A History of Germany Part 24

The Elector, Frederick the Wise, of Saxony, had founded a new University at Wittenberg, and sought to obtain competent professors for it. The Vicar-General of the Augustine Order, to whom Luther's zeal and ability were known, recommended him for one of the places, and in 1508 he began to lecture in Wittenberg, first on Greek philosophy, and then upon theology. His success was so marked that in 1510 he was sent by the Order on a special mission to Rome, where the corruptions of the Church and the immorality of the Pope and Cardinals made a profound and lasting impression upon his mind. He returned to Germany, feeling as he never had felt before, the necessity of a reformation of the Church. In 1512 he was made Doctor of Theology, and from that time forward his teachings, which were based upon his own knowledge of the Bible, began to bear abundant fruit.

In the year 1517, the Pope, Leo X., famous both for his luxurious habits and his love of art, found that his income was not sufficient for his expenses, and determined to increase it by issuing a series of absolutions for all forms of crime, even perjury, bigamy and murder. The cost of pardon was graduated according to the nature of the sin. Albert, Archbishop of Mayence, bought the right of selling absolutions in Germany, and appointed as his agent a Dominican monk of the name of Tetzel. The latter began travelling through the country like a pedlar, publicly offering for sale the pardon of the Roman Church for all varieties of crime. In some places he did an excellent business, since many evil men also purchased pardons in advance for the crimes they intended to commit: in other districts Tetzel only stirred up the abhorrence of the people, and increased their burning desire to have such enormities suppressed.

Only one man, however, dared to come out openly and condemn the Papal trade in sin and crime. This was Dr. Martin Luther, who, on the 31st of October, 1517, nailed upon the door of the Church at Wittenberg a series of ninety-five theses, or theological declarations, the truth of which he offered to prove, against all adversaries. The substance of them was that the pardon of sins came only from G.o.d, and could only be purchased by true repentance; that to offer absolutions for sale, as Tetzel was doing, was an unchristian act, contrary to the genuine doctrines of the Church; and that it could not, therefore, have been sanctioned by the Pope. Luther's object, at this time, was not to separate from the Church of Rome, but to reform and purify it.

[Sidenote: 1518.]

The ninety-five theses, which were written in Latin, were immediately translated, printed, and circulated throughout Germany. They were followed by replies, in which the action of the Pope was defended; Luther was styled a heretic, and threatened with the fate of Huss. He defended himself in pamphlets, which were eagerly read by the people; and his followers increased so rapidly that Leo X., who had summoned him to Rome for trial, finally agreed that he should present himself before the Papal Legate, Cardinal Cajeta.n.u.s, at Augsburg. The latter simply demanded that Luther should retract what he had preached and written, as being contrary to the Papal bulls; whereupon Luther, for the first time, was compelled to declare that "the command of the Pope can only be respected as the voice of G.o.d, when it is not in conflict with the Holy Scriptures." The Cardinal afterwards said: "I will have nothing more to do with that German beast, with the deep eyes and the whimsical speculations in his head!" and Luther said of him: "He knew no more about the Word than a donkey knows of harp-playing."

The Vicar-General of the Augustines was still Luther's friend, and, fearing that he was not safe in Augsburg, he had him let out of the city at daybreak, through a small door in the wall, and then supplied with a horse. Having reached Wittenberg, where he was surrounded with devoted followers, Frederick the Wise was next ordered to give him up. About the same time Leo X. declared that the practices a.s.sailed by Luther were doctrines of the Church, and must be accepted as such. Frederick began to waver; but the young Philip Melanchthon, Justus Jonas, and other distinguished men connected with the University exerted their influence, and the Elector finally refused the demand. The Emperor Maximilian, now near his end, sent a letter to the Pope, begging him to arrange the difficulty, and Leo X. commissioned his Nuncio, a Saxon n.o.bleman named Karl von Milt.i.tz, to meet Luther. The meeting took place at Altenburg in 1519: the Nuncio, who afterwards reported that he "would not undertake to remove Luther from Germany with the help of 10,000 soldiers, for he had found ten men for him where one was for the Pope"--was a mild and conciliatory man. He prayed Luther to pause, for he was destroying the peace of the Church, and succeeded, by his persuasions, in inducing him to promise to keep silence, provided his antagonists remained silent also.

[Sidenote: 1520. BURNING THE POPE'S BULL.]

