Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The term
France-Habsburg rivalry describes the rivalry between the House of
Habsburg, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire as well as Spain, and the
kingdom of France, lasting from 1516 until 1756. Since the late Middle
Ages the Austrian Habsburgs sought peaceful coalitions by marriage,
described by their motto: Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube! -
Wars may be led by others - you, happy Austria, marry! Following this
tradition Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I married Mary, the last Valois
duchess of Burgundy in 1477.