Chapter XIII: Front Matter (13)

"At the Diet of Nuremberg it had been determined to hold an
assembly shortly after at Spires for the regulation of
ecclesiastical affairs. The princes were to procure beforehand
from their councillors and scholars a statement of the points
in dispute. The grievances of the nation were to be set forth,
and remedies were to be sought for them. The nation was to
deliberate and act on the great matter of religious reform.
The prospect was that the evangelical party would be in the
majority. The papal court saw the danger that was involved in
an assembly gathered for such a purpose, and determined to
prevent the meeting. At this moment war was breaking out
between Charles and Francis. Charles had no inclination to
offend the Pope. He forbade the assembly at Spires, and, by
letters addressed to the princes individually, endeavored to
drive them into the execution of the edict of Worms. In
consequence of these threatening movements, the Elector of
Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse entered into the defensive
league of Torgau, in which they were joined by several
Protestant communities. The battle of Pavia and the capture of
Francis I. [see FRANCE: A. D. 1523-1525] were events that
appeared to be fraught with peril to the Protestant cause. In
the Peace of Madrid (January 14, 1526) both sovereigns avowed
the determination to suppress heresy. But the dangerous
preponderance obtained by the Emperor created an alarm
throughout Europe; and the release of Francis was followed by
the organization of a confederacy against Charles, of which
Clement was the leading promoter.

See ITALY: A. D. 1523-1527.

This changed the imperial policy in reference to the
Lutherans. The Diet of Spires in 1526 unanimously resolved
that, until the meeting of a general council, every state
should act in regard to the edict of Worms as it might answer
to God and his imperial majesty. Once more Germany refused to
stifle the Reformation, and adopted the principle that each of
the component parts of the Empire should be left free to act
according to its own will. It was a measure of the highest
importance to the cause of Protestantism. It is a great
landmark in the history of the German Reformation. The war of
the Emperor and the Pope involved the necessity of tolerating
the Lutherans. In 1527, an imperial army, composed largely of
Lutheran infantry, captured and sacked the city of Rome. For
several months the Pope was held a prisoner. For a number of
years the position of Charles with respect to France and the
Pope, and the fear of Turkish invasion, had operated to
embolden and greatly strengthen the cause of Luther. But now
that the Emperor had gained a complete victory in Italy, the
Catholic party revived its policy of repression."

_G. P. Fisher,
The Reformation,
chapter 4._

"While Charles and Clement were arranging matters in 1529, a
new Diet was held at Spires, and the reactionists exerted
themselves to obtain a reversal of that ordinance of the Diet
of 1526 which had given to the reformed doctrines a legal
position in Germany. Had it heen possible, the Papist leaders
would have forced back the Diet on the old Edict of Worms, but
in this they were baffled. Then they took up another line of
defence and aggression. Where the Worms Edict had been
enforced, it was, they urged, to be maintained; but all
further propagation of the reformed doctrines, all religious
innovation whatever, was to be forbidden, pending the
assemblage of a General Council. … This doom of arrest and
paralysis —this imperious mandate, 'Hitherto shall ye come,
but no further,'—could not be brooked by the followers of
Luther. They possessed the advantage of being admirably led.
Philip of Hesse supplied some elements of sound counsel that
were wanting in Luther himself. … Luther regarded with favour
… the doctrine of passive obedience. It was too much his
notion that devout Germans, if their Emperor commanded them to
renounce the truth, should simply die at the stake without a
murmur. …
{2456}
The most ripe and recent inquiries seem to prove that it was
about this very time, when the Evangelical Princes and Free
Cities of Germany were beginning to put shoulder to shoulder
and organise resistance, in arms if necessary, to the Emperor
and the Pope, that Luther composed 'Ein' feste Burg ist unser
Gott,' a psalm of trust in God, and in God only, as the
protector of Christians. He took no fervent interest, however,
in the Diet; and Philip and his intrepid associates derived
little active support from him. These were inflexibly
determined that the decree of the majority should not be
assented to. Philip of Hesse, John of Saxony, Markgraf George
the Pious of Brandenburg-Anspach, the Dukes of Lunenburg and
Brunswick, the Prince of Anhalt, and the representatives of
Strasburg, Nürnberg, and twelve other free cities [Ulm,
Constance, Reutlingen, Windsheim, Memmingen, Lindau, Kempten,
Heilbron, Isna, Weissemburgh, Nordlingen, and St. Gallen],
entered a solemn protest against the Popish resolution. They
were called Protestants. The name, as is customary with names
that felicitously express and embody facts, was caught up in
Germany and passed into every country in Europe and the
world."

_P. Bayne,
Martin Luther, his Life and Work,
book 14, chapter 4 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN:
_L. von Ranke,
History of the Reformation in Germany,
books 4-5 (volumes 2-3)._

_J. H. Merle D'Aubigne,
History of the Reformation,
book 10, chapter 14,
and book 13, chapter 1-6 (volumes 3-4)._

_J. Alzog,
Manual of Universal Church History,
section 311 (volume 3)._

PAPACY: A. D. 1527-1533.
The rupture with England.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1527-1534.

PAPACY: A. D. 1530-1531.
The Diet at Augsburg.
Presentation and condemnation of the
Protestant Confession of Faith.
The breach with the Reformation complete.

