Reichel, M./Schuberth, I./Querengässer, A./Sennewald, R. Pappenheim

Daran erkenn' ich meine Pappenheimer. Gottfried Heinrich zu Pappenheim. Des Reiches Erbmarschall und Genera

I know my Pappenheimers. Everyone has used this modified proverb, but very few people know what it really means. Even fewer people know that the original proverb does not have a negative connotation, but rather refers to loyalty and reliability. In Friedrich Schiller's drama Wallenstein's Death, it says: That's how I recognise my Pappenheimers. The name Pappenheim refers to a town in Franconian Bavaria and to Gottfried Heinrich zu Pappenheim (1594-1632). He was a court councillor under two emperors and a notorious general and field marshal in the Thirty Years' War. He was raised as a Protestant and received a comprehensive education. This was followed by the usual Grand Tour of Europe for a young nobleman. He got to know France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. Later, he converted to Catholicism and pursued a career at the imperial court as a court councillor and then in military service. He took part in the first major battle of the Thirty Years' War, at White Mountain near Prague, in November 1620 and was so seriously wounded that he was believed to be dead. He fought in northern Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and the Empire, serving alternately in Spanish, Bavarian and imperial forces. Farmers in Upper Austria called him the wicked devil because Pappenheim ravaged the countryside so terribly. For his loyal service, Emperor Ferdinand II elevated him to the rank of count in 1628. Under the legendary commander Tilly, Pappenheim conquered the Protestant city of Magdeburg, plundered it, and had it pillaged and murdered. A few months later, in September 1631, he and Tilly lost the Battle of Breitenfeld to the superior Swedish King Gustav II Adolf. On 6/16 November 1632, Gottfried Heinrich zu Pappenheim was so severely wounded in the Battle of Lützen that he died shortly afterwards, as did the Swedish king. This book commemorates the controversial figure and his family with well-researched essays and colour photographs, taking readers to the town of the same name in Franconia, to Prague and to other places where the wars of that time were fought.