Chapter 46
The Opening of the
Council of Trent
For several years before the death of
Luther, appearances were unfavourable to the peace and religious liberty
of the Protestants. This led them, not so much to prayer and confidence
in God as their shield and protector, but to strengthen the league of
Smalcald, and prepare for war. They were now a thoroughly political
body. This was the
outward character of
Protestantism at that early
period. The man who loved peace was in his grave, and his counsels were
forgotten by his followers. He could not conceive a greater calamity
befalling the cause of truth than that the sword should be drawn in its
defence. Better far be martyrs, he thought, than warriors.
The jealous Emperor narrowly watched
the increasing power of the league, and pronounced it "an empire within
an empire." But his fatal expedition to Algiers, his renewed war with
Francis, and the successes of the Turks in Hungary, led him to
temporize, to conceal his feelings and intentions. He held several diets
of the empire for the avowed purpose of settling their religious
differences, and restoring peace and harmony, but with no good results.
The Protestants were deceived and thrown off their guard by fair
pretences and apparent concessions. In the Diet of Spires, in 1542, the
pontiff, Paul III., by his legate, renewed his promise of a council. He
signified that it should be held at Trent, a city in the Tyrol, subject
to the king of the Romans, and situated on the confines between Germany
and Italy. Ferdinand and the whole Catholic party expressed their
immediate satisfaction, and accepted the proposal. Not so the
Protestants. They rejected both the place and the council proposed by
the pontiff, demanding a general, or Ecumenical, Council. They protested
that they would pay no regard to a council held beyond the precincts of
the empire, called by the pope's authority, and over which he assumed
the right of presiding. Regardless, however, of their protestations, and
fortified by the general consent of his own party, he published a bull
for the convocation of the council at Trent before the 1st of November,
and named three cardinals to preside as his legates.
At the appointed time, the pope's
legates, the imperial ambassadors, and a few prelates appeared. But as a
fierce war was then raging between the Emperor and Francis, few
ecclesiastics could travel with safety. It was manifest from these
circumstances, that nothing satisfactory could be undertaken; and to
avoid the ridicule and contempt of his enemies, the pope adjourned for
an indefinite time the reopening of the council. Unhappily for the
dignity and authority of the papal See at this very time, the Emperor
and his brother Ferdinand, king of the Romans, found it necessary, not
only to connive at the conduct of the Protestants, but to court their
favour by repeated acts of indulgence. Ferdinand, who depended on their
assistance for the defence of Hungary against the infidels, not only
permitted their protestation to be inserted in the records of the diet,
but renewed in their favour all the Emperor's concessions at Ratisbon,
adding to them whatever they demanded for their further security. Thus
had the Reformers rest, and the evangelical principles time to deepen
and spread, though not from the good will, but from the disturbed state
of their adversaries' affairs.
As late as 1544, at the diet held in
the same place, the politic Charles, perceiving that the time was not
yet come to offend the jealous spirit of the Protestants, or to provoke
the powers of the Smalcald Confederacy, contrived to soothe the Germans
by new concessions, and a more ample extension of their religious
privileges. Being still engaged in foreign wars, and his hands not free,
he employed all his powers of dissimulation to court and flatter the
Elector and the Landgrave, the heads of the Protestant party, and
through them to deceive the members of the confederacy.
Meanwhile his papal majesty was
becoming day by day more jealous of these negotiations and concessions.
He was longing as ardently as his three predecessors had done, for the
rooting out, by force of arms, of this wide-spreading
giant heresy.
It had been the constant object of the
Vatican, from the beginning of the Reformation, to create a hostile
breach between the Emperor and the Protestants, and a consequent appeal
to arms. But, so far as we can judge, the consummation of these wicked
designs was prevented for nearly thirty years, in the providence of God,
and chiefly in answer to the prayers of one man. But he was now off the
scene, and his brethren were trusting to their military organization and
numerical strength. Besides, the determined position which they had
taken with reference to the proposed council, gave the pope and the
Emperor every opportunity to ensnare them; and so it turned out, as we
shall soon see.
The
avowed
object of this famous council was, of
course the pacification of the church, the healing of her diseases, the
restoring of her unity, and the blessing of her children; but
its real
object was the condemnation of the
doctrines of the Reformers, Luther, Zwingle, and Calvin, and the
immediate persecution of all who should oppose its decrees. This was the
secret arrangement between the pontiff and the Emperor, for they were
well aware that the Protestants would never subject themselves to the
council, or yield obedience to its canons.
