Schmalkaldic War
Encyclopedia
The Schmalkaldic War refers to the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire
, commanded by Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba
, and the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League
within the domains of the Holy Roman Empire
.
In the course of the Lutheran Reformation numerous Imperial State
s had adopted the new confession, against the opposition of the ruling Catholic House of Habsburg, who recognised these conversions as a quest for increasing autonomy to the detriment of the central Imperial authority
. At the 1521 Diet of Worms
Emperor Charles V had Martin Luther
banned and the proliferation of his writings prohibited, which in 1529 provoked the Protestation at Speyer
by several Lutheran estates. The tensions culminated to an open conflict over the Lutheran Augsburg Confession
of 1530, the Apology
of which, written by Philipp Melanchthon
, was rejected by the Emperor. In turn several Lutheran states led by Elector John Frederick I of Saxony and Landgrave Philip I of Hesse
met at the town of Schmalkalden
, where they established the Schmalkaldic League in 1531.
In 1544 Charles V returned to Germany from the Italian War after he had signed the Treaty of Crépy and began to forge alliances not only with Pope Paul III
but also with Lutheran princes, foremost with Duke Maurice of Saxony
, the Albertine cousin of Saxon Elector John Frederick I. In view of the Emperor's preparations for battle, the Schmalkaldic leaders on 4 July 1546 gathered at Ichtershausen
and agreed that a preventive strike would be advisable, as long as Charles V had not concentrated a significant amount of mercenaries.
when a united army of several Lutheran Imperial cities
occupied the Catholic town of Füssen
, a possession of the Augsburg prince-bishops
, and made the Imperial forces move toward the fortress of Ingolstadt
in the Bavarian duchy
. However plans to invade Austrian Tyrol
in order to bar the Emperor from bringing up Italian troops did not meet the approval of the Schmalkaldic princes. Both Duke William IV of Bavaria
and the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand I of Habsburg
declared themselves neutral in the conflict, allowing Charles V to concentrate a mighty Imperial army
without disturbances.
Further on the Schmalkaldic leaders could not resolve upon delivering a battle against the entrenched Imperial troops. On 20 July 1546 Elector John Frederick I and Landgrave Philip I were placed under the Imperial ban, under the pretext that they had deposed the Catholic Duke Henry V of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
in 1542. Duke Maurice of Saxony took the chance and in October with the aid of Ferdinand I of Habsburg, King of Bohemia
, invaded the lands of his rival and cousin in Ernestine Saxony, forcing Elector John Frederick I to turn his troops around. He quickly came on from Swabia and liberated Ernestine Saxony with his army, whereafter he in turn invaded Albertine Saxony and the adjacent Bohemian lands. The onset of winter left the armed conflict inconclusive.
In Swabia the Hessian troops took no further action, while the forsaken Imperial cities, like the Lutheran princes Duke Ulrich of Württemberg
and Count Palatine Frederick II
chose to submit to the Emperor. On 28 March 1547 Charles V set off for Bohemia, where he united forces with his brother King Ferdinand I of Bohemia. Because the Bohemian Lutherans did not provide any military assistance to Elector John Frederick I, as he had hoped for, the Spanish-Imperial forces of Charles V forced him into retreat. Due to disagreement in strategy, the League's defenses were finally routed on 24 April 1547 at the Battle of Mühlberg
, where John Frederick I was taken prisoner.
After the battle, which determined the result of the war, only two cities continued to resist: Bremen
and Magdeburg
. Both cities refused to pay the fines Charles imposed on them and avoided occupation by imperial troops. In the case of Bremen, 12,000 imperial soldiers under the command of Duke Eric II of Brunswick-Calenberg
unsuccessfully laid siege from January until May. This event led to the Battle of Drakenburg
on 23 May 1547, as a Protestant army of the Schmalkaldic League was plundering the nearby Principality of Calenberg. His men and supplies exhausted, Duke Eric II and his Imperial forces went to confront the army and were quickly defeated. During the fighting, Eric was forced to swim over the Weser river in order to save his own life. As a consequence of the Battle of Drakenburg, the Imperial troops left northern Germany.
