Guest Article: The Intriguing Personality Of Charles V Of The Holy Roman Empire

1.1 Introduction

Voltaire once pointed out, ‘’The Holy Roman Empire, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.’’ Well, in that case he was indeed right. Although, a very powerful man would do his best to fix these aspects in an attempt to create a universal empire. That man, Charles V, also known as Carolus Quintus, was, perhaps, the most powerful Holy Roman Emperor of them all.

Born in Ghent, Flanders in February 1500, which back then was an Imperial Habsburg territory, young Charles wouldn’t have any idea that one day he would be ruling one of the biggest empires of all times. In fact, Charles’ empire would not be surpassed in size until the advent of the Qing, Russian and British Empires.

Although the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1469, Charles reaffirmed and solidified the idea of a unified Spanish Kingdom by crushing any idea of separation. His devotion to keeping Spain united paid off, as the majority of his power came from this state in the Iberian Peninsula. He would later bequeath the Spanish Kingdom to his only living son, Philip II of Spain.

1.2 The many titles of Charles V

Being powerful was not a simple thing in that time of European history. During his life, Charles inherited or won many titles that he ruled directly, and, as an emperor, he indirectly ruled much more territory through his vassals. Although, he had so many titles and possessions, his main source of power remained the Kingdom of Spain (as we referred previously) and more precisely his holdings in the Americas. His many personal titles included:

• Duke of Burgundy 
• Duke of Brabant 
• Duke of Limburg 
• Duke of Lothier 
• Duke of Luxemburg 
• Margrave of Namur 
• Count Palatine of Burgundy 
• Count of Artois 
• Count of Charolais 
• Count of Flanders 
• Count of Hainault 
• Count of Holland 
• Count of Zeeland 
• Duke of Guelders 
• Count of Zutphen 
• King of Leon and Castile 
• King of Aragon and Sicily 
• Count of Barcelona 
• King of Naples 
• Holy Roman Emperor 
• Archduke of Austria

 

All of these titles belonged to Charles V at some point in his life. Some of them were held for a rather short period of time, but others he held from the beginning of his reign until the end of it.

1.3 Personal aspects, characteristics and accomplishments of Charles V

The domain of Charles V was indeed vast. As we already mentioned, it covered much of Europe and large swaths of the New World. This created tremendous difficulties in governing the culturally different lands of Europe, not to mention the exotic and unexplored lands of the Americas.

During his reign, Charles conquered, contributed and overcame a lot of things. One of his truly great missions was to colonize and Christianize areas outside of Europe. In his time, Spanish settlers and missionaries sailed far, both to the West and East, reaching places such as California in North America and the Philippines in Southeast Asia.

The Emperor was cultural and possibly a humanist as well. Charles held one of the first known discussions on Universal Human Rights. He tried to actively end the slavery of certain people (but not, unfortunately, of all groups), although he definitely did not succeeded in that part.

For some scholars, Charles V did a fair enough job during his reign. For others, his reign was a total failure. His imperial motto was ‘’Plus Ultra,’’ meaning ‘’Further Beyond.’’ In looking at Charles’ ambition from a modern perspective, it is possible that he sought to fuse the Atlantic and Central Europe in a way that is somewhat similar to the current European Union.

1.4 The Protestant Reformation and the Diet of Worms

It is known that the Holy Roman Empire lacked unity and nationalism, unlike France or England. Many believe this was the main reason that it was doomed to fail. In the years of Charles V, the economies of various regions in the empire did not do so well. There were many problems, including bankruptcy and big debts inside the German kingdoms and duchies.

In addition to the economic problems, another major impact on the empire was the rise of Protestantism among the people, due in large part to influence of the Saxon monk, Martin Luther. He protested openly against the Roman Catholic Church through his writings and publications. As Luther and other like-minded Christians decided to follow their own consciences in matters of religion rather than the will of the pope, they were targeted and accused by those who still saw Rome as the highest church authority—including Charles V.

