History of The Kingdom of East Francia: Emperor Elect and King of the Romans

Tags

Emperor Charles V, Emperor Friedrich III, Emperor Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans, Kingdom of East Francia, Pope Clement VII, Pope Julius II

Although this series was to track the history of the Kingdom of East Francia and we’ve been recently focusing on how the Carolingian Kingdom of East Francia transitioned into a Germanic Kingdom. With that change the title of the King, prior to being crowned Emperor once the Ottonian Dynasty were granted the imperial title, was known as King of Germany or King of the Romans.

Although it is beyond my original intent of this series to continue to discuss the later usage of the title “King of the Romans” I will mention how the usage of that title evolved.

The title Romanorum Rex King of the Romans ceased to be used for ruling kings after 1508, when the Pope Julius II permitted King Maximilian I to use the title of Electus Romanorum Imperator (“elected Emperor of the Romans”) after he failed in a good-faith attempt to journey to Rome. This ended the centuries-old custom that the Holy Roman Emperor had to be crowned by the Pope.

Emperor Maximilian I

Maximilian’s predecessor Friedrich III was the last to be crowned Emperor by the Pope in Rome.

At this time Maximilian also took the new title “King in Germania” (Germaniae rex), but the latter was never used as a primary title.

Maximilian’s titles at this time were: by God’s grace Elected Roman Emperor, always Augustus, in Germany, of Hungary, Dalamatia, Croatia etc King […]”

After the death of Maximilian I his paternal grandson, Charles of Burgundy in 1519, inherited the Habsburg monarchy. Charles also became King Carlos I of Spain in 1516. Charles was also the natural candidate of the electors to succeed his grandfather as Holy Roman Emperor.

Pope Clement VII

He defeated the candidacies of Elector Friedrich III of Saxony, King François I of France, and King Henry VIII of England. According to some, Charles became emperor due to the fact that by paying huge bribes to the electors, he was the highest bidder.

Charles won the crown on June 28, 1519. On October 23, 1520, he was crowned in Germany and some ten years later, on 24 February 24, 1530, he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII in Bologna, the last emperor to receive a papal coronation.

Beginning with his brother and successor, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, the rulers of the Empire no longer sought the Imperial coronation by the Pope and styled themselves “Emperors” without Papal approval, taking the title as soon as they were crowned in Germany or, if crowned in their predecessor’s lifetime, upon the death of a sitting Emperor.

Emperor Charles V

Heirs designate

As I mentioned previously the Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had an automatic legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Emperor. However, the Emperor could, and often did, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death.

With the Emperor no longer needing the title “King of the Romans” now that a Papal Coronation had become obsolete, the Emperor’s newly elected heir apparent henceforth bore the title “King of the Romans”.

During the Middle Ages, a junior King of the Romans was normally chosen only when the senior ruler bore the title of Emperor, so as to avoid having two, theoretically equal kings.

Only on one occasion (1147-1150) was there both a ruling King of the Romans (King Conrad III) and a King of the Romans as heir (Heinrch Berengar).

The election was in the same form as that of the senior ruler. In practice, however, the actual administration of the Empire was always managed by the Emperor (or Emperor elect), with at most certain duties delegated to the heir.

March 7, 1550: Death of Wilhelm IV, Duke of Bavaria

Tags

Bavarian Beer, Duke Ludwig X of Bavaria, Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, Emperor Charles V, Emperor Frederick III, Holy Roman Empire, Maria Jakobaea of Baden, Pope Clement VII, Protestant Reformation

Wilhelm IV (November 13, 1493 – March 7, 1550) was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, and was co-ruler until 1545 together with his younger brother Ludwig X, Duke of Bavaria. He was born in Munich to Albrecht V, Duke of Bavaria and Kunigunde of Austria, the fourth of five children to Emperor Friedrich III and his wife Infanta Eleanor of Portugal daughter of King Duarte of Portugal and Infanta Eleanor of Aragon.

Though his father had determined the everlasting succession of the firstborn prince in 1506, his younger brother Ludwig refused a spiritual career with the argument that he was born before the edict became valid. With support of his mother and the States-General, Ludwig forced Wilhelm to accept him as co-regent in 1516. Ludwig then ruled the districts of Landshut and Straubing, in general in concord with his brother.

Wilhelm IV, Duke of Bavaria

Wilhelm initially sympathized with the Reformation but changed his mind as it grew more popular in Bavaria. In 1522 Wilhelm issued the first Bavarian religion mandate, banning the promulgation of Martin Luther’s works.

After an agreement with Pope Clement VII in 1524 Wilhelm became a political leader of the German Counter reformation, although he remained in opposition to the Habsburgs since his brother Louis X claimed the Bohemian crown. Both dukes also suppressed the peasant uprising in South Germany in an alliance with the archbishop of Salzburg in 1525.

The conflict with Habsburg ended in 1534 when both dukes reached an agreement with Emperor Ferdinand I in Linz. Wil then supported Charles V in his war against the Schmalkaldic League in 1546, but did not succeed in preserving the Palatine Electoral dignity. Wilhelm’s chancellor for 35 years was the forceful Leonhard von Eck.