The Treaty Between
the Pope and the Emperor
In December, 1545, after so many years
of intrigue, dissimulation, and dispute, the long-promised
council assembled at
Trent, and continued its
sittings till 1563.*
{*For details, see Landon's
Manual
of
Councils,
Father Paul's
History
of
the Council
of
Trent.
Scott's
Church History,
vol. 2, pp. 256-324. Dr.
Robertson's
History of Charles V., vol. 6.}
But the council which was to fix the
destiny of Christendom was only a part of a great plot for the
suppression of Lutheranism. The Emperor had ended his war with Francis
by the peace of Crespy, he had patched up a treaty with Solyman, and
secretly gained over some of the Catholic princes in Germany. He pushed
on, but with great precaution, his preparations for war. The pope,
however much he had disapproved of the Emperor's late policy, or dreaded
his power, most readily agreed that all other matters should give place
to that one which each accounted the most important. A treaty was
concluded, the main object of which was,
1. "That the pope and the Emperor, for
the glory of God, and the public good, but especially the welfare of
Germany, have entered into league together upon certain articles and
conditions; and, in the first place, that the Emperor shall provide an
army, and all things necessary for war, and be in readiness by the month
of June next ensuing, and by force of arms compel those who refuse the
council, and maintain those errors to embrace the ancient religion, and
submit to the holy See."
2. "The pope, on his part, in addition
to one hundred thousand ducats which he had already given, stipulated to
deposit as much more in the Bank of Vienna toward defraying the expense
of the war; to maintain, at his own charge, during the space of six
months, twelve thousand foot, five hundred horse, and to grant the
Emperor for this year one-half of the church revenues all over Spain; to
empower him to alienate as much of the Abbey-lands in that country as
would amount to five hundred thousand ducats; and that both spiritual
censures and military force should be employed against any prince who
might seek to hinder the execution of this treaty."
3. "That the council, on its part, was
to proceed at once to draw up a confession of faith, wherein should be
contained all the articles which the church required its members to
believe; that this ought to be the first and principal business of the
council: and that anathemas were to be denounced in the name, and by the
authority of the Holy Ghost, against all who should disclaim the truth
of the Confession."*
{*See F. Paul, Teckendorf, Sleidan,
Abbe Millot, quoted by Dr. Robertson, and Wylie's
History of
Protestantism, vol. 2, p.
113.}
Thus was the snare most artfully laid.
It was the deep device of Satan for the destruction of the Protestants,
but vigorously carried out by him who assumes the title of "most holy
father," and the character of "infallibility." The enemy saw that the
Reformers had shifted from moral to political ground. They were no
longer merely "protesters" for the truth of God against the errors of
popery, but an armed confederacy, prepared to meet the papal and
imperial armies on their own ground. This was their fatal mistake. God
could not appear for them on the world's ground; and their own folly and
weakness were soon manifested. Thus it happened.
The council commenced its
deliberations-though only a few Spanish and Italian bishops had
arrived-with examining the first and chief point in controversy between
the church of Rome and the Reformers, concerning the rule which should
be held as supreme and decisive in matters of faith; and, by its
infallible
authority, determined, "That the
books to which the designation of
Apocryphal
hath been given, are of equal authority
with those which were received by the Jews and Primitive Christians into
the sacred canon; that the traditions handed down from the apostolic
age, and preserved in the church, are entitled to as much regard as the
doctrines and precepts which the inspired authors have committed to
writing; that the Latin translation of the scriptures, made or revised
by Jerome, and known by the name of the
Vulgate
translation, should be read in
churches, and appealed to in the schools as authentic and canonical."
This was an open attack on the first
principles of Protestantism, a pre-judging of every question at issue,
and rendering hopeless all discussion between the two parties. Luther
and his followers, from the beginning, had affirmed that the word of God
was the only rule in judgment; that they owned no authority in matters
of faith but the one infallible standard of holy scripture. This was the
foundation and corner-stone of Protestantism, but the first decision of
the council was intended to undermine the foundation, to adjudge and
condemn the whole system.
