Introduction1

Schiller first encountered the figure of Wallenstein as a subject during his work on his History of the Thirty Years’ War, published in 1792. There, it was a question of pitting King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden against his main rival, Albrecht Wallenstein, duke of Friedland. According to Schiller’s scheme at the time, this involved contrasting the figures of the king, an “idealist” but not unmoved by political motives, with Wallenstein, the “realist,” power-hungry and following these aims pra.