Cultural activity

On April 23, 1516, before a committee consisting of gentry and knights in Ingolstadt, William issued his famous purity regulation for the brewing of Bavarian Beer, stating that only barley, hops, and water could be used. This regulation remained in force until it was abolished as a binding obligation in 1986 by Paneuropean regulations of the European Union.

In 1523 with the appointment of Ludwig Senfl began the rise of the Bavarian State Orchestra. Of particular importance is the Eckbibel Johann Eck wrote on behalf of Wilhelm, a biblical translation from 1537, which is theologically directly against Luther and therefore belongs to the Catholic correction bibles. It is also significant in terms of linguistics because it is not written in the East German Saxon, but in Bavarian Upper German.

Duke Wilhelm IV died in 1550 in Munich and was succeeded by his son Albert. He is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich.

Family and children

In 1522 Duke Wilhelm IV married Maria Jakobaea of Baden (1507–1580), a daughter of Margrave Philipp I of Baden and his consort Princess Elisabeth of Palatinate, a daughter of the elector Philipp (1448–1508) from his marriage to Margaret of Bavaria (1456–1501), daughter of Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut from his marriage to Amalia of Saxony.

They had four children:

Theodor of Bavaria (1526 – 1534)
Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria (1528–1579)
Wilhelm of Bavaria (1529 – 1530)
Mechthild of Bavaria (1532 – 1565)

January 7, 1536: Death of Infanta Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England

Tags

Anne Boleyn, Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur Tudor, Infanta Catherine of Aragon, King Fernando II of Aragon, King Henry VIII of England and Scotland, Pope Clement VII, Prince of Wales, Queen Catherine of England, Queen Isabella I of Castile, Queen Mary I of England and Ireland, Thomas Cranmer

Infanta Catherine of Aragon (December 16, 1485 – January 7, 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on June 11, 1509 until their annulment on May 23, 1533. She was previously Princess of Wales as the wife of Henry’s elder brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales.

The daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Fernando II of Aragon. Infanta Catherine was three years old when she was betrothed to Prince Arthur, heir apparent to the English throne.

Infanta Catherine of Aragon

They married in 1501, but Arthur died five months later. Catherine spent years in limbo, and during this time, she held the position of ambassador of the Aragonese crown to England in 1507, the first known female ambassador in European history.

She married Arthur’s younger brother, the recently ascended Henry VIII, in 1509. For six months in 1513, she served as regent of England while Henry VIII was in France. During that time the English crushed and defeated a Scottish invasion at the Battle of Flodden, an event in which Catherine played an important part with an emotional speech about English courage and patriotism.

By 1525, Henry VIII was infatuated with Anne Boleyn and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter Mary as heir presumptive at a time when there was no established precedent for a woman on the throne.

He sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events that led to England’s schism with the Catholic Church. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage, Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters.

Portrait of a noblewoman, possibly Mary Tudor c. 1514 or Catherine of Aragon c. 1502, by Michael Sittow. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

On May 23, 1533 Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, sitting in judgement at a special court convened at Dunstable Priory to rule on the validity of Henry’s marriage to Catherine, declared the marriage unlawful, even though Catherine had testified that she and Arthur had never had physical relations. Five days later, on May 28, 1533, Cranmer ruled that Henry VIII and Anne’s marriage was valid.

Until the end of her life, Catherine would refer to herself as Henry’s only lawful wedded wife and England’s only rightful Queen, and her servants continued to address her as such. Henry refused her the right to any title but “Dowager Princess of Wales” in recognition of her position as his brother’s widow.

Catherine went to live at The More Castle, Hertfordshire, late in 1531. After that, she was successively moved to the Royal Palace of Hatfield, Hertfordshire (May to September, 1532), Elsyng Palace, Enfield (September 1532 to February 1533), Ampthill Castle, Bedfordshire (February to July, 1533) and Buckden Towers, Cambridgeshire (July 1533 to May 1534).

She was then finally transferred to Kimbolton Castle, Cambridgeshire where she confined herself to one room, which she left only to attend Mass, dressed only in the hair shirt of the Order of St. Francis, and fasted continuously.

King Henry VIII of England and Ireland

While she was permitted to receive occasional visitors, she was forbidden to see her daughter Mary. They were also forbidden to communicate in writing, but sympathisers discreetly conveyed letters between the two.

Henry offered both mother and daughter better quarters and permission to see each other if they would acknowledge Anne Boleyn as the new Queen; both refused.

In late December 1535, sensing her death was near, Catherine made her will, and wrote to her nephew, the Emperor Charles V, asking him to protect her daughter.

Catherine died at Kimbolton Castle on January 7, 1536. The following day, news of her death reached the king. At the time there were rumours that she was poisoned, possibly by Gregory di Casale.

Queen Catherine of England

According to the chronicler Edward Hall, Anne Boleyn wore yellow for the mourning, which has been interpreted in various ways; Polydore Vergil interpreted this to mean that Anne did not mourn. Chapuys reported that it was King Henry who decked himself in yellow, celebrating the news and making a great show of his and Anne’s daughter, Elizabeth, to his courtiers.

This was seen as distasteful and vulgar by many. Another theory is that the dressing in yellow was out of respect for Catherine as yellow was said to be the Spanish colour of mourning. Certainly, later in the day it is reported that Henry and Anne both individually and privately wept for her death. On the day of Catherine’s funeral, Anne Boleyn miscarried a male child.