The Smalcald War
The Protestants, perceiving that the
real object of the council was not to examine their demands, but to
condemn their faith as heresy, and to draw them into collision with the
Emperor, that he might decide the question with the sword, firmly
rejected its decrees. At the same time they published a
long manifesto,
containing a renewal of their
protest against the meeting of the council, together with the reasons
which induced them to decline its jurisdiction. But Charles was not yet
prepared for hostilities, therefore he pursued his policy of
dissimulation. He had no wish to increase the zeal of the council, or to
quicken the operations of the league. His first object was to deceive
the Protestants, that he might gain time for ripening his schemes. For
this purpose he contrived to have an interview with the Landgrave of
Hesse, the most active of all the confederates, and the most suspicious
of the Emperor's designs. To him he made great professions of his
concern for the happiness of Germany, and of his aversion to all violent
measures; he denied in express terms, having formed any treaty, or
having begun any military preparations which pointed to war.
Such was the consummate duplicity of
Charles, that he seems to have dispelled all Philip's doubts and
apprehensions, and sent him away fully satisfied of his pacific
intentions. On his return to the confederates, who were assembled at
Worms, he gave them such a flattering representation of the Emperor's
favourable disposition towards them, that they became dilatory and
undecided in their operations, thinking that the danger was distant or
only imaginary. Listening thus to the wiles of Satan the
Protestant leaders
were smitten with blindness and
folly, even as the men of Zurich were in 1531. They were off the ground
of faith and trusting to their own wisdom and strength, which led to
their disgrace and humiliation. From this time every step they take is
in the wrong and downward direction.
The conduct of the Emperor was
everywhere directly opposite to his professions of peace, and seen by
all excepting those who ought to have suspected him. Henry VIII. of
England secretly informed the princes that Charles, having long resolved
to exterminate their doctrines was diligently employing the present
interval of tranquillity in preparing for the execution of his designs.
The merchants of Augsburg, among whom were some who favoured the
Protestant cause, learning from their correspondents in Italy, that the
ruin of the Reformers was intended, warned them of the approaching
danger. In confirmation of these reports, they heard from the Low
Countries that Charles, though with every precaution which could keep
the measure concealed, had issued orders for raising troops both there
and in other parts of his dominions. And seeing he was not at war either
with Francis or Solyman, or any other power, for what could he intend
such preparations, if not for the extinction of the Smalcald league, and
the heresies which had so long abounded in Germany?
The Pope Reveals the
Dark Secret
The secret was now in many hands; the
officers and the allies of Charles kept no such mysterious reserve, but
spoke out plainly of his intentions. The pope, overflowing with joy not
doubting the issue of the enterprise, began to sing the war-song, as in
the days of Innocent III., exhorting the faithful to take up arms in the
holy cause and gain indulgences. "Proud," says Dr. Robertson, "of having
been the author of such a formidable league against the Lutheran heresy,
and happy in thinking that the glory of extirpating it was reserved for
his pontificate, he published the articles of his treaty with the
Emperor, in order to demonstrate the pious intention of their
confederacy, as well as to display his own zeal, which prompted him to
make such extraordinary efforts for maintaining the faith in its purity.
Not satisfied with this, he soon after issued a bull, containing most
liberal promises of indulgence to all who should engage in this holy
enterprise, together with warm exhortations to such as could not bear a
part in it themselves, to increase the fervour of their prayers, and the
severity of their mortifications, that they might draw down the blessing
of heaven upon those who had undertaken it."*
{*For details of this interesting
period see the History of
Charles
V., in vol. 4 of Dr. Robertson's
Collected Writings.}
The pope being deeply grieved with
Charles for endeavouring to make that pass for a political contest which
he ought to have gloried in as a war that had no other object than the
defence of the ancient faith, exposed the treachery of his policy and
declared the overthrow of Lutheranism as at hand. The Emperor, though
somewhat embarrassed by this disclosure, and not a little offended at
the pope's indiscretion or malice, continued boldly to pursue his own
plan, and to reassert that his intentions were only that which he had
originally stated. Thus were the two heads of Christendom- the fountain
of truth and the fountain of honour, so-called- proclaiming to the world
that neither truth nor honour were to be found in either. And thus they
stand before all posterity, down to the latest generation, a mere
compound of craft, falsehood, hypocrisy, and cruelty.