This was merely a truce, and it was soon broken. Dr. Eck, one of the partisans of the Church, challenged Luther's friend and follower, Carlstadt, to a public discussion in Leipzig, and it was not long before Luther himself was compelled to take part in it. He declared his views with more clearness than ever, disregarding the outcry raised against him that he was in fellows.h.i.+p with the Bohemian heretics. The struggle, by this time, had affected all Germany, the middle cla.s.s and smaller n.o.bles being mostly on Luther's side, while the priests and reigning princes, with a few exceptions, were against him. In order to defend himself from misrepresentation and justify his course, he published two pamphlets, one called "An Appeal to the Emperor and Christian n.o.bles of Germany," and the other, "Concerning the Babylonian Captivity of the Church." These were read by tens of thousands, all over the country.

Pope Leo X. immediately issued a bull, ordering all Luther's writings to be burned, excommunicating those who should believe in them, and summoning Luther to Rome. This only increased the popular excitement in Luther's favor, and on the 10th of December, 1520, he took the step which made impossible any reconciliation between himself and the Papal power. Accompanied by the Professors and students of the University, he had a fire kindled outside of one of the gates of Wittenberg, placed therein the books of canonical law and various writings in defence of the Pope, and then cast the Papal bull into the flames, with the words: "As thou hast tormented the Lord and His Saints, so may eternal flame torment and consume thee!" This was the boldest declaration of war ever hurled at such an overwhelming authority; but the courage of this one man soon communicated itself to the people. The knight, Ulric von Hutten, a distinguished scholar, who had been crowned as poet by the Emperor Maximilian, openly declared for Luther: the rebellious baron, Franz von Sickingen, offered him his castle as a safe place of refuge.

Frederick the Wise was now his steadfast friend, and, although the dangers which beset him increased every day, his own faith in the righteousness of his cause only became firmer and purer.

[Sidenote: 1519.]

By this time the question of electing a successor to Maximilian had been settled. When the Diet came together at Frankfort, in June, 1519, two prominent candidates presented themselves,--king Francis I. of France, and king Charles of Spain, Naples, Sicily and the Spanish possessions in the newly-discovered America. The former of these had no other right to the crown than could be purchased by the wagon-loads of money which he sent to Germany; the latter was the grandson of Maximilian, and also represented, in his own person, Austria, Burgundy and the Netherlands.

Again the old jealousy of so much power arose among the Electors, and they gave their votes to Frederick the Wise, of Saxony. He, however, shrank from the burden of the imperial rule, at such a time, and declined to accept. Then Charles of Spain, who had ruined the prospects of Francis I. by distributing 850,000 gold florins among the members of the Diet, was elected without any further difficulty. The following year he was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle, and became Karl V. in the list of German Emperors. Although he reigned thirty-six years, he always remained a foreigner: he never even learned to speak the German language fluently: his tastes and habits were Spanish, and his election, at such a crisis in the history of Germany, was a crime from the effects of which the country did not recover for three hundred years afterwards.

Luther wrote to the new Emperor, immediately after the election, begging that he might not be condemned unheard, and was so earnestly supported by Frederick the Wise, who had voted for Charles at the Diet, that the latter sent Luther a formal invitation to appear before him at Worms, where a new Diet had been called, specially to arrange the Imperial Court in the ten districts of the Empire, and to raise a military force to drive the French out of Lombardy, which Francis I. had seized. Luther considered this opportunity "a call from G.o.d:" he set out from Wittenberg, and wherever he pa.s.sed the people flocked together in great numbers to see him and hear him speak. On approaching Worms, one of his friends tried to persuade him to turn back, but he answered: "Though there were as many devils in the city as tiles on the roofs, yet would I go!" He entered Worms in an open wagon, in his monk's dress, stared at by an immense concourse of people. The same evening he received visits from a number of princes and n.o.blemen.

[Sidenote: 1521. LUTHER AT THE DIET OF WORMS.]

On the 17th of April, 1521, Luther was conducted by the Marshal of the Empire to the City Hall, where the Diet was in session. As he was pa.s.sing through the outer hall, the famous knight and general, George von Frundsberg, clapped him upon the shoulder, with the words: "Monk, monk! thou art in a strait, the like of which myself and many leaders, in the most desperate battles, have never known. But if thy thoughts are just, and thou art sure of thy cause, go on in G.o.d's name, and be of good cheer, He will not forsake thee!" Charles V. is reported to have said, when Luther entered the great hall: "That monk will never make a heretic of me!" After having acknowledged all his writings, Luther was called upon to retract them. He appeared to be somewhat embarra.s.sed and undecided, either confused by the splendor of the Imperial Court, or shaken by the overwhelming responsibility resting upon him. He therefore asked a little time for further consideration, and was allowed twenty-four hours.