Queen Mary I of England and Ireland

Rumours then circulated that Catherine had been poisoned by Anne or Henry, or both. The rumours were born after the apparent discovery during her embalming that there was a black growth on her heart that might have been caused by poisoning. Modern medical experts are in agreement that her heart’s discolouration was not due to poisoning, but to cancer, something which was not understood at the time.

Her daughter Mary would become the first undisputed English queen regnant in 1553.

December 17, 1538: Henry VIII of England is Excommunicated for a second time.

Tags

Alessandro Farnese, Anne Boleyn, Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop of Rome, Church of England, Emperor Charles V, Excommunication, Giulio de' Medici, King François I of France, King Henry VIII of England, Papal Bull, Pope Clement VII, Pope Paul III, Protestant Reformation, Thomas Cranmer

When Pope Paul III excommunicated King Henry VIII of England on December 17 this was the second time the King had been excommunicated. I will begin by giving some background information on Pope Clement VII and the first excommunication of the King.

King Henry VIII of England and Lord of Ireland

Pope Clement VII (May 26, 1478 – September 25, 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from November 19, 1523 to his death on September 25, 1534.

Born Giulio de’ Medici, his life began under tragic circumstances. On April 26, 1478—exactly one month before his birth—his father, Giuliano de Medici (brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent) was murdered in the Florence Cathedral by enemies of his family, in what is now known as “The Pazzi Conspiracy”.

The future Pope was born illegitimately on May 26, 1478, in Florence; the exact identity of his mother remains unknown, although a plurality of scholars contend that it was Fioretta Gorini, the daughter of a university professor. Giulio spent the first seven years of life with his godfather, the architect Antonio da Sangallo the Elder.

Thereafter, Lorenzo the Magnificent raised him as one of his own sons, alongside his children Giovanni (the future Pope Leo X), Piero, and Giuliano. Educated at the Palazzo Medici in Florence by humanists like Angelo Poliziano, and alongside prodigies like Michelangelo, Giulio became an accomplished musician. In personality he was reputed to be shy, and in physical appearance, handsome

Following Adrian VI’s death on September 14, 1523, Cardinal Giulio overcame the opposition of the French King and finally succeeded in being elected Pope Clement VII in the next conclave (November 19, 1523).

Elected in 1523 at the end of the Italian Renaissance. Pope Clement VII was deemed “the most unfortunate of the popes”, Clement VII’s reign was marked by a rapid succession of political, military, and religious struggles—many long in the making—which had far-reaching consequences for Christianity and world politics.

Pope Clement VII came to the papacy with a high reputation as a statesman. He had served with distinction as chief advisor to Pope Leo X (1513–1521), Pope Adrian VI (1522–1523), and commendably as gran maestro of Florence (1519–1523).

Pope Clement VII, Bishop of Rome

Assuming leadership at a time of crisis, with the Protestant Reformation spreading; the Church nearing bankruptcy; and large, foreign armies invading Italy, Clement VII initially tried to unite Christendom by making peace among the many Christian leaders then at odds. He later attempted to liberate Italy from foreign occupation, believing that it threatened the Church’s freedom.

The complex political situation of the 1520s thwarted Clement’s efforts. Inheriting unprecedented challenges, including Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation in Northern Europe; a vast power struggle in Italy between Europe’s two most powerful kings, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King François I of France, each of whom demanded that the Pope choose a side; and Turkish invasions of Eastern Europe led by Suleiman the Magnificent.

Clement’s problems were exacerbated by King Henry VIII of England’s contentious divorce, resulting in England breaking away from the Catholic Church; and in 1527, souring relations with Emperor Charles V, leading to the violent Sack of Rome, during which Clement was imprisoned.

After escaping confinement in the Castel Sant’Angelo, Clement—with few economic, military, or political options remaining—compromised the Church’s and Italy’s independence by allying with his former jailer, Charles V.

First Excommunication

King Henry VIII himself, at least in the early part of his reign, was a devout and well-informed Catholic to the extent that his 1521 publication Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (“Defence of the Seven Sacraments”) earned him the title of Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith) from Pope Leo X. The work represented a staunch defence of papal supremacy, albeit one couched in somewhat contingent terms.

It is not clear exactly when Henry changed his mind on the issue of papal supremacy as he grew more intent on a second marriage. Certainly, by 1527, he had convinced himself that Catherine had produced no male heir because their union was “blighted in the eyes of God”.

Indeed, in marrying Catherine, his brother’s wife, he had acted contrary to Leviticus 20:21, a justification Thomas Cranmer used to declare the marriage null. Martin Luther, on the other hand, had initially argued against the annulment, stating that Henry VIII could take a second wife in accordance with his teaching that the Bible allowed for polygamy but not divorce.

Henry VIII now believed the Pope had lacked the authority to grant a dispensation from this impediment. It was this argument Henry VIII took to Pope Clement VII in the hope of having his marriage to Catherine annulled, forgoing at least one less openly defiant line of attack.

In 1527 Henry VIII asked Clement to annul the marriage, but the Pope, possibly acting under pressure from Catherine’s nephew, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, whose effective prisoner he was, refused.