But the artifices of Charles did not
impose on all the Protestant confederates. Some of them clearly
perceived that he had taken arms for the suppression of the Reformation,
and the extinction of the German liberties. They determined, therefore,
to prepare for their own defence, and resolved neither to renounce their
religious liberties, nor to abandon those civil rights which had been
transmitted to them by their ancestors. A deputation from the
confederates waited on the Emperor, and wished to know whether these
military preparations were carried on by his command, and for what end,
and against what enemy? To a question put in such a form and at a time
when facts were too notorious to be denied, he avowed the intentions
which he could no longer conceal, but with such fascinating duplicity as
to deceive the deputies. True, he admitted, that it was Germany he had
in view in his preparations, but his only object was to maintain the
rights and prerogatives of the imperial dignity. His purpose was, not to
molest any on account of religion, but to punish certain factious
members, and preserve the ancient constitution of the empire from being
impaired or dissolved by their licentious conduct. Though the Emperor
did not name the persons whom he had destined as the objects of his
vengeance, it was well-known that he had in view John Frederick, Elector
of Saxony, and Philip, Landgrave of Hesse.
Transparent as this deception was, and
manifest as it might have appeared to all who considered the Emperor's
character, it nevertheless lulled to sleep the timid and the wavering.
They were furnished with an excuse for inactivity, "seeing," as they
said, "the war does not concern religion, but is a quarrel merely
between the Emperor and some members of the league." And such was the
dexterity with which he used this division of feeling among the
confederates, that he gained time and other solid advantages.
The Army of the
Confederates
The more energetic of the confederates,
soon after this, met at
Ulm
to give the necessary directions for their future proceedings. It was
resolved that they should repel force by force and make vigorous
preparations for war. They also determined, that having neglected too
long to strengthen themselves by foreign alliances, they would now apply
to the Venetians, the Swiss, and the kings of France and England So far
alas! had the leaders of the Reformation, within the short period of
thirty years from its commencement, departed from the principles which
triumphed at Worms and Augsburg, to say nothing of the plain teaching of
the word of God, as to apply for help to such men as Henry and Francis;
but we shall see with what results.
Their negotiations with foreign courts
were all unsuccessful; but the chiefs had no difficulty in bringing a
sufficient force into the field. The feudal institutions, which
subsisted in full force at that time in Germany, enabled the nobles to
call out their numerous vassals, and to put them in motion on the
shortest notice. "In a few weeks," says the historian of Charles, "they
were enabled to
assemble an army
composed of
seventy thousand
foot and
fifteen thousand
horse, provided with a train of
a hundred
and twenty cannon, eight hundred ammunition wagons, eight thousand
beasts of burden, and six
thousand pioneers.
This army, one of the most
numerous, and undoubtedly the best appointed of any which had been
levied in Europe during that century, did not require the united effort
of the whole Protestant body to raise it. The Elector of Saxony, the
Landgrave of Hesse, the Duke of Wurtemberg, the princes of Anhalt, and
the imperial cities of Augsburg, Ulm, and Strasburg, were the only
powers which contributed towards this great armament. The Electors of
Cologne, of Brandenburg, the Count Palatine, and several others,
overawed by the Emperor's threats, or deceived by his professions,
remained neutral.
"The number of their troops, as well as
the amazing rapidity wherewith they had assembled them, astonished the
Emperor, and filled him with the most disquieting apprehensions. He was
indeed in no condition to resist such a mighty force. Shut up in
Ratisbon with an army scarcely
ten thousand
strong, he must have been overwhelmed
by the approach of such a formidable army, which he could not fight, nor
could he even hope to retreat from it in safety."
Fortunately for Charles the
confederates did not avail themselves of the advantage which lay so
plainly before them. Time was wasted in writing a letter to the Emperor
and a manifesto to all the inhabitants of Germany. But weak and perilous
though the situation of Charles was, he assumed the air of the haughty
inflexible Emperor. His only reply to the letter of the Protestants was
to publish the ban of the empire against the Elector of Saxony and the
Landgrave of Hesse, their leaders, and against all who should dare to
assist them. By this sentence, they were
declared rebels and outlaws, and
deprived of every privilege which they enjoyed as members of the
Germanic body; their goods were confiscated; their subjects absolved
from their oath of allegiance; and it became not only lawful but
meritorious to invade their territories. This tremendous sentence,
according to the German jurisprudence, required the authority of a diet
of the empire, but Charles overlooked that formality and assumed the
power in his own person.
