FEDERICO V, Elector Palatine, King of BOHEMIA. — Born 26 August 1596, died 29 November 1632. He strengthened his position in Europe by marrying Elisabetta, daughter of James I of England (1613). In 1619 he accepted the crown of Bohemia, hence the fierce struggle against the Habsburgs, in which he was defeated at the Battle of White Mountain near Prague (November 1620). Bohemia thus returned to the orbit of the “Counter-Reformation”; moreover, F.’s policy as head of the Evangelical Union had alienated him from the sympathy of the population. After the defeat, F. fled to Holland, vainly hoping to return to the throne. He died at Mainz.
BIBLI: E. Prédin—V. L. Tapié, Le XVIIe siècle, 2e ed., Paris 1949, chap. 3 and bibliography cited therein. Massimo Petrocchi