Charles V
The establishment of independent Lutheran churches in Germany was only made possible by the political structure of the empire. Had Germany not been fragmented and had the emperor enjoyed the same control over his empire as did the kings of France and England, it would have been impossible for the princes to establish territorial churches.
Yet Charles V, in theory, appeared to be in a position where, despite the nature of the empire, he could enforce Catholic uniformity on the princes. He exercised greater power than any of his medieval predecessors had done. Through a series of astute marriage alliances the Habsburg family had emerged, by the 16th century, as the foremost dynasty in Europe. As a result, Charles ruled not only the Habsburg territories in Austria, but also the kingdom of Spain and the Spanish possessions in the New World. He was ruler of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and, as duke of Burgundy, he was the ruler of the Netherlands.
With Spanish, Burgundian and German blood in his veins, it is not surprising that Charles’s interpretation of his role as Holy Roman emperor was more universal than had been that of even his pre-13th century predecessors. He had great self-possession and was convinced that he was God’s instrument to restore imperial greatness and Catholic purity and unity. His Catholicism was the guiding force in his life, but, acutely aware as he was of his duty to God, he was often incapable of distinguishing between the interests of God and those of the Habsburgs.
With vast resources at his disposal, Charles seemed to be in a strong position both to restore the Holy Roman empire to its former greatness and to crush Lutheranism. Yet the very extent of his power ensured his failure. Outside Germany, the papacy and the Catholic king of France should have been obvious allies in an attempt to re-impose orthodoxy on Germany. Both, however, and for similar reasons, were reluctant to intervene. The popes Clement VII and Paul III were alarmed at the extent of Charles’s power and at his territorial strength in Italy, which they felt endangered the independence of the papal states. They also feared that Charles would re-establish the territorial dominance of the empire over the papacy and they were seriously alarmed at Charles’s view of himself as the leader of Catholic Christendom. They believed that if the emperor succeeded in imposing religious uniformity on Germany, it could mean that he would also re-impose imperial theocracy on the empire. They therefore refused to co-operate with Charles and actively undermined his position.
Francis I of France saw Lutheranism as a useful weapon to use against Charles. With his vast territories, Charles had inherited the Franco-Spanish struggle for dominance in northern Italy and the Franco-Burgundian rivalry in north-western Europe. His lands formed a semi-circle around France, and the major aim of French foreign policy was to destroy Habsburg hegemony in Europe. By encouraging religious disunity in Germany, Francis hoped to concentrate Charles’s attention on the empire and thus reduce Habsburg power elsewhere in Europe.
Because of the intrigues and open hostility of his enemies, Charles was out of Germany during the crucial period of 1521–1529 when Lutheranism was being consolidated and territorial churches established. During this period his attention was concentrated on Spain and on the struggle with France for dominance in Italy. As a result, when he had triumphed over his enemies and achieved peace by the Ladies’ Peace of Cambrai in 1529, he returned to Germany to find the situation much more complex than it had been in 1521.
In 1526 a number of Lutheran princes had formed the defensive League of Torgau to protect themselves from Catholic attack. It was now no longer a question of dealing with an isolated man as had been the case in 1520, but with the governments of Lutheran principalities and cities.
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