Chapter I: The Reformation in Germany, to the Treaty of Nuremberg

(1517-1532).

BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION.--The Reformation began in _Germany_, where there was a great deal of discontent with the way in which the Church was governed and managed, and on account of the large amounts of money carried out of the country on various grounds for ecclesiastical uses at Rome. The leader of the movement, _Martin Luther_, was the son of a poor miner, and was born at _Eisleben_ in 1483. He was an Augustinian monk, and had been made professor of theology, and preacher at _Wittenberg_, by the Elector of Saxony, _Frederick the Wise_ (1508). Luther was a man of extraordinary intellectual powers, and a hard student, of a genial and joyous nature, yet not without a deep vein of reflection, tending even to melancholy. He had a strong will, and was vigorous and vehement in controversy. He had been afflicted with profound religious anxieties; but in the study of St. Paul and St. Augustine, and after much inward wrestling, he emerged from them into a state of mental peace. The immediate occasion of disturbance, the spark that kindled the flame, was the sale of indulgences in _Saxony_ by a Dominican monk named _Tetzel_. Indulgences were the remission, total or partial, of _penances_, and, in theory, always presupposed repentance; but, as the business was managed in Germany at that time, it amounted in the popular apprehension to a sale of absolution from guilt, or to the ransom of deceased friends from purgatory for money. These gross abuses were painful to sincere friends of religion. In 1517 _Luther_ posted on the door of the church at _Wittenberg_ his celebrated ninety-five theses. It was customary in those days for public debates to take place in universities, where, as in jousts and tournaments among knights, scholars offered to defend propositions in theology and philosophy against all comers. Such were the "theses" of Luther on indulgences. The public mind was in such a state that a great commotion was kindled by them. Conflict spread; and the name of _Luther_ became famous as a stanch antagonist of ecclesiastical abuses, and a fearless champion of reform. The _Elector_, a religious man, calm and cautious in his temper, was friendly to _Luther_, often sought to curb him, but stretched over him the shield of his protection.

LUTHER AND LEO X.--Pope _Leo X;_ was of the house of _Medici_, the son of _Lorenzo_ the Magnificent. He had been made nominally a cardinal at the age of thirteen, and had advanced to the highest station in the Church. He was much absorbed in matters pertaining to learning and art, and in political affairs, and at first looked upon this Saxon disturbance as a mere squabble of monks. He attempted ineffectually to bring _Luther_ to submission and quietness, first through his legate _Cajetan_, a scholarly Italian, who met him at _Augsburg_ (1518), and then by a second messenger, _Miltitz_ (1519), a Saxon by birth. A turning-point in Luther's course was a public _disputation_ at _Leipsic_, before Duke _George_; for _ducal_ Saxony was hostile to him. With Luther, on that occasion, was _Philip Melanchthon_, the young professor of Greek at _Wittenberg_, who was a great scholar, and a man of mild and amiable spirit. He became a very effective and noted auxiliary of the reformer, and acquired the honorary title of "preceptor of Germany." In the Leipsic debate, when Luther was opposed by the Catholic champion _Eck_, and by others, his own views in opposition to the papacy became more distinct and decided. He soon disputed the right of the Pope to make laws, to canonize, etc., denied the doctrine of purgatory, and avowed his sympathy with _Huss_. He issued a stirring _Address to the Christian Nobles of the German Nation_. In 1520 he was excommunicated by the Pope, but the elector paid no regard to the papal bull. Luther himself went so far as publicly to burn it at the gates of the town, in the presence of an assembly of students and others gathered to witness the scene. Both parties had now taken the extreme step: there was now open war between them. _Jurists_, who were aggrieved by the interference of ecclesiastical with civil courts, supported _Luther_. So the _Humanists_ who had defended _Reuch-lin_, among whom were the youthful literary class of which _Ulrich von Hutten_ was one, became his allies. Many among the inferior clergy and the monastic orders sympathized with him.

CONDITION OF GERMANY.--It was now for the _Empire_ to decide between _Luther_ and the _Pope_. The efforts to create a better political system under _Maximilian_ had proved in the main abortive. There was strife between the princes and the knights, as well as between princes and bishops. The cities complained bitterly of oppressive taxation and of lawless depredations. There was widespread disaffection, threatening open revolt, among the peasants. _Maximilian_ had been thwarted politically by the popes. At first he was glad to hear of _Luther's_ rebellion. He said to _Frederick the Wise_, "Let the Wittenberg monk be taken good care of: we may some day want him." In the latter part of his reign his interests drew him nearer to Rome.

ELECTION OF CHARLES V.--On the death of _Maximilian_ (1519), as the Elector _Frederick_ would not take the imperial crown, there were two rival candidates,--_Francis I._, the king of France, and _Charles I._, of Spain, the grandson of _Maximilian_. _Francis_ was a gallant and showy personage, but it was feared that he would be despotic; and the electors made choice of _Charles_. The extent of _Charles's_ hereditary dominions in Germany, and the greatness of his power, would make him, it was thought, the best defender of the empire against the Turks. The electors, at his choice, bound him in a "capitulation" to respect the authority of the _Diet_, and not to bring foreign troops into the country. _Charles_ was the inheritor of _Austria_ and the _Low Countries_, the crowns of _Castile_ and _Aragon_, of _Navarre_, of _Naples_ and _Sicily_, together with the territories of Spain in the _New World_; and now he was at the head of the Holy Roman Empire. The concentration of so much power in a single hand could not but provoke alarm in all other potentates. The great rival of _Charles_ was _Francis I._, and the main prize in the contest was dominion in Italy. Charles was a sagacious prince; from his Spanish education, strongly attached to the Roman-Catholic system, and, in virtue of the imperial office, the protector of the Church. Yet with him political considerations, during most of his life, were uppermost. He made the mistake of not appreciating the strength that lay in the convictions at the root of the Protestant movement. He over-estimated the power of political combinations.

DIET OF WORMS.--_Charles V._ first came into Germany in 1521, and met the Diet of the empire at _Worms_. There _Luther_ appeared under the protection of a safe-conduct. He manifested his wonted courage; and in the presence of the emperor, and of the august assembly, he refused to retract his opinions, planting himself on the authority of the Scriptures, and declining to submit to the verdicts of Pope or council. After he had left _Worms_, a sentence of outlawry was passed against him. _Charles_ at that moment was bent on the re-conquest of _Milan_, which the French had taken; and the Pope was friendly to his undertaking, although _Leo X._ had been opposed to _Charles's_ election.

FRANCIS I.--_Francis I._ (1515-1547) aimed to complete the work begun by his predecessors, and to make the French monarchy absolute. By a _concordat_ with the Pope (1516), the choice of bishops and abbots was given into the king's hand, while the Pope was to receive the _annates_, or the first year's revenue of all such benefices. _Francis_ continued the practice of selling judicial places begun under _Louis XII._. He was bent on maintaining the unity of France, and, as a condition, the Catholic system. But he was always ready to help the Protestants in _Germany_ when he could thereby weaken _Charles_. For the same end, he was even ready to join hands with the Turk.

RIVALRY OF CHARLES AND FRANCIS.--Charles claimed the old imperial territories of _Milan_ and _Genoa_. He claimed, also, a portion of Southern France,--the _duchy of Burgundy_, which he did not allow that _Louis XI._ had the right to confiscate. _Francis_ claimed _Naples_ in virtue of the rights of the house of _Anjou_; also Spanish _Navarre_, which _Ferdinand of Aragon_ had seized, and the suzerainty of _Flanders_ and _Artois_. He had gained a brilliant victory over the _Swiss_ at the battle of _Marignano_, in 1515, and reconquered _Milan_. He concluded a treaty of peace with the _Swiss_,--the treaty of _Freiburg_ (1516), which gave to the king, in return for a yearly pension, the liberty to levy troops in Switzerland. This treaty continued until the French Revolution.

FIRST WAR OF CHARLES AND FRANCIS (1521-1526).--Hostilities between _Francis_ and _Charles_ commenced in _Italy_ in 1521. The French were driven from _Milan_ in 1522, which was again placed in the hands of _Francesco Sforza_; and the emperor was soon master of all Northern Italy. _England_ and the _Pope_ sided with _Charles_; and on the death of _Leo X._, a former tutor of the emperor was made his successor, under the name _Adrian VI._ (1522). The most eminent and the richest man in France, next to the king, _Charles of Bourbon_, constable of the kingdom, joined the enemies of _Francis_. He complained of grievances consequent on the enmity of _Louisa of Savoy_, the mother of the king, and attempted, with the aid of the emperor and _Henry VIII._, to create a kingdom for himself in South-eastern France. But the national spirit in France was too strong for such a scheme of dismemberment and foreign conquest to succeed, and all that _Charles_ gained in the end was one brave general. In the winter of 1524-25 _Francis_ crossed the Alps at the head of a brilliant army, and recaptured _Milan_; but he was defeated and taken prisoner at _Pavia_, and the French army was almost destroyed. _Charles_ was able to dictate terms to his captive. It was stipulated in the _Peace of Madrid_ (1526), that _Francis_ should renounce all claim to _Milan, Genoa_, and _Naples_, and to the suzerainty of _Flanders_ and _Artois_, cede the duchy of _Burgundy_, and deliver his sons as hostages, terms which could not be fulfilled.

LUTHER AT THE WARTBURG.--We have now to glance at the events in _Germany_ during the absence of _Charles V. Luther_, although under the ban of the empire, was in no immediate peril while he staid in _Saxony_. The elector, however, thought it prudent to place him in the castle of the _Wartburg_, where he could have a safe and quiet asylum. There he began his translation of the Bible, which, apart from its religious influence, from the vigor and racy quality of its style made an epoch in the literary history of the German people. It was a work of great labor. "The language used by Luther in both the Old and New Testaments did not exist before in so pure, powerful, and genuine a form." While _Luther_ was engaged in this work, a radical movement broke out at _Wittenberg_, of which _Carlstadt_, one of his supporters, was the principal leader. He was for carrying changes in worship to such an extreme, and for introducing them so abruptly, that the greatest disorder was threatened. Against the wish of the elector, _Luther_ left his retreat, and by his discourses and personal presence quieted the disturbance.

PROGRESS AND REACTION.--No attempt was made to carry out the _Worms_ decree. The reason was that the influential classes were so much in sympathy with _Luther's_ cause. The _Imperial Chamber_, which ruled in the emperor's absence, would do nothing against him. Its committee refused to carry out the decree; and a list of "one hundred grievances" was sent to Pope _Adrian VI._, of which the German nation had reason to complain (1523). Events, however, soon occurred that were unfavorable in their effect on the Lutheran movement. The knights banded together in large numbers, under _Franz van Sickingen_, and tried by force of arms to reduce the power of the princes. _Luther_ showed no favor to their plans and doings; but, as their leaders had applauded him, a reaction against innovations, including changes in doctrine, was the natural consequence. Pope _Adrian VI._ was earnestly desirous of practical reforms; but his successor, _Clement VII._ (1523-1534), was of the house of _Medici_, and a man of the world, like _Leo X._ An alliance was made by the Catholic princes and bishops of South Germany at _Ratisbon_ in 1524, to do away with certain abuses, but to prevent the spread of the new doctrine.

THE PEASANTS' WAR.--In 1524 a great revolt of the _peasants_ broke out, and the next year it became general. They were groaning under intolerable burdens of taxation, and other forms of oppression. They demanded liberty in church affairs, and for the preaching of the new doctrine, and release from feudal tyranny. _Luther_ felt and said that they were wronged grievously; but when they took up arms, he, and with him the great middle class which he led, took sides strongly against them. The revolt was put down, and its authors inhumanly punished. For a time the peasants had wonderful success. _Napoleon_ wondered that _Charles V._ did not seize the occasion to make Germany a united empire. Then seemed to be a time when the princes could have been stripped of their power. One of the foremost leaders of the rebellion was _Thomas Münzer_. On the defeat of the peasants, he was captured and beheaded.

SECOND WAR BETWEEN CHARLES AND FRANCIS (1527-1529).--In the Peace of _Madrid, Charles_ and _Francis_ had agreed to proceed against the Turks and against the heretics. But, after the release of _Francis_, he repudiated the concessions before mentioned (p. 400), which were made, he alleged, under coercion; and with _Clement VII._ he formed a conspiracy against the emperor. The _Diet of Spires_, in 1526, decided to leave each of the component parts of the empire, until the meeting of a general council, to decide for itself as to the course to be taken in the matter of religion and in respect to the edict of _Worms_. In 1527 a German army, largely composed of Lutherans, led by Constable _Bourbon_ and _George Frundsberg_, stormed and captured _Rome_. The Pope made an alliance with _Henry VIII._ A French army under _Lautrec_ appeared at _Naples_, but it was so weakened by a fearful pestilence that it was easily destroyed. The _Pope_ concluded peace with _Charles_ in 1529. The emperor promised to exterminate heresy. In the Peace of _Cambray_, _Francis_ renounced his claims on _Italy_, _Flanders_, and _Artois_: Charles engaged for the present not to press his claims upon _Burgundy_, and set free the French princes.

TO THE PEACE OF NUREMBERG (1532).--The _Diet of Spires_ in 1529 reversed the policy of tacit toleration. It passed an edict forbidding the progress of the Reformation in the states which had not accepted it, and allowing in the reformed states full liberty of worship to the adherents of the old confession. The protest by the Lutheran princes and cities, against the decree of the Diet, gave the name of _Protestants_ to their party. The successful defense of _Vienna_ against an immense army of the Turks under _Soliman_ delivered _Charles_ for the moment from anxiety in that quarter. A theological controversy between the _Lutheran_ and the _Swiss_ reformers, on the _Lord's Supper_, made a division of feeling between them. A conference of the two parties at _Marburg_, in which _Luther_ and _Melanchthon_ met _Zwingli_ and his associates, brought no agreement. Every thing was propitious for an effort at coercion; and this was resolved upon at the _Diet of Augsburg_ in 1530, where the emperor was present in person, and where _Melanchthon_ presented the celebrated Protestant _Confession_ of Faith. The threats against the Protestant princes induced them to form the _League of Smalcald_ for mutual defense. But it was found impracticable to carry out the measures of repression against the Lutherans. _Bavaria_ was jealous of the house of _Hapsburg_, and opposed to the plan of the emperor to make his brother, _Ferdinand_ of Austria, his successor. The _Turks_ under _Soliman_ were threatening. _France_ and _Denmark_ were ready to help the Protestants. Accordingly the Peace of _Nuremberg_ was concluded in 1532, in which religious affairs were to be left as they were, and both parties were to combine against the common enemy of Christendom.