According to Catholic teaching, a validly contracted marriage is indivisible until death, and thus the pope cannot annul a marriage on the basis of an impediment previously dispensed.

Many people close to Henry VIII wished simply to ignore Clement, but in October 1530 a meeting of clergy and lawyers advised that the English Parliament could not empower the Archbishop of Canterbury to act against the Pope’s prohibition. In Parliament, Bishop John Fisher was the Pope’s champion

In response, to Clement VII ‘s refusal to grant the anulment the Reformation Parliament (1532–1534) passed laws abolishing papal authority in England and declared Henry VIII to be head of the Church of England. Final authority in doctrinal disputes now rested with the monarch. Though a religious traditionalist himself, Henry relied on Protestants to support and implement his religious agenda.

Henry subsequently underwent a marriage ceremony with Anne Boleyn, in either late 1532 or early 1533. The marriage was made easier by the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury William Warham, a stalwart friend of the Pope, after which Henry VIII persuaded Clement VII to appoint Thomas Cranmer, a friend of the Boleyn family, as his successor.

Pope Clement VII granted the papal bulls necessary for Cranmer’s promotion to Archbishop of Canterbury, and also demanded that Cranmer take the customary oath of allegiance to the pope before his consecration.

However, as mentioned, laws made under Henry VIII already declared that bishops would be consecrated even without papal approval. Cranmer was consecrated, while declaring beforehand that he did not agree with the oath he would take. Cranmer was prepared to grant the annulment of the marriage to Catherine as Henry VIII required. The Pope responded to the marriage by excommunicating both Henry VIII and Cranmer from the Catholic Church.

Second Excommunication

I will begin this section with some background information on Pope Paul III.

Pope Paul III, Bishop of Rome

Pope Paul III (February 28, 1468 – November 10, 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from October 13, 1534 to his death in November 1549.

Born in 1468 at Canino, Latium (then part of the Papal States), Alessandro Farnese was the oldest son of Pier Luigi I Farnese, Signore di Montalto (1435–1487) and his wife Giovanna Caetani, a member of the Caetani family which had also produced Pope Gelasius II and Pope Boniface VIII.

The Farnese family had prospered over the centuries but it was Alessandro’s ascendency to the papacy and his dedication to family interests which brought about the most significant increase in the family’s wealth and power.

As a young cleric, Alessandro lived a notably dissolute life, taking a mistress, Silvia Ruffini. Between about 1500 and 1510 she gave birth to at least four children: Costanza, Pier Luigi (who was later created Duke of Parma), Paolo, and Ranuccio. In July 1505, Pope Julius II legitimated the two eldest sons so that they could inherit the Farnese family estates. On June 23, 1513, Pope Leo X published a second legitimation of Pier Luigi, and also legitimated Ranuccio (the second son Paolo had already died).

On March 28, 1509 Alessandro was named Bishop of Parma – although he was not ordained a priest until June 26, 1519 and not consecrated a bishop until 2 July 2,1519. As Bishop of Parma, he came under the influence of his vicar-general, Bartolomeo Guidiccioni. This led to Alessandro breaking off the relationship with his mistress and committing himself to reform in his diocese. Under Pope Clement VII (1523–34) he was named Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Pontificate

On the death of Clement VII in 1534, he was elected as Pope Paul III on October 13, 1534. Farnese, who did not fall within any of the factions, was considered a very good choice by the cardinals since his age (66) and state of health denoted a short papacy which would give those cardinals time to select a proper candidate for a future conclave. On November 3rd Paul III was formally crowned by the protodeacon Innocenzo Cybo.

Pope Paul III came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation. His pontificate initiated the Counter-Reformation with the Council of Trent in 1545, as well as the wars of religion with Emperor Charles V’s military campaigns against the Protestants in Germany.

Pope Paul III recognized new Catholic religious orders and societies such as the Jesuits, the Barnabites, and the Congregation of the Oratory. His efforts were distracted by nepotism to advance the power and fortunes of his family, including his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese.

In 1538, the chief minister Thomas Cromwell pursued an extensive campaign against what the government termed “idolatry” practised under the old religion, culminating in September with the dismantling of the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.

Paul III proved unable to suppress the Protestant Reformation, although it was during his pontificate that the foundation was laid for the Counter-Reformation.

As a consequence of the extensive campaign against “idolatry” in England, and also Pope Paul III upset over the dismantling of the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury, decreed the second and final excommunication of Henry VIII of England on December 17, 1538.

November 17, 1558: Death of Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland. Part I.

Tags

Anne Boleyn, Cardinal Wolsey, Carlos I of Spain, François I of France, Henry VIII of England, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Infanta Catherine of Aragon, Mary I of England, Mary Tudor, Pope Clement VII, Pope Julius II

Mary I (February 18, 1516 – November 17, 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as “Bloody Mary” by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death in 1558.

Mary was born on February 18, 1516 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, England. She was the only child of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Infanta Catherine of Aragon, to survive infancy. Her mother had suffered many miscarriages and stillbirths. Before Mary’s birth, four previous pregnancies had resulted in a stillborn daughter and three short-lived or stillborn sons, including Henry, Duke of Cornwall.

Mary was baptised into the Catholic faith at the Church of the Observant Friars in Greenwich three days after her birth.