The captured Elector John Frederick I at first was sentenced to death, and, in order to obtain pardon, on 19 May 1547 signed the Capitulation of Wittenberg
. He lost the electoral
dignity and some minor Ernestine territories to his cousin Maurice, who was declared the new Saxon Elector on 4 June. Maurice with the aid of Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg
tried to mediate in favour of his father-in-law Philip I of Hesse. The Landgrave delivered himself up in Halle
, where he threw himself on the mercy of the Emperor. Charles V nevertheless had him immediately imprisoned, leaving the Electors upset by his haughty behaviour.
Although the imperial forces were victorious over the Protestant forces of the Schmalkaldic League, the ideas of Martin Luther had spread over the Empire such that they could not be suppressed with physical force. However on 15 May 1548 Charles V, feeling at the height of his power, dictated the Augsburg Interim
to prepare the reintegration of the Protestants into the Catholic Church. The edict provoked another revolt by the Protestant princes in 1552, this time led by Elector Maurice of Saxony and backed by King Henry II of France
. Charles V had to flee from the superior Lutheran forces and to cancel the Interim with the Peace of Passau
, whereby John Frederick I of Saxony and Philip I of Hesse were released. An official settlement acknowledging the Protestant religion arrived three years later in the form of the Peace of Augsburg
. The next year Charles V resigned in favour of his brother Ferdinand I.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, commanded by Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...
, and the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League was a defensive alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although originally started for religious motives soon after the start of the Protestant Reformation, its members eventually intended for the League to replace the Holy...
within the domains of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
.
Background
Imperial State
An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet assemblies. Several territories of the Empire were not represented, while some officials were non-voting members; neither qualified as Imperial States.Rulers of Imperial States were...
s had adopted the new confession, against the opposition of the ruling Catholic House of Habsburg, who recognised these conversions as a quest for increasing autonomy to the detriment of the central Imperial authority
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
. At the 1521 Diet of Worms
Diet of Worms
The Diet of Worms 1521 was a diet that took place in Worms, Germany, and is most memorable for the Edict of Worms , which addressed Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation.It was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding.Other Imperial diets at...
Emperor Charles V had Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
banned and the proliferation of his writings prohibited, which in 1529 provoked the Protestation at Speyer
Protestation at Speyer
On April 19, 1529 six Fürsten and 14 Imperial Free Cities, representing the Protestant minority, petitioned the Reichstag at Speyer against the Reichsacht against Martin Luther, as well as the proscription of his works and teachings, and called for the unhindered spread of the "evangelical" On...
by several Lutheran estates. The tensions culminated to an open conflict over the Lutheran Augsburg Confession
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...
of 1530, the Apology
Apology of the Augsburg Confession
The Apology of the Augsburg Confession was written by Philipp Melanchthon during and after the 1530 Diet of Augsburg as a response to the Pontifical Confutation of the Augsburg Confession, Charles V's commissioned official Roman Catholic response to the Lutheran Augsburg Confession of June 25, 1530...
of which, written by Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...
, was rejected by the Emperor. In turn several Lutheran states led by Elector John Frederick I of Saxony and Landgrave Philip I of Hesse
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....
met at the town of Schmalkalden
Schmalkalden
- Notable people :*Christoph Cellarius, scholar, born 22 November 1638, died 4 June 1707 in Halle*Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach, colonel, born 16 April 1758, died 21 November 1827 at Białokosz...
, where they established the Schmalkaldic League in 1531.
In 1544 Charles V returned to Germany from the Italian War after he had signed the Treaty of Crépy and began to forge alliances not only with Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He 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...
but also with Lutheran princes, foremost with Duke Maurice of Saxony
Maurice, Elector of Saxony
Maurice was Duke and later Elector of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity....
, the Albertine cousin of Saxon Elector John Frederick I. In view of the Emperor's preparations for battle, the Schmalkaldic leaders on 4 July 1546 gathered at Ichtershausen
Ichtershausen
Ichtershausen is a municipality in the district Ilm-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany....
and agreed that a preventive strike would be advisable, as long as Charles V had not concentrated a significant amount of mercenaries.
Chronology
The war broke out in SwabiaSwabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
when a united army of several Lutheran Imperial cities
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
occupied the Catholic town of Füssen
Füssen
Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu situated from the Austrian border. It is located on the banks of the Lech river. The River Lech flows into the Forggensee...
, a possession of the Augsburg prince-bishops
Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg
The Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg was one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, which belonged to the Swabian Circle.-Early period:...
, and made the Imperial forces move toward the fortress of Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
in the Bavarian duchy
History of Bavaria
The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empires to its status as an independent kingdom and, finally, as a large and significant Bundesland of the modern Federal Republic of...
. However plans to invade Austrian Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
in order to bar the Emperor from bringing up Italian troops did not meet the approval of the Schmalkaldic princes. Both Duke William IV of Bavaria
William IV, Duke of Bavaria
William IV of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother Louis X, Duke of Bavaria....
and the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand I of Habsburg
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
declared themselves neutral in the conflict, allowing Charles V to concentrate a mighty Imperial army
Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire
The Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire was the army of the Holy Roman Empire...
without disturbances.
Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Henry , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called the Younger, was Prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1514 until his death...
in 1542. Duke Maurice of Saxony took the chance and in October with the aid of Ferdinand I of Habsburg, King of Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
, invaded the lands of his rival and cousin in Ernestine Saxony, forcing Elector John Frederick I to turn his troops around. He quickly came on from Swabia and liberated Ernestine Saxony with his army, whereafter he in turn invaded Albertine Saxony and the adjacent Bohemian lands. The onset of winter left the armed conflict inconclusive.
In Swabia the Hessian troops took no further action, while the forsaken Imperial cities, like the Lutheran princes Duke Ulrich of Württemberg
Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg
Herzog Ulrich von Württemberg succeeded his kinsman Eberhard II as Duke of Württemberg in 1498, being declared of age in 1503.-Early life:...
and Count Palatine Frederick II
Frederick II, Elector Palatine
Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine , a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Prince-elector of the Palatinate from 1544 to 1556.- Biography :...
chose to submit to the Emperor. On 28 March 1547 Charles V set off for Bohemia, where he united forces with his brother King Ferdinand I of Bohemia. Because the Bohemian Lutherans did not provide any military assistance to Elector John Frederick I, as he had hoped for, the Spanish-Imperial forces of Charles V forced him into retreat. Due to disagreement in strategy, the League's defenses were finally routed on 24 April 1547 at the Battle of Mühlberg
Battle of Mühlberg
The Battle of Mühlberg was a large battle at Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony during the Protestant Reformation at which the Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League of...
, where John Frederick I was taken prisoner.
After the battle, which determined the result of the war, only two cities continued to resist: Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
and Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
. Both cities refused to pay the fines Charles imposed on them and avoided occupation by imperial troops. In the case of Bremen, 12,000 imperial soldiers under the command of Duke Eric II of Brunswick-Calenberg
Eric II, Duke of Calenberg
Eric II, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg was duke in the Brunswick-Lunenburgian Principality of Calenberg from 1545 to 1584. Since 1495 the Principality of Göttingen was incorporated in Calenberg....
unsuccessfully laid siege from January until May. This event led to the Battle of Drakenburg
Battle of Drakenburg
The Battle of Drakenburg took place on 23 May 1547 to the north of Nienburg, between the Protestant army of the Schmalkaldic League and the imperial troops of Eric II, Duke of Calenberg. It resulted in an imperial defeat. Eric was forced to swim over the Weser River to save his own life...
on 23 May 1547, as a Protestant army of the Schmalkaldic League was plundering the nearby Principality of Calenberg. His men and supplies exhausted, Duke Eric II and his Imperial forces went to confront the army and were quickly defeated. During the fighting, Eric was forced to swim over the Weser river in order to save his own life. As a consequence of the Battle of Drakenburg, the Imperial troops left northern Germany.
