the noblest of its kind in Germany, and is adorned with works of Albert DUrcr and Gabriel Weyher; the noble Gothic fountain opposite the cathedral by Schiinhofcr, with its numerous groups of figures, beautifully restored in modern times ; and many other fountains deserving notice. Of its numerous churches, the most remarkable is the St. Lawrence, a Gothic structure, built between 1270 and 1478, with its beautiful painted-glass windows, its noble to^vers and doorway, and the celebrated stone pyx, completed in 1500, by Adam Kraft, after five years' assiduous labor. Other notable Protestant churches are those of St. Sibaldus, St. James, and St. zEgidius, all more or less distinguished for their works of art. The church of the Holy Ghost, which was restored in 1850, contained the jewels of the imperial German crown from 1-12-1 until 180G, when they were removed to Vienna. The Roman Catholic church, or Frauenkirche, is re- markable for its richly ornamented Gothic portal.
NUREMBERG, Diets of. The most important of the Church councils convened here during the Ref- ormation, and of special interest, are the diets held in 1522 and 1523. After Soliman the Turk had made a successfid invasion into Hungary, Charles V convened a diet at Nuremberg March 22, 1522, to devise means for the defeat of the Turks, and also to settle internal, i. e, religious difficulties. The diet decided that the monej-s previously sent to Rome by the archbishops, bishops, and priests should be applied to the war ; that the tithes should for four }-ears be used for the same purpose ; and that the convents of the mendicant orders should con- tribute, as also half of the other convents, priests, etc. The assembly was dismissed May 7, but with orders to convene again at Nuremberg " on St. ^Egidius's day" for further action. In the mean time the emperor went to Spain, giving his brother Ferdinand the presidency of the diet. He wrote also to pope Adrian VI to get him to confirm the decisions of the diet, and represented to him that the heresy of Luther had made such progress that he would probably have to use his money to uproot it. This was Adrian's great object, and would have made him approve of any decision of the diet. He sent his chamberlain, Jerome Prorarius, with a brief to the elec- tor Frederick of Saxony, inviting him in the next diet to " protect and maintain the dignity and majcstj' of the apostolic see, and with it the peace of Christendom, as his ancestors had done." Frederick, in his answer (Corj). Befoi-m. i, 585 sq.), declared that the glory of Christ and the peace of the empire were his principal aims, but that it was evident that Luther and his ad- herents should be opposed by reason, and not by force. Adrian now instructed his legate at Nuremberg, Francis Chieregati, to insist on the repression of Luther and his adherents, not only as heretics, but as politically dan- gerous persons, as " attacking all authority under the plea of evangelical liberty." In another brief he ad- dressed the elector as the friend of the most dangerous heresy, and even declared that he alone was ans^verable for the many who were falling away from the union of the Church ; reminding him that his family owed their elevation to pope Gregory V. He also forbade him, under penalty of ecclesiastical and temporal punishment, to continue his protection to Luther. Adrian addressed similar briefs to duke Henry of Mecklenburg, and to the cities of Costnitz, Breslau, Bamberg, etc. Frederick Avas not present at the diet, but was represented by his chan- cellor, Hans von Plaunitz (Planitz), a friend of Luther, who acquired great influence over the diet, which opened Dec. 13, 1522. Chieregati presented to the diet a papal brief full of invectives against Luther. He demanded the forcible repression of heresy, and fiercely denounced the Lutheran preachers of Nuremberg, demanding not only their arrest, but their transfer to Rome, to be judged there. This, however, he found the diet unwilling to grant ; and the assembly having moreover returned a firm and spirited answer to the papal brief, the legate pro- fessed early in 1523 to have received new instructions from Rome. He now appeared again before the diet, this
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time insisting on the enforcement of the decrees of the Diet of Worms for the suppression of Luther's heresy, but declaring, on the other hand, that the bad state of the Church was the result of the laxity of discipline in the clergy, confessing that bad example had been given sometimes by popes themselves, which had been eagerly followed by their subordinates. The pope himself freely acknowledged the need of reformation in the Church, and declared his willingness to effect all he could. The princes complained of the violation of the concordats, but he, Adrian, could not consider himself liable for the faults of his predecessors, and would keep all the en- gagements he contracted himself. These declarations of the papal legate dissatisfied both parties. The Ro- manists were angered at the pope for confessing the evil state of the Church, and denouncing his predecessors as faithless. The evangelical party, on the other hand, scoifed at the reforms which Adrian \vould be likely to introduce. The legate gave his instructions to the state, which appointed a committee to draw up an an- swer to Chieregati. On Jan. 13, 1523, the reply was submitted to the diet, and by it amended. As a whole it was strikingly opposed to the views of the pope, and seemed to favor the Protestant principles. The com- plaints of the Romanists on account of the non-repres- sion of Luther were answered by complaints on the conduct of the Roman court, whose abuses had only been fully shown up by Luther, the immorality of the clergy, high and low, the violation of the concordats, etc.: altogether it made eighty-one different points. It was further demanded that a free council should be held within a year at Strasburg, Cologne, Mayence, Metz, or some other city of Germany, engaging that neither Lu- ther nor his adherents should create any disturbance, either by preaching or writing. To these remonstrances Chieregati answered by pointing out the necessity of holding up the dignity of the papal see for the welfare of Christianity, and insisted on the execution of the terms of the Edict of the Diet of Worms. As the states wished to have him attend to their list of grievances, he suddenly left (Feb. 28), and these had to be sent after him ; and the states now declared that should this not be attended to they would be obliged to take the matter into their own hands. These articles were declared to be the decisions of the diet March 6, 152.3; j^et Philip von Feilitzsch, the envoy of the elector of Saxony, pro- tested against the stipulation that Luther and his ad- herents shoidd publish nothing more until then. This regulation he considered as directed against the Refor- mation, although the diet had, in fact, silently can- celled by its resolutions the effect of the Edict of Worms. Luther himself wrote to elector Frederick, representing to him that he should ask for the same freedom to de- fend himself as the opposite party had to attack him ; that the stipulation not to publish anything until the settlement of the difficulties could not apply to the pub- lishing of the Bible nor the preaching of the Gospel, as the Word of God could not be thus bound. The diet had completely disappointed the hopes of the pope; his appeals to the emperor remained without effect, the lat- ter being angry at the pope's interference in his affairs with France, and Adrian himself died of grief at the failure of his efforts Sept. 14, 1523. (See Planck, Gesch. d. Entstehung unseres protest. Lehrhegr. ii, IGO sq. ; Sa- lig, Vollstdnd. Hist. d. A ugsh. Conf. i, 05 sq.)