Despite his affection for Mary, Henry was deeply disappointed that his marriage had produced no sons. By the time Mary was nine years old, it was apparent that Henry and Catherine would have no more children, leaving Henry without a legitimate male heir.

In 1525, Henry sent Mary to the border of Wales to preside, presumably in name only, over the Council of Wales and the Marches. She was given her own court based at Ludlow Castle and many of the royal prerogatives normally reserved for a Prince of Wales.

Vives and others called her the Princess of Wales, although she was never technically invested with the title. She appears to have spent three years in the Welsh Marches, making regular visits to her father’s court, before returning permanently to the home counties around London in mid-1528.

Throughout Mary’s childhood, Henry negotiated potential future marriages for her. When she was only two years old, Mary was promised to François, Dauphin of France, the infant son of King François I of France, but the contract was repudiated after three years.

In 1522, at the age of six, she was instead contracted to marry her 22-year-old cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (King Carlos I of Spain). However, Charles broke off the engagement within a few years with Henry’s agreement.

Cardinal Wolsey, Henry’s chief adviser, then resumed marriage negotiations with the French, and Henry suggested that Mary marry the French king François I, who was eager for an alliance with England. A marriage treaty was signed which provided that Mary marry either François I or his second son Henri, Duke of Orleans, but Wolsey secured an alliance with France without the marriage.

In 1528, Wolsey’s agent Thomas Magnus discussed the idea of her marriage to her cousin King James V of Scotland with the Scottish diplomat Adam Otterburn. According to the Venetian Mario Savorgnano, by this time Mary was developing into a pretty, well-proportioned young lady with a fine complexion.

Although these various possibilities for Mary’s marriage had been considered, the marriage of Mary’s parents was itself in jeopardy, which threatened her status. Disappointed at the lack of a male heir, and eager to remarry, Henry attempted to have his marriage to Catherine annulled, but Pope Clement VII refused his request.

Henry claimed, citing biblical passages (Leviticus 20:21), that the marriage was unclean because Catherine was the widow of his brother Arthur, Prince of Wales (Mary’s uncle). Catherine claimed that her marriage to Arthur was never consummated and so was not a valid marriage.

Pope Julius II had issued a dispensation on that basis. Clement VII may have been reluctant to act because he was influenced by Emperor Charles V, Catherine’s nephew and Mary’s former betrothed, whose troops had surrounded and occupied Rome in the War of the League of Cognac.

From 1531, Mary was often sick with irregular menstruation and depression, although it is not clear whether this was caused by stress, puberty or a more deep-seated disease. She was not permitted to see her mother, whom Henry had sent to live away from court.

In early 1533, Henry married Anne Boleyn, and in May, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, formally declared the marriage with Catherine void and the marriage to Anne valid. Henry repudiated the pope’s authority, declaring himself Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Catherine was demoted to Dowager Princess of Wales (a title she would have held as Arthur’s widow), and Mary was deemed illegitimate. She was styled “The Lady Mary” rather than Princess, and her place in the line of succession was transferred to Henry and Anne’s newborn daughter, Elizabeth.

Mary’s household was dissolved; her servants (including the Countess of Salisbury) were dismissed and, in December 1533, she was sent to join her infant half-sister’s household at Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

Mary determinedly refused to acknowledge that Anne was the queen or that Elizabeth was a princess, further enraging King Henry VIII. Under strain and with her movements restricted, Mary was frequently ill, which the royal physician attributed to her “ill treatment”.

The Imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys became her close adviser, and interceded, unsuccessfully, on her behalf at court. The relationship between Mary and her father worsened; they did not speak to each other for three years.

Although both she and her mother were ill, Mary was refused permission to visit Catherine. When Catherine died in 1536, Mary was “inconsolable”. Catherine was interred in Peterborough Cathedral, while Mary grieved in semi-seclusion at Hunsdon in Hertfordshire.

The Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. Part II.

Tags

Emperor Charles V, Emperor Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, House of Habsburg, Peace of Zsitvatörök, Pope Clement VII, Pope Julius II, Roman Catholic Church Emperor Peter the Great, Sultan Ahmed I, The Ottoman Empire

One of the foundational principles of the Holy Roman Empire is that the Emperor was the preeminent Monarch throughout Europe and that the Empire itself was a genuine extension of the ancient Roman Empire as proclaimed by the Roman Catholic popes.

Not only did the Holy Roman Emperors hold to the contention that they were the preeminent Monarch throughout Europe, they firmly asserted that they were the only Emperor’s entitled to hold the title of Emperor within Europe.

The problem with this view was the fact that throughout the history of the Empire other Emperors began to rise within Europe. Eventually they were formally recognized as Emperors by the Holy Roman Empire. The first was in 1606 when Sultan Ahmed I was recognized as Emperor in the Peace of Zsitvatörök which concluded a long war with Austria.

When Czar Peter I the Great of Russia was created Emperor of Russia in 1721 the Holy Roman Empire was one of the first European states to formally recognize the imperial title. These recognitions were conditional on the fact that the Holy Roman Emperor was always pre-eminent.

The ideal that the Emperor held pre-eminence was an expression of the theory that the Holy Roman Empire, was the universal Christian State within all of Europe. However, this principle was only theoretical because the Holy Roman Empire did not have rule over the entirety of Europe at any time within its history.