The confederates, now perceiving that
all hopes of accommodation were at an end, solemnly declared
war against Charles,
to whom they no longer gave any
other title than pretended Emperor, and renounced all allegiance to him.
But, now that the moment for war had come, the league was disunited and
unprepared. The supreme command of the army was committed in terms of
the league to the Elector and the Landgrave, with equal power. This
proved disastrous from the very commencement. The natural tempers and
dispositions of the two princes were widely different. The Elector was
slow, deliberate, irresolute; the Landgrave was prompt, enterprising,
and wished to bring the contest to a speedy issue. But if Philip was the
better soldier, John was the greater prince; and could a Landgrave
command an Elector? All the inconveniences arising from a divided
authority were immediately felt. Much time was wasted and dissensions
multiplied. Meanwhile the Emperor had moved his camp to the territories
of the Duke of Bavaria, a neutral prince, leaving a small garrison in
Ratisbon. A few more days were spent in deliberating whether they should
follow Charles or attack Ratisbon. By this time the imperial army
amounted to thirty-six
thousand
men; and, through cowardly defections,
the Protestant army was reduced to
forty-seven
thousand.
The First Operations
of the Protestants
As no foresight had been shown by the
confederates to prevent the Spanish, Italian, and other troops, from
Joining the imperial army, the Emperor was enabled to send such a
reinforcement to the garrison at Ratisbon, that the Protestants,
relinquishing all hope of reducing the town, marched towards Ingoldstadt
on the Danube, near to which Charles was now encamped. "They complained
loudly," says Dr. Robertson, "against the Emperor's notorious violation
of the laws and constitution of the empire, in having called in
foreigners to lay waste Germany, and to oppress its liberties. It came
to be universally believed among them, that the pope, not satisfied with
attacking them openly by force of arms, had dispersed his emissaries all
over Germany, to set on fire their towns and magazines, and to poison
the wells and fountains of water. These rumours were confirmed, in some
measure, by the behaviour of the papal troops, who thinking nothing too
rigorous towards heretics anathematised by the church, were guilty of
great excesses in the Lutheran states, and aggravated the miseries of
war by mingling with it all the cruelty of bigoted zeal."
With passions so aroused, by the report
of cruelties so great, we might have expected to see a corresponding
energy to bring such calamities to a close. It was now in their power,
and the campaign might have been ended at the outset, had their leaders
been united and firm. On their arrival at Ingoldstadt, they found the
Emperor in a camp not remarkable for strength, with a small army, and
surrounded only by a slight entrenchment. But the great object pursued
by Charles from the first was to decline a battle, to weary out the
patience of the confederates, and induce them to separate, when his
victory over each prince in succession would be sure.
Before
Ingoldstadt
lay a plain of such extent, as afforded
ample space for drawing out their whole forces, and bringing them to act
at once. No army was ever more favourably situated; the soldiers were
full of ardour and eager to seize the opportunity of attacking the
Emperor; but alas! through the weakness or division of their leaders the
advantage was lost, and so far as their credit is concerned it was lost
for ever. "The Landgrave urged that, if the sole command was vested in
him, he would terminate the war on that occasion, and decide by one
general action the fate of the two parties. But the Elector urged, on
the other hand, the discipline of the enemies' forces, the presence of
the Emperor, the experience of his officers, and thought it would be
unsafe to venture upon an action." While the Protestant leaders were
thus debating whether they ought to surprise the Emperor or not, the
imperial reinforcements arrived and the opportunity was gone.
But notwithstanding their vacillation,
it was at length agreed to advance towards the enemy's camp in battle
array, with the view of drawing the imperialists out of the works. But
the Emperor was too wise to be caught in this snare. He was fighting on
his own ground, and with his own weapons and as such, he was more than a
match for all the Protestants in Germany, who were on false ground and
fighting with camel, not-with spiritual, weapons. They commenced and
continued firing for several hours on the imperialists, but Charles
adhered to his own system with inflexible constancy. He drew up his
soldiers behind the trenches; restrained them from any excursions or
skirmishes which might bring on a general engagement; rode along the
lines; addressed the troops of the different nations in their own
language; encouraged them not only by his words, but by the cheerfulness
of his voice and countenance; exposed himself in places of greatest
danger, and amidst the warmest fire of the enemy's artillery. Night
fell, and the confederates, seeing no prospect of alluring them to fight
on equal terms, retired to their own camp.
