The prince began to be perceived as a "unifier" towards the middle of the 19th century. Such an interpretation is completely lacking in the historiography of the 17th-century chroniclers, and even in that of the Transylvanian School around 1800. What they emphasized, apart from the exceptional personality of Michael himself, were the idea of Christendom and his close relations with Emperor Rudolf. The conqueror's ambition is likewise frequently cited as a motivation for his action, occupying in the interpretative schema the place that was later to be occupied by the "Romanian idea".