Maximilian's dynastic skill masks military mistakes

Maximilian's cultivated image as the 'last knight' and his dynastic success sit uneasily beside his wartime record. A joking comparison suggests 'Maximilianism' as the better name for his methods because Machiavelli's advice may itself have been partly tongue-in-cheek. Maximilian may be the first Renaissance prince because he places dynastic advancement above other aims. His skill in politics, diplomacy, and public image does not carry over to warfare, where he repeatedly divides armies and exposes detached forces to destruction. Nicholas Conrad, the mayor of Solothurn, offers the practical counterexample at Dornach.