The leisure was employed with great
diligence by the imperialists in strengthening their works; but the
confederates, seeing they had lost their opportunity, turned their
attention-with as little success-towards preventing the arrival of a
powerful reinforcement from the Low Countries. Upon the arrival of the
Flemings the Emperor began to act more on the offensive, though still
with the greatest sagacity avoiding a battle. He had often foretold,
with confidence, that discord and the want of money would compel the
confederates to disperse that unwieldy body; and for this he watched and
waited with long patience. They had been on the field from midsummer to
the end of autumn, and little had been done, and nothing gained on
either side, when an unexpected event decided the contest, and
occasioned a fatal reverse in the affairs of the Protestants, and
prepared the way for the tragedy that followed.
The Treachery of
Maurice
Maurice
was the son of Henry, and succeeded his
father in the government of that part of Saxony which belonged to the
Albertine line. "This young prince, then only in his twentieth year,
had, even at that early period, begun to discover the great talents
which qualified him for acting such a distinguished part in the affairs
of Germany. As soon as he entered upon the administration, he struck out
into such a new and singular path, as showed that he aimed from the
beginning at something great and uncommon."* He professed to be a
zealous Protestant, but objected to join the league of Smalcald under
the pretence that its principles were not sufficiently scriptural. He
avowed his determination to maintain the purity of religion, but not to
entangle himself in the political interests, or combinations to which it
had given rise. Such was the consummate duplicity and the Satanic policy
of this young man. At this very time, with great political sagacity, he
was weighing both sides, and foreseeing that the Emperor was most likely
to prevail in the end, he affected to place in him the most unbounded
confidence, and to court his favour by every possible means, and also
the favour of his brother, Ferdinand.
{*Dr. Robertson, vol. 6, p. 22.}
At the Diet of Ratisbon, in the month
of May 1546, Maurice concluded a treaty with the Emperor, in which he
engaged to assist him as a faithful subject, and Charles, in return
stipulated to bestow on him all the spoils of the Elector, his dignities
as well as his territories. But so little did the Elector suspect
treachery in his young relative and neighbour, who had received many
kindnesses from him, that, on leaving to join the confederates, he
committed his dominions to the protection of that prince; and he, with
an artful appearance of friendship, undertook the charge. The whole plan
being now completed, the Emperor sent Maurice a copy of the imperial ban
denounced against the Elector and the Landgrave, requiring him, upon the
allegiance and duty which he owed to the head of the empire, instantly
to seize and retain in his hands the forfeited estates of the Elector.
This artifice, which made the invasion
appear to be one of necessity rather than of choice, was but a thin veil
to conceal the treachery of both. After some formalities were observed,
to give a specious appearance to his reluctance, Maurice marched into
his kinsman's territories, and, with the assistance of Ferdinand,
attacked and defeated the Elector's troops, and took all things under
his own administration.
The Dissolution of
the League
When the news of these rapid conquests
reached the good Elector, he was filled with indignation and
astonishment, and resolved at once to return home with his troops, for
the defence of Saxony. He was most unwilling to withdraw, as he
preferred the success of the common cause to the security of his own
dominions; but the sufferings and complaints of his subjects increased
so much, that he became most impatient to rescue them from the
oppression of Maurice and from the cruelties of the Hungarian soldiers,
accustomed to the merciless modes of warfare practised against the
Turks. This was the fatal blow to the league of Smalcald. This
diversion, which had been contrived with so much subtlety, was
successful, even to the desire of the heart of Charles.
The departure of the Elector caused a
separation of the confederates; and, once divided, they became an easy
prey to the Emperor. A confederacy, lately so powerful as to shake the
imperial throne, and threaten to drive Charles out of Germany, fell to
pieces, and was dissolved in a few weeks. How empty everything is if God
is not in it; and how weak everything is if He is not its strength!