When he reappeared before the Diet, the next day, he was calm and firm.

In a plain, yet most earnest address, delivered both in Latin and German so that all might understand, he explained the grounds of his belief, and closed with the solemn words: "Unless, therefore, I should be confuted by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures and by clear and convincing reasons, I cannot and will not retract, because there is neither wisdom nor safety in acting against conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise: G.o.d help me! Amen."

Charles V., without allowing the matter to be discussed by the Diet, immediately declared that Luther should be prosecuted as a heretic, as soon as the remaining twenty-one days of his safe-conduct had expired.

He was urged by many of the partisans of Rome, not to respect the promise, but he answered: "I do not mean to blush, like Sigismund."

Luther's sincerity and courage confirmed the faith of his princely friends. Frederick the Wise and the Landgrave Philip of Hesse walked by his side when he left the Diet, and Duke Eric of Brunswick sent him a jug of beer. His followers among the n.o.bility greatly increased in numbers and enthusiasm.

[Sidenote: 1521.]

It was certain, however, that he would be in serious danger as soon as he had been formally outlawed by the Emperor. A plot, kept secret from all his friends, was formed for his safety, and successfully carried out during his return from Worms to Wittenberg. Luther travelled in an open wagon, with only one companion. On entering the Thuringian Forest, he sent his escort in advance, and was soon afterwards, in a lonely glen, seized by four knights in armor and with closed visors, placed upon a horse and carried away. The news spread like wild-fire over Germany that he had been murdered, and for nearly a year he was lost to the world.

His writings were only read the more: the Papal bull and the Imperial edict which ordered them to be burned were alike disregarded. Charles V.

went back to Spain immediately after the Diet of Worms, after having transferred the German possessions of the house of Hapsburg to his younger brother, Ferdinand, and the business of suppressing Luther's doctrines fell chiefly to the Archbishops of Mayence and Cologne, and the Papal Legate.

Luther, meanwhile, was in security in a castle called the Wartburg, on the summit of a mountain near Eisenach. He was dressed in a knightly fas.h.i.+on, wore a helmet, breastplate and sword, allowed his beard to grow, and went by the name of "Squire George." But in the privacy of his own chamber--all the furniture of which is preserved to this day, as when he lived in it--he worked zealously upon a translation of the New Testament into German. In the spring of 1522 he was disturbed in his labors by the report of new doctrines which were being preached in Wittenberg. His friend Carlstadt had joined a fanatical sect, called the Anabaptists, which advocated the abolition of the ma.s.s, the destruction of pictures and statues, and proclaimed the coming of G.o.d's Kingdom upon the Earth.

The experience of the Bohemians showed Luther the necessity of union in his great work of reforming the Christian Church. Moreover, his enemies triumphantly pointed to the excesses of the Anabaptists as the natural result of his doctrines. There was no time to be lost: in spite of the remonstrance of the Elector Frederick, he left the Wartburg, and rode alone, as a man-at-arms, to Wittenberg, where even Melanchthon did not recognize him on his arrival. He began preaching, with so much power and eloquence, that in a few days the new sect lost all the ground it had gained, and its followers were expelled from the city. The necessity of arranging another and simpler form of divine service was made evident by these occurrences; and after the publication of the New Testament in German, in September, 1522, Luther and Melanchthon united in the former task.

[Sidenote: 1523. THE PEASANTS' WAR.]

The Reformation made such progress that by 1523, not only Saxony, Hesse and Brunswick had practically embraced it, but also the cities of Frankfort, Strasburg, Nuremberg and Magdeburg, the Augustine order of monks, a part of the Franciscans, and quite a large number of priests.

