“Item—­And in regard to the said marriage, the ambassadors shall inform Monseigneur of Austria that, since his departure from Hesdin, certain people have talked to Monseigneur about this marriage and mentioned that, in return, the emperor would be willing to grant to Monseigneur the crown and the government of the Kingdom of the Romans, with the stipulation that Monseigneur, arrived at the empire by the good pleasure of the emperor or by his death, would, in his turn, procure the said crown of the Romans for his son-in-law.  The result will be that the empire will be continued in the person of the emperor’s son and his descendants.

“Item—­They shall tell him about a meeting between the imperial and ducal ambassadors, at which meeting there was some talk of making a kingdom out of certain lands of Monseigneur and joining these to an imperial vicariate of all the lands and principalities lying along the Rhine.”

In the following paragraphs of this instruction,[7] Charles directs his envoys to make it clear to Monseigneur of Austria (Sigismund) that the duke’s interest in the plan does not spring from avarice or ambition.  He is purely actuated by a yearning to employ his time and his strength for God’s service and for the defence of the Faith, while still in his prime.

Should the emperor refuse to approve the duke’s nomination as King of the Romans, the ambassadors are instructed to say that they are not empowered to proceed with the marriage negotiations without first referring to their chief.  They must ask leave to return with their report.  If Sigismund should take it on himself to sound the emperor again about his sentiments, the envoys might await the result of his investigations.  He was to be assured that while Charles was resolved to hold back until he was fully satisfied on this point, if it were once ceded, he would interpose no further delay in the celebration of the nuptials.  He must know, however, just what power and revenue the emperor would attach to the proposed title.  He was not willing to accept it without emoluments.  His present financial burdens were already heavy, etc.  The concluding items of the instructions had reference to the marriage settlements.

A kingdom of his own was not the duke’s dream at this stage of Burgundo-Austrian negotiations.  The title that Charles desired primarily was King of the Romans, one empty of substantial sovereign power, but rich with promise of the all-embracing imperial dignity.  Significant is the intimation that after this preliminary title was conferred, its wearer would be glad to have Frederic step aside voluntarily.  A resignation would be as efficient as death in making room for his appointed successor.

Frederic III. had, indeed, intimated occasionally that a life of meditation would suit his tastes better than the imperial throne, but he seems in no wise to have been tempted by the offer made by Charles to relieve him of his onerous duties, and then to pass on the office to his son.  At any rate, the emperor rejected the opportunity to enjoy an irresponsible ease.  His answer to the duke was that he did not exercise sufficient influence over his electors to ensure their accepting his nominee as successor to the imperium.