Emperor Charlemagne

Furthermore, it was held that Imperial authority was not simply vested in the fact that the Emperor ruled their own Crown lands, even though by the 18th and 19th century the Habsburgs did own a large amount of crown lands, the Imperial authority of the emperor was seen as the highest secular ruler of the world and the paramount Christian champion of the Catholic Church.

Through the evolution of European history many states such as England and France for example, developed centralized government thus creating a stabilized Nation. This centralization did not occur during the lifetime of the Holy Roman Empire. However, this lack of centralization and a dependence upon the emperor’s Crown lands did attempt to establish the idea at the Imperial title was universal because it was not associated with one specific area.

By evoking its preeminence the Holy Roman emperors were seen as the most powerful entities on the European continent, and in foreign affairs, internationally the Holy Roman emperors were recognized as heirs of the old Roman Empire and the foremost Christian rulers which they believed granted them preeminence over other European rulers and monarchs.

Maximilian I (1459 – 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Elected Emperor in 1508 (Pope Julius II later recognized this) at Trent, thus breaking the long tradition of requiring a Papal coronation for the adoption of the Imperial title.

Maximilian I’s grandson and successor, Emperor Charles V defended Vienna from the Ottoman Empire and obtained a coronation as King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from Pope Clement VII. This coronation by the pope was the last coronation sanctioned by the Holy See. Ever since that time emperors had been formally titled as “Elected Roman Emperor” without the need for a papal coronation.

The appearance of the universalist character of the empire was sustained through the emperor’s feudal authority extending beyond just the institutions that had been developed within the formal imperial borders.

Imperial territories held by rulers of other realms remained imperial vassals. For instance, the kings of both Sweden and Denmark accepted vassalage in regards to their German lands until 1806, when these lands were formally incorporated into their kingdoms.

June 28, 1491: Birth of Henry VIII, King of England and Ireland

Tags

Catherine of Aragon, Crown of Ireland Act of 1542, House of Tudor, King Henry VIII of England and Ireland, Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, Pope Clement VII

Henry VIII (June 28, 1491 – January 28, 1547) was King of England from April 22, 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry was Lord of Ireland until 1542. At home, he oversaw the legal union of England and Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, and he was the first English monarch to rule as King of Ireland following the Crown of Ireland Act 1542.

Born on June 28, 1491 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, Kent, Henry Tudor was the third child and second son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Of the young Henry’s six (or seven) siblings, only three – his brother Arthur, Prince of Wales, and sisters Margaret and Mary – survived infancy.

Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated. Henry is also known as “the father of the Royal Navy”, as he invested heavily in the navy, increasing its size from a few to more than 50 ships, and established the Navy Board.

Domestically, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings in opposition to Papal supremacy. He also greatly expanded royal power during his reign. He frequently used charges of treason and heresy to quell dissent, and those accused were often executed without a formal trial by means of bills of attainder. He achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Richard Rich, and Thomas Cranmer all figured prominently in his administration.

Henry was an extravagant spender, using the proceeds from the dissolution of the monasteries and acts of the Reformation Parliament. He also converted the money that was formerly paid to Rome into royal revenue. Despite the money from these sources, he was continually on the verge of financial ruin due to his personal extravagance, as well as his numerous costly and largely unsuccessful wars, particularly with King François I of France, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, King James V of Scotland and the Scottish regency under the Earl of Arran and Mary of Guise.

Henry’s contemporaries considered him to be an attractive, educated, and accomplished king. He has been described as “one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne” and his reign has been described as the “most important” in English history. He was an author and composer. As he aged, he became severely overweight and his health suffered. He is frequently characterised in his later life as a lustful, egotistical, paranoid and tyrannical monarch. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI.

June 1, 1533: Anne Boleyn is Crowned Queen of England

Tags

1st Earl of Wiltshire, Anne Boleyn, Archbishop of Canterbury, Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII of England, Lady Elizabeth Howard, Pope Clement VII, Thomas Boleyn, Thomas Cranmer

Anne Boleyn (c. 1501 – May 19, 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation.

Anne was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard, and was educated in the Netherlands and France, largely as a maid of honour to Queen Claude of France. Anne returned to England in early 1522, to marry her Irish cousin James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond; the marriage plans were broken off, and instead she secured a post at court as maid of honour to Henry VIII’s wife, Catherine of Aragon.

Early in 1523, Anne was secretly betrothed to Henry Percy, son of Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, but the betrothal was broken off when the Earl refused to support their engagement. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey refused the match in January 1524 and Anne was sent home to Hever Castle.

In February or March 1526, Henry VIII began his pursuit of Anne. She resisted his attempts to seduce her, refusing to become his mistress, as her sister Mary had previously been. Henry soon focused his desires on annulling his marriage to Catherine so he would be free to marry Anne.

Wolsey failed to obtain an annulment of Henry’s marriage from Pope Clement VII, and when it became clear that Clement would not annul the marriage, Henry and his advisers, such as Thomas Cromwell, began the breaking of the Catholic Church’s power in England and closing the monasteries and the nunneries. In 1532, Henry made Anne the Marquess of Pembroke.

