BERNHARD STRIGEL
IN THE IMPERIAL MUSEUM, VIENNA
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Maximilian was twice married; first, to Mary of Burgundy, through whom he became possessed of the vast domains of that house; and secondly, to Bianca Sforza, daughter of the Duke of Milan, by whom he had no children. Of a kindly and chivalrous nature and endowed with many good qualities, Maximilian was popular amongst his subjects, but obtained little esteem from his contemporaries, owing to a radical inconstancy and indecision of temper, and an extravagance which involved him in perpetual pecuniary embarrassments. Margaret was not present at her father's death, but no one felt his loss more keenly than she did, for he had ever shown himself an affectionate and devoted parent, and though so often parted, their intercourse had been, as their correspondence proves, of the closest and most intimate kind. Her grief found vent in a long poem or lament, in which she enumerates her many sorrows:

'.... O mort trop oultrageuse!

Tu a estain la fleur chevaleureuse

Et as vaincu celluy qui fust vainqueur,

Maximilien, ce très-noble Empereur,

Qui en bonté à nul ne se compère.

C'estoy César, mon seul seigneur et père,

Mais tu l'as mis en trop piteux estat,