Radical Protestant Propaganda of the Thirty Years' War

image. The former portrays Bethlen as a fox attempting to topple a column on which an
eagle sits, and above him is the label ‘listiger Bethlem’. The latter broadsheet’s image of the
Prince is even more negative: he is portrayed as a court fool, dancing in front of a roomful of
dignitaries. The text of Newes KönigFest explains that Bethlen Gabor will never enjoy peace
due to his foolish behaviour. 110 Although the sheet is designed to show Friedrich’s lack of
power in Europe, it depicts allies, including Bethlen Gabor, in an equally critical light.
Summary of Propaganda on the Prince: Why the Lack of Support?
There are several possible reasons that explain the low number of positive representations
of the Prince. The first is that Bethlen Gabor was a Calvinist prince who defended the
Calvinist Palatine Elector’s cause. This strong association with Calvinism meant that the
Prince was probably not supported by as many writers as the Lutheran Gustavus Adolphus,
who enjoyed the favour of both radical Calvinists and Lutherans. This Calvinist link was also
to the detriment of Bethlen’s image because it led to his inclusion in the merciless criticism
of Friedrich V after the Elector’s challenge to Catholic Habsburg authority failed.
The second reason for the probable reluctance of some radical propagandists to support the
Prince would have been his association to the Turks. This idea of Bethlen Gabor’s Turkish
allegiance seemed to have become embedded in European minds after the Prince had
received Turkish help to ascend to the Transylvanian throne in 1613. 111 Among the
exceptions to this rule was England, which considered him to be the ‘indefatigable Eastern
opponent of Central European Habsburg Power’ and a Protestant figurehead who inspired
hope. 112
110 See paragraph 17 of broadsheet’s text.
111 See Depner, p. 32, and Kosáry, p. 171.
112 Kosáry, p. 162.
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