Charles V

Charles V

Who: Habsburg Emperor, Holy Roman Empire

What: Presided over the Diet of Worms, where Martin Luther openly declared his Protestant views. In 1529, declared the Roman Catholic faith the empire's only legitimate religion. Fought against France for territory in Italy and won. At one point he captured the French King Francis I. His army sacked Rome in retaliation for the Pope siding with the French. He also fought with Ottoman Empire (Turks) and the Protestants. Signed the Cateau-Cambresis peace treaty with Francis I. Had the largest army and also a huge debt to pay for the army. Agreed to the Peace of Augsburg: princes enjoyed the sole right to determine the religion of their lands and subjects (excluded Calvinism and Anabaptists). Abdicated his throne, giving his son Philip II Spain and the Netherlandish-Burgundian lands, and his brother Ferdinand (next Holy Roman Emperor) his Austrian lands.

Where: Habsburg Lands

When: 16th Century, reigned 1520-1558

Significance: The sack of Rome shocked the Catholic church hierarchy and helped turn it toward renewal. The fighting with the French and the Ottoman Empire resulted in the Franco-Turkish alliance which showed that the age old idea of Christian crusade had to make way for a new political strategy that considered religion as but one factor in power politics