A.E.I.O.U.

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Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}}

Illumination from the records of King Frederick, dated 1446

"A.E.I.O.U." (sometimes spelled A.E.I.O.V.) was a symbolic device coined by Emperor Frederick III (1415–1493) and historically used as a motto by the Habsburgs. One note in his notebook (discovered in 1666), though not in the same hand, explains it in German and Latin as "All the world is subject to Austria" (Template:Lang or Template:Lang).<ref name= "Habsburger">Template:Cite news</ref> Frederick habitually signed buildings such as Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome,<ref>Romedio Schmitz-Esser: Friedrich III. und die Präsenthaltung des abwesenden Herrschers. In: Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung 46, 2019, 592.</ref> Template:Lang, or Graz Cathedral as well as his tableware and other objects with the vowel graphemes.<ref name= "brewer">Template:Citation</ref> A.E.I.O.U. is also the motto of the Theresian Military Academy, established in 1751.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It can also be found on the wall of the Chancellor's office in the Federal Chancellery of Austria. The famous device is probably the most known motto of premodern times, because it has repeatedly been given new interpretations. Unraveling the mystery of what the A.E.I.O.U. means is part of a centuries-long debate that is still ongoing today.<ref>Romedio Schmitz-Esser: Friedrich III. und die Präsenthaltung des abwesenden Herrschers. In: Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung 46, 2019, 575.</ref>

Contemporary research has shown that the Roman chancellery of Frederick III used the interpretation En amor electis iniustis ordinor ultor. Sic Fridericus ego mea iura rego as the official motto. This interpretation has also been shown to be the most commonly used variant in the 15th century. It was also supposed that the Austriae est imperare variants probably go back to Frederick's proto-notary Heinrich Leubing.<ref>Konstantin M. Langmaier, Zur Devise Kaiser Friedrichs III. (1415–1493). In: Zeitschrift des Historischen Vereins für Steiermark 113 (2022), 7-32.</ref>

Interpretation

Heraldic plaque dated to 1466 with Habsburg motto F.I. A.E.I.O.U. Left part is Habsburg fesse coat of arms and right part is Counts of Celje coat of arms, united under Imperial double-headed eagle
A.E.I.O.U. monogram of Frederick III
Sundial in Meran (now Italy) featuring an A.E.I.O.U. inscription

Frederick's first use of the five-letter monogram was in 1437, when he was Duke of Styria. One note in his notebook (discovered in 1666), though not in the same hand, explains it in German and Latin as "All the world is subject to Austria" (Template:Lang or Template:Lang).<ref name="Habsburger"/>

Another passage, later in the same notebook, uses the letters in sequence as the initial letters of the words in the first line of a couplet poem, Template:Lang ("I am loved by the elect, for the unjust I am ordained an avenger").<ref name="Habsburger"/><ref name="Rösch">Armorial of Ulrich Rösch (Cod. Sang. 1084) p. 40 (1488)</ref><ref>Konstantin Langmaier: Kaiser Friedrich III. (1415–1493): des Reiches Erzschlafmütze?, Der „schlafende Kaiser“ als Klischee. In: Zeitschrift des Historischen Vereins für Steiermark. 111, 2020, 175-176.</ref> This verse was probably adopted by Frederick from a poem by Nicolaus Petschacher of Znaim who worked as a court official in the 1440s.<ref>Alphons Lhotsky, Quellenkunde zur mittelalterlichen Geschichte Österreichs, in: MIÖG, Erg. Bd. 19, 1963, 344f.</ref>

Other interpretations have been put forth, including by contemporary heraldists. Several explanations proceed on the assumption that it was meant as a political slogan.

  • Template:Lang (Latin for "Austria is best united by the Empire").<ref name="MKL">"A", Template:Lang, (various authors), Volume 1, page 1, 1885–1890, web (Commons): MKL-b1-p1: has "A.E.I.O.U." on first page of entire 16-volume encyclopedia, as 3 Latin phrases: Template:Lang and Template:Lang with the German phrase Template:Lang noted with Template:Lang, plus a 3rd Latin phrase Template:Lang with Template:Lang (sometimes given in English as "Austria will stand until the end of the world" but in the Latin closer to "Austria will be supreme in the world"; cf. Cic. Fin. 3, 9, 30, "summum bonum, quod ultimum appello"); note that Template:Lang is Template:Lang ("Oe") with first letter "O". "Ö" is not considered a separate letter in German.</ref>
  • Template:Lang ("Austria will be supreme in the world", sometimes incorrectly given as "Austria will be the last (surviving) in the world").<ref name=MKL/>
  • Template:Lang ("The chosen eagle conquers all with justice").<ref name="Rösch"/>
  • Template:Lang (Middle High German for "All honor is upon us").<ref name="Rösch"/>

Since Frederick wrote this acronym when he was not yet the ruler of the Archduchy of Austria and, at that time, Styria was entirely separated from Austria and was not considered to be its part until the next century, the term "Austria" in this context would not mean Austria as a territory or a nation, but rather the "House of Austria", that is, the Habsburg dynasty.

Many Latin and German interpretations have been attempted over the centuries; most of these versions refer to a motto of present-day Austria or the extensive Habsburg monarchy.


See also

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

  • Andrew Wheatcroft's The Habsburgs: Embodying Empire (1995), Template:ISBN.
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