Matthäus Lang

Matthäus Lang (born 1468, Augsburg, Ger.—died March 30, 1540, Salzburg, Austria) was a German statesman and cardinal, counsellor of the emperor Maximilian I.

Of bourgeois origin, Lang studied law, entered Maximilian’s service about 1494, and became indispensable as the emperor’s secretary. He received numerous benefices and ecclesiastical offices prior to his ordination as a priest in 1519. In many ways, he typified the worldly absentee bishops against whom the reformer Martin Luther protested.

Lang negotiated the League of Cambrai with France, Spain, the Netherlands, and later Pope Julius II, against Venice (1508). In 1511, however, when Julius, at peace with Venice, wanted Maximilian’s help in driving the French from Italy, Lang was sent to Bologna to reconcile the pope with France and to isolate Venice. They failed to reach agreement then, partly because Lang’s arrogant conduct scandalized the papal officials, but Lang returned to Italy in 1512 and persuaded Julius to unite with Maximilian against Venice. The pope in turn obtained the emperor’s agreement to the convening of the fifth Lateran Council and a promise of armed support. Lang’s elevation as cardinal was announced on Nov. 24, 1512, the papal-imperial alliance on the 25th.

After Lang negotiated the settlement in Vienna (1515) that ultimately gave the Habsburgs the thrones of Bohemia and Hungary, he became prince-archbishop of Salzburg (1519) and ceased to be a Habsburg official. In the 1520s he overcame rebellions of his nobles and of the citizens of Salzburg and, supported by the Swabian League, suppressed a fierce peasant uprising. He maintained authoritarian conservatism in religion and government until his death.