Editing Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (section)

==Early years==
[[File:Europe map 1648.PNG|thumb|250px|left|Europe after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648]]
Born on 9 June 1640 in [[Vienna]], Leopold received the traditional program of education in the [[Liberal arts education|liberal arts]], history, literature, natural science and astronomy. He was particularly interested in music, as his father Emperor Ferdinand III had been. From an early age Leopold showed an inclination toward learning.{{sfn|Spielman|1977|pages=33–34}} He became fluent in [[Latin]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[German language|German]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].{{sfn|Spielman|1977|p=34}} Leopold disdained the German language and preferred to speak and read in Italian, which was the language most often spoken at his court and used in his official correspondence; in 1656 he founded an Italian literary academy in Vienna.<ref>Hanlon, Gregory. "The Twilight Of A Military Tradition: Italian Aristocrats And European Conflicts, 1560-1800." Taylor and Francis: January 2002. Kindle Edition: location 5157-5171.</ref>

Likewise he had received comprehensive ecclesiastical training as he had originally been selected for a career in the higher clergy. This plan, though, was dropped upon the 1654 death of his older brother, [[Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans|Ferdinand IV]], when Leopold became heir apparent.<ref name="JAB">Joseph A. Biesinger; "Germany: European nations" in ''Facts on File library of world history''. p. 529.</ref>{{sfn|Crankshaw|1971|p=132}} Nonetheless, Leopold's spiritual education had had a manifest impact on him. Leopold remained under the spell of his clerical education and [[Jesuits|Jesuit]] influence throughout his life. For a monarch he was uncommonly knowledgeable about theology, metaphysics, jurisprudence and the sciences. He also retained his interest in [[astrology]] and [[alchemy]] which he had developed under Jesuit tutors.<ref name="JAB" /> A deeply religious and devoted person, Leopold personified the ''pietas Austriaca'', or the loyal Catholic attitude of his house. On the other hand, his piety and education may have caused in him a fatalistic strain which inclined him to reject all compromise on denominational questions, which is not always considered a positive characteristic of a ruler.<ref>Heide Dienst; Professor, Institute of Austrian History Research, University of Vienna.</ref><ref name="Schumann2012" />

[[File:Kaiser Leopold I (Österreich 17 Jh).jpg|thumb|left|200px|Young Leopold by anonymous, c. 1660]] Leopold was said to have typical [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] physical attributes, such as the prominent ''[[Habsburg jaw|Habsburg lower jaw]]''. Short, thin, and of sick constitution, Leopold was cold and reserved in public and socially inept. However, he is also said to have been open with close associates. [[William Coxe (historian)|Coxe]] described Leopold in the following manner: "His gait was stately, slow and deliberate; his air pensive, his address awkward, his manner uncouth, his disposition cold and phlegmatic."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coxe |first= William |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofhouseof00kell |title=History of the House of Austria: From the Foundation of the Monarchy by Rhodolph of Hapsburgh, to the Death of Leopold the Second: 1218 to 1792 |publisher=London: Henry G. Bohn |year=1853 |page=515}}</ref> Spielman argues that his long-expected career in the clergy caused Leopold to have "early adopted the intense Catholic piety expected of him and the gentle manners appropriate to a merely supporting role. He grew to manhood without the military ambition that characterized most of his fellow monarchs. From the beginning, his reign was defensive and profoundly conservative."<ref name="JPS2">John P. Spielman; "Europe, 1450 to 1789" in ''Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World''</ref>

Elected king of [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Hungary]] in 1655, he followed suit in 1656 and 1657 in [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] and [[Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)|Croatia]] respectively. In July 1658, more than a year after his father's death, Leopold [[1658 imperial election|was elected Holy Roman Emperor]] at [[Frankfurt]] in opposition to the French [[Cardinal Mazarin]], who sought to place the Imperial Crown on the head of [[Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria]] or some other non-Habsburg prince. To conciliate [[Kingdom of France|France]], which had considerable influence in German affairs thanks to the [[League of the Rhine]], the newly elected emperor promised not to assist Spain, then at [[Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)|war with France]].{{sfn|O'Connor|1978|pp=7–14}} This marked the beginning of a nearly 47-year reign characterized by a lasting rivalry with France and its king, [[Louis XIV]]. The latter's dominant personality and power completely overshadowed Leopold, even to this day, but Leopold was no less a warrior-king given the greater part of his public life was directed towards the arrangement and furtherance of wars.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Vollendung und Neuorientierung des frühmodernen Reiches |url=https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/reb-9726 |last=Johannes Burkhardt |date=2001 |publisher=H-Soz-Kult |isbn=9783608600117 |access-date=March 19, 2020}}</ref>