1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Lang von Wellenburg, Matthäus
|←Langur||1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 16 Lang von
Wellenburg, Matthäus |See also Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg on
Wikipedia, and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer.|
LANG VON WELLENBURG, MATTHÄUS (1469-1540), German statesman and
ecclesiastic, was the son of a burgher of Augsburg. He
afterwards assumed the name of Wellenburg from a castle that
came into his possession. After studying at Ingolstadt, Vienna
and Tübingen he entered the service of the emperor Frederick
III. and quickly made his way to the front. He was also one of
the most trusted advisers of Frederick's son and successor
Maximilian I., and his services were rewarded in 1500 with the
provostship of the cathedral at Augsburg and in the following
year with the bishopric of Gurk. In 1511 he was made a cardinal
by Pope Julius II., and in 1514 he became coadjutor to the
archbishop of Salzburg, whom he succeeded in 1519. He also
received the bishopric of Cartagena in Murcia in