Now, however, a new and most serious trouble arose, partly from the preaching of the Anabaptists, headed by their so-called Prophet, Thomas Munzer, and partly provoked by the oppressions which the common people had so long endured. In the summer of 1524 the peasants of Wurtemberg and Baden united, armed themselves, and issued a manifesto containing twelve articles. They demanded the right to choose their own priests; the restriction of t.i.thes to their harvests; the abolition of feudal serfdom; the use of the forests; the regulation of the privilege of the n.o.bles to hunt and fish; and protection, in certain other points, against the arbitrary power of the landed n.o.bility. They seemed to take it for granted that Luther would support them; but he, dreading a civil war and desirous to keep the religious reformation free from any political movement, published a pamphlet condemning their revolt. At the same time he used his influence on their behalf, with the reigning priests and princes.

The excitement, however, was too great to be subdued by admonitions of patience and forbearance. A dreadful war broke out in 1525: the army of 30,000 peasants ravaged a great part of Southern Germany, destroying castles and convents, and venting their rage in the most shocking barbarities, which were afterwards inflicted upon themselves, when they were finally defeated by the Count of Waldburg. The movement extended through Middle Germany even to Westphalia, and threatened to become general: some parts of Thuringia were held for a short time by the peasants, and suffered terrible ravages. Another army of 8,000, headed by Thomas Munzer, was cut to pieces near Muhlhausen, in Saxony, and by the end of the year 1525, the rebellion was completely suppressed. In this short time, some of the most interesting monuments of the Middle Ages, among them the grand castle of the Hohenstaufens, in Suabia, had been levelled to the earth; whole provinces were laid waste; tens of thousands of men, women and children were put to the sword, and a serious check was given to the progress of the Reformation, through all Southern Germany.

[Sidenote: 1525.]

The stand which Luther had taken against the rebellion preserved the friends.h.i.+p of those princes who were well-disposed towards him, but he took no part in the measures of defence against the Imperial and Papal power, which they were soon compelled to adopt. He devoted himself to the completion of his translation of the Bible, in which he was faithfully a.s.sisted by Melanchthon and others. In this great work he accomplished even more than a service to Christianity; he created the modern German language. Before his time, there had been no tongue which was known and accepted throughout the whole Empire. The poets and minstrels of the Middle Ages wrote in Suabian; other popular works were in low-Saxon, Franconian or Alsatian. The dialect of Holland and Flanders had so changed that it was hardly understood in Germany; that of Brandenburg and the Baltic provinces had no literature as yet, and the learned or scientific works of the time were written in Latin.

No one before Luther saw that the simplest and most expressive qualities of the German language must be sought for in the mouths of the people.

With all his scholars.h.i.+p, he never used the theological style of writing, but endeavored to express himself so that he could be clearly understood by all men. In translating the Old Testament, he took extraordinary pains to find words and phrases as simple and strong as those of the Hebrew writers. He frequented the market-place, the merry-making, the house of birth, marriage or death, to learn how the common people expressed themselves in all the circ.u.mstances of life. He enlisted his friends in the same service, begging them to note down for him any peculiar, characteristic phrase; "for," said he, "I cannot use the words heard in castles and courts." Not a sentence of the Bible was translated until he had found the best and clearest German expression for it. He wrote, in 1530: "I have exerted myself, in translating, to give pure and clear German. And it has verily happened, that we have sought and questioned a fortnight, three, four weeks, for a single word, and yet it was not always found. In Job, we so labored, Philip Melanchthon, Aurogallus and I, that in four days we sometimes barely finished three lines."

[Sidenote: 1525. LUTHER'S MARRIAGE.]

Pope Leo X. died in 1521, and was succeeded by Adrian VI., the last German who wore the Papal crown. He admitted many of the corruptions of the Roman Church, and seemed inclined to reform them; but he only lived two years, and his successor was Clement VII., a nephew of Leo. The latter induced Ferdinand of Austria, the Dukes of Bavaria and several Bishops to unite in a league for suppressing the spread of Luther's doctrines. Thereupon the Elector John of Saxony (Frederick the Wise having died in 1525), Philip of Hesse, Albert of Brandenburg, the Dukes of Brunswick and Mecklenburg, the Counts of Mansfeld and Anhalt and the city of Magdeburg formed a counter-alliance at Torgau, in 1526. At the Diet held in Speyer the same year, the party of the Reformation was so strong that no decree against it could be pa.s.sed; the question was left free.

