List of 1632 Characters - Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria

Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria

Maximilian of Bavaria (1573–1651) called "the Great"; Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector (Kurfürst) of the Holy Roman Empire, and founder and head of German Catholic League and therefore de facto head of its armies. His wife Elisabeth Renata died of a lingering and painful cancer in 1635. Their marriage was childless, so he married his niece Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, who bore him two sons.

In the 1632 series: He played a central role in 1634: The Bavarian Crisis. His wife Elisabeth Renata died suddenly (a year earlier than her OTL death from cancer in 1635) of pneumonia, leaving him distraught rather than prepared. He planned to abdicate, but his privy council convinced him to take a new wife. Archduchess Maria Anna was selected, but unlike the OTL, she escaped. Maximilian initiated a reign of terror in Bavaria, involving witch hunts, resulting in the death of his sister-in-law duchess Mechthilde, and later exiled his brother Albrecht.