"In the year 1530, Charles V., seeing France prostrate, Italy
quelled, and Solyman driven within his own boundaries,
determined upon undertaking the decision of the great question
of the Reformation. The two conflicting parties were summoned,
and met at Augsburg. The sectaries of Luther, known by the
general name of protestants, were desirous to be distinguished
from the other enemies of Rome, the excesses committed by whom
would have thrown odium upon their cause; to be distinguished
from the Zwinglian republicans of Switzerland, odious to the
princes and to the nobles; above all, they desired not to be
confounded with the anabaptists, proscribed by all as the
enemies of society and of social order. Luther, over whom
there was still suspended the sentence pronounced against him
at Worms, whereby he was declared a heretic, could not appear
at Augsburg; his place was supplied by the learned and pacific
Melancthon, a man timid and gentle as Erasmus, whose friend he
continued to be, despite of Luther. The elector, however,
conveyed the great reformer as near to the place of
convocation as regard to his friend's personal safety rendered
advisable. He had him stationed in the strong fortress of
Coburg. From this place, Luther was enabled to maintain with
ease and expedition a constant intercourse with the protestant
ministers. … Melancthon believed in the possibility of
effecting a reconciliation between the two parties. Luther, at
a very early period of the schism, saw that they were utterly
irreconcilable. In the commencement of the Reformation, he had
frequently had recourse to conferences and to public
disputations. It was then of moment to him to resort to every
effort, to try, by all the means in his power, to preserve the
bond of Christianity, before he abandoned all hope of so
doing. But towards the close of his life, dating from the
period of the Diet of Augsburg, he openly discouraged and
disclaimed these wordy contests, in which the vanquished would
never avow his defeat. On the 26th of August, 1530, he writes:
'I am utterly opposed to any effort being made to reconcile
the two doctrines; for it is an impossibility, unless, indeed,
the pope will consent to abjure papacy. Let it suffice us that
we have established our belief upon the basis of reason, and
that we have asked for peace. Why hope to convert them to the
truth?' And on the same day (26th August), he tells Spalatin:
'I understand you have undertaken a notable mission—that of
reconciling Luther and the pope. But the pope will not be
reconciled and Luther refuses. Be mindful how you sacrifice
both time and trouble.' … These prophecies were, however,
unheeded: the conferences took place, and the protestants were
required to furnish their profession of faith. This was drawn
up by Melancthon." The Confession, as drawn up by Melancthon,
was adopted and signed by five electors, 30 ecclesiastical
princes, 23 secular princes, 22 abbots, 32 counts and barons,
and 39 free and imperial cities, and has since been known as
the Augsburg Confession.

_J. Michelet,
Life of Luther,
(translated by W. Hazlitt),
book 3, chapter 1._

"A difficulty now arose as to the public reading of the
Confession in the Diet. The Protestant princes, who had
severally signed it, contended against the Catholic princes,
that, in fairness, it should be read; and, against the
emperor, that, if read at all, it should be read in German,
and not in Latin. They were successful in both instances, and
the Confession was publicly read in German by Bayer, one of
the two chancellors of the Elector of Saxony, during the
afternoon session of June 25, held in the chapel of the
imperial palace. Campeggio, the Papal Legate, was absent. The
reading occupied two hours, and the powerful effect it
produced was, in a large measure, due to the rich, sonorous
voice of Bayer, and to his distinct articulation and the
musical cadence of his periods. Having finished, he handed the
Confession to the Emperor, who submitted it for examination to
Eck, Conrad Wimpina, Cochlæus, John Faber, and others of the
Catholic theologians present in the Diet." These prepared a
"Confutation" which was "finally agreed upon and read in a
public session of the Diet, held August 3rd, and with which
the Emperor and the Catholic princes expressed themselves
fully satisfied. The Protestant princes were commanded to
disclaim their errors, and return to the allegiance of the
ancient faith, and 'should you refuse,' the Emperor added, 'we
shall regard it a conscientious duty to proceed as our
coronation oath and our office of protector of Holy Church
require.' This declaration roused the indignant displeasure of
the Protestant princes. Philip of Hesse … excited general
alarm by abruptly breaking off the transactions, lately
entered upon between the princes and the bishops, and suddenly
quitting Augsburg. Charles V. now ordered the controverted
points to be discussed in his presence, and appointed seven
Protestants and an equal number of Catholics to put forward
and defend the views of their respective parties."
{2457}
Subsequently Melancthon "prepared and published his 'Apology
for the Augsburg Confession,' which was intended to be an
answer to the 'Confutation' of the Catholic theologians. The
Protestant princes laid a copy of the 'Apology' before the
emperor, who rejected both it and the Confession. … After many
more fruitless attempts to bring about a reconciliation, the
emperor, on the 22nd of September, the day previous to that
fixed for the departure of the Elector of Saxony, published an
edict, in which he stated, among other things, that 'the
Protestants have been refuted by sound and irrefragable
arguments drawn from Holy Scripture.' 'To deny free-will,' he
went on to say, 'and to affirm that faith without works avails
for man's salvation, is to assert what is absurdly erroneous;
for, as we very well know from past experience, were such
doctrines to prevail, all true morality would perish from the
earth. But that the Protestants may have sufficient time to
consider their future course of action, we grant them from
this to the 15th of April of next year for consideration.' On
the following day, Joachim, Elector of Brandenburg, speaking
in the emperor's name, addressed the evangelic princes and
deputies of the Protestant cities as follows: 'His majesty is
extremely amazed at your persisting in the assertion that your
doctrines are based on Holy Scripture. Were your assertion
true, then would it follow that his Majesty's ancestors,
including so many kings and emperors, as well as the ancestors
of the Elector of Saxony, were heretics!' … The Protestant
princes forthwith took their leave of the emperor. On the 13th
of October, the 'Recess,' or decree of the Diet, was read to
the Catholic States, which on the same day entered into a
Catholic League. On the 17th of the same month, sixteen of the
more important German cities refused to aid the emperor in
repelling the Turks, on the ground that peace had not yet been
secured to Germany. The Zwinglian and Lutheran cities were
daily becoming more sympathetic and cordial in their relations
to each other. Charles V. informed the Holy See, October 23,
of his intention of drawing the sword in defence of the faith.
The 'Recess' was read to the Protestant princes November 11,
and rejected by them on the day following, and the deputies of
Hesse and Saxony took their departure immediately after. … The
decree was rather more severe than the Protestants had
anticipated, inasmuch as the emperor declared that he felt it
to be his conscientious duty to defend the ancient faith, and
that 'the Catholic princes had promised to aid him to the full
extent of their power.' … The appointment of the emperor's
brother, Ferdinand, as King of the Romans (1531), gave deep
offence to the Protestant princes, who now expressed their
determination of withholding all assistance from the emperor
until the 'Recess' of Augsburg should have been revoked.
Assembling at Smalkald, … they entered into an alliance
offensive and defensive, known as the League of Smalkald, on
March 29, 1531, to which they severally bound themselves to
remain faithful for a period of six years."