Charles saw his opportunity, put his army in motion, and did not allow
the confederates leisure to recover from their consternation, or to form
any new schemes of union. He assumed the tone of a conqueror, as if they
had been already at his mercy. The union being dissolved, the princes
stood exposed singly to the whole weight of his vengeance. With the
exception of the Elector and the Landgrave, almost all the Protestant
princes and states submitted, and implored the pardon of the Catholic
Charles in the most humiliating manner. And as he was in difficulties
from the want of money, he imposed heavy fines upon them, which he
levied with most rapacious exactness.*
{*Dr. Robertson's History, book 8.}
With the exception of the Landgrave and
the Elector, hardly any member of the league now remained in arms. And
these two the Emperor had long marked out as the victims of his signal
vengeance, so that he was at no pains to propose to them any terms of
reconciliation. Various circumstances, for a short time, suspended the
blow; but Charles, being relieved from his apprehensions of a fresh war
with France, by the death of his great rival, Francis I., resolved to
march against the Elector, who had nearly recovered all his dominions
from the traitor Maurice.
In the spring of 1547 there was some
hard fighting between the Emperor and the Elector at Muhlberg, on the
Elbe, and at Mulhausen, but the latter was defeated, wounded, and taken
prisoner, which virtually terminated the war. This decisive victory cost
the imperialists only fifty men; but twelve hundred of the Saxons were
slain, and a great number were taken prisoners. Maurice, as the reward
of his treachery, was immediately put in possession of the electoral
dominions. The city of Gotha, and the small territory attached to it,
were settled on the Elector's family; but he himself was to remain a
perpetual prisoner.
The Landgrave alone now remained in
arms, and was not inclined to surrender. But Maurice, his son-in-law,
prevailed on him to submit, assuring him that he and the Elector of
Brandenburg, had the Emperor's guarantee for his personal liberty. But
in all this Philip was cruelly deceived. And there is every reason to
believe that these two nobles, while acting as mediators, were
themselves deceived by the perfidious Charles. His object was to gain
possession of the person of Philip, that he might have him absolutely at
his disposal. But notwithstanding the assurances and entreaties of
Maurice and Brandenburg, the Landgrave suspected the intentions of the
Emperor, and refused to appear at his court. His reluctance, however,
was at length overcome by these two princes signing a bond, in which
they pledged their own lives and liberties for his. His doubts being
thus removed, he repaired to the imperial camp at Halle, in Saxony.
Charles, who had assumed the haughty
and imperious tone of
a conqueror,
was seated on a magnificent throne,
with all the ensigns of his dignity, and surrounded by a numerous train
of the princes of the empire. The Landgrave was introduced with great
solemnity, and, advancing towards the throne, fell upon his knees. The
eyes of all present were fixed on the unfortunate Landgrave-the most
popular of the Protestant chiefs in Germany. "Few could behold a
prince," says Robertson, "so powerful as well as high-spirited, suing
for mercy in the posture of a supplicant, without being touched with
commiseration, and perceiving serious reflections arise in their minds
upon the instability and emptiness of human grandeur." But there was one
heart that remained unmoved by that affecting scene: the unfeeling
Spaniard, with Germany prostrate at his feet, viewed the whole
transaction with cold indifference.
He insisted on unconditional
submission. "Philip was required to surrender his person and territories
to the Emperor; to implore for pardon on his knees; to pay one hundred
and fifty thousand crowns towards defraying the expenses of the war; to
demolish the fortifications of all the towns in his dominions, except
one; to oblige the garrison which he placed in it, to take an oath of
fidelity to the Emperor," etc., etc. The Landgrave, being entirely at
the Emperor's mercy, ratified these conditions; and flattering himself
that he had thereby fully expiated his guilt, rose from his knees, and
advanced towards the Emperor, with the intention of kissing his hand,
but Charles turned away abruptly, without deigning to give the fallen
prince any sign of
compassion or reconciliation.
Philip was allowed to retire,
apparently at liberty, along with his friends Maurice and Brandenburg,
and was entertained by the Duke of Alva with great respect and courtesy;
but after supper, when he rose to depart, the duke made known the orders
he had to detain him. The unhappy prince was struck dumb; his heart sank
within him; then he broke out into those violent expressions at the
injustice and artifices of the Emperor, which the circumstances
naturally provoked, but all in vain. Brandenburg and Maurice had
recourse to the most bitter complaints, to arguments, and to entreaties,
in order to extricate the distracted prince out of the ignominious
situation into which he had been betrayed. They pleaded their own honour
and bond in the matter; but the Duke of Alva was inflexible. Philip was
his prisoner, and placed under the custody of a Spanish guard, and did
not obtain his release till after a lapse of five years, and total
reverse in the affairs of the Emperor set him at liberty, and introduced
a new epoch in the history of the Reformation.
