No statement was presented by the other party, but the emperor caosed a refutation of the Lutheran Con- fiassion to be prepared, to which the Protestants replied in the Apologia GmfesskmU^ also ftom the pen of Me- Unethon; but this failed to change the purpose of Charles, who, influenced by Campeggio, the papal leg- ate, issued a decree, Nov. 19, 1580, condemning the Confession, and requiring its adherents to submit im- conditionally, untfl a future general council, and to be reconciled to the Roman Catholic Church within seven months. The design of the emperor to force submis- lion to his will in matters of religion was now evi- dent, and, to protect themselves, the Protestant princes and states formed the " League of Smalcald," Feb. 27, 1581, and made treaties with France, England, and Denmark. Confix>nted by so formidable a coalition, and threatened with a new invasion of Austria by the Tarks under Solyman, Charles was forced to grant the. "Truce of Nuremberg," July 28, 1682, by which lib- erty of conscience was allowed until the assembling of a council.
The constant pressure of foreign enterprises, and the necessity of ooniciliation within the empire, to ward off outward dangers, postponed for some years the armed oonflkt between Charies and his Protestant subjects ; udat the Diet of Spires, 1644, considerable concessions were made to them in order to secure their hearty rapport against the French. But when the war was ended, the Protestants saw ph&inly that Charles pur- posed to compel their submission to the decrees of the Cooncil of Trent, then assembled by Paul III, and they prepared to defend their religious liberties by arms. Owing to the lack of energy and decision on the part of their leaders, and the ^Ull of Maurice of Saxony,
who took the side of Charies, they failed of success, and were totally defeated at MOhlberg.
Shortly before this, the death of Francis and Henry VIII had ftreed Charles from his most powerful exter- nal foes, and he might now hope, aided by the pope and the new order of the Jesuits, to compel religious unity in Germany. Accordingly, he convoked a diet at Augsburg with this view ; but after he had with great difficulty induced the Protestants to accept con- ditionally the Council of Trent, the pope removed the council to Bologna, and would neither change the place nor make any concessions to the Protestants. This so irritated Charles that he caused a declaration to be drawn up by Pflug, Helding, and Agricola, called the Inierim (q. v.), to serve as a rule of faith and prac- tice until a free and general council— a plan which pleased neither party. But Charles was now too pow- erful for open resistance. Maurice of Saxony, how- ever, began to form schemes for humbling him, and so well did he conceal his purposes, that he was even ap- pointed to the command of the army intended to com- pel the refhurtory city of Magdeburg to receive the /«- terim. Having formed alliances with France and oth- er powers, and provided for the support of hu army, Maurice openly declared against Charles in Mareh, 1552, and by his rapid and successful movements ex- torted fh>m the emperor the treaty of Passau, Aug. 2, 1552, by which, together with the release of the cap- tive princes, complete religions liberty was granted to the Protestants — terms subsequently confirmed by the Recess or Religious Peace of Augsburg, Sept. 21, 1556.
The star of Charles had now passed its zenith. The consuming cares of a life devoted to exciting and am- bitious schemes, and the uncontrolled indulgence of an excessive appetite, not to say gluttony, had left their impress in failing powers and tormenting disease , and now that he saw his cherished hope of universal monarchy and an imperial throne for his son fading away, baffled and disappointed by Fortune, which he peevishly described as a woman who smiled on his youth, but forsook him in lus age, he determined to throw off the prerogatives and responsibilities of pow- er, and seek in retirement ease of mind and body. Ac- cordingly, Oct. 25th, 1555, before an assembly of the estates of the Netherlands, convened at Brussels for that purpose, he resigned the crown of those provinces, and, Jan. 16, 1556, at the same place, in the presence of the grandees of Spain, the crown of Spain to his son Philip II ; and on August 27, 1556, also the imperial crown, in fkvor of his brother Ferdinand. He set out, Sept. 17th, 1656, for his chosen retreat, the Hlerony- mite monastery of San Yuste, wiiere, by his orders, separate buildings had been erected for himself and the fow servants who accompanied himr Here he re- mained until his death, occupied in religious exercises, gardening, and mechanical experiments, without, as recent researehes show, losing sight of the political and religious movements of the outer world.
He is described as possessing dignity and elegance of manner, slow in resolving, but prompt to execute, patient of every hardship bu^ hunger, firm and self- possessed in danger, but without the warmth of genius or that noble directness of character which subordi- nates selfish aims to the higher claims of humanity and right. Though amiable in private life, his inhu- man persecution of his Protestant subjects in the Neth- erlands, and his testamentary directions to his son, evince the feelings of a bigot and a tyrant ; while his course towards tiie Reformation in Germany proves how readily his secret preferences were made to yield to the promptings of policy, when the furtherance of his ambitious plans demanded a show of moderation in dealing with the newly-awakened desire of the age for religious reform. — ^Herzog, ReaUEncyhhpAdie^ vii, 879 sq. ; Hoefer, Now, Biog, GhUrak^ ix, 269; Heine, Brieft an Karl F, getchrieben von $. Beichivater (Berlin, 1848, 8vo); Sleidan, JM iUUu rtUgionkf etc Carolo V