_J. Alzog,
Manual of Universal Church History,
section 312 (volume 3)._

ALSO IN:
_H. Worsley,
Life of Luther,
chapter 7 (volume 2)._

_F. A. Cox,
Life of Melancthon,
chapter 8 (giving the text of the "Augsburg Confession")._

See, also,
GERMANY: A. D. 1530-1532.

PAPACY: A. D. 1530-1532.
Protestant League of Smalkalde and
alliance with the king of France.
The Pacification of Nuremberg.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1530-1532.

PAPACY: A. D. 1533.
Treaty of Pope Clement VII. with Francis I. of France,
for the marriage of Catherine d'Medici.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1532-1547.

PAPACY: A. D. 1533-1546.
Mercenary aspects of the Reformation in Germany.
The Catholic Holy League.
Preparations for war.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1533-1546.

PAPACY: A. D. 1534.
Election of Paul III.

PAPACY: A. D. 1534-1540.
Beginnings of the Counter-Reformation.

"A well-known sentence in Macaulay's Essay on Ranke's 'History
of the Popes' asserts, correctly enough, that in a particular
epoch of history 'the Church of Rome, having lost a large part
of Europe, not only ceased to lose, but actually regained
nearly half of what she had lost.' Any fairly correct use of
the familiar phrase 'the Counter-Reformation' must imply that
this remarkable result was due to a movement pursuing two
objects, originally distinct, though afterwards largely
blended, viz., the regeneration of the Church of Rome, and the
recovery of the losses inflicted upon her by the early
successes of Protestantism. … The earliest continuous
endeavour to regenerate the Church of Rome without impairing
her cohesion dates from the Papacy of Paul III. [1534-1549],
within which also falls the outbreak of the first religious
war of the century.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1546-1552.

Thus the two impulses which it was the special task of the
Counter-Reformation to fuse were brought into immediate
contact. The onset of the combat is marked by the formal
establishment of the Jesuit Order [1540] as a militant agency
devoted alike to both the purposes of the Counter-Reformation,
and by the meeting of the Council of Trent [1545] under
conditions excluding from its programme the task of
conciliation."

_A. W. Ward,
The Counter Reformation,
pages vii-viii._

"I intend to use this term Counter-Reformation to denote the
reform of the Catholic Church, which was stimulated by the
German Reformation, and which, when the Council of Trent had
fixed the dogmas and discipline of Latin Christianity, enabled
the Papacy to assume a militant policy in Europe, whereby it
regained a large portion of the provinces that had previously
lapsed to Lutheran and Calvinistic dissent. … The centre of
the world-wide movement which is termed the
Counter-Reformation was naturally Rome. Events had brought the
Holy See once more into a position of prominence. It was more
powerful as an Italian State now, through the support of Spain
and the extinction of national independence, than at any
previous period of history. In Catholic Christendom its
prestige was immensely augmented by the Council of Trent. At
the same epoch, the foreigners who dominated Italy, threw
themselves with the enthusiasm of fanaticism into this
Revival. Spain furnished Rome with the militia of the Jesuits
and with the engines of the Inquisition. The Papacy was thus
able to secure successes in Italy which were elsewhere only
partially achieved. … In order to understand the transition of
Italy from the Renaissance to the Counter-Reformation manner,
it will be well to concentrate attention on the history of the
Papacy during the eight reigns [1534-1605] of Paul III., Julius
III., Paul IV., Pius IV., Pius V., Gregory XIII., Sixtus V.,
and Clement VIII. In the first of these reigns we hardly
notice that the Renaissance has passed away. In the last we
are aware of a completely altered Italy."

_J. A. Symonds,
Renaissance in Italy: The Catholic Reaction,
chapter 2, with foot-note (volume 1)._

{2458}

PAPACY: A. D. 1537-1563.
Popular weakness of the Reformation movement in Italy.
Momentary inclination towards the Reform at Rome.
Beginning of the Catholic Reaction.
The Council of Trent and its consolidating work.