The Germans Treated
as a Conquered People
The Emperor's triumph was now complete.
He was master of Germany. In taking possession of Wittemberg he visited
the tomb of
Luther. While silently gazing on
the peaceful resting-place of the monk who had stirred up all Europe to
mutiny, and defied both the papal and the imperial power, the Spaniards
entreated him to destroy the monument of the heretic, and to dig up his
bones. But Charles nobly replied, "I have nothing more to do with
Luther; he has gone to another judge, whose province we must not invade.
I wage war with the living, not with the dead." But how different were
his feelings when he turned from the memory of the man of faith to those
that had raised the arm of rebellion against him! The two princes,
Frederick and Philip, followed him in his train, and were thus led about
in triumph from city to city, and from prison to prison, exhibiting them
as a public spectacle to their former subjects, their families and
friends. This was a bitter humiliation to Germany. Loud complaints arose
from every quarter against this wanton abuse of power, and cruel
treatment of its two most illustrious princes.
But the day of adversity brought out
the real
character of these two public
men. Frederick, long a true Christian, accepted the affliction from the
hand of the Lord, and bowed to it. He looked beyond second causes. He
dropped the spirit of the warrior, and embraced that of the martyr. All
historians agree in bestowing upon him the highest praise for his
meekness, patience, and christian conduct. Even the Roman Catholic
historian, Thuanus, says of him, "In the judgment of all men, he rose
superior to his adverse fortune by the constancy of his mind."
But alas! the conduct of the Landgrave
was just the opposite to that of the Elector. We have seen something of
his profession of religion, and of his zeal for the union of Christians,
as at the conference at Marburg; but in "the day of adversity his
strength was small." Such was his impatience under his calamity that, in
order to obtain his liberty, he voluntarily offered to surrender, not
his dignities merely, but his religious principles. He never judged
himself or his ways in the presence of God; therefore he could not see
His overruling hand in his trial. In these two men we may see
illustrated the mighty difference between a mere form of religion (even
when accompanied by an active, stirring mind) and the faith of the Lord
Jesus Christ which takes possession of the heart. The day of trial
discovers the essential difference. The one broods over the shameful
treachery by which he was deprived of his liberty, and the injustice
with which he is still detained, until he is driven to the wildest
excesses of passion. The other is not insensible to the unfeeling
cruelty with which he is treated; but he confesses his own failure, owns
a wise and overruling providence in it all, waits upon God, renews his
strength, and daily waxes stronger and stronger until, through divine
grace, he can rejoice in his captivity, having the sweet sense of the
presence of God with him, and that it will all result in a brighter
crown in heaven.
But we now return to the
public transactions
of the Emperor.
Many of the other princes were next
made to feel the power of the oppressor, though in a different way. He
ordered his troops to seize the artillery and military stores belonging
to those who had been members of the Smalcald league, and, "having
collected upwards of five hundred pieces of cannon, a great number in
that age, he sent part of them into the low countries, part into Italy,
and part into Spain, in order to spread by this means the fame of his
success, and that they might serve as monuments of his having subdued a
nation hitherto deemed invincible. He then levied, by his sole
authority, large sums of money, as well upon those who had served him
with fidelity during the war, as upon those who had been in arms against
him. By these exactions he amassed above one million six hundred
thousand crowns-a sum which appeared prodigious in the sixteenth
century."*
{*Robertson, book 9, p. 178.}
The Germans, naturally jealous of their
privileges, were greatly alarmed at such extraordinary stretches of
power, but so great was their consternation, that all implicitly obeyed
the commands of the haughty Spaniard; though at the same time, the
discontent and resentment of the people had become universal, and they
were ready to burst forth on the first opportunity with unmitigated
violence. While Charles was thus giving laws to the Germans like a
conquered people, Ferdinand was exercising the same despotism over the
Bohemians, and stripped them of almost all their privileges.