Henry VIII and Anne formally married on January 25, 1533, after a secret wedding on November 14, 1532. On May 23, 1533, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared Henry and Catherine’s marriage null and void; five days later, he declared Henry and Anne’s marriage valid.

Shortly afterwards, Clement excommunicated Henry and Cranmer. As a result of this marriage and these excommunications, the first break between the Church of England and the Catholic Church took place, and the king took control of the Church of England.

Anne was crowned Queen of England on June 1, 1533. On September 7, she gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was disappointed to have a daughter rather than a son but hoped a son would follow.

Anne subsequently had three miscarriages and by March 1536, Henry was courting Jane Seymour. In order to marry Seymour, Henry had to find reasons to end the marriage to Anne.

Henry VIII had Anne investigated for high treason (including incest) in April 1536. On May 2, she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London, where she was tried before a jury of peers, including Henry Percy, her former betrothed, and her uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk; she was convicted on May 15 and beheaded four days later.

April 1, 1282: Birth of Ludwig IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Conclusion

Tags

Anti-Pope, Edward III of England, Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV, House of Wittlesbach, Philippe VI of France, Pope Clement VII, Pope John XXII

Coronation as Holy Roman Emperor and conflict with the Pope

After the reconciliation with the Habsburgs in 1326, Ludwig marched to Italy and was crowned King of Italy in Milan in 1327. Already in 1323, Ludwig had sent an army to Italy to protect Milan against the Kingdom of Naples, which was together with France the strongest ally of the papacy. But now the Lord of Milan Galeazzo I Visconti was deposed since he was suspected of conspiring with the pope.

In January 1328, Louis entered Rome and had himself crowned emperor by the aged senator Sciarra Colonna, called captain of the Roman people. Three months later, Ludwig published a decree declaring Pope John XXII (Jacques Duèze), who resided in Avignon, deposed on grounds of heresy. He then installed a Spiritual Franciscan, Pietro Rainalducci as antipope Nicholas V, who soon left Rome and a few years later submitted to Pope John XXII.

In the meantime, Robert, King of Naples had sent both a fleet and an army against Ludwig and his ally Frederick II of Sicily. Louis spent the winter 1328/29 in Pisa and stayed then in Northern Italy. When his co-ruler Friedrich of Habsburg died in 1330, Ludwig returned from Italy. In fulfillment of an oath, Ludwig founded Ettal Abbey on April 28, 1330.

Franciscan theologians Michael of Cesena and William of Ockham, and the philosopher Marsilius of Padua, who were all on bad terms with the Pope as well, joined Emperor Ludwig in Italy and accompanied him to his court at Alter Hof in Munich which became the first imperial residence of the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1333, Emperor Ludwig sought to counter French influence in the southwest of the empire so he offered Humbert II of Viennois the Kingdom of Arles which was an opportunity to gain full authority over Savoy, Provence, and its surrounding territories. Humbert was reluctant to take the crown due to the conflict that would follow with all around him, so he declined, telling the emperor that he should make peace with the church first.

Emperor Ludwig IV also allied with King Edward III of England in 1337 against King Philippe VI of France, the protector of the new Pope Benedict XII in Avignon. King Philippe VI had prevented any agreement between the Emperor and the Pope.

Thus, the failure of negotiations with the papacy led to the declaration at Rhense in 1338 by six electors to the effect that election by all or the majority of the electors automatically conferred the royal title and rule over the empire, without papal confirmation.

King Edward III was the Emperor’s guest at the Imperial Diet in the Kastorkirche at Coblence in 1338 and was named Vicar-General of the Holy Roman Empire. However in 1341, the Emperor deserted Edward III but came to terms with Philippe VI only temporarily. For the expected English payments were missing and Ludwig intended to reach an agreement with the Pope one more time.

Imperial privileges

Ludwig IV was a protector of the Teutonic Knights. In 1337 he allegedly bestowed upon the Teutonic Order a privilege to conquer Lithuania and Russia, although the Order had only petitioned for three small territories. Later he forbade the Order to stand trial before foreign courts in their territorial conflicts with foreign rulers.

Ludwig IV concentrated his energies also on the economic development of the cities of the empire, so his name can be found in many city chronicles for the privileges he granted. In 1330 the emperor for example permitted the Frankfurt Trade Fair, and in 1340 Lübeck, as the most powerful member of the future Hanseatic League, received the coinage prerogative for golden gulden.

Dynastic policy

Gold Gulden of Lübeck, 1341

In 1323 Ludwig IV gave Brandenburg as a fiefdom to his eldest son Ludwig V after the Brandenburg branch of the House of Ascania had died out. With the Treaty of Pavia in 1329 the emperor reconciled the sons of his late brother Rudolph and returned the Palatinate to his nephews Rudolf and Rupert.

After the death of Henry of Bohemia, the duchy of Carinthia was released as an imperial fief on May 2, 1335 in Linz to his Habsburg cousins Albrecht II, Duke of Austria, and Otto, Duke of Austria, while Tyrol was first placed into Luxemburg hands.

With the death of duke Johann I in 1340 Ludwig inherited Lower Bavaria and then reunited the duchy of Bavaria. Johann’s mother, a member of the Luxemburg dynasty, had to return to Bohemia. In 1342 Ludwig also acquired Tyrol for the Wittelsbach by voiding the first marriage of Margarete Maultasch with Johann Heinrich of Bohemia and marrying her to his own son Ludwig V, thus alienating the House of Luxemburg even more.

