Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor in the context of "King of Bohemia"

Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of planetary motion, and his books Astronomia nova, Harmonice Mundi, and Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae. The variety and impact of his work made Kepler one of the founders and fathers of modern astronomy, the scientific method, natural science, and modern science. He has been described as the "father of science fiction" for his novel Somnium.

Kepler was a mathematics teacher at a seminary school in Graz, where he became an associate of Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg. Later he became an assistant to the astronomer Tycho Brahe in Prague, and eventually the imperial mathematician to Emperor Rudolf II and his two successors Matthias and Ferdinand II. He also taught mathematics in Linz, and was an adviser to General Wallenstein.

The Electorate of Bavaria (German: Kurfürstentum Bayern) was a quasi-independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria.

The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Bavaria was the younger branch of the family which also ruled the Electoral Palatinate. The head of the elder branch was one of the seven prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire according to the Golden Bull of 1356, but Bavaria was excluded from the electoral dignity. In 1621, Frederick V, Elector Palatine was put under the imperial ban for his role in the Bohemian Revolt against Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the electoral dignity and territory of the Upper Palatinate was conferred upon his loyal cousin, Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. Although the Peace of Westphalia would create a new electoral title for Frederick V's son, with the exception of a brief period during the War of the Spanish Succession, Maximilian's descendants would continue to hold the original electoral dignity until the extinction of his line in 1777. At that point the two lines were joined in personal union until the end of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1805, after the Peace of Pressburg, the then-elector, Maximilian Joseph, raised himself to the dignity of King of Bavaria, and the Holy Roman Empire was abolished the following year.

The Battle of White Mountain (Czech: Bitva na Bílé hoře; German: Schlacht am Weißen Berg) was fought on 8 November 1620 in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. An army of 21,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt was defeated by 23,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, led by Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy, and the German Catholic League led by Johann Tserclaes, later Count of Tilly, at Bílá Hora ("White Mountain") near Prague. Imperial forces entered Prague on 9 November and King Frederick I of Bohemia fled into Silesia.

Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (pronunciation; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (Czech: Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). His successful martial career made him one of the richest and most influential men in the Holy Roman Empire by the time of his death. Wallenstein became the supreme commander of the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and was a major figure of the Thirty Years' War. Albrecht von Wallenstein is considered one of the most important military leaders produced by the early modern period.

Wallenstein was born in the Kingdom of Bohemia into a poor Czech Protestant noble family, affiliated with the Utraquist Hussites, a group of notable anti-German sentiment in some of its circles, and following the teachings of the early reformer Jan Hus. He acquired a multilingual university education across Europe and converted to Catholicism in 1606.

Philip III (Spanish: Felipe III, Portuguese: Filipe II; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and Portugal (as Philip II) during the period known as the Iberian Union, reigning from 1598 until his death in 1621. He was also King of Naples and Sicily, Duke of Milan, and Lord of the Seventeen Provinces. A member of the House of Habsburg, he was born in Madrid to King Philip II of Spain and his fourth wife, Anna of Austria. The family was heavily inbred; Philip II and Anna were uncle and niece, as well as cousins.

One year after inheriting the throne, he married his Habsburg cousin Margaret of Austria, the sister of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. Philip quickly delegated most of his power and duties to his chief minister, the Duke of Lerma, whose influence shaped much of his reign. In the outskirts of his territories, military power was upheld by successful but capricious proconsuls, such as Ambrogio Spinola and the Duke of Osuna. Though Philip is associated with a period of relative peace in Western Europe, called the Pax Hispanica by some historians, his lack of focus contributed to the Spanish Empire's gradual decline.

The Duchy of Krumlov (Krumau in German) was a titular duchy in the southern part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, comprising the town of Český Krumlov and its surrounding territories, now in the Czech Republic.

In 1628, it was given to Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg by King Ferdinand II when he bestowed upon Hans Ulrich the title of Duke of Krumlov. The Bohemian possessions of the Eggenbergs later went to Hans Ulrich's son, Johann Anton von Eggenberg (1610–1649).

The Brothers' Quarrel (German: Bruderzwist) was a conflict between Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and his brother, Matthias in the early 17th century.

Their other brothers (Maximilian III and Albert VII) and their cousins, especially Ferdinand II and Leopold V, were also deeply involved in the dispute. The family feud weakened the Habsburgs' position and enabled the estates of their realms to win widespread political and religious concessions.

Albert VII (German: Albrecht VII; 13 November 1559 – 13 July 1621) was the ruling Archduke of Austria for a few months in 1619 and, jointly with his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1598 and 1621. Prior to this, he had been a cardinal, Archbishop of Toledo, viceroy of Portugal and Governor General of the Habsburg Netherlands. He succeeded his brother Matthias as reigning archduke of Lower and Upper Austria, but abdicated in favor of Ferdinand II the same year, making it the shortest (and often ignored) reign in Austrian history.