"The conflict with the hierarchy did not take the same form in
Italy as elsewhere. … There is no doubt that the masses saw no
cause for discontent under it. We have proof that the
hierarchy was popular—that among the people, down to the
lowest grades, the undiminished splendour of the Papacy was
looked upon as a pledge of the power of Italy. But this did
not prevent reform movements from taking place. The Humanistic
school had its home here; its opposition tendencies had not
spared the Church any more than Scholasticism; it had
everywhere been the precursor and ally of the intellectual
revolt, and not the least in Italy. There were from the first
eminent individuals at Venice, Modena, Ferrara, Florence, even
in the States of the Church themselves, who were more or less
followers of Luther. The cardinals Contarini and Morone, Bembo
and Sadolet, distinguished preachers like Peter Martyr, Johann
Valdez, and Bernardino Occhino, and from among the princely
families an intellectual lady, Renata of Ferrara, were
inclined to the new doctrines. But they were leaders without
followers; the number of their adherents among the masses was
surprisingly small. The Roman Curia, under the Pontificate of
Paul III., 1534-49, vacillated in its policy for a time;
between 1537-41, the prevailing sentiments were friendly and
conciliatory towards Reform. … They were, in fact, gravely
entertaining the question at Rome, whether it would not be
better to come to terms with Reform, to adopt the practicable
part of its programme, and so put an end to the schism which
was spreading so fast in the Church. … An honest desire then
still prevailed to effect a reconciliation. Contarini was in
favour of it with his whole soul. But it proceeded no further
than the attempt; for once the differences seemed likely to be
adjusted, so far as this was possible; but in 1542, the
revulsion took place, which was never again reversed. Only one
result remained. The Pope could no longer refuse to summon a
council. The Emperor had been urging it year after year; the
Pope had acceded to it further than any of his predecessors
had done; and, considering the retreat which now took place,
this concession was the least that could be demanded. At
length, therefore, three years after it was convened, in May,
1542, the council assembled at Trent in December, 1545. It was
the Emperor's great desire that a council should be held in
Germany, that thus the confidence of the Germans in the
supreme tribunal in the great controversy might be gained; but
the selection of Trent, which nominally belonged to Germany,
was the utmost concession that could be obtained. The
intentions of the Emperor and the Pope with regard to the
council were entirely opposed to each other. The Pope was
determined to stifle all opposition in the bud, while the
Emperor was very desirous of having a counterpoise to the
Pope's supremacy in council, provided always that it concurred
in the imperial programme. … The assembly consisted of Spanish
and Italian monks in overwhelming majority, and this was
decisive as to its character. When consulted as to the course
of business, the Emperor had expressed a wish that those
questions on which agreement between the parties was possible
should first be discussed. There were a number of questions on
which they were agreed, as, for example, Greek Christianity.
Even now there are a number of points on which Protestants and
Catholics are agreed, and differ from the Eastern Church. If
these questions were considered first, the attendance of the
Protestants would be rendered very much easier; it would open
the door as widely as possible, they would probably come in
considerable numbers, and might in time take a part which at
least might not be distasteful to the Emperor, and might
influence his ideas on Church reform. The thought that they
were heretics was half concealed. But Rome was determined to
pursue the opposite course, and at once to agitate those
questions on which there was the most essential disagreement,
and to declare all who would not submit to be incorrigible
heretics. … The first subjects of discussion were, the
authority of the Scriptures in the text of the Vulgate,
ecclesiastical tradition, the right of interpretation, the
doctrine of justification. These were the questions on which
the old and new doctrines were irreconcilably at variance; all
other differences were insignificant in comparison. And these
questions were decided in the old Roman Catholic sense; not
precisely as they had been officially treated in 1517—for the
stream of time had produced some little effect—but in the main
the old statutes were adhered to, and everything rejected
which departed from them. This conduct was decisive. …
Nevertheless some reforms were carried out. Between the time
of meeting and adjournment, December, 1545, to the spring of
1547, the following were the main points decided on:

1. The bishops were to provide better teachers and better
schools.

2. The bishops should themselves expound the word of God.

3. Penalties were to be enforced for the neglect of their
duties, and various rules were laid down as to the necessary
qualifications for the office of a bishop.

Dispensations, licenses, and privileges were abolished. The
Church was therefore to be subjected to a reform which
abolished sundry abuses, without conceding any change in her
teaching. The course the council was taking excited the
Emperor's extreme displeasure. … He organized a sort of
opposition to Rome; his commissaries kept up a good
understanding with the Protestants, and it was evident that he
meant to make use of them for an attack on the Pope. This made
Rome eager to withdraw the assembly from the influence of
German bishops and imperial agents as soon as possible. A
fever which had broken out at Trent, but had soon disappeared,
was made a pretext for transferring the council to Bologna, in
the spring of 1547. The imperial commissioners protested that
the decrees of such a hole-and-corner council would be null
and void. The contest remained undecided for years. Paul III.
died in the midst of it, in November, 1549, and was succeeded
by Cardinal del Monte, one of the papal legates at the
council, as Pope Julius III.
{2459}
The Emperor at length came to an understanding with him, and
in May, 1551, the council was again opened at Trent. … The
assembly remained Catholic; the Protestant elements, which
were represented at first, all disappeared after the turn of
affairs in 1552.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1546-1552; and 1552-1561.

After that there was no further thought of an understanding
with the heretics. The results for reform were very small
indeed. The proceedings were dragging wearily on when a fresh
adjournment was announced in 1552. Pope Julius III. died in
March, 1555. His successor, the noble Cardinal Cervin, elected
as Marcellus II., died after only twenty-two days, and was
succeeded by Cardinal Caraffa as Paul IV., 1555-9. … He was
the Pope of the restoration. The warm Neapolitan blood flowed
in his veins, and he was a fiery, energetic character. He was
not in favour of any concessions or abatement, but for a
complete breach with the new doctrines, and a thorough
exclusiveness for the ancient Church. He was one of the ablest
men of the time. As early as in 1542, he had advised that no
further concessions should be made, but that the Inquisition,
of which indeed he was the creator, should be restored. It was
he who decidedly initiated the great Catholic reaction. He
established the Spanish Inquisition in Italy, instituted the
first Index, and gave the Jesuits his powerful support in the
interests of the restoration. This turn of affairs was the
answer to the German religious Peace. Since the Protestants no
longer concerned themselves about Rome, Rome was about to set
her house in order without them, and as a matter of course the
council stood still." But in answer to demands from several
Catholic princes, "the council was convened afresh by the next
Pope, Pius IV. (1559-65), in November, 1560, and so the
Council of Trent was opened for the third time in January,
1562. Then began the important period of the council, during
which the legislation to which it has given a name was
enacted. … The Curia reigned supreme, and, in spite of the
remonstrances of the Emperor and of France, decided that the
council should be considered a continuation of the previous
ones, which meant—'All the decrees aimed against the
Protestants are in full force; we have no further idea of
coming to terms with them.' The next proceeding was to
interdict books and arrange an Index. …

See PAPACY: A. D. 1559-1595.