In 1345 the emperor further antagonized the lay princes by conferring Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland upon his wife, Margaret II of Hainaut. The hereditary titles of Margaret’s sisters, one of whom was the queen of England, were ignored. Because of the dangerous hostility of the Luxemburgs, Louis had increased his power base ruthlessly.

Conflict with Luxemburg

The acquisition of these territories and his restless foreign policy had earned Ludwig many enemies among the German princes. In the summer of 1346 the Luxemburg Charles IV was elected rival king, with the support of Pope Clement VI. Ludwig IV himself obtained much support from the Imperial Free Cities and the knights and successfully resisted Charles, who was widely regarded as a papal puppet (“rex clericorum” as William of Ockham called him). Also the Habsburg dukes stayed loyal to Ludwig. In the Battle of Crécy Charles’ father Johann of Luxemburg was killed; Charles himself also took part in the battle but escaped.

But then Ludwig IV s’ sudden death avoided a longer civil war. Ludwig died in October 1347 from a stroke suffered during a bear-hunt in Puch near Fürstenfeldbruck. He is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich.

The sons of Ludwig IV supported Günther von Schwarzburg as new rival king to Charles but finally joined the Luxemburg party after Günther’s early death in 1349 and divided the Wittelsbach possessions amongst themselves again.

In continuance of the conflict of the House of Wittelsbach with the House of Luxemburg, the Wittelsbach family returned to power in the Holy Roman Empire in 1400 with King Rupert of Germany, a great-grandnephew of Ludwig

Family and children
In 1308 Louis IV married his first wife, Beatrix of Świdnica (1290-1320).

In 1324 he married his second wife, Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut and Holland (1308-1356).

March 7, 1550: Death of Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria

Tags

Albrecht V of Bavaria, Bishop of Rome, Counter Reformation, Duke Ludwig X of Bavaria, Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III, House of Wittelsbach, Philipp of Baden, Pope Clement VII

Wilhelm IV (November 13, 1493 – March 7, 1550) was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother Ludwig X, Duke of Bavaria. He was born in Munich to Albrecht IV and Archduchess Kunigunde of Austria, a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III and his wife Infanta Eleanor of Portugal.

Though his father had determined the everlasting succession of the firstborn prince in 1506, his younger brother Ludwig refused a spiritual career with the argument that he was born before the edict became valid.

With support of his mother and the States-General, Ludwig forced Wilhelm to accept him as co-regent in 1516. Ludwig then ruled the districts of Landshut and Straubing, in general in concord with his brother.

Wilhelm initially sympathized with the Reformation but changed his mind as it grew more popular in Bavaria.

In 1522 Wilhelm issued the first Bavarian religion mandate, banning the promulgation of Martin Luther’s works. After an agreement with Pope Clement VII in 1524 Wilhelm became a political leader of the German Counter Reformation, although he remained in opposition to the Habsburgs since his brother Ludwig X claimed the Bohemian crown.

Both dukes also suppressed the peasant uprising in South Germany in an alliance with the archbishop of Salzburg in 1525.

The conflict with the Habsburgs ended in 1534 when both dukes reached an agreement with Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I in Linz. Wilheln then supported Charles V in his war against the Schmalkaldic League in 1546, but however he did not succeed in preserving the Palatine electoral dignity. Wilhelm’s chancellor for 35 years was the forceful Leonhard von Eck.

On April 23, 1516, before a committee consisting of gentry and knights in Ingolstadt, Wilhelm issued his famous purity regulation for the brewing of Bavarian Beer, stating that only barley, hops, and water could be used. This regulation remained in force until it was abolished as a binding obligation in 1986 by Paneuropean regulations of the European Union.

In 1522 Wilhelm IV married his cousin Princess Maria Jacobäa of Baden,(1507–1580), a daughter of Margrave Philipp I of Baden and his consort Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. Princess Elizabeth of the Palatinate was a daughter of the elector Philipp (1448–1508) from his marriage to Margaret of Bavaria (1456–1501), daughter of Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut.

In 1523 with the appointment of Ludwig Senfl began the rise of the Bavarian State Orchestra. Of particular importance is the Eckbibel Johann Eck wrote on behalf of Wilhelm, a biblical translation from 1537, which is theologically directly against Luther and therefore belongs to the Catholic correction bibles. It is also significant in terms of linguistics because it is not written in the East German Saxon, but in Bavarian Upper German.

Wilhelm IV was a significant collector and commissioner of art. Among other works he commissioned an important suite of paintings from various artists, including the Battle of Issus by Albrecht Altdorfer.

This, like most of Wilhelm IV’s collection, is now housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. With his order to expand the Neuveste with the so-called Rundstubenbau and to set up the first Court Garden began the history of the Munich Residenz as a representative palace.

To the history cycle of the garden pavilion belonged Albrecht Altdorfer’s painting. In 1546, he and his son Albrecht V ordered the construction of Dachau Palace from a Gothic ruin into a Renaissance style four-winged palace with a court garden which later became the favored residence of the rulers of Bavaria.

Wilhelm IV died in 1550 in Munich and was succeeded by his son Albrecht V. He is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich.