Charlemagne was throughout his reign the champi- on of Christbnity. He never rested until the Saxons were not only subjected, but baptized, if not Christian-
ized; his war against the Lombards, wlioae kingdom he finally ani^sxed, was originally commenced at tbe is- stance of the pope, whose power was menaced by the n- roads of these barbarians. It cannot be denied, how- ever, tliat Charlemagne propagated Chriadaiiity by tbe use of *' carnal weapons." His *' wholesale and indie- criminate mode of administering baptism on the codcIb- sion of his campaigns drew forth the indignant expos- tulations of Alcuin and men of a kindred spirit'* (Mar Lear, i/imoiu m ^ i/td il^es, p. 449). "He did not confine his bene&ctions to the bishop of Rome, bat dis- tributed them among all the orders of the hierardiy. He augmented their wealth, he enlarged their privileges, he exalted their dignity, he confirmed and extended their immunities. But the motives of his liberality were such as became a magnanimous and a benevolent mon- arch. Superstition has never been accounted among them, nor any unfounded fears or undue reverence of the ecclesiastical order ; from the former he was per- haps more nearly exempt than would have appeared possible in so rude an age ; and in his transactions with the clergy, even with the pope himself, he never for- got, or allowed them to forget, his own supremacy. But he was desirous to civilize his barbarous subjects: he was anxious to influence their rude manners, and correct their vicious morals, by tbe more general di^ Aision and comprehension of the Christian truths; and he was willing also to sow the seeds of secular leani. ing, and dispel the ignorance which oppressed his peo- ple' * (Waddington, Church Hittory, ch . v.). As a states- man he favored the Church because he considered it a school for the improvement of his people, and, while adding to the temporal power of the Church, was careful not to render it independent. He decided against im- age-worship, and in liis JJbri Carolini (A.D. 790, Eliss Philyra, 1549 ; Heumann, Han. 1781), he set forth Qn opposition to the decision of tbe second Synod of Nicsa of A.D. 787), that »'God could be worshipped only in spirit,** and his opinions were indorsed by the Synods of Frankfort (794) and of Paris (826), censnring Adri- an's treatise in favor of image-worship. But, while Charlemagne condemned image-worship as idolatiy, the Caroline books spprove of Uie crucifix, and of rev* erence to the relics of saints, etc. — Hase, Ch, History (N. Y. ed.), p. 178; Chambers, Encydoptedia^ s. v.; Herzog, Seal-Eneyklopadie^ vii, 879 sq. ; Gibbon, De- dine cutd FaU^ ch. xlix ; Neander, dkureh History, iii, 286 sq. ; Siudien v. KritHen, 1866, Heft 2 ; Dippold, Leben Kaiaer Karl des Groaen (Tub. 1810); Gaillard, Hist, de Charlemoffne (Par. 1819, 2d ed. 4 vols.); Abel, JahrhOcher des frank. Heichet unter Karl dem (rnwfes (Berlin, 1866, vol. i). See Carouke Books.
Charles V, emperor of Germany and king of Spain (under the title of Don Carlo* /), eldest son of Philip, archduke of Austria, and Joanna, second daugh- ter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, was bom at Ghent, Feb. 24th, 1600, and died at the monastery of San Tnste, near Placenda, in Estramadura, Spain, Sept 21st, 1568. His father died when he was only six years of age, and his grandfather Maximilian be- came his guardian, and placed him under the care of William de Croy, lord of Chivvies, as governor, and Adrian of Utrecht^ afterwards Pope Adrian V I, as pre- ceptor.
On the death of his grandfather Ferdinand, Charles, conjointly with his mother, was acknowledged as his successor, and visited Spain in 1517, where the con- duct of his Flemish ministers gave rise to serious troubles. In the year 1619 his grandfather Maxi- milian died, and Charles became a competitor for the imperial crown. Through the efforts of Fred- erick the Wise, elector of Saxony and regent of the empire, he was chosen over Francis I of France, his principal rival, June 28th, 1619. This contest ripen- ed the jealousy between these young and ambitknis sovereigns into an enmity which gave rise to fisr wars, and ended only with the death of Francis.
CHARLES V
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CHARLES V
Cfaarles was crowned emperor with great pomp at Alx- b-Chapelle, Oct. 22, 1620. Hte first act was to issue a call for convoking a diet at Worms early the next year, espedaUy to consider the means of suppressing the new religions ideas awakened by the teachings of Udter. This assembly was held April 17-26, 1521, ind thither Luther repdred under a safe-conduct, and plead his cause ; but an edict of outlawry was pro- nounced against him. See Worms. The prudent ac- tion of his patron, Frederick of Saxony, in having him taken to the Wartburg, and the almost sovereign pow- er of the German princes, saved the reformer and his cause ftom the impending danger ; while the wars with Franee, 1621-6 and 1627-8 forced Charles to "leave the conduct of German affiiirs to the established au- thoritieB, who were not opposed to a reform of the Church, and who, instead of executing the edict of Worms, persisted in the demand for a general council ' to be held in a German city.' " At the Diet of Spires, 1526, a decree was signed by Charles's brother, Ferdi- ntnd, as his representative, which left to each state of Germany the right to regulate its religious affairs, whfch decree, according to Ranke, was the basis of the legal existence of Protestantism in Germany. At a second diet at Spires, in March, 1629, the Roman Catholic party, emboldened by the more favorable as- pect of Charles's affairs abroad, sought to prevent the farther progress of the Reformation by a decree '* that the Church should remain in statu quo until the con- vocation of a council." This led to the celebrated Pnted of the Lutheran princes, April 19, 1529, from which the name Protestant arose. This protest was not &vombly received by Charles ; but the fear of the Turks, who had laid siege to Vienna, compelled mod- erstion on his part until their retreat, when the sub- ject agam came np at the Diet of Augsburg (1530). In accordance with the promise of Charles that each party should lay before this diet a statement in Latin and German of their opinions, the Reformers presented the Augtburg Confemom (q. v.), drawn up by Melanc- thon, which was read June 25th, and produced so pow- erfhl an impression that many Roman Catholic princes inclined to a milder judgment of the new foith.