Duchy of Styria in the context of "Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor"

William (c. 1370 – 15 July 1406), known as William the Courteous (German: Wilhelm der Freundliche), a member of the House of Habsburg and Wilhelm, was Duke of Austria from 1386. As head of the Leopoldian line, he ruled over the Inner Austrian duchies of Carinthia, Styria and Carniola as well as the County of Tyrol and Further Austria from 1396 until his death.

The Patent of Toleration (German: Toleranzpatent, Hungarian: Türelmi rendelet) was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living in the crown lands of the Habsburg monarchy, including Lutherans, Calvinists, and the Eastern Orthodox. Specifically, these members of minority faiths were now legally permitted to hold "private religious exercises" in clandestine churches.

For the first time after the Counter-Reformation, the Patent guaranteed the practice of religion by the Evangelical Lutheran and the Reformed Church in Austria. Nevertheless, worship was heavily regulated, wedding ceremonies remained reserved for the Catholic Church, and the Unity of the Brethren was still suppressed. Similar to the articular churches admitted 100 years before, Protestants were only allowed to erect 'houses of prayer' (Bethäuser) which should not in any way resemble church buildings. In many Habsburg areas, especially in the 'hereditary lands' of Upper Austria, Styria and Carinthia, Protestant parishes quickly developed, strongly relying on crypto-protestant traditions. The Patent also regulated mixed faith marriages, foreshadowing the Marriage Patent that was to be released in 1783 seeking to bring marriages under civil rather than canon law. In allowing marriages between religions, if the father was Catholic all children were required to be raised as Catholics whilst if the mother was Catholic only the daughters had to be raised as such.

Inner Austria (German: Innerösterreich; Slovene: Notranja Avstrija; Italian: Austria Interiore) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the Imperial duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and the lands of the Austrian Littoral. The residence of the Inner Austrian archdukes and stadtholders was at the Burg castle complex in Graz.

Balthasar Eggenberger (died 1493), was an Austrian entrepreneur in the early days of mercantilism. He was master of the imperial mint at Graz in the Duchy of Styria and financier to Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. He was a man cut of the same cloth as the likes of the Burgundian chancellor Nicolas Rolin, French merchant Jacques Coeur and the Medici of Italy, whose cunning, ambition and skills allowed them to advance into the ranks of the nobility from mere common ancestry in the late Middle Ages and early modern era. His activities laid an important foundation stone for the ascension of the House of Eggenberg.

Charles II Francis of Austria (German: Karl II. Franz von Innerösterreich) (3 June 1540 – 10 July 1590) was an Archduke of Austria and a ruler of Inner Austria (Styria, Carniola, Carinthia and Gorizia) from 1564. He was a member of the House of Habsburg.

Styria (Slovene: Štajerska [ˈʃtáːjɛɾska]), also known as Slovenian Styria (Slovene: Slovenska Štajerska; Austrian German: Slowenische Steiermark) or Lower Styria (Slovene: Spodnja Štajerska; Austrian German: Untersteiermark) to differentiate it from Austrian Styria, is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of Styria in its historical boundaries amounts to around 705,000 inhabitants, or 34.5% of the population of Slovenia. Its largest city and urban center is Maribor, with other urban centers including Celje, Velenje, Ptuj and Trbovlje.

Frederick III (German: Friedrich III, 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death in 1493. He was the penultimate emperor to be crowned by the Pope, and the last to be crowned in Rome. He was the fourth King of the Romans and the first Holy Roman Emperor from the House of Habsburg, which was to retain the title with one gap until it was declared at an end by Emperor Francis II, in 1806.

Prior to his imperial coronation, he was duke of the Inner Austrian lands of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola from 1424, and also acted as regent over the Duchy of Austria from 1439. He was elected and crowned King of Germany in 1440. His reign of 53 years is the longest in the history of the Holy Roman Empire or the German monarchy. Upon his death in 1493 he was succeeded by his son Maximilian.

Albert I of Habsburg (German: Albrecht I.) (July 1255 – 1 May 1308) was a Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Rudolf I of Germany and his first wife Gertrude of Hohenberg. Sometimes referred to as 'Albert the One-eyed' because of a battle injury that left him with a hollow eye socket and a permanent snarl.