THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
his own importance by having Wolsey, his chief counselor, elected pope. War broke out almost immediately. The duke of Bourbon 2. Political espoused the imperial cause. The pope, Events Fa- expecting the French to win and fearvor the ing the increase of imperial power in Protestant Italy, transferred his allegiance to Cause. Francis, and thus angered the emperor, who proved victorious and took Francis prisoner in the battle of Pavia (1524). The marriage of Charles to the infanta of Portugal rather than to Mary, daughter of Henry VIII., caused the latter to withdraw from the imperial aUiance and make peace with France. Availing themselves of the emperor's absorption in extra- German enterprises, many German princes ignored the Edict of Worms and openly promoted the Lutheran cause. In July, 1525, Duke George of Saxony, the elector of Brandenburg, the archbishop-elector of Mainz, and the duke of Brunswick met at Dessau and formed a Catholic league to cooperate with the emperor in exterminating " the accursed Lutheran sect." In Feb., 1526, the elector of Saxony and the landgrave of Hesse (joined later by seven other princes) formed the Gotha-Torgau alliance for the defense of Lutheranism. The manifest strength of the evangelical cause and his breach with the pope caused Charles to assume a conciliatory attitude, and the Diet of Speyer (June, 1526; see Speyee, Diets or) left the German princes free to deal with religious questions each according to his sense of duty. Turkish invasion in the east and the need of a German army for the chastisement of the pope promoted this policy of toleration. In May, 1526, a secret league was formed by the pope, France, England, Venice, Milan, and Florence, against the emperor, who (Sept. 17) declared the pope no pastor, but a usurper, and appealed from him to a general coimcil. In 1527 Charles sent a German Lutheran army led by Georg von Frundsberg and a Spanish army led by the duke of Bourbon against the pope and his allies. The imperial troops forced their way into Rome at the cost of the lives of about five thousand of its defenders and for eight days reveled in pillage, drunkenness, and outrage. The pope took refuge in the castle of St. Angelo. Cardinals were dragged through the city and forced to pay ransom. St. Peter's was used for a stable. Just before the sack of Rome England and France had agreed to imite in demanding of the emperor the release of the French princes held by him as hostages and the payment to England of certain indemnities, and to make war on him immediately in case of his refusal. The sack of Rome and maltreatment of the pope augmented the hostility of England and France. Henry VIII. hoped, by succoring the pope and antagonizing the emperor, to secure the good offices of the former in the matter of the divorce from Catherine of Aragon, a relative of the latter. Charles felt it advisable to come to terms with the pope. He restoretl most of the territory taken from him and received a promise to convene a general council for the pacification of Christendom and the reformation of the Church. In 1528 the duke of Bavaria sought the coopera-
tion of England, France, and Lorraine in an effort to depose Chart es; and Philip of Hesse sought the assistance of France, Silesia, Poland, and others against the house of Hapsburg. 3. Attempts Charles's decisive victory over the at Religious French led to the Peace of Cambrai Unity. (July, 1529), and was followed by Diet of an agreement between him and the Augsburg. French king to cooperate in efforts for religious unification. The Second Diet of Speyer (1529; see Speyer, Diets of) nullified the tolerant policy of the first. The manifest determination of Charles to crush Lutheranism led the Lutheran princes to unite in a protest — whence the designation "Protestants." The failure of Lutherans and Zwinglians to unite for the defense of the Evangelical cause (see Marburg, Conference op) and the retreat of the army of Suleiman from the gates of Vienna caused the emperor, now at peace with France and the papacy, to feel that at last he was master of the situation. He was, in fact, now at the height of his power, and all that was lacking to complete success was the restoration of religious xmity. He planned to visit Germany, call a diet for religious pacification, summon the different Evangelical parties to present their views, and have them confuted by Roman Catholic theologians invited for the purpose. He announced his intention to leave all past errors to the judgment of Christ, and to give due consideration to every man's opinions; yet he did not conceal his determination to bring all the people of his empire into one commonwealth and one Church. Arriving in Augsburg for the diet of 1530, he sought to intimidate the German princes, insisting that they should keep their preachers silent during the sessions of the diet and requesting them to join him in the Corpus Christi procession. They stanchly refused compliance. The irenic confession of faith prepared by Melanchthon (see Augsburg Confession and its Apology) was attacked by the Roman Catholic theologians. Charles objected to the harsh polemics in which they indulged and insisted on a more conciliatory statement than they at first prepared.
The confession of Zwingli and that of the four cities (see Tetrapolitan Confession) were treated with even less consideration. Lorenzo Campeggi, representing the pope, urged drastic measures for the extirpation of heresy; but Charles was too much of a statesman not to see that in case of a confhct the Evangelical princes and cities would be supported by France, Bavaria, and other anti- Hapsburg powers, and again assumed a conciliatory attitude. The Schmalkald League (1531; see Schmalkald Articles) soon had as its members all the Lutheran princes and cities and gained the support of France, England, Denmark, Hungary, and the duchy of G elders; and Charles was again embarrassed by Turkish aggression. By the Religious Peace of Nuremberg (q.v.; 1532) he renewed the toleration of 1526.
Charles spent the following nine years in Spain, and from this time onward was unwearied in his efforts to secure the convocation of a general coimcil which should thoroughly reform the eccle-