SYNGE, WALLENSTEIN, AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS

(The Death of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Lützen, Carl Wahlbom, 1855)

I have in my collection some exquisite Edwardian reference works, concerning history for schoolchildren and written by one M.B. Synge.
As a matter of fact, the author reuses entire paragraphs.
Brave Men and Brave Deeds, on characters considered heroes in Western culture, was published in 1907, four years before The Awakening of Europe, on the Baroque era and its highlights (Scientific Revolution, Protestant Reformation, religious wars...). Both covered the seventeenth-century Thirty Years' War, and focused on its turning point at Lützen, on the 6th of November 1632, when Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, lost on a chaotic battlefield, was killed in action.
Quite obviously, both books (written by the same author for the same purpose) present a black-and-white view of the conflict, starring Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, like most Victorian and Edwardian Protestant European school history books (a view also depicted in other genres, like poetry, adventure novels and even propaganda).
The champion of the Protestant cause and libertarian values meets his match in Albrecht von Wallenstein, generalissimo of the Catholic League, an eccentric personality viewed as Gustavus Adolphus's antagonist/foil and the cause of his sudden death in the heat of battle. The physical and personality contrast between both leaders is highlighted in Synge's vivid retelling:


“His sword in his hand, the word of command between his lips.” So died Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, the hero of the Thirty Years’ War. The story of how he fought against the great Wallenstein
on the battlefield of Lützen, how he lost his life, and how his army fought recklessly on without him and won the day, is one of the most thrilling in history. A greater contrast than these two great commanders never existed. They had never met before on the field of battle. They were never to meet again.


Albrecht von Wallenstein, portrayed by Van Dyck. 1630s.

Wallenstein, gloomy, silent, proud, ambition was the ruling power of his life; all stood in awe of him. Whole nights spent in a starry watchtower with his astrologer had made him superstitious. [...]. As the year advanced, and his enemy Gustavus carried all before him, Wallenstein became yet more gloomy; none dared approach him. “Hang the beast!” were his brief orders to enforce military discipline, which none dared disobey.



Gustavus Adolphus. Artist unknown. 1630s. 

Gustavus Adolphus, on the other hand, was open as the day; blue-eyed, frank, fearless, he was a man to whom guile and treachery were unknown. He had two objects in view—the growth of Protestantism, and the good of Sweden. He was respected by all, adored by his soldiers, and loved by his wife and children.
("The Death of Gustavus Adolphus", from Brave Men and Brave Deeds)

Nearly all of the retellings of such a tumultous period in European history draw upon the contrast between both opposing leaders: on one hand, blonde, outgoing, aristocratic Gustavus Adolphus; on the other, dark-haired, introverted, business-oriented Wallenstein. The former is idealized and the latter is demonized, though we have a fallen hero subject to death as any other person, who becomes legend by dying a too early and violent death (killed in battle, shot in the back).
The battle itself was a draw, though the Swedes claimed nearby Leipzig and launched an impressive propaganda campaign (the embalmed corpse of the deceased was displayed in public throughout Central Europe), which led to the Victorian/Edwardian view of the results as a posthumous pyrrhic victory for the Protestants.
Nevertheless, Lützen, and the fall of such a great leader ordered by his equal, will always be considered a turning-point of the Thirty Years' War.