In 1521, the Imperial assembly of Worms was convened to address Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation. Luther was summoned to renounce or reaffirm his views, and the Emperor declared him a heretic. There was no going back for Martin Luther and his followers. Soon after, the German kingdoms and duchies would choose sides fighting in a religious civil war.

Charles thought that he solved the problem in the Imperial Diet of Worms, but, instead, Luther became more popular, especially after he translated the Holy Bible into the German language. Charles underestimated how appealing Protestantism would become to many in his empire and abroad.

  

1.5 The rivalry with Francis I of France and the Battle of Pavia

Another man on the rise at that time in Europe was Francis I, King of France. The rivalry between these powerful men was over the imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire. For his sales pitch to the imperial electors, Francis warned that Charles was a dangerous, unfit and despotic man. On the opposing side, Charles knew that Francis wanted the title of Holy Roman Emperor for himself, but Charles eventually outmaneuvered his rival for the title of emperor.

The two monarchs fought four separate wars against each other, part of a series called the ‘’Italian Wars’’ or ‘’Great Wars of Italy’’. Charles’ troops won every single one of the wars. In the course of events, Charles’ troops managed to capture Francis I himself as a hostage at the famous Battle of Pavia, outside the city of Milan. The battle took place on 24 February, 1525, and was a victory for Charles V and his allies. It ended the series of attempts of French rulers to control Northern Italy. Some scholars believe that this was the beginning of the end for the Italian Renaissance.

The Battle of Pavia and the Italian Wars were a step toward the fulfillment of Charles’ imperial dream. It was a mission with historical importance for him. During the Diet of Worms, he said: “I’m determined to risk the kingdoms and my possessions, my friends, my body and my blood, my life and my soul, because it would be a shame if I was irresponsible and corruption would appear in the hearts of people.”

A fun fact during the Battle of Pavia: some Imperial mercenaries would have ended their army service to the Emperor the exact day that the Battle of Pavia occurred. That was an advantage that the French didn’t really use in their favor. In fact, the Imperial Landsknecht pikemen from Frundberg fought with decisiveness and brutality, because they were facing unemployment on the day after the battle.

Besides the Italian Wars, the Holy Roman Empire and Charles V fought another series of bloody and long wars, this time against the Ottomans. The main theatre of these wars was the Hungarian plains. The Ottomans, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, reached Vienna and threatened the European heartland. Charles was unable to displace the Ottomans from the Habsburg territories of Hungary. Nearly 70% of the former Kingdom of Hungary was lost to the Ottoman Empire.

 

(Map of the regions controlled by Charles V at the time of his abdications, from The Cambridge Modern History Atlas c. 1912, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

1.6 Conclusion and final thoughts

All in all, Charles V was one of the most interesting personalities of the 16^th century. Trying to rule his huge empire often proved a tough challenge, but he always tried his best, even though it frequently was not enough.

He tried to stamp out Luther’s Reformation, and helped cultivate the Catholic Counter-Reformation. In the meantime, he also tried to create new policies in the New World, while still defending old policies in the Old World. Despite the challenges he faced, Charles was able to become one of the most powerful emperors in one of the most powerful empires in history.  Yet, a lot of events did not go his way and many of his ambitions never became reality.  During the years 1554 – 1556, he abdicated from his titles and thrones and chose to live the final years of his life at the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain.

As a reminder of the diversity in the empire of Charles V, this article closes with a famous quote that is attributed to the emperor:

‘’I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse.’’

                                 -Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire

Written by Grigoris Charalabidis.

Top Picture Attribution: (Portrait of Charles V by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz  (1553–1608), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• Enzo Terzi - 100 Biggest Battles – The Battle of Pavia (1525)
• Charles Beard – Martin Luther and the Reformation in Germany until the Close of the Diet of Worms
• Crash Course World History, YouTube video - Charles V and the Holy Roman Empire - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRYzW3BSj0I
• https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Charles_V