The restoration of the indisputable authority of the Pope was
the ruling principle of all the decrees. … The great
achievement of the council for the unity of the Catholic
Church was this: it formed into a code of laws, on one
consistent principle, that which in ancient times had been
variable and uncertain, and which had been almost lost sight
of in the last great revolution. Controverted questions were
replaced by dogmas, doubtful traditions by definite doctrines;
a uniformity was established in matters of faith and
discipline which had never existed before, and an impregnable
bulwark was thus erected against the sectarian spirit and the
tendency to innovation. Still when this unity was established
upon a solid basis, the universal Church of former times was
torn asunder." The Council of Trent was closed December 4,
1563, 18 years after its opening.

_L. Häusser,
Period of the Reformation,
chapters 19 and 16._

ALSO IN:
_J. A. Symonds,
Renaissance in Italy: The Catholic Reaction,
chapters 2-3 (volume l)._

_L. von Ranke,
History of the Popes,
books 2-3 (volume l)._

_L. F. Bungener,
History of the Council of Trent._

_T. R. Evans,
The Council of Trent._

_A. de Reumont,
The Carafas of Maddaloni,
book 1, chapter 3._

[IMAGE: Map of CENTRAL EUROPE
AT THE ABDICATION OF CHARLES V (1556).
AUSTRIAN HAPSBURGS.
SPANISH HAPSBURGS.
VENETIAN POSSESSIONS.
GENOESE POSSESSIONS.
ECCLESIASTICAL STATES OF THE EMPIRE.
STATES OF THE CHURCH.]

[IMAGE: CENTRAL EUROPE
SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF RELIGIONS ABOUT 1618.
LUTHERAN.
ZWINGLIAN.
CALVINIST.
UNITED BRETHREN.
CATHOLIC.
LANDS RECLAIMED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
DURING THE COUNTER REFORMATION SHOWN THUS.
GREEK.
MOHAMMEDAN.]

PAPACY: A. D. 1540.
The founding of the Order of the Jesuits.

See JESUITS: A. D. 1540-1556.

PAPACY: A. D. 1545-1550.
Separation of Parma and Placentia from the States
of the Church to form a duchy for the Pope's family.
The Farnese.

See PARMA: A. D. 1545-1592.

PAPACY: A. D. 1550.
Election of Julius III.

PAPACY: A. D. 1555 (April).
Election of Marcellus II.

PAPACY: A. D. 1555 (May).
Election of Paul IV.

PAPACY: A. D. 1555-1603.
The aggressive age of the reinvigorated Church.
Attachment and subserviency to Spain.

Giovanni Piero Caraffa, founder of the Order of the Theatines,
was raised to the papal chair in 1555, assuming the title of
Paul IV. He "entered on his station with the haughty notions
of its prerogatives which were natural to his austere and
impetuous spirit. Hence his efforts in concert with France,
unsuccessful as they proved, to overthrow the Spanish
greatness, that he might extricate the popedom from the
galling state of dependence to which the absolute ascendancy
of that power in Italy had reduced it. Paul IV. is remarkable
as the last pontiff who embarked in a contest which had now
become hopeless, and as the first who, giving a new direction
to the policy of the holy see, employed all the influence, the
arts, and the resources of the Roman church against the
protestant cause. He had, during the pontificate of Paul III.
[1534-1549], already made himself conspicuous for his
persecuting zeal. He had been the principal agent in the
establishment of the inquisition at Rome, and had himself
filled the office of grand inquisitor. He seated himself in
the chair of St. Peter with the detestable spirit of that
vocation; and the character of his pontificate responded to
the violence of his temper. His mantle descended upon a long
series of his successors. Pius IV., who replaced him on his
death in 1559; Pius V., who received the tiara in the
following year; Gregory XIII., who was elected in 1572, and
died in 1585; Sixtus V., who next reigned until 1590; Urban
VII., Gregory XIV., and Innocent IX., who each filled the
papal chair only a few months; and Clement VIII., whose
pontificate commenced in 1592 and extended beyond the close of
the century [1603]: all pursued the same political and
religious system. Resigning the hope, and perhaps the desire,
of re-establishing the independence of their see, they
maintained an intimate and obsequious alliance with the royal
bigot of Spain; they seconded his furious persecution of the
protestant faith; they fed the civil wars of the Low
Countries, of France, and of Germany."

