Mikhail Boytsov  (Düsseldorf)

How could Caesar and Nero be useful to the Duke of Austria?

At the end of 1358 or the beginning of 1359, at the court of the Duke of  Austria Rudolf IV and - obviously - at his command, the famous set of forged charters was produced, which went down in history as the Great  Austrian Privilege - Privilegium maius. Five charters in the name of German kings and emperors: Henry IV, three  Staufens (Frederick I, Frederick II and his son Henry), as well as the  first king of the Habsburg dynasty Rudolf I were produced at such a high  technical level that even in the 19th century historians were convinced of their authenticity. The most exotic part of  the forgery were two privileges of the "pagan emperors" - Julius Caesar  and Nero, included in the charter of Henry IV. The deceivers must have  realized that this was the weakest point in their plan, and indeed the privileges of Caesar and Nero immediately  aroused mistrust, becoming the object of criticism and ridicule. The  paper attempts to explain why the Austrian Duke and his associates  needed to take this risk, and what image of Ancient Rome was in their minds.

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