The organization of the Christian Church which was by this time adopted in Saxony, soon spread over all Northern Germany. Its princ.i.p.al features were: the abolition of the monastic orders and of priestly celibacy; divine service in the language of the country; the distribution of the Bible, in German, to all persons; the communion in both forms, for laymen; and the instruction of the people and their children in the truths of Christianity. The former possessions of the Church were given up to the State, and Luther, against Melanchthon's advice, even insisted on uniting the episcopal authority with the political, in the person of the reigning prince. He set the example of giving up priestly celibacy, by marrying, in 1525, Catharine von Bora, a nun of a n.o.ble family. This step created a great sensation; even many of Luther's friends condemned his course, but he declared that he was right, and he was rewarded by twenty-one years of unalloyed domestic happiness.

The Emperor Charles V., during all these events, was absent from Germany. His first war with France was brought to a conclusion by the battle of Pavia, in February, 1525, when Francis I. was obliged to surrender, and was sent as a prisoner to Madrid. But having purchased his freedom the following year, by giving up his claims to Italy, Burgundy and Flanders, he no sooner returned to France than he recommenced the war,--this time in union with Pope Clement VII., who was jealous of the Emperor's increasing power in Italy. The old knight George von Frundsberg and the Constable de Bourbon--a member of the royal family of France, who had gone over to Charles V.'s side,--then united their forces, which were princ.i.p.ally German, and marched upon Rome. The city was taken by storm, in 1527, terribly ravaged and the Pope made prisoner. Charles V. pretended not to have known of or authorized this movement; he liberated the Pope, who promised, in return, to call a Council for the Reformation of the Church. The war continued, however,--Venice, Genoa and England being also involved--until 1529, when it was terminated by the Peace of Cambray.

[Sidenote: 1529.]

Charles V. and the Pope then came to an understanding, in virtue of which the former was crowned king of Lombardy and Emperor of Rome in Bologna, in 1530, and bound himself to extirpate the doctrines of Luther in Germany. In Austria, Bavaria and Wurtemberg, in fact, the persecution had already commenced: many persons had been hanged or burned at the stake for professing the new doctrines. Ferdinand of Austria, who had meanwhile succeeded to the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary, was compelled to call a Diet at Speyer, in 1529, to take measures against the Turks, then victorious in Transylvania and a great part of Hungary; a majority of Catholics was present, and they pa.s.sed a decree repeating the outlawry of Luther and his doctrines by the Diet of Worms. Seven reigning princes, headed by Saxony, Brandenburg and Hesse, and fifteen imperial cities, joined in a solemn protest against this measure, a.s.serting that the points in dispute could only be settled by a universal Council, called for the purpose. From that day, the name of "Protestants" was given to both the followers of Luther, and the Swiss Reformers, under the lead of Zwingli.

The history of the Reformation in Switzerland cannot be here given. It will be enough to say that Zwingli, who was born in the Canton of St.

Gall, in 1484, resembled Luther in his purity of character, his earnest devotion to study, and the circ.u.mstance that his ideas of religious reform were derived from an intimate knowledge of the Bible. It was the pa.s.sionate desire of Philip of Hesse that both branches of the Protestants should become united, in order to be so much the stronger to meet the dangers which all felt were coming. Luther, who labored and prayed to prevent the struggle from becoming political, and who had opposed even the league of the Protestant princes at Torgau, in 1526, was with difficulty induced to meet Zwingli. He was still busy with his translation of the Bible, with the preparation of a Catechism for the people, a collection of hymns to be used in wors.h.i.+p, and other works necessary to the complete organization of the Protestant Church.

[Sidenote: 1539. MEETING OF LUTHER AND ZWINGLI.]

The meeting between the two Reformers finally took place in Marburg, in 1529. Melanchthon, Jonas, and many other distinguished men were present: both Luther and Zwingli fully and freely compared their doctrines, but, although they were united on all essential points, they differed in regard to the nature of the Eucharist, and Luther positively refused to give way, or even to make common cause with the Swiss Protestants. This was one of several instances, wherein the great Reformer injured his cause through his lack of wisdom and tolerance: in small things, as in great, he was inflexible.

So matters stood, in the beginning of 1530, when Charles V. returned to Germany, after an absence of nine years. He established his court at Innsbruck, and summoned a Diet to meet at Augsburg, in April, but it was not opened until the 20th of June. Melanchthon, with many other Protestant professors and clergymen, was present: Luther, being under the ban of the Empire, remained in Coburg, where he wrote his grand hymn, "Our Lord, He is a Tower of Strength." The Protestant princes and cities united in signing a Confession of Faith, which had been very carefully drawn up by Melanchthon, and the Emperor was obliged to consent that it should be read before the Diet. He ordered, however, that the reading should take place, not in the great hall where the sessions were held, but in the Bishop's chapel, and at a very early hour in the morning. The object of this arrangement was to prevent any but the members of the Diet from hearing the doc.u.ment.