_G. Procter,
History of Italy,
chapter 9._

"The Papacy and Catholicism had long maintained themselves
against these advances of their enemy [the Protestant
Reformation], in an attitude of defence it is true, but
passive only; upon the whole they were compelled to endure
them. Affairs now assumed a different aspect. … It may be
affirmed generally that a vital and active force was again
manifested, that the church had regenerated her creed in the
spirit of the age, and had established reforms in accordance
with the demands of the times.
{2460}
The religious tendencies which had appeared in southern Europe
were not suffered to become hostile to herself, she adopted
them, and gained the mastery of their movements; thus she
renewed her powers, and infused fresh vigour into her system.
… The influence of the restored Catholic system was first
established in the two southern peninsulas, but this was not
accomplished without extreme severities. The Spanish
Inquisition received the aid of that lately revived in Rome;
every movement of Protestantism was violently suppressed. But
at the same time those tendencies of the inward life which
renovated Catholicism claimed and enchained as her own, were
peculiarly powerful in those countries. "The sovereigns also
attached themselves to the interests of the church. It was of
the highest importance that Philip II., the most powerful of
all, adhered so decidedly to the popedom; with the pride of a
Spaniard, by whom unimpeachable Catholicism was regarded as a
sign of a purer blood and more noble descent, he rejected
every adverse opinion: the character of his policy was however
not wholly governed by mere personal feeling. From remote
times, and more especially since the regulations established
by Isabella, the kingly dignity of Spain had assumed an
ecclesiastical character; in every province the royal
authority was strengthened by the addition of spiritual power;
deprived of the Inquisition, it would not have sufficed to
govern the kingdom. Even in his American possessions, the king
appeared above all in the light of a disseminator of the
Christian and Catholic faith. This was the bond by which all
his territories were united in obedience to his rule; he could
not have abandoned it, without incurring real danger. The
extension of Huguenot opinions in the south of France caused
the utmost alarm in Spain; the Inquisition believed itself
bound to redoubled vigilance. … The power possessed by Philip
in the Netherlands secured to the southern system an immediate
influence over the whole of Europe; but besides this, all was
far from being lost in other countries. The emperor, the kings
of France and Poland, with the duke of Bavaria, still adhered
to the Catholic church. On all sides there were spiritual
princes whose expiring zeal might be reanimated; there were
also many places where Protestant opinions had not yet made
their way among the mass of the people. The majority of the
peasantry throughout France, Poland, and even Hungary, still
remained Catholic. Paris, which even in those days exercised a
powerful influence over the other French towns, had not yet
been affected by the new doctrines. In England a great part of
the nobility and commons were still Catholic; and in Ireland
the whole of the ancient native population remained in the old
faith. Protestantism had gained no admission into the Tyrolese
or Swiss Alps, nor had it made any great progress among the
peasantry of Bavaria. Canisius compared the Tyrolese and
Bavarians with the two tribes of Israel, 'who alone remained
faithful to the Lord.' The internal causes on which this
pertinacity, this immovable attachment to tradition, among
nations so dissimilar, was founded, might well repay a more
minute examination. A similar constancy was exhibited in the
Walloon provinces of the Netherlands. And now the papacy
resumed a position in which it could once more gain the
mastery of all these inclinations, and bind them indissolubly
to itself. Although it had experienced great changes, it still
possessed the inestimable advantage of having all the
externals of the past and the habit of obedience on its side.
In the council so prosperously concluded, the popes had even
gained an accession of that authority which it had been the
purpose of the temporal powers to restrict; and had
strengthened their influence over the national churches; they
had moreover abandoned that temporal policy by which they had
formerly involved Italy and all Europe in confusion. They
attached themselves to Spain with perfect confidence and
without any reservations, fully returning the devotion evinced
by that kingdom to the Roman church. The Italian principality,
the enlarged dominions of the pontiff, contributed eminently
to the success of his ecclesiastical enterprises; while the
interests of the universal Catholic church were for some time
essentially promoted by the overplus of its revenues. Thus
strengthened internally, thus supported by powerful adherents,
and by the idea of which they were the representatives, the
popes exchanged the defensive position, with which they had
hitherto been forced to content themselves, for that of
assailants."

_L. von Ranke,
History of the Popes,
book 5, section 2 (volume 1)._

PAPACY: A. D. 1559.
Election of Pius IV.

PAPACY: A. D. 1559-1595.
The institution of the Index.

"The first 'Index' of prohibited books published by Papal
authority, and therefore, unlike the 'catalogi' previously
issued by royal, princely, or ecclesiastical authorities,
valid for the whole Church, was that authorised by a bull of
Paul IV. in 1559. In 1564 followed the Index published by Pius
IV., as drawn up in harmony with the decrees of the Council of
Trent, which, after all, appears to be a merely superficial
revision of its predecessor. Other Indices followed, for which
various authorities were responsible, the most important among
them being the Index Expurgatorius, sanctioned by a bull of
Clement VIII. in 1595, which proved so disastrous to the great
printing trade of Venice."

_A. W. Ward,
The Counter-Reformation,
chapter 2._

PAPACY: A. D. 1566.
Election of Pius V.

PAPACY: A. D. 1570-1571.
Holy League with Venice and Spain against the Turks.
Great battle and victory of Lepanto.

See TURKS: A. D. 1566-1571.

PAPACY: A. D. 1572 (May).
Election of Gregory XIII.

PAPACY: A. D. 1572.
Reception of the news of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1572 (AUGUST-OCTOBER).

PAPACY: A. D. 1585.
Election of Sixtus V.

PAPACY: A. D. 1585.
The Bull against Henry of Navarre, called "Brutum Fulmen."

See FRANCE: A. D. 1584-1589.

PAPACY: A. D. 1590 (September).
Election of Urban VII.

PAPACY: A. D. 1590 (December).
Election of Gregory XIV.

PAPACY: A. D. 1591.
Election of Innocent IX.

PAPACY: A. D. 1591.
Election of Clement VIII.

{2461}

PAPACY: A. D. 1597.
Annexation of Ferrara to the States of the Church.