Aftermath
Capitulation of Wittenberg
The Capitulation of Wittenberg was a treaty in 1547 by which John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, was compelled to resign the electoral dignity. The Electorate of Saxony and most of his territory, including Wittenberg, passed from the elder, Ernestine line to the cadet branch, the Albertine line...
. He lost the electoral
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
dignity and some minor Ernestine territories to his cousin Maurice, who was declared the new Saxon Elector on 4 June. Maurice with the aid of Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg
Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
Joachim II Hector was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Joachim II was the son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden...
tried to mediate in favour of his father-in-law Philip I of Hesse. The Landgrave delivered himself up in Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, where he threw himself on the mercy of the Emperor. Charles V nevertheless had him immediately imprisoned, leaving the Electors upset by his haughty behaviour.
Although the imperial forces were victorious over the Protestant forces of the Schmalkaldic League, the ideas of Martin Luther had spread over the Empire such that they could not be suppressed with physical force. However on 15 May 1548 Charles V, feeling at the height of his power, dictated the Augsburg Interim
Augsburg Interim
The Augsburg Interim is the general term given to an imperial decree ordered on May 15, 1548, at the 1548 Diet of Augsburg, after Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, had defeated the forces of the Schmalkaldic League in the Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47...
to prepare the reintegration of the Protestants into the Catholic Church. The edict provoked another revolt by the Protestant princes in 1552, this time led by Elector Maurice of Saxony and backed by King Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
. Charles V had to flee from the superior Lutheran forces and to cancel the Interim with the Peace of Passau
Peace of Passau
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had won a victory against Protestantism in the Schmalkaldic War of 1547. Many Protestant princes were unhappy with the religious terms of the Augsburg Interim imposed after this victory. In January 1552, led by Maurice of Saxony, many formed an alliance with Henry II of...
, whereby John Frederick I of Saxony and Philip I of Hesse were released. An official settlement acknowledging the Protestant religion arrived three years later in the form of the Peace of Augsburg
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
. The next year Charles V resigned in favour of his brother Ferdinand I.
See also
- Thirty Years' WarThirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
- ConfessionalizationConfessionalizationConfessionalization is a recent concept employed by Reformation historians to describe the parallel processes of "confession-building" taking place in Europe between the Peace of Augsburg and the Thirty Years' War...
- Battle of MühlbergBattle of MühlbergThe Battle of Mühlberg was a large battle at Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony during the Protestant Reformation at which the Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League of...
- Capitulation of WittenbergCapitulation of WittenbergThe Capitulation of Wittenberg was a treaty in 1547 by which John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, was compelled to resign the electoral dignity. The Electorate of Saxony and most of his territory, including Wittenberg, passed from the elder, Ernestine line to the cadet branch, the Albertine line...
Sources
- History of Hungary. Book-Series (10): History of Hungary (1526–1686), First Book. Editor in chief: Pál Zsigmond Pach; Editor: Ágnes Várkonyi R. Akadémia Kiadó. BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
(1985) ISBN 963 05 0929 6 - Oman, CharlesCharles OmanSir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering...
. A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century. London: Methuen & Co. 1937. - Blockmans, WimWim BlockmansWim Pieter Blockmans is Professor of Medieval History at Leiden University.He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Ghent. He has been Rector of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study since September 2002...
. Emperor Charles V (1500–1558). Translated by Isola van den Hoven-Vardon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-340-73110-9.
External links
Schmalkaldischer Krieg at historicum.net- The Schmalkaldic War – World History at KMLA