But the weather was intensely warm, and it was necessary to open the windows; the Saxon Chancellor, Dr. Bayer, read the Confession in such a loud, clear voice, that a thousand or more persons, gathered on the outside of the Chapel, were able to hear every word. The principles a.s.serted were:--That men are justified by faith alone; that an a.s.sembly of true believers const.i.tutes the Church; that it is not necessary that forms and ceremonies should be everywhere the same; that preaching, the sacraments, and infant baptism, are necessary; that Christ is really present in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which should be administered to the congregation in both forms; that monastic vows, fasting, pilgrimages and the invocation of saints are useless, and that priests must be allowed to marry. After the Confession had been read, many persons were heard to exclaim: "It is reasonable that the abuses of the Church should be corrected: the Lutherans are right, for our spiritual lords have carried it with too high a hand." The general impression was favorable to the Protestants, and the princes who had signed the Confession determined that they would maintain it at all hazards. This "Augsburg Confession," as it was thenceforth called, was the foundation of the Lutheran Church throughout Germany.

[Sidenote: 1530.]

The Emperor ordered a refutation of the Protestant doctrines to be prepared by the Catholic theologians who were present, but refused to furnish a copy to the Protestants and prohibited them from making any reply. He declared that the latter must instantly return to the Roman Church, the abuses of which would be corrected by himself and the Pope.

Thus the breach was made permanent between Rome and more than half of Germany. Charles V. procured the election of his brother Ferdinand to the crown of Germany, although Bavaria united with the Protestant princes in voting against him.

The Imperial Courts in the ten districts were now composed entirely of Catholics, and they were ordered to enforce the suppression of Protestant wors.h.i.+p. Thereupon the Protestant princes and delegates from the cities met at the little town of Schmalkalden, in Thuringia, and on the 29th of March, 1531, bound themselves to unite, for the s.p.a.ce of six years, in resisting the Imperial decree. Even Luther, much as he dreaded a religious war, could not oppose this movement. The League of Schmalkalden, as it is called, represented so much military strength, that king Ferdinand became alarmed and advised a more conciliatory course towards the Protestants. Sultan Solyman of Turkey, who had conquered all Hungary, was marching upon Vienna with an immense army, and openly boasted that he would subdue Germany.

It thus became impossible for Charles V. either to suppress the Protestants at this time, or to repel the Turkish invasion without their help. He was compelled to call a new Diet, which met at Nuremberg, and in August, 1532, concluded a Religious Peace, both parties agreeing to refrain from all hostilities until a General Council of the Church should be called. Then the Protestants contributed their share of troops to the Imperial army, which soon amounted to 80,000 men, commanded by the famous general, Sebastian Schertlin, himself a Protestant. The Turks were defeated everywhere; the siege of Vienna was raised, and the whole of Hungary might have been reconquered, but for Ferdinand's unpopularity among the Catholic princes.

[Sidenote: 1539. THE LEAGUE OF SCHMALKALDEN.]

Other cities and smaller princ.i.p.alities joined the League of Schmalkalden, the power of which increased from year to year. The Religious Peace of Nuremberg greatly favored the spread of the Reformation, although it was not very strictly observed by either side.

In 1534 Wurtemberg, which was then held by Ferdinand of Austria, was conquered by Philip of Hesse, who reinstated the exiled Duke, Ulric. The latter became a Protestant, and thus Wurtemberg was added to the League.

Charles V. would certainly have interfered in this case, but he had left Germany for another nine years' absence, and was just then engaged in a war with Tunis. The reigning princes of Brandenburg and Ducal Saxony (Thuringia), who had been enemies of the Reformation, died and were succeeded by Protestant sons: in 1537 the League of Schmalkalden was renewed for ten years more, and the so-called "holy alliances," which were attempted against it by Bavaria and the Archbishops of Mayence and Salzburg, were of no avail. The Protestant faith continued to spread, not only in Germany, but also in Denmark, Sweden, Holland and England.

The first of these countries even became a member of the Schmalkalden League, in 1538.