"The loss which the papal states sustained by the alienation
of Parma and Placentia was repaired, before the end of the
16th century, by the acquisition of a duchy little inferior in
extent to those territories:—that of Ferrara." With the death,
in 1597, of Alfonso II., the persecutor of Tasso, "terminated
the legitimate Italian branch of the ancient and illustrious
line of Este. But there remained an illegitimate
representative of his house, whom he designed for his
successor; don Cesare da Este, the grandson of Alfonso I. by a
natural son of that duke. The inheritance of Ferrara and
Modena had passed in the preceding century to bastards,
without opposition from the popes, the feudal superiors of the
former duchy. But the imbecile character of don Cesare now
encouraged the reigning pontiff, Clement VIII., to declare
that all the ecclesiastical fiefs of the house of Este
reverted, of right, to the holy see on the extinction of the
legitimate line. The papal troops, on the death of Alfonso
II., invaded the Ferrarese state; and Cesare suffered himself
to be terrified by their approach into an ignominious and
formal surrender of that duchy to the holy see. By the
indifference of the Emperor Rodolph II., he was permitted to
retain the investiture of the remaining possessions of his
ancestors: the duchies of Modena and Reggio, over which, as
imperial and not papal fiefs, the pope could not decently
assert any right. In passing beneath the papal yoke, the duchy
of Ferrara, which, under the government of the house of Este,
had been one of the most fertile provinces of Italy, soon
became a desert and marshy waste. The capital itself lost its
industrious population and commercial riches; its
architectural magnificence crumbled into ruins, and its modern
aspect retains no trace of that splendid court in which
literature and art repaid the fostering protection of its
sovereigns, by reflecting lustre on their heads."

_G. Procter,
History of Italy,
chapter 9._

PAPACY: A. D. 1605 (April).
Election of Leo XI.

PAPACY: A. D. 1605 (May).
Election of Paul V.

PAPACY: A. D. 1605-1700.
The conflict with Venice.
Opposition of Urban VIII. to the Emperor.
Annexation of Urbino to the States of the Church.
Half a century of unimportant history.

"Paul V. (1605-1621) was imbued with mediæval ideas as to the
papal authority and the validity of the canon-law. These
speedily brought him into collision with the secular power,
especially in Venice, which had always maintained an attitude
of independence towards the papacy. Ecclesiastical disputes
[growing out of a Venetian decree forbidding alienations of
secular property in favor of the churches] were aggravated by
the fact that the acquisition of Ferrara had extended the
papal states to the frontiers of Venice, and that frequent
differences arose as to the boundary line between them. The
defence of the republic and of the secular authority in church
affairs was undertaken with great zeal and ability by Fra
Paoli Sarpi, the famous historian of the Council of Trent.
Paul V. did not hesitate to excommunicate the Venetians
[1606], but the government compelled the clergy to disregard
the pope's edict. The Jesuits, Theatines, and Capuchins were
the only orders that adhered to the papacy, and they had to
leave the city. If Spain had not been under the rule of the
pacific Lerma, it would probably have seized the opportunity
to punish Venice for its French alliance. But France and Spain
were both averse to war, and Paul V. had to learn that the
papacy was powerless without secular support. By the mediation
of the two great powers, a compromise was arranged in 1607.
The Jesuits, however, remained excluded from Venetian
territory for another half-century. This was the first serious
reverse encountered by the Catholic reaction. …

See VENICE: A. D. 1606-1607.

The attention of the Catholic world was now absorbed in the
Austrian schemes for the repression of Protestantism in
Germany, which received the unhesitating support both of Paul
and of his successor, Gregory XV. [1621-1623]. The latter was
a great patron of the Jesuits. Under him the Propaganda was
first set on foot. … The pontificate of Urban VIII.
(1623-1644) was a period of great importance. He regarded
himself rather as a temporal prince than as head of the
Church. He fortified Rome and filled his states with troops.
The example of Julius II. seemed to find an imitator. Urban
was imbued with the old Italian jealousy of the imperial
power, and allied himself closely with France. … At the moment
when Ferdinand II. had gained his greatest success in Germany
he was confronted with the hostility of the pope. Gustavus
Adolphus landed in Germany, and by a strange coincidence
Protestantism found support in the temporal interests of the
papacy. The Catholics were astounded and dismayed by Urban's
attitude. … Urban VIII. succeeded in making an important
addition to the papal states by the annexation of Urbino, in
1631, on the death of Francesco Maria, the last duke of the
Della Rovere family. But in the government of the states he
met with great difficulties. … Urban VIII.'s relatives, the
Barberini, quarreled with the Farnesi, who had held Parma and
Piacenza since the pontificate of Paul III. The pope was
induced to claim the district of Castro, and this claim
aroused a civil war (1641-1644) in which the papacy was
completely worsted. Urban was forced to conclude a humiliating
treaty and directly afterwards died. His successors [Innocent
X., 1644-1655; Alexander VII., 1655-1667; Clement IX.,
1667-1669; Clement X., 1670-1676; Innocent XI., 1676-1689;
Alexander VIII., 1689-1691; Innocent XII., 1691-1700] are of
very slight importance to the history of Europe. … The only
important questions in which the papacy was involved in the
latter half of the century were the schism of the Jansenists
and the relations with Louis XIV."

_R. Lodge,
History of Modern Europe,
chapter 12._

ALSO IN:
_J. E. Darras,
General History of the Catholic Church,
period 7, chapter 7;
period 8, chapters 1-3 (volume 4)._

_T. A. Trollope,
Paul the Pope and Paul the Friar._

_A. Robertson,
Fra Paolo Sarpi._

PAPACY: A. D. 1621.
Election of Gregory XV.

PAPACY: A. D. 1622.
Founding of the College of the Propaganda.
[Transcriber's note:
2022: "Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples."]

Cardinal Alexander Ludovisio, elected pope on the 9th of
February, 1621, taking the name of Gregory XV., "had always
shown the greatest zeal for the conversion of infidels and
heretics; this zeal inspired the design of founding the
College of the Propaganda (1622). The origin of the Propaganda
is properly to be traced to an edict of Gregory XIII., in
virtue of which a certain number of cardinals were charged
with the direction of missions to the East, and catechisms
were ordered to be printed in the less-known languages. But
the institution was neither firmly established nor provided
with the requisite funds. Gregory XV. gave it a constitution,
contributed the necessary funds from his private purse, and as
it met a want the existence of which was really felt and
acknowledged, its success was daily more and more brilliant.
{2462}
Who does not know what the Propaganda has done for
philological learning? But it chiefly labored, with admirable
grandeur of conception and energy, to fulfil its great
mission—the propagation of the Catholic faith—with the most
splendid results. Urban VIII., the immediate successor of
Gregory XV., completed the work by the addition of the
'Collegium de Propaganda Fide,' where youth are trained in the
study of all the foreign languages, to bear the name of Christ
to every nation on the globe."

_J. E. Darras,
General History of the Catholic Church,
period 7, chapter 7, section. 10 (volume 4)._

PAPACY: A. D. 1623.
Election of Urban VIII.

PAPACY: A. D. 1623-1626.
The Valtelline War.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1624-1626.

PAPACY: A. D. 1644-1667.
Pontificates of Innocent X. and Alexander VII.
Growth of Nepotism.

Sixtus V. had "invented a system of nepotism which was so
actively followed up by his successors, that even a short
reign provided the means of accumulating a brilliant fortune.
That pontiff raised one nephew to the rank of cardinal, with a
share of the public business and an ecclesiastical income of a
hundred thousand crowns. Another he created a marquess, with
large estates in the Neapolitan territory. The house of
Ferretti thus founded, long maintained a high position, and
was frequently represented in the College of Cardinals. The
Aldobrandini, founded in like manner by Clement VIII., the
Borghesi by Paul V., the Ludovisi by Gregory XV., and the
Barberini by Urban VIII., now vied in rank and opulence with
the ancient Roman houses of Colonna and Orsini, who boasted
that for centuries no peace had been concluded in Christendom
in which they were not expressly included. On the death of
Urban VIII. (29th July 1644) the Barberini commanded the votes
of eight-and-forty cardinals, the most powerful faction ever
seen in the conclave. Still, the other papal families were
able to resist their dictation, and the struggle terminated in
the election of Cardinal Pamfili, who took the name of
Innocent X. During the interval of three months, the city was
abandoned to complete lawlessness; assassinations in the
streets were frequent; no private house was safe without a
military guard, and a whole army of soldiers found occupation
in protecting the property of their employers. This was then
the usual state of things during an interregnum. Innocent X.,
though seventy-two years of age at his election, was full of
energy. He restrained the disorders in the city. … Innocent
brought the Barberini to strict account for malpractices under
his predecessor, and wrested from them large portions of their
ill-gotten gain. So far, however, from reforming the system
out of which these abuses sprung, his nepotism exhibited
itself in a form which scandalised even the Roman courtiers.
The pope brought his sister-in-law, Donna Olimpia Maidalchina,
from Viterbo to Rome, and established her in a palace, where
she received the first visits of foreign ambassadors on their
arrival, gave magnificent entertainments, and dispensed for
her own benefit the public offices of the government. … Her
daughters were married into the noblest families. Her son,
having first been appointed the cardinal-nephew, soon after
renounced his orders, married, and became the secular-nephew.
The struggle for power between his mother and his wife divided
Rome into new factions, and the feud was enlarged by the
ambition of a more distant kinsman, whom Innocent appointed to
the vacant post of cardinal-nephew. The pontiff sank under a
deep cloud from the disorders in his family and the palace,
and when he died (5th January, 1655) the corpse laid three
days uncared for, till an old canon, who had been long
dismissed from his household, expended half-a-crown on its
interment. … Fabio Chigi, who came next as Alexander VIII.
[VII.] brought to the tottering chair a spotless reputation,
and abilities long proved in the service of the church. His
first act was to banish the scandalous widow; her son was
allowed to retain her palace and fortune. Beginning with the
loudest protestations against nepotism, now the best
established institution at Rome, in the phrase of the time,
the pope soon 'became a man.' The courtiers remonstrated on
his leaving his family to live a plain citizen's life at
Siena: it might involve the Holy See in a misunderstanding
with Tuscany. … The question was gravely proposed in
consistory, and the flood-gates being there authoritatively
unclosed, the waters of preferment flowed abundantly on all
who had the merit to be allied with Fabio Chigi. After
discharging this arduous duty, the pope relieved himself of
further attention to business, and spent his days in literary
leisure. His nephews, however, had less power than formerly,
from the growth of the constitutional principle. The
cardinals, in their different congregations, with the official
secretaries, aspired to the functions of responsible
advisers."

_G. Trevor,
Rome, from the Fall of the Western Empire,
pages 416-418._

PAPACY: A. D. 1646.
The Hostility of Mazarin and France.

See ITALY: A. D. 1646-1654.

PAPACY: A. D. 1653.
The first condemnation of Jansenism.

See PORT ROYAL AND THE JANSENISTS: A. D. 1602-1660.

PAPACY: A. D. 1667.
Election of Clement IX.

PAPACY: A. D. 1670.
Election of Clement X.

PAPACY: A. D. 1676.
Election of Innocent XI.

PAPACY: A. D. 1682-1693.
Successful contest with Louis XIV. and the Gallican Church.