Regular way Now the reason why they themselves are so desirous to have the matter Legally debated is not because they are afraid their Adversaries would be too powerful for them in the Field for as they design to hurt no Body so if they are threatned with any Violence they are God be thanked sufficiently prepared to defend themselves and their Right Besides they hope that he upon whose account they Engage will afford them his Assistance and Protection Indeed their Cause is so Honourable and Religious that they ought to maintain it at their utmost Peril But they are very much concerned for the ill Consequences which will happen to the State this way For though they deserve to be corrected by God Almighty yet because a Civil War will occasion a horrible desolation in Germany they desire nothing more earnestly than that the whole difference may be amicably accommodated and that all future Ages may have a remarkable Instance of their good Inclinations and Honesty transmitted to them but their Adversaries are implacably exasperated and will not be brought to any reasonable Terms neither did they foresee any other Issue of this Contest than that it would occasion the strength of the Empire which ought to be employed against the common Enemy the Turk to be perfectly wasted and torn in pieces by the mutual Slaughter of its own Subjects but these Consequences ought not to be charged upon them And whatever the Event may be there will come a time when the other Party will be obliged to admit of those Conditions which they now reject with so much Obstinacy for God will appear in the Vindication of his own Honour Upon the First of March the Ambassadors of the Protestant Princes and Cities came to Smalcald according to appointment There came also several Divines along with them viz. Jonas Pomeran Melancthon Cruciger and Bucer who were required to draw up a Scheme of Doctrine upon which they were to treat with their Adversaries about an Accommodation In this Convention they debated those Points which were left unconcluded at Arnstet as hath been mentioned already In the mean time Dulcius and Burcartus returned from their Ambassy in England and upon the Seventh of March they make a Report of the State of Religion in that Country viz. That the Act of Parliament made the last Year was not Executed very strictly but yet Hugh Latimer and the Bishop of Salisbury who where Imprisoned upon the account of Religion were not yet set at Liberty that Cromwell the first Minister of State endeavoured to mollifie the King and abate the Rigour of his Opinion And the King himself had in private Conversation told them his thoughts upon the Point which were these He conceived the Protestant Divines were not Orthodox in their Doctrine concerning the Marriage of Priests the receiving the Lord's Supper as they call it in both Kinds nor in that concerning private Masses and therefore he desires that they would write to him at large about these and other necessary Points and set down the Reasons of their Opinions and he would take care that some Learned Persons in his Kingdom should give them an Answer that so the way to Truth might be discovered It was likewise the Opinion of Cromwell and of some others that it would be proper for them to send an Honourable Ambassy to the King and Melancthon with the rest for if they could come to a tolerable Agreement in their Doctrine the King would furnish them with a vast Summ of Money towards the supporting the League which he intended to make with them not only in the Case of Religion but for defence in general Indeed his Majesty very much wondered why they confined their Alliance to Religion seeing it was likely they would be invaded upon a quite different account Some few days after the Divines gave in a Writing to the Ambassadors The summ of it was this That they ought not to depart from the Contents of the Ausburg Confession nor of the Apology which was afterwards annex'd to it This Opinion all the Divines who were absent afterwards approved by their Letters to the Convention About this time Henry Duke of Brunswick came to Ghent Upon the Sixteenth of March the Emperor gave the Protestant Ambassadors his Answer by Cornelius Scepperus the Substance was courteous enough but withal so Ambiguously worded that they could not tell whether he would secure them the Pacification or not The Ambassadors therefore with the Emperor's permission withdraw and returning presently after they entreat him that he would command the Chamber to cease their Prosecutions and grant them a Peace The Emperor replied That at present he had nothing more to say to these Requests but he would consider the matter farther This Answer was Reported at Smalcald Ten Days after and upon Easter Munday which was then the Twenty-ninth of March the Princes came thither themselves There was at that time a great Emulation and misunderstanding between Granvell and Eldo which at last occasioned Eldo's being removed from his Place upon which he retired from Court and lived privately For the other having the better Interest charged Eldo with Misdemeanors and rendered him odious because he had been too violent in his Councils and Treaties and had like to have run the Emperor upon a War against his Will when he thought nothing of it Now Granvell giving pretty plain signs of his being desirous to accommodate Matters and to settle a good Correspondence in the Empire invited the Protestants to address to him and at their request disposed the Emperors Inclinations for Peace And immediately after and as it were in his own Name he dispatcheth away Two Ambassadors to Smalcald to mediate an Accommodation viz. Theodorick Manderschitt William Nuenarius Counts Persons of great Sence and Quality though the first of these was seized with a dangerous Distemper and forced to stop by the way There demands were indeed moderate enough but then they intimated that the Emperor was almost assured that Religion was not the Protestants design neither did they heartily desire a Peace but were wholly intent upon enriching themselves with the Revenues of the Church That his Majesty had reason to suspect they were glad to see the Empire embroiled That they were disaffected to him and rather inclinable to side with those who were his open Enemies This Information against them the Emperor received partly by their Adversaries and partly by the French as it 's certainly reported For when the Emperor travelled through France and all things seemed to promise a most intimate Alliance and Endearment they say there were some Letters discovered to him which were written from the Convention at Smalcald to the French King. Some say this was done by the King himself but others lay it upon the Constable who was then the Chief Minister and earnestly desirous to bring the Two Monarchs to a good Understanding and besides not very well affected to the
safe unsuspected place where every one might freely speak his Conscience without danger Besides what I have mention'd he press'd them very earnestly to enter into a League with his Master indeed this was the principal reason of his Embassy But they insisting that they must except the Emperor whom they declar'd it was not lawful for them to Article against he concluded nothing with them and before he went away he told some Persons privately that he wondred they should refuse the Offer of sogreat a Prince and that there would come a time when they would heartily wish that they had gone in to his Interest Henry the Eighth of England also sent an Embassy to this Convention of which Edward Fox Bishop of Hereford was chief He began his Speech with telling them what a near Relation there was between the Kings of England and the Dukes of Saxony and that the King his Master had a great respect for his Electoral Highness and his Confederates especially since he saw their principal Design was to propagate the true Religion among their Neighbours And though they had a great many hard words given them upon this account yet these Reflections made no impression upon him neither did he believe them to be any other than good Men who would do nothing but what reason and their station oblig'd them to aiming only that the Gospel might be preach'd in its purity and God glorified by it This he said was also the King's Intention as appears sufficiently from the alteration which was lately made in England For now the greatest part of the Corruptions in the Church were removed by his Royal Command and the Pope's Supremacy and all his Legerdemain was banish'd the Kingdom by a general Consent no less than it was in Saxony And since there are the same Inclinations and Endeavours moving on both sides his Majesty hath a singular Esteem for them and desires them that they would go on as they have begun and unite in a general profession of the same Doctrin for this will lay a lasting foundation for Peace But how much diversity of Opinions are apt to embroil the State his Majesty is very sensible and the Anabaptists are a remarkable instance At this time the Pope pretends as if he was in earnest for a Council Now if there be any remaining Differences and they do not come up to an uniform Perswasion among themselves this will disorder their Measures when they are conven'd upon the place But here he would not be thought to reflect in the least upon their Divines for the Church was never so happy as to be perfectly free from Disputes no not in the Apostles times as appears from the clash there was between St. Peter St. Barnabas and St. Paul. We ought therefore to endeavour an Accommodation no farther than it 's warrantable by Scripture Now the Pope makes it his whole business to hinder the Church from agreeing upon such a Principle insomuch that as long as his cruel and tyrannical Government continues his Majesty despairs of seeing a Reconciliation For now this Idol this Antichrist rageth like a mad Man only because the English have lately thrown off the most scandalous Slavery and recover'd their Liberty by the King's assistance And being not able to attempt any thing by force he betakes himself to Artifice and Fraud and by forging false Accusations against his Majesty endeavours to provoke other Princes to make War upon him For though he will stick at nothing to keep up his pretended Authority yet now his particular Design is to exasperate both sides and set all in a Flame This his Majesty was willing to acquaint them with not that he feared the Pope for he was so well prepar'd that he neither valu'd him nor his whole Party but only that they might see what Antichrist was doing especially at this time when he seems so earnest for a Council though he meaneth nothing less 'T is true his Majesty grants that a regular Debate is singularly useful and very much for the advantage of Christendom but then all imaginable Care must be taken that such a Council be not conven'd as will manage the whole Controversie only for the establishment of the Pope's Greatness Therefore he entreats them they would take his advice and not allow of any Council till all Christian Princes were at Peace with each other withall desiring that the true Worship of God might be restored and that he was willing to engage with them for the compleating and support of so pious an undertaking These things he told them his Instructions obliged him to deliver publickly But besides he desired that he might discourse this affair farther in private with some persons deputed for that purpose For his Highness the King had that regard for Religion and themselves that he was ready to venture his Person and all his Fortunes in the Cause To this after some Ceremony passed upon the King for shewing himself so obliging and well disposed they answer That they desire nothing so much as that the Doctrin of the Gospel might be spread far and near that whatever they did in this case was done out of a principle of Duty And notwithstanding they have been affronted and injured in the grossest manner though they have highly disobliged Persons of the most considerable Interest though they have been often swagger'd at and meanced upon this account yet they have not slackned their industry and pursuit of the Holy Design Now the reason of all this violent and intemperate rage against them is only because they have taken the liberty to reject some false and wicked Opinions Now his Majesties promising so frankly to concur with them in this Work and his expelling the Popes Tyranny his Dominions which is the Spring-Head of all his wicked and erroneous Worship is very acceptable News to them and their Prayers to God are that he may still proceed They also return his Majesty many Thanks for his advice to them to take care of the ill Consequences of different Opinions but really there was no disagreement among them and they were resolved by Gods grace to continue in the same Religion they had profess'd at Ausburgh As to the Anabaptists they punish'd them severely when they could not be prevailed with to give over their Extravagance Besides this Sect domineer'd most in those places where the reformed Religion was prohibited What his Excellency discoursed concerning the Pope's Politick Designs gave them great satisfaction And now he had a Nuncio in Germany who promised a Council should be called at Mantua and had treated with the Elector of Saxony about it Now the Answer which they returned by common Advice to his Proposals was set down in a Paper a Copy of which should be delivered to his Excellency for the King that his Majesty might understand what their Thoughts were in this Case This Nuncio pretends as if it belonged only to the Pope to intimate and convene Councils But
they conceive other Princes and States will not yield him this Point without asking them leave especially at this juncture when so many Articles of Faith are concern'd and the cause of Religion lies at Stake so that now if ever a regular Examination of the matter ought to be secured And whereas his Excellency mentioned the Kings desire of an Alliance with them they are abundantly thankful to his Majesty for it And are resolved that neither pains nor danger shall discourage them from endeavouring to carry on the Progress of the Reformation not doubting but God Almighty will preside over the whole Action and make it successful notwithstanding all the opposition of their Adversaries And because he desires to treat more at large in private about this affair they had commissionated certain Persons to confer with his Excellency to whom he might impart what he had farther in Charge And lastly They request him to report their Answer to his Majesty and let him know how ready they are to serve him Upon the 12th of December the Elector of Saxony came to Smalcalde from King Ferdinand and upon Christmass-Eve they renewed the League which was within a twelve-month of expiring for ten years more Here also they setled those things which were necessary for its defence and agreed to receive all those into their Association who had a mind to it provided they would consent to the Ausburgh Confession and submit to the common charge and circumstances of the rest of the Confederates Those who were for engaging were the two Princes of Pomeren Robert of the House of Bavaria and Duke of Zweibrucken the Cities of Frankfurt Ausburgh Kempton Hamburgh and Hannover some of these desired to be admitted at present and the others gave them hopes of coming in afterwards Concerning the Chamber of Spire they came to this Resolution That in regard King Ferdinand had promised to ratifie the Pacification agreed by the Emperor they should all of them make use of this defence if they should happen to be cited by the Judges But if they would go on notwithstanding and fall a proscribing and press the Execution of their Sentence Then the Protestants were to publish a remonstrance in the name of the whole Confederacy in which the States of the Empire were to be desired and advised not to take any notice of the unreasonable Proceedings of the Chamber but to stand to what the Emperor and King Ferdinand have determined in the Case and to look upon such Sentences as these as null and illegal without offering violence to any Person upon this account For otherwise they must be forced to take satisfaction for the injury and to resolve upon a way to secure themselves and their Allies It was likewise agreed that the Article of the Pacification at Nuremburgh which provided that no Man should be forcibly disseized of his Estate should be punctually observed but with this construction That it should be lawful for them to reform what was amiss in the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in the Ceremonies and in other things of the like Nature At the same time William Count Naâ—â—aw was admitted into the League where though the Lantgrave would not give his consent because both of them laid claim to Catzenellobogen yet he declared that if the Earl was invaded upon the account of his being a Protestant he would assist him upon his request This year also the Senate of Ausburgh after a long contest came to a unanimous resolution for the reformed Religion and wrote to Luther desiring him to send Vrbanus Regius and some other faithful Pastors of the Church to them THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK X. The CONTENTS Bernard Rotman by his Preaching and private Perswasions prevails upon Munster to receive the reformed Religion Which made the Roman Catholicks and their Bishops leave the Town in a Disgust Notwithstanding by the mediation of the Lantgrave both parties are reconciled upon Articles John of Leyden a violent Anabaptist comes thither brings a great many over to his Opinion even Rotman himself and at last infects the Town with his Frensy to that degree that his Sect grew uppermost and introduced Polygamy and community of Goods After the death of their Head Prophet John Matthews John of Leyden succeeds in the Primacy and soon after they make him their King. The Barbarities of his Government and his Antick State described During the Siege of the Town a Convention is appointed at Coblentz to decree a speedy reinforcement of the Army The Anabaptists write to the Lantgrave and send him a Book wherein they explain their Doctrin at large the Confutation of which had already been undertaken by Luther At last the Town being straitned in Provisions is taken by Storm A Convention meets at Wormes to settle affairs there after its reduction The King and his Companions are taken A relation of their Execution The Duke of Savoy makes War upon the State of Geneva and is beaten The French King invades part of his Dominions to facilitate his Conquest of the Duchy of Milan upon this occasion the pretentions of the King to that Duchy are examined The Emperor understanding those things comes to Rome and chargeth the King with breach of Articles and presseth the intimation of a Council The Protestants make a League with the King of England The Pope intimates a Council at Mantua A War breaketh out between the Emperor and the French King. The Siege of Peronne The Arch-Bishop of Cologne reformeth his Church Erasmus dieth The French King his Daughter married to the King of Scotland The Duke of Florence murthered by Treachery The Swiss's Embassy to the French King to intercede for those of the Religion who are imprisoned The Town and Castle of Hesdin is surrendred Cardinal Pool is sent Embassador to the French King. I Am now to proceed to the Siege of Munster and I shall give an account of those Occurrences which happen'd from the beginning of the Siege till that time in which the Town was taken and the Authors of the Sedition punish'd In the first Book I gave a relation of Thomas Muncer how he Preached the Mobile into Sedition what his Tenets were and what end he came to From this Mans discipling there sprung a race of Men who from their Doctrin and Practices are called Anabaptists For they will not suffer Children to be Baptized and are rebaptized themselves affirming that all People ought to follow their example and that their former Baptism is wholly invalid Their Actions have an appearance of Holiness in them They assert that it is not lawful for Christians to go to Law nor to bear any Office of Magistracy nor to swear nor have any property but that all things ought to be possess'd in common These were the singular Doctrins they maintained at first but afterwards they broached others of a much more pernicious Consequence of which I shall speak hereafter Now when these People had spread
the Emperor and King Ferdinand with whom he had concluded an Agreement some few Years since would be disobliged which would make him run a great Hazard in his whole Fortune Duke Vlrich gave his Majesty Thanks for his Caution and told him That he was wronged in this Relation and believed the Dukes of Bavaria were the Authors of this Calumny who had falsly spread such a Report as this of him in Germany therefore he desires his Majesty that he would not give any Credit to it for neither himself nor any of his Allies intended to raise any Disturbance or do any Act of Hostility unless they were forced to it in their own Defence and he did not question but that they when they heard of it would purge themselves As soon therefore as the Protestants at Francfort had received an Account of this Complaint from the Duke the Elector of Saxony and the Lantgrave wrote an Answer to the French King in the Name of all the Confederates dated April the Nineteenth in which they acquaint him That they understood by the Duke of Wirtemberg what Reports had been made to his Majesty concerning them but all these Accusations were nothing but Calumnies raised by Enmity and Ill-Will for they were not about making any Preparations for War but were very desirous of Peace as the Princes of the Mediation could testify For though they had received several Provocations though a confederate Town of theirs had been proscribed and a League claped up by some of the other Party to back their unjust Decrees notwithstanding their Adversaries had raised Forces and given them extraordinary Pay who were now making hostile Depredations in the Territories of their Allies yet they were contented to sit still all this while without the least Motion towards an Opposition for the Love they had for their Country made them willing to forgive all manner of Injuries for the Sake of the Commonwealth But their Adversaries were of a violent and implacable Temper and would not harken to any moderate Proposals nor submit the Differences between them to a legal Determination but were wholly bent to fill the Empire with the Blood and Slaughter of its own Subjects And seeing the Case stands thus they entreat his Majesty not to believe any false Suggestions but endeavour to promote the Interest of the Church by Religious and defensible Methods for the Protection of Truth and Innocence is a Duty peculiarly incumbent upon Kings As for their standing up in the Defense of Religion it was only to discharge their Conscience and not out of any sinister and secular Design neither did they question but that their Doctrine was agreeable to the Word of God which they had not the Liberty to depart from upon any Consideration whatever Upon the Twenty Fourth of April at the breaking up of the Diet George Duke of Saxony departed this Life leaving no Issue behind him for his Two Sons were already deceased without Children one of which was married to Elizabeth the Lantgrave's Sister and the other to a Daughter of the House of Mansfield George therefore made his Brother Henry and his Sons Morice and Augustus his Heirs by Will upon Condition That they should not make any Alteration in the State of Religion If this Condition was Unperformed then he bequeaths all his Dominions to the Emperor and King Ferdinand till his Brother or his Nephews or the next of the male Line of the Blood should fulfil what was enjoined Now after he was grown old and had but an ill Health he acquainted the Nobilility and Commonalty with his Will and desired them That they would ratify it and swear to stand by the Contents But they being affraid that this would occasion a War in the Family prayed him to send to his Brother Henry and treat with him about it for they did not question but that he would agree that no Change should be made in Religion Upon this Ambassadors are sent who besides several other Arguments to perswade him insisted principally That there was a great deal of Money in the Exchequer abundance of rich Furniture and Plate all which would be his own provided he complied with his Brother To which he made this remarkable Answer immediately Truly says he your Ambassy puts me in mind of that Passage in the new Testament where the Devil promised our Saviour all the Kingdoms of the World upon Condition he would fall down and worship him Do you think that any Temptation of Riches has such an ascendant over me as to make me forsake a Religion which I know to be pure and Orthodox I assure you you are much mistaken in your Expectations Now having received this Answer and had their Audience of Leave without effecting any part of their Negotiation It so happen'd That George their Master was dead before they returned Home which when his Brother Henry understood he immediately went to Dresâ—en and to the other great Towns and made the People swear Allegiance to him which they were the more inclinable to do because he was supported with the Interest of the League at Smalcald The Elector of Saxony also who knew how George's Will stood and what his designs were as soon as he heard of his Death made haste Home that he might be ready to assist Henry if need were This was a very considerable Addition to the Protestant Interest and a great and unexpected disappointment of the Roman Catholick Princes who were extreamly troubled at it especially the Elector of Mentz and Henry Duke of Brunswick as I shall have occasion to mention afterwards Thus George had an Heir and Successor quite contrary to his Inclinations and Luther whom he hated above all Men living was invited to Leipsick by the New Prince where he preached several Sermons and began to enter upon a Reformation This Year in May a Comet was seen and just about the same time Isabella the Emperor Charles's Wife died the French King as soon as he heard of it solemnized her Funeral at Paris according to the usual Ceremony among Princes I have already mentioned the Council of Vicenza which the Pope had Prorogued till Easter this Year but the Company not appearing at the time upon the Tenth of June he published another Bull in which he did not Prorogue it to a certain day but suspended it during the pleasure of the Conclave and himself Some few Months since the King of England published another Paper concerning the Council of Vicenza shewing how the Pope abus'd the World for his laying the Fault upon the Duke of Mantua is a ridiculous Excuse For if he hath so great a Power as he pretends why does he not force him to his Pleasure If he cannot do this why does he summon people upon uncertainties to a place which he hath not the command of And now though he hath pitched upon Vicenza for the same purpose yet there is no question but so wise a State as that of
pleased to enlighten this Age in a particular manner with the Knowledge of his Gospel they were bound to submit to the Discovery which they did not with an Intention of disobliging him or any other Mortal whatever but only that they might go to Heaven and be made Happy for ever For in all other things they had de facto shown themselves obedient to his Majesty and now their Inclinations are still the same as is evident from the last Treaty at Francfort But about a Year since the Secretary of Henry of Brunswick happening to fall into the Lantgrave's Company near Cassell and being detained by him upon a violent Suspicion was the Occasion of discovering some Mens Intrigues whose Business it is to provoke their own Party to take up Arms by perswading them that the Protestants are preparing to begin with them already Now this Report being brought to his Majesty was without question the reason of his suffering the Counter-League to be made And after their Adversaries had concerted this League they fell to raising of Forces which at last themselves were likewise obliged to do in their own Defence insomuch that a great deal of Danger would have followed if the Secretary had not been taken up by chance and unless the Palsgrave and the Elector of Brandenburg had interposed with singular Integrity and Application And now since the Disloyalty and Odium of this Disturbance is laid upon them without any manner of Ground and that they abundantly justified themselves in Print from such Calumnies as these they conceive if his Majesty had been throughly acquainted with the whole Matter he would not have engaged in this new League which is so much talked of at present Therefore they humbly entreat his Majesty not to give any Credit to those Complaints which have been preferr'd against them and if they happen to be accused of any Misdemeanor for the future that he would please to let them know it that they may answer for themselves They also entreat his Majesty to enquire into the Designs and Actions of Henry Duke of Brunswick and to concern himself so far as to secure them from all such Apprehensions for the future And whereas they are represented as if they were not sollicitous about Religion and a just Reformation this is nothing but Aspersion and Untruth for Religion is the main thing which they appear for neither have they ever refused to referr their Cause to a fair Hearing Of this reasonable Proposal they are able to make good proof particularly it appears from the last Treaty at Francfort and from the Lantgrave's Letter to King Ferdinand after that Diet was ended In this Letter his Imperial Majesty was desired to order a Conference of Learned Men. This request they now humbly renew to his Majesty desiring him not to deal any otherwise with them than with those who are affectionately desirous of Unity and Agreement in Religion and of the Welfare of the Empire and are likewise willing to serve his Majesty in every thing as far as Conscience and Equity will give them leave About Four Years ago his Majesty was pleased to declare when he wrote from Italy that he would not make use of Arms and Violence but of Arguments and Truth to compose the Differences in Religion His Majesty had likewise lately expressed himself to the same Sence in his Letters to the Palsgrave and the Elector of Brandenburg in which he gave his Reasons why he could not then attend to the Affairs of Religion this account was extreamly satisfactory to them and their Prayers to God were That he would fortifie his Majesty in this Resolution Now at the late Diet at Francfort there were a great many things agreed upon and a Truce concluded provided his Majesty approved it within Six Months this he had not been pleas'd to do as yet though the half Year had been expired a great while since and besides the Judges of the Chamber gave Sentence against them in Causes which were purely Spiritual and executed the Proscription of Minden perfectly contrary to his own and King Ferdinand's Order Now how prejudicial this is to the Empire his Majesty is certainly very sensible therefore they beseech him that he would interpose his Authority for otherwise the measures for prosecuting the Turkish War cannot be adjusted nor the Conference of Learned Men begun which hath been so often wished for for in order to the right fettlement of the Government a firm and lasting Peace ratified by all the States of the Empire is absolutely necessary This Undertaking will be both very Honourable for his Majesty who hath already gained the Title of a Pacifick Emperor and also mightily for the Interest of all Germany They had their Audience of the Emperor upon the Twenty-fourth of February at Ghent Granvell being present where his Majesty told them He would take some time to consider and then give them an Answer Much about the same time that the Protestants sent an Ambassy to the Emperor they wrote likewise to the French King acquainting him That for some Years last past his Majesty had declared his good Affection to them both in his Letters and by his Ambassadors and had also a right Notion of a Council namely That Controversies in Religion are not to be determined by Blows and Fighting but by Reason and Truth This his Majesty's Inclination and Sence of things was extreamly satisfactory to them because they saw he was in Love with Equity and resolved to protect it And therefore by way of return they have always to their power endeavoured to show their gratitude and respect which makes them believe that he still continues his kind Intentions and Opinion of them Moreover that Friendship and good Understanding which was now between his Majesty and their Emperor was a blessing they were exceeding glad of and congratulated the good Fortune of Christendom upon several accounts but more especially because they hoped it would be remarkably instrumental in reconciling the Differences in the Church Indeed the Death of the Empress has hitherto prevented his Imperial Majesty from executing the Decree which was made the last Year at Francfort But now since both their Majesties are upon such good Terms they conceive the matter may be easily adjusted if he pleaseth to second the Emperor's Endeavours in it and lendeth as it were his helping hand to the Cause which they earnestly desire he would be pleas'd to do that so the Church may have the advantage of those Expedients which were agreed upon at Francfort They confessed they were fully satisfied concerning the Emperor's Intentions and excellent Temper and had also sent an Ambassy to him of which they hoped to be able to give a good account But their Adversaries are almost always contriving one Design or other to hinder these publick Measures from taking effect for the distrust they have of their Cause makes them that they will not endure to have the Merits of it examined in a
publick and understand also the Reasons why he came not sooner into Germany that what trouble pains and charges he was at in supporting the Government of the Empire he would in due time make it so plain to them that all should be convinced that nothing was dearer unto him than the Welfare of Germany nor would he mention neither what vast Expences he was put to daily in maintaining a Fleet at Sea to withstand the Encroachments of the Turks That he was come and in great haste too to this Diet though his Health and other Affairs had been a great hindrance unto him That besides he had moved the Pope to send a Legate hither and that accordingly Cardinal Contarini was come a Man of great Vertue and a Lover of Peace That therefore since this Diet was called chiefly for settling the Affairs of Religion and that nothing was yet determined therein though it might be of dangerous consequence if an end were not put to these Divisions it was his earnest desire that a Reconciliation might be made and that he would willingly contribute thereunto whatever lay in his Power That he expected the like Will and Inclinations from them and therefore was importunate with them that they would consult about measures for accommodating the Controversies and the manner of proceeding therein and that they might perceive how much he loved Concord it was his Advice provided they knew of no better Expedient that of the whole number a few good and learned Men that were desirous of Peace and Germans Born should be chosen to conferr amicably about the matters in Controversie and how they might be adjusted and then to make their Report to him and their own States that the thing being afterwards deliberated amongst them and communicated to the Popes Legate a Decree might accordingly pass That this course had been looked upon as the most convenient both at Ausburg heretofore and lately at Wormes but with this proviso That it be no derogation to the Decree of Ausburg To these things the Protestants answered April the Ninth and having praised and extolled the Virtues and Goodness of the Emperor they craved that the Conference of Wormes might be continued as being transferred to this place That to what his Majesty offered of commissionating some new they would give their Answer they said when they should learn from him who the Persons were But the other Princes and States having given their Answer April the Twelfth throughly approve his Council and mainly urge That the Decree of Ausburg may continue in Force and Authority Afterward the Emperor demanded of both especially of the Protestants that they would referr the choice of the Persons to him and confide in him as to that particular who would do nothing but what should tend to the Peace and Welfare of the Country When that was granted him on the Thirteenth of April he caused Frederick Prince Palatine in his Name to appoint for the Conference Julius Pflug John Eckius John Gropper Philip Melancthon Martin Bucer and John Pistorius that they should handle the controverted Points of Doctrine and then make a Report thereof to him and the Princes He afterwards called them before him April the Two and twentieth and gave them a long and serious Admonition that in handling of this matter they should not be swayed by Passion nor Affection but have regard only to the Glory of God. They all modestly excused themselves desiring that other fitter persons might be appointed except Eckius who said that he was prepared and ready but when the Emperor urged it upon them they submitted and at the same time entreated him to add some more to their number who might be present partly as presidents and Moderators and partly as Witnesses and Hearers of the Proceedings He therefore named Frederick Prince Palatine and Granvell for Presidents and Theodorick Count Manderschitt Eberhard Ruden Henry Haseu Francis Burcart John Fig and James Sturmey for Witnesses Now when they all met April the Twenty seventh Frederick Prince Palatine made a Speech and advised the Conferrers seriously to set about the matter and conferr amicably Then Granvell presented to them a Book in Writing which he said had been delivered to the Emperor by some good and learned Men as a proper means for a future Reconciliation That it was therefore the Emperor's Pleasure that they should peruse and weigh that Book as a lawful Argument and Matter to treat on commend what all of them approved therein and correct what was amiss That Book contained these Heads of Doctrine Of the Creation of Man and of the Uprightness of Nature before the Fall Of free Will Of the cause of Sin Of original Sin Of Man's Justification Of the Church and the Marks and Authority thereof Of the Mark of the Word Of Repentance after the Fall Of the Authority of the Church in discerning and interpreting Scripture Of the Sacraments Of Orders Baptism Confirmation the Lord's Supper Penance and Absolution Matrimony Extream Unction Of the Bond of Charity Of the Hierarchy of the Church and its Authority in settling Discipline and Government Of Images Of the Mass Of the Administration of the Sacraments and of the Discipline of the Church both as to Ministers and People In the Month of May the Protestants wrote from Ratisbone to the French King interceding for those of the Protestant Religion in Provence who were partly in Prison partly banished and partly forced to abscond and lead a miserable Life for their Profession and because some were received into Favour if they would renounce their Religion they desired he would release them from that condition shewing what a grievous thing it was to force Mens Consciences This Persecution proceeded from a Sentence pronounced the Year before against the Inhabitants of Merindole a Village of Provence by the Parliament of Aix which being exceeding terrible and cruel put the poor people into extream Terror and Apprehension However the full Execution of it was put off to another time and this Year's Persecution was but a Play in respect of that which followed four Years after as shall be said in the proper place Whilst these things are in agitation at Ratisbone William Duke of Cleve whose implacable Enemy the Emperor was because of his Possession of Guelderland went privily into France having appointed a day and place for those whom he designed to have with him to come to him by several ways When about the end of April he arrived at Paris he was received by the King's Officers and being conducted by Orleans on the Sixth of May he came to the King who was then at Amboise a Town in Turin upon the Loire The King embracing him as a Father would a Son sends presently word to the King of Navarre and his Sister that they should come to him as soon as possibly they could and bring their Daughter with them for they were at that time in Guienne Upon their coming
King yet this at his Trial was never or very little at most urged against him and in the Sentence or Judgment pronounced against him it was never mentioned We have said above how Peter Martyr the Florentine about six years since was sent for into England by the late King Edward and upon his Arrival made Professor of Divinity at Oxford He was much honoured and esteemed both for his signal Virtue and Learning but then there were others who did no less envy and hate him Upon the Death of the King he was commanded not to depart or carry away what he had without the leave of the Magistrates and severely threatned if he did any thing to the contrary he readily obeyed this Order at first but when he perceived Delays were made use of he wrote to the Council and acquainted them with the Condition he was in and desired that if any thing were laid to his Charge he and his Accusers might be heard face to face before the Council When by this means he had obtain'd their leave to be gone he went to London There he found the Archbishop of Canterbury his good Patron and Friend who by the Preachers was at the instigation of the Roman Catholick Bishops represented as one that was unsteady that the Mass was restored at Canterbury by his Order that he himself was to say Mass at the King's Funeral and that he had promised the Queen he would do so And at the same time there was a great noise of a Disputation that was soon after to be So soon as the Archbishop heard this he put out a Paper to vindicate himself wherein he confesseth That a certain Priest without his knowledge or consent had said Mass at Canterbury The other Report concerning the King's Funeral he denied adding that if the Queen would grant him her Leave he would prove that the Communion-Service and the Articles of Religion set out and established by King Edward concerning the Lord's Supper and several other things were consonant and agreeable to the Holy Scriptures but on the contrary the Papal Mass was contrary to the Institution of Christ To the proof of which Assertion he did not need the Aid and Assistance of many but only desired that Peter Martyr and a few others might be permitted to be his Companions and Seconds in this Affair And whereas they of the Church of Rome made great Boasts of the Antiquity of their Religion and pretended it had stood above Fifteen Hundred years he said they could never prove this but he undertook to shew that the Religion which was setled here under Edward the Sixth and which was yet the established Religion of England was the genuine and truly ancient Religion which was delivered to us by Christ and his Apostles This Manifesto being by him made publick at London about the Fifth Day of September Peter Martyr came about the same time from Oxford to him and being by the Archbishop acquainted with this Paper he commended it and said he would not decline any labour or danger that could befal him in the defence of it Whilst they were expecting a Disputation the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishop of London Worcester and some others were for their Religion and for some Sermons they were said to have Preached against the Queen by the Order of the Council before she was proclaimed Queen sent to the Tower the Fourteenth of September Hugh Latimer was also taken up whom King Edward had delivered out of Prison his Father having confined him on the account of his Doctrine In the mean time though Peter Martyr saw clearly the danger he was in yet having done nothing contrary to the Laws of England he relied upon his Innocence and would not depart without a Passport or publick Dismission When therefore he had obtained this Signed by the Queens own Hand he arrived first at Antwerp and from thence went to Cologne and so to Strasburg from which place he went when he was sent for into England and here he found Bernard Ochin who was come thither not long before him It was reported in Germany that the Emperor had advised Queen Mary his Cousin that she should govern her People with great Clemency and not change the Religion she found setled nor marry a Stranger he himself having learn'd by sad experience the great dangers which attended a Change in Religion Whether this were so or not I cannot affirm but the Event seems to prove the contrary for she having commanded all the Protestants which were Foreigners to depart the Kingdom and imprisoned many of the Natives quickly resetled the Roman Catholick Religion as I shall shew hereafter the first of October the Queen was Crowned and the Tenth of the same Month a Parliament began The Emperor had summoned a Diet to meet the Thirteenth of August as I have said in the beginning of this Book which was first Prorogued to the First of October and afterwards to the Month of January After the Battel in which Maurice of Saxony was slain Henry Duke of Brunswick and Albert Marquess of Brandenburg began each of them to recollect their scattered Forces and to levy more the Bishops and Norimbergers supplied Henry with Money for that purpose But then all men wondred from whence Albert had these Nerves of War And there was a Report that Mary the Emperor's Sister furnished him with Treasures which was again denied by the Imperialists and they pretended too to wonder that men should be so silly to think so But the Moneys coming in somewhat slowly to Henry and this being known to Albert he reduced him to great danger by solliciting his Souldiers to a defection who bore the delay of their Pay with great impatience but the Tenth day of September in the very moment of time when the Soldiery was in their Ferment and just entring into a Mutiny the Remedy came and all that Tempest was quieted And Henry for the better supporting his Interest made a Peace with Erick his Kinsman who had till then served under Albert against him The King of Denmark some time before this had sent Ambassadors into Saxony to promote the Interests of Augustus his Son-in-Law and they being assisted by the Ambassadors of the Elector of Brandenburg made a Reconciliation between Albert and Augustus The Conditions were That Augustus should not prosecute the War begun by his late Brother nor send Succors to the Enemies of Albert And Albert promised the same for his part and that if the necessity of the War enforced him to march his Forces near the Territories of Augustus he would do him no dammage Augustus was to take great care that none of his Souldiers when they were disbanded should enter the Service of Albert's Enemies and lastly That the ancient League between the Houses of Saxony and Brandenburg should be renewed assoon as could be The next Day which was the Twelfth of September Albert marched his
Primitive Church and first four Councils that it commends and teacheth those Works which are truly Christian and exhorts the People to obey their Magistrates So that if a firm and certain Peace may be established in this Diet there was no doubt but the Emperor and his Majesty might obtain great Succours from the Germans against the Turks but then those who had imbraced the Augustan Confession and for the most part had been brought up in it would constantly persist in that Faith so that if there were not such a Peace made as should include Religion and confirm the Possessions of the Church Revenues where they now were though this affair were only referred to another Diet as has already been frequently done and one day spent after another in Delays whilst the People were left in a miserable uncertainty of enjoying what they had That in this case it was very doubtful whether all Men would patiently bear it for though he and the rest of the Princes should sit still acquiesce and do their duties and continue in their Obedience yet it might happen that those that were mean Men and of no regard might cause Troubles by means of this uncertainty of Danger and of this fear for Religion especially in those Places which lay most exposed and afforded the greatest opportunities for Insurrections of this Nature That this being a thing in which the fortune of the Empire consisted he desired earnestly that his Majesty would apply his Thoughts to it now he had obtained a full and plenary Power from the Emperor That besides this Condition was some years since proposed by his Brother Maurice at Passaw that if perhaps the differences in Religion could not be Composed that yet nevertheless an inviolable Peace should be Established till things could be intirely Composed And though the Emperor would not then admit this offer because as he said all the States were concerned in it yet seeing he did not neither totally reject it and in the Treaty or Decree expresly promised That he would take Care that things might be equitably discussed in the Diet and there should be no Arts used to suborn the Votes of Men in the business of Religion He was confident on this account that in the entrance or beginning of this Diet He would solicite not only those States and Princes who met then at Passaw but all the rest of the States to imbrace a Peace When the Deputies of the Duke of Saxony had made this Speech in the Diet the fourth of February the next day the King of the Romans made a reference or proposal of it to the States in the manner I have set forth in the conclusion of the last Book About this time the Learned Men of Misnia and Wittemberg and especially Melanchthon sent their Letters of Consolation to those Ministers which were Banished out of Bohemia as I said in the end of the last Book wherein they shew the Craft of the adverse Party who alledged that they only desired to preserve necessary Order in the Church and that those who either had no Episcopal Ordination or who were Married ought not to distribute the Holy Sacrament for they only pretended this Cause of their Banishment that they might not seem to intend the oppression of the true Religion But then these Learned Men sufficiently proved that it was a meer Tyranny to deprive Ministers of their Functions only because they were Married for that the Devil was the Author of the Prohibition of Marriage as appears sufficiently in the sacred Scriptures That Orders were not to be sought from the Hands of the Bishops who were the declared Enemies of the Gospel and defended Idolatry but that they were to be sought from that Church which imbraced the true Doctrine and therefore had the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven That it was extreamly absurd and dangerous to ask Shepherds of the Wolves That the Church has ever had a Right to elect fitting Ministers and that so it was decreed in the Council of Nice That those that were thus Elected and Tryed were confirmed by those that presided in the Holy Churches That this Custom was still retained and therefore it was a meer slander when they pretended the Protestants disturbed or broke the Order of the Church Therefore since this was the true state of things and for that they were Banished for the Profession of the true Religion they ought to bear their Sufferings with the greater moderation of Mind for that God in due time would take Care of them and they and the Neighbour Churches would afford them the best Hospitality and Charity they could The French having taken Jurea a City of Piedmont upon the River Doria under the Command of Brisac the thirteeenth day of December of the last Year This Year the third day of March they took Casale a City standing near the Po by surprize though there was in it a Garrison of Spaniards and Germans the Castle held out for some time and then was forced to yield too after this they possessed themselves of several other Towns and amongst them of Valenza and Salvadora both which they beat down and levelled The sixth of March Augustus the Elector of Saxony Joachim Marquess of Brandenburg and Elector the Children of John Frederick late Elector of Saxony the Landgrave of Hesse and several of the neighbouring Princes met at Naumburg upon the River Saal and there renewed the Hereditary League between these Families which I have mentioned before in my twenty fourth Book and at the same time mutually agreed to stick to the Augustan Confession and that no suspition might thereupon arise af any under-hand Combination the fifth day after their Meeting they gave the Emperor an account of the reason of this congress in this manner The last year when there was a Treaty concluded between Augustus and John Frederick Electors of Saxony it was then determined that the ancient and Paternal League should be renewed which was begun above a hundred Years since and afterwards confirm'd by a Law That they were then met to renew that League and as it had been very beneficial to their Ancestors and their People so they hoped that for the future they should reap the same Advantage from it seeing they sought nothing from it but the Publick Peace and Welfare and did not design to offend any Person and they said that pursuant to the old Custom they had excepted his Imperial Majesty and his Brother the King of the Romans out of it and that as they desired to live in Peace amongst themselves so they would perform that Duty which they owed to the Publick and which became obedient Princes of the Empire That as to Religion they would not exceed the terms and limits of the Augustan Confession but then because those Heads of the Christian Religion which were contained in it had not the least mixture of any Seditious or Impious Doctrines by the Blessing of God they would
cited Passages out of the Fathers of the Church to shew that the same Forgeries had been made use of by the Pagans against the Primitive Christians and that they might be sure it might come to the King's Hands they got it conveyed into his Bed-chamber which Book was afterwards answered by Anthony de Mouchy a Divine and the chief of the Inquisitors and by Robert Cenali Bishop of Auranches Jean Munier Recorder of Paris was appointed to examine the Prisoners who reporting their Answers to the Parliament Nich. Client a Saintonian who had been a School-master many Years in Paris and was now in the sixtieth Year of his Age Taurin Gravelle an Advocate in the Parliament of Paris and Phillippina Lunia of rigort the Relict of the Graveron a Gentleman who was dead were all condemned the fourteenth of September and the two first were burnt alive but the latter was first strangled And four Days after Nich. Le Cene a Physician of Normandy and Peter Gambara of Poictou were burnt Francis Rebeziers born at Stafort in Condomois and Frederick Danville of Olerone in Bearne were led with an Iron Ball in their Mouths to the Place of Execution where they were hanged and their Bodies burn'd to Ashes When they were now going to proceed against the rest a Noble Matron which was among the Prisoners offered a Petition to the Parliament excepting therein against several of the Judges and offering many Reasons in her Petition which ought not to be neglected to have them set by and some others to be appointed in their stead at the Trial Whil the Parliament were considering what they ought to do as to this Petition there came Envoys from the Switz and Protestant Princes in Germany to desire the King not to proceed against a Company of miserable People who were of the same Religion with themselves And thereupon the Affairs of Philip being then in great Prosperity and those of France in a declining Condition and the King needing the Assistance of the Switz and Protestant Princes of Germany for the Recovery of his Country he suffered the Parliament to act more mildly with them So some of them were dismissed others turned over to the Ecclesiastical Courts where by the Revocation of the Sentence they escaped Death Rantigny and Champagne two married Ladies were given to their Husbands who were very averse to that Religion and Ovarty another Lady was given into the Hands of Queen Catherine The King of France published an-Edict the seventeenth of May commanding all Bishops and their Curates to reside upon their Benefices and to preach to the People or to appoint others in their stead who should do so upon pain of being deprived of the Profits of their Cures There had been a Law published to the same purpose by Lewis XI the thirteenth of January 1476 which was now revived Men judging that Preaching was a likelier way to fix Men in their Religion than Fire and Faggot But however this Edict was not much regarded by the Clergy of France who were then as Unlearned and Ignorant as they were Cruel and Bloody The Army belonging to King Philip being as I have said dissipated or put into Winter Quarters and that of France growing daily greater it was taken into Consideration How they should employ that chargable Body of Men though the Winter was then in its greatest Rigour The first Debate was Whether they should attempt the Recovery of S. Quintin and the other Places that were lost or enter upon some new Enterprize and here they resolved upon the latter and the Reduction of Calais having been proposed by Senarpont Governour of Boulogne in the latter End of the Summer if the Misfortune of S. Quintin had not broke their Measures they presently resolved to reassume that interrupted Design A part of their Forces marched under the Duke of Nevers pretending they intended to attack Luxemburg and Arlon Another Part under the Duke of Guise who was now General of all the French Forces pretended to block up S. Quintin and the other Places that were lost Nevers having-passed through the Territory of Argone came to Stenay a Town in the Dukedom of Lorain and having staid there a short time suddenly sends his part of the Army to joyn the Duke of Guise who lay then at Amiens who presently marched away for Boulogne as if he had been solicitous for the Preservation of it but suddenly wheeling about the first of January he came to Newnham-bridge a Fort seated a mile from the Town of Calais which commanded the Avenues to the Land-ward There was another called Risbank which lay near to the Town and commanded the Harbour on the North of the Town and upon these two Forts the greatest part of the Security of Calais depended The Lord Wentworth was then Governour of the Town but the Garrison was not above five hundred Men and there were not above two hundred Townsmen able to bear Arms so that the Duke of Guise sending three thousand Musqueteers and the Soldiers of Newnham-fort having made one improsperous Sally against them and not being relieved by the Governour the Cannon was brought up against it which began to batter it the next Morning The Duke of Guise knew very well the whole stress of the Success lay in the celerity of his Actions and accordingly the next Day attacked the Fort of Risbank too which were both yielded the same Day by the order of the Governour The Town of Calais is seated in a Plain and on three Sides of it is almost inaccessible by reason of the River Hames part of which fills its Dikes which are Great and Deep and the rest falls with several other small Rivers into the Haven on the west Side of the Town It s Form is Square and at three of its Corners it has Royal Bastions and the fourth which is towards the South has an Ancient but strong Castle for its Defence besides it has a strong Bulwork of Earth which is very high and thick but is of so sandy a nature as the French found after this to their Damage that the force of a Cannon scattered it like dust The Rivers and Marshes encompassing the Town on all Sides there was no Passage to it but by a Causey from the Fort of Newnham nor was it possible for any Ship to enter the Town but what passed under the Fort of Risbank so that these two Forts were the great Securities of the Town which were both now in the Hands of the French after which they lodged on the Causey and Banks twenty Foot Companies and one German Regiment and one thousand one hundred Horse The Marshal de Termes secured the Way leading to Guines with the rest of the Horse and the Switz The fifth of January they began to batter the River-gate with four whole Cannon and three hundred Culverins were imployed against the other parts of the Walls and Bulworks but their main Battery was against the River-gate whilst the
the publick Inns That they should deliver in all the Books written or printed by David George and not keep any by them in the Dutch Tongue and that they should send their Children to the School of Basil to be instructed That they should pay a Pecuniary Mulct if required and that they their Wives and Children should appear in the Church and make Profession of the True Faith and-Renounce that of David George Two days after his Body was sentenc'd to be taken up and burnt together with his Books and Effigies by the Hands of the Common Hang-man in the place where they usally executed Malefactors and all his Goods they sez'd to the Publick Treasure adding That if any Person presum'd to blame this their Decree he should be liable to the same Punishment His Body was found very perfect so that it might be known by his yellow Bâ—ard from another Man's though he had been buried two Years and six Months and was accordingly burnt in a vast concourse of Men. In the beginning of February the Ambassadours met again at the Castle of Cambray to conclude the Treaty which was broke up upon the Death of Mary Queen of England Queen Elizabeth who succeeded her Sister Mary a Princes of a Masculine Soul and of a Prudence above her Sex fearing if she relied upon the Spaniard she might either be deserted or dishonoured by his Protection had in the mean time made a separate Peace with France After which she changed the Religion of England in her first Parliament abolishing all the Laws made by her Sister Mary and reviving those made by her Brother Edward VI and rejecting all Obedience to the Pope of Rome This Peace with France did much facilitate the Treaty of Cambray In which among other things these Princes promised to do their utmost that a General Council should be held as soon as was possible to the Glory of God and the pacifying Men's Consciences This last Clause by the perverse Counsels of these Princes in a short time raised a War in the Low-Countries and France which was more lasting and more fatal than any former Wars This Treaty was signed at Cambray April 3. These two Kings having thus regained their Peace and disburthened themselves of the Cares which the War brought upon them they betook themselves solely to the Care of Religion which in France had been under consideration the two foregoing Years and was then omitted on account of the War and Treaty but was now reassumed in the heat of a Marriage-Feast There was one Diana Dutchess of Valentinois a Court-Lady and one of the King's Mistresses who used to beg the Estates of all such as suffered for any Crime And the Duke of Guise who were the Promoters of this Persecution the latter aiming at nothing but Popular Applause These two insinuated this Belief into the King That the Venome of Heresie was much spread in France and that in truth he was not King of those Provinces in which that prevailed That the Impudence of those who imbraced it was so great that they did not whisper it as heretofore in the Ear but preached it openly and boldly throughout the Kingdom by which the name of God was blasphemed and his Majesties Royal Authority was endangered for when the Law of God was once confounded who can Question say they but that all Human Laws will soon be subverted And that they might the more easily prevail they employed Giles Maistre president of the Parliament Jean de S. Andre Anthony Minart and Giles Bourdin the King's Attorney and principally the first of these who was a Man of a fierce Disposition and Temper to incense the King's Mind against the Sectaries he being no way inclined to such Severities To this end they tell him That there would little be gained by the Peace of a more cruel War was fomented and carried on at Home For that the Disease had already got such Strength that if his Majesty dissembled a little longer the Sword of the Magistrate and the Laws of the Land would not be able to suppress it but he must levy Armies and himself take the Field against them as had been done in the case of the Albingenses That what had hitherto been done had not had its desired effect because all the severity had been spent upon the populace and the mean people the hatred and detestation of which had affected all Men but very few had taken example by it That now it was fit to begin with the Judges many of which had imbraced their Doctrin secretly or favoured them on other accounts and by their connivance nourished the Distemper suffering this Offence either to go unpunished or very lightly corrected This they said was the very Root of the Evil and that all labour was in vain tâ—ll it were pulled up Not long after this the King was prevailed upon to come into the Parliament in Person whilst the Members were debating about the Punishment of the Sectaries June 14. He seemed rather to labour to conceal his Anger than to have come with a calm Mind Among other things he told the Parliament That having made a Peace he hoped it would turn to the general Good but he was much concerned that the business of Religion which was one of the principal Cares of a good Prince had been during the War tumultuously and seditiously treated by some That therefore he desired for the future more care might be taken of the Christian Religion And because he heard that affair was this Day to be debated by them he was come thither and he admonished them to proceed in it with Freedom saying It was God's Cause who knew all our Hearts and Thoughts Tho' the Members of the Parliament knew the King was brought thither to deprive them of their Liberty yet there were some who resolved to retain their ancient Freedom at the price of their Lives and having declaimed against the Manners of the Court of Rome and its ill Customes which had degenerated into most pernicious Errors and given occasion to the rise of many Sects they thence inferred That the Penalties of Heresie were to be mitigated and the Severities of the Law abated till the differences of Religion were composed by the Authority of a General Council and the Discipline of the Church reformed And this was the Opinion of all the good Men in the Parliament Arnold du Ferrier President of the Criminal Court an honest and a wise Person and the best Lawyer in France was the first who proposed this Method and was followed by many others among which was Lewis du Faur a Man of great Sense and of a generous Temper who added That all were agreed that the Differences in Religion had occasioned great Disturbances but then said he we ought carefully to enquire Who caused these Disorders lest as Elijah answered Ahab when he reproached him as the Troubler of Israel it might be said to us It is thou that hast
marching to Villar where they intended to do the like they met the Soldiers who had heard what was done going to Plunder Bobbi stopped them and with their Slings so pelted them that they were glad to shift for their lives and left these Reformers to do the same thing at Villar The Captain of Turin attempting to stop this Rage was beaten and the Dukes Officers were glad to seek to their Pastors for a Pasport After this they beat the Captain of Turin in a second Fight By this time the whole Army drew into the Field and the Inhabitants of these Valleys not being able to resist them they burnt all their Towns and Houses and destroyed all the People they took In these Broils Monteil one of the Duke of Savoy's Chief Officers was slain by a Lad of eighteen years of age and Truchet another of them by a Dwarf The Duke of Savoy had sent seven thousand Soldiers to destroy this handful of Men and yet such was their Rage and Desperation and the Advantage of their Country that they beat his Soldiers wheresoever they met them And in all these Fights their Enemies observed that they had slain only fourteen of the Inhabitants and thence concluded that God fought for them So the Savoyards began to treat of a Peace which at last was concluded to the Advantage of these poor despicable People The Duke remitting the eight thousand Crowns they were to pay by the former Treaty and suffering them to enjoy the Liberty of their Religion So that he got nothing by this War but loss and shame the ruin of his People on both sides and the desolating of his Country A CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION BOOK III. The CONTENTS A Persecution in the Low-Countries The French Affairs Queen Catharine favoureth the Protestants but ordereth Montmorency to oppose them She suspects the designs of the Nobility The differences of Religion occasion Tumults in France Various Edicts made The Cardinal of Lorrain procures the Conference of Poissi Mary Queen of the Scots leaves France The three Estates of France Assemble at Pont-Oyse The Conference of Poissi The Rudeness of Laines General of the Jesuits This Conference disliked abroad The Council of Trent recalled Opposed by Vergerius The Popes Legates sent to Princes to invite them to the Council A Diet of the Protestant Princes at Naumburg The Queen of England rejects the Council The Ruin of the Caraffa's The King of Navarre drawn over to the Romish Party by the Arts of the King of Spain Scotch Affairs The Protestant Religion setled there by a Parliament Queen Mary Arrives there Her beginning favourable to the Protestants Great kindness at first in shew between her and Queen Elizabeth The French Affairs The Edict of January 1562. Injunctions published by the Queen concerning Images The King of Navarre pretends to promote the Reformation The Edict of January opposed by the Guises The Massacre of Vassi The Duke of Guise entereth Paris All things in France tend to Civil War. The Queen joyns with the Roman Catholick Party out of fear Orleans surprized by the Prince of Conde The Massacre of Senlis Roan taken by the Protestants Several Treaties for a Peace The Siege of Roan The King of Navarre shot His Death and Character The Prince of Conde leaves Orleans Besieges Corbeil The two Armies come in view He marches towards Normandy The Battel of Dreux in which Montmorency is taken St. Andre slain and the Prince of Conde taken Coligni and the Duke of Guise become Generals The Pope fondly rejoyces at this Battel The Siege of Orleans The Duke of Guise Assassinated His Death and Character The Queen desires and at last makes a Peace which is disliked by Coligni THIS Year there began a sharp Persecution against all that were suspected to favour the Reformation in the Netherlands and for the greater terror they burnt the Houses of all those they Convicted for holding private Meetings Perrenot Bishop of Arras and Cardinal Granvel hoping by this means to prevent the spreading of a Religion in that Country which had made such progresses in Germany and France They that imbraced this Religion were no less scandalized by the multiplying the Bishopricks and thereupon drew up a Confession of their Faith to be exhibited to King Philip beseeching him in the end of it that he would put a stop to the bloody Executions which destroyed so many of his innocent People This Confession was the same in substance with that published by the French Protestants and amongst other things they took particular care to insert That the Civil Magistrate was the Ordinance of God and therefore was to be obeyed Their Tributes to he duly paid and all manner of Respect and Reverence to be shewed to them and that Prayers were to be made to God for their preservation In the month of February the new King of France left Orleans and went to Fontainbleau where the Prince of Conde waited upon him and being introduced into the Privy Council asked the Chancellor if there were any Accusation depending against him and was told by him and the whole Council they were intirely satisfied of his innocence and leave was given him to demand an Acquital in the Parliament of Paris And a Decree was made to that purpose and Published by the Order of the Council March 13. after which he went to Paris to prosecute his Discharge before that Court. In the mean time Queen Catharine the Regent of France seemed very much â—o favour the Protestant Party and by her Arts and Dissimulation so far prevailed upon the spirit of the King of Navarre who was their Head that he told the Danish Ambassador he did not doubt but he should see the Reformed Religion settled in France within one year The Queen on the other side told Montmorency That she connived at them for the present that she might the more easily elude the designs of the King of Navarre by seeming to comply with him But then she said he and the other great Men of that Kingdom ought to oppose them and to complain that the Religion of their Ancestors was every where violated and despised She designed by this First To divide the great Men in the Point of Religion Secondly To weaken the Interest of the King of Navarre And thirdly To preserve the Romish Religion in France But Montmorency who was her Instrument designed only the last yet he was very active in it The Queen in the interim carried her dissimulation so far that she ordered Jean de Monluc Bishop of Valence who was a great favourer of the Reformation and no Enemy to the Protestants Doctrine to Preach frequently at Court and She and the King were sometimes present at his Sermons He would sometimes speak very freely against the Corruptions that were in the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church and obliquely tax the Papal Authority The favour the Queen shewed to this Bishop made Montmorency suspect that in
Council which he had rather promised than desigued before The Conference was to be begun the First of August at Poissy and the Bishops and Divines were already arrived there and had entered into a Debate what Points were to be Disputed where they spent the time to no great purpose disputing amongst themselves concering the Office of a Bishop the Dignity of Cathedral Churches of Colleges and their Exemptions of the Ordination of Curates and Priests concerning allowing them Competent Pensions abating their number reforming the Discipline of the Monasteries of Commendam's and Benesices of cutting off the Pleasures and Luxuries of the Clergy and of Censures And they thought the Answering such like Queries was of great use to the Church in these confused times There appeared for the Protestants Augustin Marlorat Francis de S. Pol Jean Remond Merlin J. Malo Francis de Mureaux N. Tobie Theodore Beza Claud Brisson J. Bouquin J. Viret J. de la Tour Nich. de Crallas and John De l'Espine who abjuring the Dominican Order did then first openly prosess the Protestant Religion Soon after Peter Martyr came to Zurich These Asked four things 1st That the Bishops should be Parties and not Judge 2d That the King and Council should Preside 3d. That all things might be determin'd only by the Word of God 4th That whatever was agreed should be set down by Notaries The Queen yielded all these but would have one of the Secretaries of State be the only Notary and she would not consent that the King should Preside in the Conference The Cardinal of Lorraine had before objected against Beza That he should say that Christ was no more present in the Sacrament than in a Muddy Ditch This Expression is said to have been urged by Melanchthon against Oecolampadius as the Consequence of his Doctrine and was by a mistake of the Cardinal wrongfully charged on Beza who denied and detested it as Blasphemous The First of September the Conference began the King the Queen his Younger Brother and Sister and about Eleven Bishops being present and the Cardinals of Bourbon Tournon Chastillon Lorrain Armagnac and Guise The King opened it with a short Speech which was seconded by the Chancellor with a longer In which he preferr'd a National Council before a General and shewed that the Errours of many General Councils had been corrected by National Synods particularly the Arrian General Council of Ariminium was condemn'd by a Private Council held by St. Hillary Bishop of Poictiers and banished out of France He said they neithe needed much Learning nor many Books the Bible alone being sufficient by which Religion was to be Tried and Examined That the Protestants were their Brethren and to be treated as such if out of Ambition or Avarice they did otherwise God would judge and condemn them and their Decrees would be rejected That they ought to Amend and give God Thanks for any Errour that was discovered and if they did not God would Punish them After him the Cardinal of Tournon spoke and Thanked the King Queen and Princes for being present and approved highly of what the Chancellor had said but desired a Copy of it which the Chancellor refused though it was seconded by the Cardinal of Lorrain because he perceived they craftily designed to mischief him by it Theodore Beza being next commanded to speak fell upon his Knees and after a Prayer and reciting his Faith complained to God that they had been injuriously treated as Enemies of the Publick Peace Then he shewed wherein they agreed with the Church of Rome and wherein they differed and discoursed of the way of attaining Salvation of Faith Good Works the Word of God the Authority of the Councils and Fathers of the Sacraments and of their use and true Interpretation of Transubstantiation and Consubstantiation and lastly of the Ecclesiastical Order and Discipline and obedience to Princes he was so long and so sharp in some of these things that they had scarce patience to hear him out and the Cardinal of Tournon presently replied with a Voice trembling for Rage That he and the other Prelates had done violence to their Consciences by condescending to this Conference in compliance with his Majesties Commands by hearing these new Evangelists That he foresaw if they were heard many things would be spoken by them injurious to the Majesty of God which would offend the Ears of the King and of all good Men. And therefore he beseeched his Majesty not to believe what was said That if he could have prevented it the King should not have been present but however he desired he would not suffer his Mind to be pre-ingaged in their false Opinions but to suspend till the Bishops had Answered it and the King and the rest there present should know the difference between Falsehood and Truth He Asked a Day to Answer in and prayed the King that he would persevere in the Religion of his Ancestors Lastly he added that but for the respect they bore to the King the Bishops would have arisen and put a stop to those horrible and abominable Words The Queen calmly said she had done the thing without the Advice of the Parliament of Paris the Princes and Privy-Council That no change was designed but that the Disturbances of France might be appeased and Men friendly brought from their Errors into the Old Way which belonged to them to effect The first Dispute was about the Lords Supper The second which was the 17th of August was about the Church which the Cardinal of Lorrain said could not Err That if any particular Church did Recourse was to be had to the Head the Church of Rome and the Decrees of a General Council and the Concurrent Opinions of the Ancient Fathers and before all to the Sacred Scriptures explain'd by the Right Sense and Interpretation of the Church As to the Lord's Supper in effect he said That if the Protestants would not embrace their Opinions there was no hope of an Agreement The Cardinal of Tournon thereupon applauded his Harangue and said he was ready to lay down his Life for this Faith intreating the King to continue stedfast in it and was contented Good Man that if the Protestants would subscribe these two Points they should be admitted to dispute all the rest but if they refused this all hearing was to be denied them and they were to be expell'd out of his Dominions Beza desired to Answer him Extempore but the King delayed the Answer to the next day Upon a Petition the Ministers were heard at last again the 24th of September before the Queen only when Beza discoursed of the Church and its Notes which he said were the Preaching of the Word and a Pure Administration of the Sacraments As for the Succession of Persons and Doctrines it had been often interrupted He discoursed of the Ordinary and Extraordinary Vocation of the Universal Church and her Authority of Councils which he affirm'd
had and might err of the Dignity of Scripture and whether the Scriptures were to be preferr'd before the Church or did borrow their Authority from the Church Claud d' Espence a learned Man who desired very much the Church might regain her former Peace being Commanded by the Cardinal of Lorrain to answer Beza began with a Declaration that he had a long time wished that there might have been Conferences and said he had ever abhorred those Bloody Proceedings which had been used against those miserable Men. Then he said he wondered by what Authority the Protestants took upon them the Office of the Ministery and by whom they were Ordain'd and Instituted and that seeing the had received Imposition of hands from no body how could they be accounted lawful Ministers for it was manifest they had no Ordinary call And they must prove an Extraordinary Vocation by Miracles which they had not And thence he concluded they never came into the Church either by an Ordinary or an Extraordinary call As to Traditions if any Controversie arose about the Sense of Scriptures which could not be otherwise adjusted they must of necessity have recourse to the Fathers who had their Authority from their lawful and ordinary Call or Succession because upon them the Guifts of the Spirit were bestowed As it was written of the Levites whose Answers were not to be question'd That many things were setled by Traditions which were not written in the Scriptures As that the Father was not begotten That the Son was of the same Substance with the Father That Infants were to be Baptized That the Blessed Virgin continued a Virgin after she brought forth That the Decrees of General Councils should be valid and that they cannot err in Matters of Faith and that it cannot be shewn that any of the later Councils have corrected the former Beza replied that the Imposition of hands was no necessary note of a lawful Call The two principal were a due Inquiry into the Doctrine and Manners of the Person and an Election of them to the Ministery That they were not to expect Imposition of hands from the Bishops who opposed the Truth and persecuted those that Preached it And that Miracles were not always necessary to an extraordinary Call which he endeavoured to prove by Isaiah Daniel Amos Zachariah and St. Paul. In the next congress Beza spoke much about the Calling of the Protestant Ministers but in such a manner as tended more to the exasperating of the Prelates than the appeasing them so that these two days were spent in mere squabble without order and to no purpose There was then in France John Laines a Spaniard General of the Jesuits who came thither with Hippolito d' Este Cardinal of Ferrara sent by Pope Pius IV. as Legate to the King. This Laines being present this day at the Conference call'd the Protestant Ministers Monkeys Foxes and Monsters and said they were to be turn'd over to the Council call'd by the Pope Then he fell upon the Queen for medling in things that did not belong to her but to the Pope Cardinals and Bishops and he said it was not lawful whil'st a General Council was in being for the Queen to appoint by her private Authority a Conference here The Queen was much enraged at the Insolence of this Man but out of Reverence to the Legate suppress'd her resentment after this Day there were no more Publick Conferences but they Drew out three of a Side and endeavoured to form such an Exposition of the Lord's Supper as both Parties might agree in which in the End proved impossible to be done and so the Conference of Poissi ended which was the first Liberty that was granted to dispute the Established Religion in France and was blamed by some as a thing of ill Example and approved by others as the only means left to prevent the Storm which hung over their heads But it had not that effect so the Ministers and especially Beza who was invited by the Queen were honourably dismiss'd The Fame of this Conference being diffused through Italy and Spain Philip the Second was strangely surprized at it so the Queen sent Jacques de Monbron a Person of good Birth and Repute to excuse it That Prince would hardly be induced to hear the reason of it and turning him over to the Duke de Alva he blamed their fearfulness and advised them to return to the same Severities which had been used in the Reigns of Henry II. and Francis II. promising his Masters Assistance for the Extirpation of the Protestants Adding That the King had been solicited to it by the Catholick Nobility and People of France and that he could not neglect their Petition but he must be wanting to himself That he did not fear such vain reproaches as that with foreign Forces he invaded what was anothers because in this Cause the Spanish Forces were no foreigners when the Religion of their Ancestors was at the stake By this it appeared to the Court of France That there was a Correspondence between their Catholicks and the Spaniards and one Arthur Desier a Priest was taken much about this time near Orleans going into Spain with a Letter from some great Men to King Philip to persuade him to undertake the Protection of their Infant King and of the Catholick Religion which was in great danger to be ruin'd for which he was ordered to be Penance by the Parliament of Paris and committed to the Carthusian Monks to be kept a Prisoner for ever but afterwards he made his Escape This Sentence was pronounced against him the 14 th of July In the End of this Year one Jean Tanquerel a young Divine proposed as his Thesis in a Disputation That the Pope as Christ's only Vicar and the Monarch of the Church can by his Spiritual and Secular Power command all faithful Princes as his Subjects and if they disobey his Precepts deprive them of their Dignities and Kingdoms which being complain'd off to the King the Chancellor sent a Commission to inquire into it and Tanquerel being fled it was ordered that the Parritor of the Theological Faculty should make a Recantation of it in his Name in the School of the Sorbonne before the Dean and all the Fellows and Students of that Faculty in the Presence of the President of the Parliament of Paris the King's Counsel and Solicitor and for the future the Parliament forbad all such questions to be given And ordered the Sorbonne to send two of their Fellows to beg the King's Pardon This Decree passed the 2 d of December and was put in Execution ten days after The Pope had till now dreaded a General Council as tending to the abatement of his Power and on that score had delayed it till Cosmus Duke of Florence and the fear of a National Council in France prevail'd upon him to reassume that which was began by Paul III. continued by Julius III. and was at
Liberty ibid. She thanks Conde for his good Service 75. She treats with him 75 79. She feareth the Duke of Guise after the battle of Dreux yet makes him General 81. After he was slain she more earnestly desired a Peace than before 83. She excuses the Peace when made 91. She complains of the proceedings in the Council of Trent 94. Catzenello bogen resigned 13. Cavii 11. Charles V. Emperor resigns Spain and the Empire 5. Goes into Spain 7. His Letter to his Son 15. His Death and Character 23. Charles the IX King of France succeeds his Brother 47. Carried by force to Paris 72. Is declared out of his Minority at fourteen years of Age 99. Charles Cardinal Caraffa strangled 64. Christian King of Denmark dies 26. The Church ever pure and spotless 51. Civitella a small City in Italy baffles the French 10. Coligni Admiral of France taken in St. Quintin 15. Suspected to be in the conspiracy of Bloys 43. Recommends a toleration as necessary 44. Delivereth a Petition for the Proâ—estants 45. Made General after the Battle of Dreux 81. Disownes the having any hand in the Murder of the Duke of Guise 83. Dislikes the Peace of Orleans 84. Colonna mark Antony 8. Conde Lewis the concealed head of the conspiracy of Amboys 42. Detained for it 43. Leaves the Court 44. Imprisoned 〈◊〉 Orleans 47. Freed upon the Death of the King 48. Acquitted in the Parliament of Paris 56. Reconcil'd to the Duke of Guise 58. The Queen desires his Protection 71. He declareth a War against the Catholick Lords 73. Taken at the battle of Dreux 80. Makes a Peace at Orelans 84. The Conference of Poissy resolved on 58. Began 59. One at Wormes 13. Conquet in Britain taken by the English 21. The Conspiracy of Bloys 42. Discovered first by a Protestant 43. Constantio Confessor to Charles V. burnt after he was dead for Heresie 35. The Copthites pretend submission to the Pope 57. Cosmus Duke of Florence obtains the possaession of Siena 10. Procures a Peace for the Duke of Ferrara 11. And the Assembling of the Council of Trent 49. Ruines the Power of the Caraffa's 26. Councils are not to change the Doctrines or Customes of the Church 45. A National Council decreed in France 46. That of Trent procured to avoid it 49. Recall'd 62. Writ against by Vergerius ibid. Protested against by the Protestant Princes of Germany 63. Opened 86. Complained of by the Queen of France 94. Accused for invading the Rights of Princes 95. Protested against by the French ibid. 96. Ended and Censured 96. The reason why it had no better Success 97. D DAvid George a famous Anabaptist his Life Doctrine and Death 28 29. Diepe taken by the Protestants 74. Surrendred 78. Diana Dutchess of Valentinois 30. Dietmarsh conquered 26. Diets at Ratisbonne 12. At Augsbourg 27. At Naumburg 63. At Francfort 89 13. At Brisgow 89. A Disputation rejected when enforced by an Army 41. Doway attempted by the French 9. Dreux the battle of 80. Dunbar dismantled 42. Dunkirk taken by the French 20. E EGmont Count General at Graveling 21. Elizabeth Queen succeeds 22. Is severely treated by the Pope 23. She at first refuseth but at length leagues with the Protestant Scots 40. She is kind to Mary of Scotland 67. And after this Leagueth with the Prince of Conde 77. She rejects the Council of Trent 64. And the Council designed to depose her 90. The Question Whether Episcopacy is of Divine Institution Debated in the Council and rejected 87. Erick King of Sweden succeeds Gustavus his Father 49. Is Crowned 64. F FAith not to be kept with Hâ—reticks 37. Broken by R. Catholicks 53 54. Designed to be broken when time serves 91. A Turkish Fleet sent to the Assistance of the French 19. The English Fleet make an unfortunate Expedition into France 21. One of LI. Ships attend Charles V. into Spain 7. A Fleet of 90. carries his Son Philip thither 35. The English fleet procureth the victory at Graveling 22. Ferdinand Brother of Charles V. His War in Transylvania and Hungary 4 5. The Resignation of the Empire to him 6. He is elected Emperor 22. He confirms the Peace of Passaw 12. 28. He gives a brisk answer to the French Ambassador ibid. He Solicites the Protestant Princes to submit to the Council of Trent 62. Paul IV. refuseth to acknowledge him to be Emperor 22. He expresses his dislike of the proceedings of the Council of Trent in a Letter to the Pope 90. Hindereth them from proceeding against Queen Elizabeth 96. Ferrara the Cardinal of 85. The Duke of Ferrara makes his Peace 11. His Death 36. Francis Otho Duke of Lunenberg dies 36. Francis II. Succeeds Henry II. his Father in France 33. Having before Married Mary Queen of the Scots 19. He is reported to have the Leprosie 34. Claims England in the Right of his Wife 38. Dies 47. Francford quarrels fatal 11. Frederick I. King of Denmark dies and is Succeeded by Frederick II. His Son 25. He conquereth Dietmarsh 26. His answer to the Popes Legate 63. Frederick III. Duke of Bauaria 36. G GUise the Duke of sent into Italy 10. Recalled 11. Made General in France 16. Takes Calais 17. But is the cause of the defeat near Graveling 20. He is made Lieutenant General of France 43. He procureth the persecution in France 30. Reconcil'd to Conde 58. Recal'd to Court by the K. of Navar 70 71. He frights the Queen into a Compliance with the R. Catholick Lords 72. Becomes General in the end of the Battle of Dreux 81. And is slain by one Poltrot before Orleans 82. Gran a City in Hungary surprized 5. Gustavns King of Sweden dies 49. Guines taken 18. H. HAly General of the Turkish Forces in Hungary his Actions Character and Death 4. Hamilton John Archbishop of St. Andrâ—â—s committed for hearing Mass 99. Havre de Grace surrendered to the English 77. Retaken by the French 98. Helinoa Queen of France dies 36. Henry II. King of France breaks his Oath by the Procurement of the Pope 9. He recovereth Calais out of the hands of the English 17. Zealous for the Roman Catholick Religion 20. He discovereth a secret design between him and K. Philip to the Prince of Orange 27. Is perswaded to persecute the Protestants of France 30. He is incensed against the Parliament of Paris 31. The Protestant Princes of Germany write to him 32. His Death and Character 33. His designs against England 38. K. Philip desireth a Peace that he may be at leisure to extirpate Heresie 27. All Hereticks to be persecuted with Fire and Sword 30 31. Faith not to be kept with such 53 54 91. Princes to be deposed for Heresie 92 93. Philip much commended for his Severity to Hereticks in the Council of Trent 91. No Peace to be made with such ibid. Dangerous to Government 51. Hospital made Chancellor of France 44. His Speech to the Assembly of Princes ibid. He assures the Clergy there should be a National Council
Beheaded The Deaths of the Duke and Duchess of Saxony The differences between him and Augustus The Strangers leave England The Princess Elizab. committed to the Tower. The Siege of Siena Sir Tho. Wiat executed A Parliament The Diet of Germany The Norimbergerr Answer to Albert. Albert goes into Saxony The Duke of Savoy dies The Edict of King Ferdinand concerning Religion Papal Queries The French War iâ— the Low-Countries In Italy Prince Philip arrives in England Naples Resigned The Diet of ankfurt The French King's Letter to this Diet. Milan resigned to King Philip A Parliament in England †The Attainder was reversed the 22th of November England reconciled to the See of Rome The Emperor's Letter to the States of Germany Ferdinand comes to Ausburg 1555. The Parliament of England dissolved Five burnt in England The Diet opened in Germany A National Council of Germany long disused The Effect of this Speech April 10. 1556. England submits to the Court of Rome 1556. †Atrocia Blasseburg ruined Ferdinand invites the Princes to the Diet. The Protestâ—ne Ministers Comfort the banished Bohemians The French War in Piâ—dmont The Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg and other Princes League together The Letter of these Princes to the Emperor The Elector of Mentz dies Julius III. dies Siena taken by the Emperor's Forces Marceilus II. dies Paul the IV. Elected Cardinal Pool's Letter for a Peace †In 1521. * In 1522. Queen Mary mediates between the Emperor and King of France The Letter of the German Princes to the Emperor His Answer The Persecution in England An Insurrection in Geneva The Turks Fleet. Porto Ercole taken Catzenellobâ—gen The English Ambassadors Return from Rome The Danish Navy †1549. Latimer and Ridley burnt at Oxford †I suppose our Author was mis-informed as to this Particular The Parliament of Paris Answer to the King's Edict Caâ—zenellobogen The Low Countries resigned by the Emperor to King Philip. The Diet of Germany †In 1548. The Allegations of the Roman-Catholicks A Virulent Paper put in by the Roman-Catholicks against the Protestants Liberty of Conscience contrary to Catholick Religion The Protestants Answer Rom. 1. The Answer of King Ferdinand The form of the Recess prâ—posed Ferdinand's Answer to the Papers The Protestants Reply Ferdinand's Answer to the Protestants The Decree then made A Parliament begun the 21st of October in England The Pope requires the restitution of Abby-Lands Bishop Gardiner Dies †A suppression of his Urin. A Duke of Venice deposed King Philip and Ferdinand send Ambassadors to the Princes of Germany King Philip entereth upon the Government of the Netherlands The Address of the States of the Lower Austria for Liberty of Conscience King Ferdinand's Answer The States of the Lower Austria reply English affairs †The 12th of September Cranmer Burnt The Subjects of Bavaria petition for Liberty of Conscience Transylvania revolts The Cardinal of Ausburg's Apology for himself The Marquess of Baden embraceth the Augustan Confession Peter Martyr goes to Zurich * The cause by them alledged was That Ferdinand contrary to his promise had put Spanish Souldiers into their Towns which ruin'd their Country Thuan. †The Inhabitants and Garrison finding the Castle too little to be defended made a sudden Sally and recovered the Town the 23d of July the Turks were forced with great loss and shame to draw off * Which was then said to be much debased and corrupted to the damage of the People †These short Accounts seem added by another hand after the Author was dead if not that of the Emperour's Journey The Introduction The Revolt of Transylvania Sigeth besieged and most bravely defended by the Germans The Situation of Sigeth Babotz besieged The Character of Haly the Turks General Gran surprized by Scalado Charles V resigns the Netherlands and Spain to his Son. And the Empire to his Brother Ferdinand The Emperour's Ambassadours to the Electoral Princes The Emperour sets sail for Spain His Speech at his landing The description of the Place in which he lived Thuanus John Sleidan's Death and Character Natura iracundus pene implacabilis Natalis Comes Paul IV a furious Hare-brained Prince He annexes the Kingdom of Naples to the See of Rome The Duke de Alva begins a a War upon the Papacy Anagni taken Rome prepared for a Siege The Seige of Ostia 1557. The French Affairs Valenza taken Ostia retaken by the Pope The War in Italy under the Duke of Guise The Duke de Alva takes the Field Segni taken by the Spaniards The Duke of Guise recall'd A Peace between King Philip and the Pope * Caviiâ— The Affairs of England Ferrara rescued from Ruine by the Duke of Florence The Dyet of Ratisbonne A Remonstrance of the Protestant Princes Albert Marquis of Brandenburg dies The County of Catzenellobogen setled by Agreement The Conference at Wormes The War between France and Spain Queen Mary joyns with Spain The Siege of St. Quintin The Battel of St. Quintin Montmorancy ruin'd by being taken Prisoner The Day of the Battel St. Quintin taken by Storm A Letter of Charles V to his Son Philip. The French Army grows great A Persecution in France The misrepresentations of the Roman Catholicks against the Protestants The Siege of Calais 1558. The Site of Calais Guines taken A Turkish Fleet land in several Places of Italy and carry many into Slavery The Dauphine married to Mary Queen of Scotland The first Proposals of a Peace between France and King Philip. Andelot Marshal of France ruined by the Arts of the Guises Thionville besieged and taken The Defeat of Thermes near Graveling Dunkirk surprized And Vinoxberg The English Fleet unsuccessful The Treaty of Cambray began The Parliament of England meet and Queen Mary dies The German Affairs * That is the Ecclesiastical and Civil Government The Death and Character of Charles the Fifth His Opinion concerning Justification Queen Elizabeth succeeds The Scotch Affairs Scotland begins to entertain the Reformation 1559. The Death of Frederick I King of Denmark Christian II King of Denmark dies Frederick II conquereth Dieâ—marsh The Affairs of Italy New Bishopricks erected in the Low-Countries King Philip desirous of a Peace with France that he might be at leisure to extirpate Heresie That Design discover'd to the Prince of Orange The Dyet of Germany Conditions proposed by the Protestants for a Council The Emperor Confirms the Peace of Passaw The French Embassadors come to the Dyet The Life and Death of David George a famous Impostor The Treaty of Cambray produces a Peace at last The Peace occasions a Persecution in France The King goes to the Parliament of Paris to aw it into a Compliance Yet some retained their Freedom at the Price of their Lives The King's Answer A French Synod held by the Protestant Ministers The Protestant Princes of Germany write to the King of France A Commission issued to try the suspected Members of Parliament Du Bourg first tried The sad Condition of France during the Persecution Henry
made of those Vertues in him which are required to be in an Emperour The Publick stands in need of such a Prince who besides other things may settle and reform the state of the Church as the Elector of Mentz wisely hinted Now of all Men King Francis is most capable of effecting this for he is a Prince both of Wit and Judgment uses to confer often with Learned Men about Religion and reads many Books himself Besides the present state of Affairs requires a Prince and General who is an expert Soldier diligent and fortunate And who pray upon this occcasion can outvie King Francis His Valour is already known and tried and he surpasses all his Ancestors in the greatness of his Actions for he lately overcame in Battel the Switzers a most Warlike People and since the time of Julius Caesar almost invincible A Youth then is not to be preferred before so great a Commander The Elector of Mentz confesses indeed that it would be inconvenient if Charles should continue long out of Germany but bids us set our minds at rest for all that However for my part I look upon it to be a Matter of the highest Danger that an Emperour should remain a long while out of the Borders of the Empire For who will withstand the sudden Irruptions of the Turks who will restrain unexpected Tumults Quarrels and Civil Commotions Who will if a Storm arise guide the Ship in the Pilot's absence When he is absent he will have no certain intelligence of our Affairs many things will be falsely reported unto him no Germans but only Spaniards will be of his Council He will now and then make Edicts and send them to us in a most unseasonable time and if being provoked by the Calumnies and Accusations of malicious Men he chance afterwards to come into Germany with an Army of Strangers at his back What think you will be the fortune of the Empire then Wherefore if it seems good to you and if Fate will so have it that at this time a Foreign King should put our Crown upon his Head I am clearly of the Opinion that the French should be preferred before the Spaniard But if the Law be against the chusing of the French King it is no less against the King of Spain nor are we by any nice Interpretation to take King Charles for a German but rather to find out some Prince who hath no Residence but in Germany and who is a German by Birth Manners Humour and Language Against this the Archbishop of Mentz hath started many Inconveniences and thinks That by reason of Weakness and low Fortune such an Emperour will be contemptible but if we chuse a fit Person Germany is strong and powerful enough to bear that Burthen Rodolph I the eleventh Emperour before Maximilian brought no great strength with him to the Throne but he was a Virtuous and Valient Prince and raised the Empire which was then sunk very low and harassed by many Wars to such a state that it became formidable to all the Kings about it Nor do I think you are ignorant what a high Opinion Foreign Princes and among these Lowis XII of France conceived of the Emperour Maximilian only because of his Parts and Valour Great hath always been the Fame and Reputation of the German Princes which is not extinct as yet but is still fresh and green and among others there are at this Day three chief Families in Germany Bavaria Saxony and Brandenburgh and some excellent and deserving Men of them If then we can agree and chuse one of them and as we ought assist him with our Forces we need not be afraid of Foreigners for provided we be unanimous among our selves all will be well enough wherefore passing by all Strangers let us chuse one among our selves we need not doubt of success and we can produce many Domestick Instances of our own Fortitude and Behaviour of which I shall now only mention one Matthias King of Hungary a potent and fortunate Warrior once declared War against your Father Duke Frederick but when he saw a good Army ready to oppose him his Heat and Courage was soon cooled So also I think a way may be found out now that an Emperour chosen of our own Country may retain his Authority both at Home and abroad In the third Place spake Frederick Duke of Saxony and having represented to the Colledge That the French King was excluded by Law but that Charles was a German Prince and had a Residence and Habitation in Germany he told them That the Body Politick stood in need of a very powerful Head but that he knew none that was to be compared to Charles that therefore his Judgment was That he should be declared Emperour but yet on certain Conditions both that Germany might be secured of its Liberty and the Dangers which had been mentioned avoided When the rest had at length approved this Opinion How said the Elector of Treves do I foresee the Fate of Germany and a Change a coming But since it seems good to you I will not oppose your Judgment This was on the twenty eighth Day of June It was now late Night and therefore they broke up but met again next Day Then it began to be debated What Conditions were to be offered to Charles the Emperour Elect and this Debate continued for some Days when at length the Conditions were agreed upon they were drawn up in Writing and sent to Mentz to his Ambassadours When they had received them the several Voices were set down in Writing and as the Custom is signed and Sealed The Day before the Empire had been offered to Frederick Elector of Saxony but he bravely refused it and as has been said gave his Vote for Charles of Spain and when upon that Account the Ambassadours of Charles offered him a great summ of Money he not only rejected it but commanded all about him likewise not to take a Farthing The Nobility and all the People being afterwards called together the Archbishop of Mentz in a speech made to them in S. Bartholomew's Church declared That Charles Archduke of Austria and King of Spain was chosen King of the Romans in the place of Maximilian deceased that they ought to give God thanks that he had been so unanimously chosen and exhorted them to be Faithful and Obedient to him Then running out in his Praises he gave them the Reasons why they had chosen him of all others which was received by the States and People with Humming and Applause Afterwards the Ambassadours who had drawn nearer and were now but at a Miles Distance were sent for These were Matthew Cardinal of Saltzburg Erard Bishop of Liege Bernard Bishop of Trent Frederick Prince Palatine Casimire Marquess of Brandenburg Henry Count of Nassaw Maximilian of Sibenburg and some other Counsellors These being come and having consulted with the rest about the Administration of the Government till the Emperour Charles should come into Germany
through the dextrous management of the Magistrates and Mediators matters were peaceably accommodated And when upon an Insurrection in Brisgow they had surprized Friburg the chief Town in those Places Ernest Marquess of Baden who had great Possessions there fled to Strasburg and prayed the Senate to intercede for him whereupon James Sturney and Conrad Joham were sent as Deputies from the Senate who with the Deputies that came from Basil and some other Places dealt fairly with them and persuaded them to return home so that after the Difference had been debated and concluded at Basil on the twenty fifth Day of July they broke up from Lava four Miles from Strasburg and dispersed but Promises were not punctually observed to them neither for many of them were executed after they came home The Switzers also zealously bestirred themselves in quieting an Insurrection in Sontgow a neighbouring Province belonging to Archduke Ferdinand and the Dominion of Austria making it appear to the Seditious what the Magistrates Duty was and what the Peoples Now their Demands were almost the same in all Places which beginning first in Schwabia ran immediately all about like Wild-fire as we told you before so that from Thuringe and the Borders of Saxony as you shall hear hereafter it reached as far as the Alpes there having been a Rising also in the Country of Saltzburg But all things being setled in Franconia and Schwabia the Army of the Schwabian League marched thither also and destroyed and banished many among whom was their General Geismeier who with part of his Forces by difficult and inaccessible Paths crossed the Alpes and fled to the Venetians who having bestowed a yearly Pension upon him he went to live in Padoua where he was at length treacherously assassinated in his own House And this was the end of the Boors War which from a small beginning grew to such a height and spread so far for the Contagion was diffused over most parts of Germany and not only in the Country but also in Cities and Towns many Tumults and Riots happened as particularly in Cologn where for the space of a whole Month almost the City Companies daily met in Arms continuing so even in the Night-time also and were designing the Destruction not only of the Clergy but of the Senate likewise but the Tumult was quieted without any Blood save of one or two Seditious who many Months after were executed for it All do not agree upon the Number of those that were slain in this War which lasted but one summer they who speak the least say That in all places there died fifty thousand That Schwabian League so often mentioned was made long before first for eight Years then for three afterwards for twelve and then again for ten but in the year of our Lord 1522 it was renewed for eleven Years a little before the Emperour returned to Spain Those who ingaged in this League were first the Emperour as Archduke of Austria and his Brother Ferdinand who had been lately possessed of the Dutchy of Wirtemberg the Archbishop of Mentz the Prince Palatine the Bishops of Saltzburg Bamberg Wurtzburg Aichstadt and Ausburg the Brother William and Lewis Dukes of Bavaria Otho Henry and Philip the Prince Palatines Brothers George Marquess of Brandenburg and Albert his Nephew Philip Landgrave of Hesse besides many others of the Nobility and Clergy to whom were joyned most of the Cities of Schwabia and among these all Norimberg April 13 Mass was abolished in Zurich by Command of the Magistrates and that not only in the City but over all their Territory also in place whereof the Lord's Supper was appointed all Ceremonies being laid aside the Reading of the Scriptures Prayers and Preaching succeeded and a Law was published against Fornication and Adultery and Judges were appointed to determine Matrimonial Causes THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK V. The CONTENTS Thomas Muncer broaching a new kind of Doctrin That all Goods should be had in Common drew a vast number of Country People after him one Phifer being his Companion and chief Counsellor After the Death of Duke Frederick the neighbouring Princes raise an Army against the Muncerians nor did his Seditious Preaching nor vain Promises hinder but that many of his Companions were killed and he himself lost his Head. Luther had already written against him to the Senate of Mulhausen Here are recited the Demands of the Boors to which Luther answers shews the Nature of the Disorder and exhorts the Magistrates to punish such Villains The Emperour knowing of these Troubles and Disorders calls a Dyet at Ausburg Caralostadius leaving Wittemberg endeavours to purge himself in a Book that he published Luther marries a Nun and comes to Marpurg that he might confer with Zuinglius about the Lord's Supper Whilst the French King was Prisoner Pope Clement having received Letters from his Mother incites the Parliament of Paris against the Lutherans Le Fevre was forced to fly out of France the King being informed of that sent Orders That they should not molest Men of Learning The Master of Prusia is made Duke and receives the Reformed Religion THIS great and terrible War was in a great measure occasioned by busie and pragmatical Preachers of whom Thomas Muncer mentioned before was the Ring-leader who at length leaving off the Preaching of the Gospel broached an odd and new kind of Doctrin at Alstet a Town belonging to the Elector of Saxony upon the Borders of Thuringe There he began to teach first of all not only against the Pope but against Luther also condemning both their Doctrins as Corrupt and Erroneous That the Pope bound Men's Consciences with strict Bonds and hard Laws which Luther did indeed loose but then run to the other Extream allowing too much Liberty and not Teaching those things which were of the Spirit That it was lawful to neglect the Decrees of the Pope as not conducing to Salvation for obtaining whereof Men must said he first of all avoid manifest Sins as Murther Adultery Blasphemy Incest and Mortifie the Body by Fasting and simple Cloathing look gravely speak little and wear a long Beard These and such like things he called the Cross the Mortification and Discipline of the Flesh Those he said who were in this manner prepared must retire from Company and the Speech of Men and fix their Thoughts upon God that they may know what he is if he taketh any Care of us if Christ suffered Death for our sake and if our Religion be to be preferred before that of the Turks That we were to crave of God a Sign also to assure us that he taketh care of us and that we are in the true Religion that if he did not presently give us a Sign we must nevertheless persevere in instant Prayers nay and expostulate seriously with God that he dealt not well with us For that since the Scripture promiseth That he will grant such things as are asked
grievously informed against him by some of that Faculty though unjustly and without a Cause That then he had appointed some great Men eminent for Learning to inspect his Books and Writings for which he stood accused But that they having carefully perused and examined them all had given him a very ample and honourable Testimony That seeing it was so and that he was had in gread Reputation by the Italians and Spaniards for the opinion they conceived of his Learning and Virtue as he hath since learnt he would therefore take it ill if that innocent Man should be molested or exposed to any Danger And seeing that if at any other time so now especially he would have Justice strictly administred throughout all his Kingdoms And again because for the future he intended by all ways to favour Men of Learning therefore he commanded them That if any Process had been commenced against them since his Departure they should make report of the fame to his Mother who managed the Government that he might be certified thereof by her and that they might expect his Will and Pleasure therein and not to proceed any farther but to supersede all Action until either he should return which he hoped by the Blessing of God would shortly be or else some Order should be taken in the matter by himself or his Mother These Letters dated at Madrid in Spain November the twelfth were delivered to the Parliament of Paris the eight and twentieth day of the same Month. It was a thing almost natural to the Divines of the past Age to teaze and molest learned Men and the reason was because they saw themselves despised for their Ignorance This Year there happened a change in the State and Government of Prusia a Province in the utmost parts of Germany upon the Baltick-Sea Let us trace the matter a little farther back During the Empire of Henry VI the Son of Frederick Barbarossa when the Christians were in War for the Recovery of Jerusalem the Knights of the German or Teutonick Order were instituted who because they fought for Religion wore a white Cross upon their Cloaths as a Badge and cognizance of their Profession This happened in the Year of our Lord eleven hundred and ninety The first Master of that Order was chosen as is reported in the Camp before Ptolemais Afterwards these Knights subdued Prusia in the time of the Emperour Frederick II And after that being grown strong they had for some time waged War with the Kings of Poland they were overcome in Battle and swore Allegiance to Casimire king of Poland the Father of King Sigismund From the first Master to Marquess Albert of Brandenburg there had been three and thirty Masters Now Albert was chosen in the Year of our Lord one thousand five hundred and eleven For the space of two Years he had a bloody War with Sigismund King of Poland and in the Year one thousand five hundred and twenty one a Truce was made for four Years In the mean time Marquess Albert often sollicited the Emperour and States of the Empire for Aid and came himself in Person to the Dyet of Norimberg We mentioned before where he took his Place as a Prince of the Empire for the cause of the War was because he refused to swear Allegiance to the King of Poland But now when the Emperour was ingaged in a War with France the Turk invaded Hungary and Germany was so embroiled by the Rebellion of the Boors that no help was to be expected from thence the Truce being likewise expired he made Peace with the King of Poland swore Allegiance to him as to his chief Magistrate and imbraced the Reformed Religion Hereupon he changed his Order challenged Prusia as his own and being before but Master was now by the King's consent inaugurated Duke of Prusia and some time after married the Lady Dorothy Daughter to the King of Denmark founding also the University of Coningsberg By this means he got the whole Order upon his Top For although he was in Possession of Prusia and under the Protection of the King of Poland yet by common consent Walter Cronberg was chosen in his place who retained the Name and represented the old Dignity of the Order and in all Dyets grievously accused Albert as you shall hear in the proper place But he having published a Manifesto gave his Reasons for what he had done and declared That being forsaken of the Empire he was driven by extream Necessity to submit himself to the King of Poland The Letters of Pope Leo X to Sigismund and Albert are extant wherein he exhorts them to Concord and either refer the Difference they had to his Legate whom he would send or submit it to the Determination of the Council of Lateran because it was most convenient that the Debates of Kings should be decided by a Council THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK VI. THE CONTENTS Luther-writes to the King of England and George Duke of Saxony to regain their favour But both reject him Now he had been put on to do so by Christiern King of Denmark The sickness of the French King who was Prisoner hastened the Treaty at Madrid The King having obtained his Liberty two of his Sons are left Hostages While the Princes of Germany meet in the Diet at Spire the Emperor of the Turks marches streight into Hungary A Disputation begun at Baden The Pope and Venetians make a League with the French King. The Emperor and King make bitter Complaints of one another Rome being taken by the Duke of Bourbon the King sends Lautreck into Italy The Errors of the Anabaptists begin to spread A Disputation appointed at Berne about Reformation of Religion A Context between King Ferdinand and the Vayvode of Transilvania Berken suffers Death at Antwerp The Emperor sends a Herald with a Challenge to the French King. Lautreck Besieges Naples but the Plague rages in his Camp. Mass is abolished at Strasburg A Dissention arises at Basil about Religion The Catholick Switzers make a League with Ferdinand A Dyet held at Spire and from thence the Name of Protestant had its Original A Civil War among the Switzers A Treaty at Cambray Solyman Besieges Vienna A new Disease breaks out in Germany The Protestants frame a League Erasmus his Book against Protestants Sforza is again received into favour with the Emperor WE gave an Account before of the King of England and Luther's clashing by Letters But Luther in the mean time having heard of some things that sounded to the King's Praise and Commendation was mightily rejoiced at the News and wrote very submissively unto him That he doubted not but that he had highly offended him by the Book he published but that he had not done it so much of his own accord as at the instigation of others which made him in confidence of his Royal Grace and Condescension so much applauded by many take the boldness to write to him
Article of that League was That they should resist the Invasions of the Turk and the Sect of Luther which was as dangerous as the violence of the Turk The Cardinal of England who could do any thing with the King was thought to have persuaded his Majesty to this Alliance for he bore no good-will to the Emperor because he look'd upon him as the cause why after the Death of Adrian he was not chosen Pope as the Imperialists have given it out in their Writings When Luther had read the King of England's Answer which was Printed and therein found Inconstancy objected unto him as if he had changed his Opinion in Matters of Religion which he looked upon not only as a private Injury done to himself but also to the Reformed Religion It much troubled him he said that to gratifie his Friends he had written so submissively unto him That Christiern King of Denmark had not left off to entreat and advise him both Personally and by Letters that he would write obligingly and had told him so much of his courteous Disposition that he had put him in hopes that being gently dealt with he would receive the Reformed Religion but that now he was sensible of his Error That he had been just so served by Cardinal Cajetane George Duke of Saxony and Erasmus of Rotterdam to whom at the desire of others he had written affectionately and all that he got by it was to render them more fierce and untractable That it was a foolish thing for him to imagin to find godliness in the Courts of Princes to look for Christ where Satan bore rule and to enquire after St. John Baptist among Courtiers who were clad in Purple That therefore since he could do no good by that gentle and loving way of Writing he would take another course for the future The French King being anxious and troubled in thoughts that the Treaty of Peace did not go forward fell into a fit of Sickness but being encouraged by the Emperor's discourse who bid him be of good cheer and hope the best he began at length to be somewhat better The Emperor also considering with himself what a great loss it would be unto him if he should chance to die inclined daily more and more to Peace So that January the Fourteenth all things were at length concluded at Madrid and in the Treaty of Peace it is stipulated among other things that the Emperor and King shall endeavour to extirpate the Enemies of the Christian Religion and the Heresies of the Sect of the Lutherans In like manner That Peace being made betwixt them they should settle the Affairs of the Publick and make War against the Turk and Hereticks excommunicated by the Church for that it was above all things necessary and that the Pope had often solicited and advised them to bestir themselves therein That therefore in compliance with his desires they resolved to entreat him that he would appoint a certain day when the Embassadors and Deputies of all Kings and Princes might meet in a convenient place with full Power and Commission to treat of such measures as might seem proper for undertaking a War against the Turk and also for rooting out Hereticks the Enemies of the Church Again that he would give leave to those Princes who laboured in so holy and pious a Work to collect and raise the Money which was usual and customary in such cases and also that he would impose a Tax upon the Clergy for the same purpose In this Pacification Eleanor the Emperor's Sister who had been married to Emanuel King of Portugal was affianced to the French King. The Emperor promised in Dowry with her Two hundred thousand Ducats and some Places in Upper Burgundy which were in Controversie betwixt them The King on the other hand promised within two Months after his return into France to deliver up to the Emperor the Duchy of Burgundy which the Kings of France had held ever since the Death of Charles Duke of Burgundy almost now fifty Years Besides he renounced all Right and Title to Naples Milan Asta Genoua and Flanders That he should not aid nor assist Henry King of Navarre Charles Duke of Gueldres Vlrick Duke of Wirtemberg nor Robert Count of Mark That he should carry on no secret Designs in Italy That when the Emperor had a mind to go into Italy he should assist him with a Navy of sixteen Galleys fitted out and equipped with all things necessary except Soldiers and also Two hundred thousand Crowns to Arm and Man them That the King should pay the yearly Pension which the Emperor was bound by Agreement to pay to the King of England That he should restore Charles Duke of Bourbonne and his Associates to all their Rights Lands and Possessions suffering them to enjoy their Estates and live where they pleased And that the King should at any time stand a Tryal at Law with the Duke of Bourbonne for the Province of Marseillies to which he claims a Title The King having sworn to the Emperour to observe these Conditions was set at liberty and returned home but upon his passing the Borders of Spain he left behind him his two Sons Francis and Henry little Boys as Hostages according as it had been agreed upon and in case he should fail in performance of Articles he promised to deliver himself up Prisoner again After this the Princes of Germany in great Numbers met at Spire according to appointment as we told you in the former Book among whom also was John Elector of Saxony and Philip Landgrave of Hesse The Emperour's Deputies were Ferdinand his Brother Bernard Bishop of Trent Casimire Marquess of Brandenburg Philip Marquess of Baden William Duke of Bavaria and Erick Duke of Brunswick When these had opened the Dyet June 25 and had told the Reasons why the Emperour had called it they farther added That above all things it was the Emperours Will and Command That the States of the Empire would with unanimous Consent take some course how the Christian Religion and the ancient Rites and Customs of the Church might be entirely and universally retained Again How they were to be punished and curbed that acted to the contrary if peradventure they should make use of Force And how also mutual Aid and Assistance was to be given that the Emperour's Edict of Wormes published five Years before and the Decree of the present Dyet might be observed and put in execution When a Committee of all the Princes and States had been chosen to treat of these things among whom were the Landgrave James Sturmey of Strasburg and Cress of Norimberg the Emperour's Deputies again assemble all the States August 3 and tell them That they understood there was a Committee of the whole appointed to confer among themselves about the matters proposed who as they supposed would first consult about Religion but that the Emperour's Will and Pleasure might be obeyed and that they might
created two great Lights the one to rule by Day and the other by night which he applyed to the Papal and Royal Dignities But that that Power which ruled in Divine and Spiritual Matters far excelled the other which medled only in Civil and Temporal Affairs And that there was as great a difference betwixt the Offices of a Pope and a King as betwixt the Sun and Moon This Decree is extant under the Title de Majoritate Obedientia When the Emperour had thus answered the Pope he wrote also to the Colledge of Cardinals October 6 That he had conceived great Grief of Mind to hear that Pope Clement was confederated with the French King who was making War against him a fresh That he had written very Hostile Letters unto him which he supposed was done by their unanimous Advice and Consent and that he was very far from expecting any such thing since there was no King to be found more zealous for the Interest of the Church of Rome than he was that Parma and Piacenza were instances of that which being Imperial Cities and lately dismembred from the Empire he had restored them to the Church though in Law he was not obliged to do so That all the Princes and States of Germany had at Wormes made heavy Complaints to him of many Injuries of the Court of Rome and then desired that they might be redressed but because he had been born and bred with a singular love to the Church of Rome he had not given car to their Demands And when greater Troubles arising thereupon afterwards and many Tumults and Riots happening through Germany the Princes had for that Reason appointed another Dyet he had under severe Penalties prohibited them to assemble because their Deliberations would have been prejudicial to the Pope and Church of Rome And that to sweeten and appease them at that time he had given them Hopes of a future General Council That the Pope therefore did him great Injury who had done so much for his Holiness as that thereby he had much alienated from himself the Hearts of the Nobility of Germany That he had written seriously unto him about all these matters and advised him to call a General Council That therefore it was his desire to them That they would admonish him of his Duty and exhort him to Peace rather than War But that if he refused or delayed the calling of a Council longer than it was fit and reasonable that then they should forthwith call it For that if Christendom should sustain Prejudice either for want of a Council or for not having it called in due time it ought not to be laid to his charge We told you How it had been lately decreed at Spire That Ambassadours should be sent to the Emperour in Spain but the News of the Overthrwo in Hungary coming soon after the Princes thought themselves obliged to use Expedition and that they might have a nearer way to pass to the Emperour they desired of the French King That he would allow their Ambassadours a free Passage through his Kingdom He condescended prefixing a certain time for that as shall be said hereafter and withal took occasion to write unto them October 6 That he was extreamly troubled at the Turks late Invasion of Hungary the Fatal Death of King Lewis and the great Danger of Germany That he was no less sorry for the Civil War that had broke out to the Ruine of the Publick That it was not his Fault that Christendon was not at quiet but that the Emperour was to be blamed for it who rejected Honest and most equitable Conditions of Peace And that seeing he was not moved neither by the publick Calamities nor by the unfortunate Death of his own Brother-in-law King Lewis and the sad condition of his Widow-sister nor yet considered in how great Danger Austria was it would be their Duty and well done in them if they could incline and persuade him to Peace to live in Amity with neighbouring Kings and Princes and to set Bounds to his Ambition for that that would make more for his Glory than by overturning the States of others to aspire to an universal Monarchy That his Ancestors Kings of France had often maintained Wars against the Enemies of the Christian Religion and that if the Emperour pleased the same might now be done with united Strength That if they could prevail then and obtain that of him he would be ready to employ all his Force nay his own person also against the Turk But if not that he was not to be blamed if he endeavoured to recover by Arms what he could not do by fair means for that it was the Emperour's part rather to sue for Peace who lay much nearer the Danger of the Turks than he did When the Emperour came to know of this Letter he wrote to the Princes November 29 and in the first place acquaints them How kind and gracious he had been to the French King when he was his Prisoner how he had given him both his Liberty and in Marriage also his eldest Sister and second in degree of Succession to him But that when all things were quieted as he supposed and that he was preparing to go into Italy that he might bend all his Forces against the perpetual Enemy of Christendom the French King breaking his Faith and entring into a League with Pope Clement and some others who had already in their Hopes anticipated the Kingdom of Naples and divided it betwixt them had renewed a most formidable War And that therefore he could not protect Hungary against the Fury of the Turks as being necessitated to defend his own Borders That what the French King pretended of his Sorrow for the Death of King Lewis and the Calamity of Hungary was downright Hypocrisie and Dissimulation which he used to the intent he might stop the Mouths of those who constantly affirmed from intercepted Letters that at his Solicitation the Turk had undertaken this War That during his Captivity and afterwards when he was set at Liberty and returned home he had by Letters obliged himself to observe the Articles of the Treaty That he had promised to him the same by Word of Mouth when he departed out of Spain But that because he had a Kingdom lying in the Heart of Christendom he wantonly disturbed the Publick Peace and among his Triumphs reckoned the Turkish Victories in Hungary And that he alone was to be blamed That he did not in Person come into Germany that nevertheless he would endeavour that Aid should be sent against the Turk with all expedition That in the last place he made no doubt but that they were well enough acquainted with the Tricks of the French for that it was their common and usual way to sow the Seeds of Discord in all places and make their Profit of the Quarrels and Dissentions of others Besides the Letter before mentioned there was also published an Apology in defence of the
of the taking of Rome having made a League with the King of England he sent a puissant Army into Italy under the command of Lautrech a Gascoin for the relief of the Pope He being come into Lombardy and joyned by the Venetians took first Alexandria and then Pavia partly by composition and partly by assault where the Soldiers enraged that their King should have been taken there having made great slaughter of the Towns-people plundered it July the twenty seventh Charles Duke of Bourbonne who had been lately killed at the taking of Rome was condemned of High Treason by the Parliament of Paris his name and memory declared infamous his arms torn and his goods and lands forfeited Anthony du Prat the Chancellour pronounced the Sentence Bourbonne bore a mortal hatred to the French King and being about to besiege Marseilles as we mentined in the Fourth Book he wrote to the Cardinal of York among other things that he would spare neither pains nor perils in assisting King Henry for the recovery of the Right and Title he had to France For above two hundred years the English have laid claim to the whole Kingdom of France but especially to Normandy Gascony and Guienne By these Letters therefore Bourbonne oblique stirred up the King of England to prosecute his Right there and they coming after into the hands of the French King incensed him far more against the Duke There was at that time in Bavaria one Leonard Cesar a Professor of the Gospel who being apprehended by orders from the Bishop of Passaw maintained these points of Doctrin That man was Justified by Faith alone That there was but two Sacraments Baptism and the Lords Supper That the Mass was not a Sacrifice and availed not the Quick and the Dead That the Confession of sins was a counsel and not a precept That Christ alone made Satisfaction for us That the Vow of Chastity was not obligatory That the Scripture did not speak of Purgatory That there was no distinction of Days That the Dead were no Intercessors and that in spiritual and divine matters Man had no Free-will When he was brought to Tryal he would have spoken more fully of all these Points to the People but was not suffered Eckius was one of those that tryed him and all spoke in Latin that the People might not understand save only the Prisoner who discoursed in Dutch but could not get them to do the same At length he was condemned for a Heretick and being delivered over to the Temporal Magistrate William Duke of Bavaria under whose Jurisdiction he lived August 16 he was burnt for the Bishop did not pronounce Sentence of Death against him lest he might pollute holy things and become irregular by having a Hand in his Blood. Ferdinand who had been the Emperour's Deputy in Germany after the Death of King Lewis being chosen King of Bohemia and standing in competition with the Vaivode of Transilvania for the Crown of Hungary which occasioned a War. Philip Marquess of Baden who was substituted unto him called a Dyet in the Emperour's Name to be held at Ratisbonne in the beginning of March following whither the States should repair to consult of Religion and the Turkish War. You heard before of the Disputation of Baden but since the Acts of the Dispute and Conference were not communicated to those of Berne the most noted and powerful Canton of all the Switzers though they had desired it and that the Differences about Religion increased all the Ministers not agreeing among themselves in Doctrin they appointed another Disputation to be had within their own City December 17 whereof they made publick Intimation and called thereunto the Bishops of Constance Basil Sitien and Lausenne warning them to come in person and bring their Divines with them else they threatned them with the loss of all the Lands and Possessions they had within their Territories afterwards they made a List of the Clergy-Mâ—n of their Jurisdiction and appointed the Scriptures of the Old and News Testament to be the only Rule and to have the sole Authority in all the Debates giving likewise a Safe-Conduct to all that pleased to come This Order they also made That all things should be carried on modestly without railing or reproach and that every Man should freely speak his Mind and so distinctly that what they said might be taken by Clerks they also ordained That what should be agreed upon and determined in that Conference should be of Force and have its course through all their Dominions And that all might know what they were to dispute about and come the better prepared they published Theses to the number of ten which their Ministers Francis Colb and Berthold Holler offered to maintain and prove by Scripture And these were That the true Church whereof Christ is the only Head springs from the Word of God perseveres therein and will not hear the Voice of another That this same Church made no Laws besides God's Word That therefore the Traditions of Men who bear the name of the Church no farther oblige us than as they are consonant to the Word of God That Christ alone made Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World That therefore if any Many say There is any other way of Salvation or of expiating of Sins he denies Christ That it cannot be proved by Scripture That the Body and Blood of Christ are really and Corporally received That the Rite of the Mass wherein Christ is offered up to his Heavenly Father for the Quick and the Dead is repugnant to Scripture and a Reproach to that Sacrifice which Christ made for us That Christ alone is to be prayed unto as the Mediator and Advocate for us with God the Father That it is not to be found in Holy Scripture that there is any place where Souls are purged after this Life That therefore the Prayers and all the Ceremonies and Anniversary Offices which are performed for the Dead Tapers Lamps and the like are of no use at all That it is contrary to Holy Scripture that any Image or Picture should be proposed to be worshiped That therefore if they be placed in Churches for that end they are to be removed That Marriage is forbidden to no Order of Men but that for avoiding of Fornication the Scripture permits all to marry And that since all Whoremongers are by Testimony of Scripture really separated from the Communion of the Church impure and unchast Celibacy is least of all becoming the Order of Priesthood When those of Berne had written concerning these things to all the Cantons exhorting them to send their learned Men and to give Safe-Conduct to all others who pleased to come The Cantons of Lucerne Vri Switz Vnderwald Zug Glaris Friburg and Solothurne answered by a long Letter seriously exhorting them That they would desist from their Enterprize putting them in mind of their League and Association and of the Disputation of Baden whereof they themselves
of Bavaria the Bishops of Mentz Saltsburg Bamberg and Wurtzburg had entred into a League for the ruine of him the Elector of Saxony and the Reformed Religion and to gain credit shewed him a Copy of the Instrument of Confederation promising also to produce the Original Whilst they were raising Forces and prepared for War all men were agog what the meaning of it should be for various Reasons were given out as it happens commonly in such cases But at length when all things were in a Readiness they began to send Letters and Messengers into all parts published the Copy of the League and at the same time sent Ambassadours and Letters to those who were said to be ingaged in it that they might know what their Purpose was However they all purged themselves severally by Publick Declarations affirming it to be a Fiction and that it could not be proved Especially George Duke of Saxony the Landgrave's Father-in-law urged him to name his Author or otherwise that he would look upon it as a Contrivance of his to raise Commotions and disturb the Peace of Germany Their first Attempt was to have been upon the Bishops their next Neighbours and therefore they prepared themselves and raised all their Forces they could make on a sudden But when Becken could not produce the Original as he had promised the Landgrave began to act more slowly and at length through the Mediation of the Prince Palatine and Richard Archbishop of Treves they laid down their Arms upon Condition That for the Charges of the War the Bishops should pay the Landgrave an hundred thousand Florence the Archbishop of Mentz forty thousand Wurtzburg as much and Bamberg twenty Afterwards when the Deputies of the Princes whom this Accusation concerned had met at a Day appointed Becken whom the Landgrave presented there was convicted of Forgery but being dismissed at length by the Landgraves means he wandred for some Years as an Exile amongst Foreign Nations till at last he lost his Head at Antwerp Matters being thus quieted the Confederates of the Schwabian League whom we have often mentioned before accused the Landgrave That he had offered Violence and done Injury to their Associates and when this seemed to threaten some new Stirs the Matter was at length taken up about the end of December at Wormes by the Invention of the Prince Palatine There were some who thought That it was not altogether without-book what he said of the Confederacy and that meeting of some Princes which was four Years before at Ratisbonne as we said before in the fourth Book increased this Suspicion So that it was thought some such Project had been laid but not brought to Maturity nor resolved upon which nevertheless I would not affirm for a Truth but leave every one to his own Judgment We told you before of another Dyet of the Empire which was appointed to be held at Ratisbonne in the beginning of the Spring but in that Tumult of War it did not meet the Emperour's Vice-Deputy sending them Word not to come The Emperour received not the French King's Challenge dated about the end of March which we mentioned before till the seventh of June but having received it he sent him a Herauld with this Answer June 24. I do not blame nor accuse thee said he for going home since thou hadst my leave to do so but because thou hast not delivered thy self up again Prisoner to me as thou didst faithfully promise to do if thou didst not fulfil the Articles of Peace as may be proved by Letters under thine own Hand Hadst thou done so thou wouldest have acted like a Good and Worthy Prince But now since thou hast broken thy Promise therein I tell thee and that without lying That thou hast acted basely and knavishly And because thou demandest of me to name a Place for Duel I am content and appoint the Place by that River which runs betwixt Fontarabia and Andey which thou oughtest not to refuse For if two Years agoe thou trustedst the Safety of thy self and Childen to it when having got thy Liberty and returning Home thou didst diliver them up to me as Hostages thou maist now safely trust thy self thereunto But that no longer Delay be made let skilful Gentlemen be sent on both sides to pitch upon the Ground and appoint the Weapons and Day And if thou sendest me not an Answer within forty Days after the receipt of this Letter that I may know thy Mind the Blame and Shame of the Delay shall lye at thy Door and so to the Crime of Breach of Faith thou'lt also add Baseness This Letter the Emperour gave to the Herauld commanding him to carry it to France and read it publickly to the King or if he refused to hear it that he should deliver it into his own Hands to be read When the Herauld at length arrived at Paris coming into the Kings Presence who was surrounded with his Nobles his Majesty asked him if he had brought him a Defiance He told him he had That he had something besides to say unto him and that he was enjoyned to read it publickly or to give it into his own Hands Wherefore he desired leave to do it But the King who was not Ignorant what the Emperour had to charge him with would not suffer it to be openly read but having exchanged some Words with the Herauld started up and would neither hear him speak more nor receive the Letter from him as the Imperialists affirm in their Publick Writings By Letters dated at Valladolid August 1 the Emperour appointed a Dyet of the Empire to be held at Spire the beginning of February next year to consult about Religion and the Turkish War But excused himself that he could not be there because of other Affairs naming for his Commissioners his Brother King Ferdinand Frederick Prince Palatine William Duke of Bavaria and the Bishops of Trent and Heildesheim Cantreck the French General after the taking of Alexandria and Pavia the Year before as hath been said had his Winter-quarters in Bolonia but marching forward again in the beginning of the Spring he besieged Naples which was defended by Alphonso d'Avalos Vgo Moncada Ferdinando Alarco Philibert Orengio and Ferdinando Gonzaga But in the Month of July a very violent Plague swept away a great part of his Army whereof Lautreck himself dyed August 14 and not long before him the Duke of Vaudemont Brother to Anthony Duke of Lorrain who served the King in hopes of obtaining the Kingdom of Naples to which the Family of Anjou from whence the House of Lorrain are descended pretends a Right and Title How after the Disputation at Berne Religion was changed in many Places it hath been formerly mentioned wherefore the Ministers of the Church at Strasburg upon this Occasion preached as they had often done before against the Mass affirming it among other Errours of the Popish Doctrin to be Impious and very Reproachful to the Name of God
not indeed for maintaining their Religion but for asserting their Rights and Liberties Thereupon presently they ran to Arms possessed themselves of the Towers and Gates and having placed Guards in proper Places kept Watch and Ward in the same manner as in a Camp when there is Danger from a neighbouring Enemy Next Day the Senate desired Time to consult referring the Matter to those who lately had been Intercessors The Citizens did not refuse that but in the mean time would have those they accused turned out and that they should prosecute their Suit at their own Private Charges but that for themselves who maintained the Cause of the Publick and of Posterity their Charges should be defrayed by the Publick The Senate granted these and some other slighter matters that thereby they might mitigate their Anger The same Day some of the Town's-People who had Orders to go the Rounds about the City and see that no Abuses were committed went into the Cathedral Church where one of them with his Pike pushed at the Image of a certain Saint which thereupon tumbled down and was broken This gave them an occasion to lay Hands afterwards on more but the Priests who were extreambly troubled at that interposing they that they might not go beyond their Commission departed without any further Quarrel When the Report of this was brought to the Market-place and made greater than indeed it was three hundred armed Men were forthwith sent to the Church to the assistance of their Brethren who were said to be hard put to it and in Danger But before they came the rest were gone However that they might do something for their coming they broke down all the Images they found there and so proceeding did the like in all the rest of the Churches Then some of the Senate came running to prevent any Tumult or Riot to whom the Citizens said What you have been consulting about any time these three Years whether you had best do it or not in one Hours time we have dispatched that there may be no difference among us hereafter about Images So that the Senate condescended to all they desired and twelve Senators were turned out but without Disgrace among whom were Henry Meltinger at that time Burgo-master and Lucius Zeigler Dean of Guield A Decree also passed That Mass should be abolished and Images broken down both in the City and abroad also in the Country throughout all their Jurisdiction That besides the Senate should for the future admit of two hundred and threescore of the Members of the City Companies to deliberate with them about those things which concerned the Glory of God and the Welfare of the State. When the Citizens had got those two Decrees made they joyfully returned home to their Houses and wreakt their Fury only upon the Images The third Day after which was Ashwednesday the Wooden Images were distributed among the Poor to be made use of for Fewel But they quarrelling and falling to Fisty-cuffs about dividing the Spoil it was thought fit to burn them publickly Wherefore there were nine Piles of them made before the Cathedral Church and burnt And so it happened That the very same Day on which the Papists used to sprinkle the People's Foreheads with Ashes to put them in Mind that they are but Dust and Ashes was a pleasant and joyful Day to the City because then the Images were reduced into Ashes February 12 the Common Council of the Companies which were mentioned approved the Acts of the Senate and the next day after an Oath was taken by all the Companies and then all quietly departed When the Cantons of Zurich Berne and Solothurn had Intelligence of these Stirs they presently sent Deputies to make Mediation but before they came all was over We made mention a little before of the Dyet of Spire which the Emperour appointed to meet in the beginning of February but it was not opened before the beginning of March The Princes and States made a great appearance there and the Elector of Saxony brought Melanchthon with him The first thing they fell upon was matter of Religion and after much Debate they made a Decree therein as shall be said hereafter Now the Drift of the Papists was to divide the Duke of Saxony and the other Princes from the Cities that they might not consult and joyn together in Design And because all the Cities were not of the same Judgment the Princes were about the Lord's Supper they were in good Hope they might accomplish their Desires but that was in vain as you shall hear hereafter King Ferdinand also and his Colleagues sent for the Deputies of some of the Cities separately April 5 and severely chid them for having made many Innovations contrary to the Emperour's Edict but then he exhorted them to comply and joyn in Opinion with the rest of the States lest through their Dissentions the Dyet might be dissolved They made answer That what Innovations they had made were no ways prejudicial to the Emperour that above all things they desired Concord would do any thing for the Emperour and did not refuse to submit to the Judgment of a lawful Council Zurich and Berne the two far most powerful Cantons of Switzerland being agreeed in Religion as we have said the Cantons of Lucerne Vri Vnderwalt Switz and Zug who above all others spighted that Doctrin made a League with King Ferdinand In the mean time Pope Clement April 23 sent John Tomaso of Mirandula to incite the Princes to the Turkish War and to tell them That though of late Years he himself had sustained great Losses nevertheless he promised Aid and that he would make it his endeavour that Peace being made betwixt the Emperour and French King a Council should forthwith commence that Germany might at length embrace the same Religion that other Provinces did The Council of the Empire we mentioned some Months before had been removed from Esling to Spire whither the City of Strasburg having sent their Deputy Daniel Meige to consult and act with the other Counsellours about the Affairs of the Publick he was not admitted to sit because the Strasburghers had lately abolished the Mass and would not stay till the Conclusion of the present Dyet This being known the rest of the Cities perceiving it to be a Precedent which concerned themselves also did mediate and demanded that the Custom of the Empire might be observed That though they might have done some things contrary to the Ceremonies and Rites of the Church yet ought they not therefore to be denyed their Right before the Controversie were determined in a Lawful Council especially seeing no such thing had hitherto been attempted nor had any Person been as yet in the least debarred from his Right in the publick Dyets of the Empire upon account of Religion Afterwards James Sturney Deputy for the City in that Dyet protested That if contrary to the Laws and Custom of the Empire they were in this
manner turned out of Place it must not be expected that for the future they would contribute any thing to the defraying of the Charges of that Judicature But all these Courses were ineffectual and King Ferdinand answering the Mediators himself told them That any other City which observed the Emperour's Edicts might be substituted in place thereof After a long Debate about Religion they made a new Decree wherein resuming in a few Words the Acts of the former Dyet of Spire how that it had been ordained there That as to the Emperour's Decree of Wormes all should so behave themselves that they might be able to render an account of their Actions both to God and the Emperour but that it being now abused by many who under colour and pretext thereof excused and defended all sorts of New and Horrid Doctrins it was therefore enacted and decreed to this effect That they who had hitherto observed that Edict should do so for the future and oblige their People to do so also until the meeting of the Council which the Emperour gave great Hopes of very speedily But that they who had changed their Religion and could not now retract for fear of Troubles and Sedition should for the future moderate themselves and make no more Innovations before the sitting of the Council Moreover that the Doctrin of those who dissent from the Church about the Lord's Supper should not be received neither the Mass abolished nor those who were willing hindred from going to Mass in those Places where a New Doctrin was taught That Anabaptists also who obstinately maintain their Tenet should be put to Death and that Ministers should preach according to the Sense and Interpretation of Scripture approved by the Church That they should not meddle with other Points which probably might be controverted but expect the Decree of a Council Besides that all States should live together in Peace do no Injury to one another upon account of Religion and not take the Subjects of others Jurisdiction into their Protection And that such as did otherwise should be put to the Ban of the Empire This Decree was opposed by the Elector of Saxony George Marquess of Brandenburg Ernest and Francis Dukes of Lunenburg the Landgrave and Count Anbald who April 19 publickly read their Protestation against it in Writing And in the first place they repeat the Decree of the former Dyet whereby all are permitted the free exercise of their Religion until the meeting of a Council from which they ought not to recede nor violate those things which for Peace-sake were then agreed upon and confirmed by Oath under Hand and Seal That for their own Parts they were ready in imitation of their Ancestors to comply with the Emperour in any thing and to spend their Lives and Fortunes in his Service But that the present Case concerned their Eternal Salvation and therefore prayed that it might not be taken ill if therein they dissented from the rest For that as the former Decree had been made with the unanimous Consent of all so also could it not be repealed and made void unless all in like manner agreed to it That they were not against it but that they themselves might appoint what Form of Religion they pleased within their own Territories and prayed God that he would enlighten the Minds of all with his true Knowledge That for some Years now past there had been great Dissention and Quarrelling about Religion and that who were the Authors and Causes thereof it had in some measure been made out in the Dyet of Norimberg and by the Confession of the Pope himself and the Grievances and Demands of the Princes and States which to the number of eighty had been delivered to the Pope's Legate whereof nevertheless no redress was as yet made That the Result of all Deliberations had always been this That the readiest way to put an End to Controversies and corrupt Abuses was a free Council But that now laying that Course aside they should Decree That they who had changed the Form of their Religion and could not without Troubles recede from what they had done should make no other Innovations they could not approve nor admit of that unless they would professedly derogate from the Doctrin which hitherto they had owned as True and Holy For to forsake that Doctrin provided it might be done without Stirs and Commotions what was it else than to deny the pure and uncorrupted Word of God which they had than which there could not be a more grievous Sin For that it was to be professed not only in Word but in Deed also Besides that what Mischief such a Denyal would bring with it and how pernicious it would be to many Professors of the Gospel it was easie enough to be conjectured That as to the Popish Mass it was well known How the Ministers of the Churches within their Dominions had by firm and unanswerable Arguments and Testimonies of Holy Scripture quite overthrown it and in place thereof appointed the Lord's Supper according to the Command and Institution of Christ and the manner observed by the Apostles so that neither could they approve that Clause of the Decree nor give leave to their People to repair to Mass which was already abolished For that granting That the use of the Popish Mass were never so Right and Pure yet if they should admit of two contrary Masses in their Churches it was obvious to all Men how bad an example that would give and what grumbling and heart-burning would thereupon ensue That again they wondred very much That they should prescribe to them what they were to enjoyn their People and what Laws they should make within their own Jurisdictions especially seeing if the like were attempted upon them they would by no means suffer it That all Men knew what was taught in their Churches of the Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament so that it needed no farther Explication But that nevertheless as they had often said before so it still seemed to them That no such Decree was as yet to be made against those who taught otherwise because there was nothing of that mentioned in the Emperour's Commission and besides because the Assertors of that Doctrin were neither called nor heard That therefore it was seriously to be considered How unreasonable and unbeseeming a thing it would be to pass a Judgment at any time upon such difficult and weighty Affairs without hearing those who were concerned speak for themselves Now as to what they said That the Gospel was to be taught according to the Interpretations approved and received by the Church it was right indeed however the Dispute still was Which is the True Church But that since no Doctrin was more certain than that of God's Word since nothing should be taught besides it and that the obscure Places of Scripture could not be better explained than by other clearer Places of the same Scripture they would
therefore stick to that and make it their Endeavour That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament should be plainly and purely taught That this alone was the Sure and Infallible Way but that the Traditions of Men were no sure Ground to build upon That the Decree of the last Dyet was made for Peace and Concord's sake but that if the present Decree should be in Force it would open a way to great Troubles and Discontents for that now since whilst that Decree of Wormes was still in suspense some Princes pretended to the Estates of their Subjects as forfeited for not observing the Edict it might be easily understood what would be done if the same Edict were again established and some of the other Princes and States should by Force attempt to compel them to those things which they could not perform with a safe Conscience That moreover it was not fairly alledged That the Decree of the last Dyet was conceived in such Words that most men in the mean time did abuse it and thought they might do what they pleased until the meeting of a Council These being Rumors spread by those who stood but little in awe of the last Judgment when all things should be made manifest That for their own Parts they were willing to answer such as would accuse them of transgressing that Decree before any impartial Judges And that therefore since the Case was so they did not assent to this Decree of theirs but would give Reasons for what they did openly to all Men and to the Emperour himself and that in the mean time till the meeting of a General or Provincial Council of Germany they would not act any thing which they could not maintain by Law That after all they were not ignorant neither of their Duty as to what was decreed concerning living in Peace not invading other Men's Possessions Anabaptists and Printers c. Some of the chief Cities after consultation had joyned with the Princes in this Protestation as Strasburg Norimberg Vlm Constance Ruteling Winshaim Memmingen Lindaw Kempen Hailbrun Isne Weissemburg Norlingen and San-Gall And this is the Original of the Name of Protestants which is famous and common not only in Germany but also amongst Foreign Nations King Ferdinand was gone out of the Assembly before this Protestation was made though he had been desired by the Elector of Saxony and his Associates to stay a little Afterwards the Protestants drew up and published a kind of an Appeal wherein having related what had been done they at length appeal from all the Proceedings of the Dyet of Spire and the Decree there made to the Emperour to a Lawful General Council or Provincial Synod of Germany and in short to all impartial and unsuspected Judges determining withal to send Ambassadours to the Emperour Not long after those of Zurich and Berne took the Field with an Army against their Enemies the five Cantons whom we mentioned a little before and the Zurichers published a Declaration of the Reasons and Causes that moved them to do so instancing many Injuries done by them and among the rest that in the Canton of Switz some of their People who came to demand Money due unto them had been whipt That they of Vnderwalt had hung up their Arms and the Arms of Berne Basil and City of Strasburg upon the Gallows That they all also had made a League with King Ferdinand for the Suppression of the Reformed Religion wherein they said It was stipulated That what Lands of theirs on this side the Rhine should be taken by the Assistance of King Ferdinand should all belong to them from whence it may be easily seen say they that it is their Design to cast us out of our Country by the Aid and Assistance of Foreigners Wherein they not only violate the Law of Nature but their Covenants and Agreements also when to our Ruine they conspire with the most Ancient and Implacable Enemy that our Nation hath against whom for so many Years even from the beginning of our League we have so unanimously joyned all our Strength and Force When the Armies on both sides had taken the Field and were incamped by the Mediation of their Neighbours and of the City of Strasburg also the matter was accommodated and both laid down their Arms. King Ferdinand had sent them Auxiliary Forces which were advanced as far as the Rhine It was agreed upon betwixt them That they should make no War one against another upon account of Religion and that for the future they should abstain from Railing and opprobious Words under a severe Penalty The French King being affected with the condition of his Children whom he had left Hostages in Spain and his unsuccessful Wards in Italy where he had lately lost an Army and his General Lautreck as we said having likewise lost Andrea d' Auria a Genoese and most Famous Sea-Commander who much about the time that Lautreck dyed revolted to the Emperour and regained the Liberty of his Country began to incline to Peace Wherefore at Cambray a City of Hainault there met Margaret the Emperour's Aunt Aloisia the French King's Mother and many Nobles among whom was Erard de la Warch Cardinal and Bishop of Liege and in the Month of August concluded a Peace wherein that Resolution taken in Spain three Years before as hath been said against the Lutherans was revived and confirmed The other Conditions were partly altered for the Emperour resigned Burgundy to the French King in case he had a Son by his Sister and the King was to pay for the Ransome of his Sons to the Emperour twenty hundred thousand Crowns therein comprehending the Debt due to the King of England Not long after the Emperour came to Genoua from Spain and at the same time Solyman the Emperour of the Turks being invited by Jerome Alasky a Polonian of extraordinary Parts sent for that end Ambassadour from John the Vaivode marched through Hungary with a most numerous Army into Austria where laying Siege before Vienna the chief City thereof September 13 and having by battering and springing of Mines made a Breach in the Walls he gave the Assault but the Garison under the Command of Philip Prince Palatine making a brave Defence October 16 he raised the Siege having lost many thousands of his Men in the Retreat who were partly slain and partly made Slaves But upon his Departure he made the Vaivode King at Buda A new kind of Disease also invaded Germany this Year for Men being taken with a Pestilential Sweating either dyed within four and twenty Hours or if they sweated out the Poyson recovered by degrees their Health again but before any Remedy could be found for it many thousands perished The Distemper in a very short space of time spread it self from the Ocean all over Germany and with incredible celerity like a Fire raged far and near It is commonly called The Sweating Sickness of England
Genoua were informed that the Emperour was come from Spain and arriving afterwards at Piacenza were on the Ninth of September introduced into the Emperour's Presence by Mercurine Cattinario who the day before had been made Cardinal Count Henry of Nassau Alexander Schueisse and Alphonso Valdesio a Spaniard The Emperour assigned them the Twelfth of September for the day of Audience but withal admonished them to draw up their Demands in writing and to be as short in their Discourse as they could by reason of his many and weighty Affairs When they came at the appointed day he again admonished them by an Interpreter to be short They according to their Instructions repeat in order the Decree of the Empire made Three Years before that was lately abrogated by another Decree which if it should be of force must needs occasion very great troubles and disorders That therefore the Elector of Saxony and his Associates with whom some Cities were joyned at that time publickly protested that they did not assent to that Decree that therefore they prayed his Majesty that he would not take it ill at their hands but impute it to necessity That in the mean while till a Council should be called they would not do any thing but what they hoped would be approved of both by God and his Majesty Again That in imitation of their Ancestors they were ready to undertake any thing for the safety and honour of his Person and Empire whether it were to war against the Turk or undergo any other burthen whatsoever That they also besought him if perhaps the matter were otherwise reported unto him not to give credit to it but believe this Relation nor conceive any displeasure against them till first he should hear their Justification especially seeing they had always professed that if they were better instructed from Testimonies of Scripture they would do nothing obstinately nor undutifully that therefore they desired his Majesty that he would take them into his Protection and Defence and with the first opportunity give them a gracious and favourable Answer in writing And that because all that they had to say could not be conveniently delivered by word of mouth they would in obedience to his Majesties Commands couch into writing what was necessary for the fuller understanding of the matter Afterwards the Emperor by his Interpreter answered them That he had heard what their Demands were that he was very well pleased with the obedience which they professed in their Prince's Name and that having advised with his Council he would give them an Answer At length October the Thirteenth he gave them his Answer in writing as they had desired it That before they came he had been informed of all the Proceedings in the Diet of Spire and of the Decree which past there by his Brother Eerdinand and his Colleagues and that he was extreamly troubled at that dissension which gave occasion to so many evils and inconveniences That seeing it was his duty to prevent them or if they should happen to redress the same he had therefore after long and serious deliberation with his Council about the whole matter found that that Decree was made with intent that nothing should be innovated for the future nor no place hereafter left for any Sect of which there were many broached at present and very foul ones too and then that Peace and Concord should be setled in the Empire which the Elector of Saxony and his Associates ought in reason to have assented to for that he and the rest of the Princes were no less concerned for their Souls Salvation and the Peace of their Consciences than they were nor no less desirous than they of a Council for composing the Affairs of Christendom which Council nevertheless would seem not to be altogether so necessary if those things which were enacted by publick and common Consent had their due course and also if that Decree made some years since at Wormes with the approbation of all the States and the Edict thereunto added by him were observed as they themselves acknowledged that such Decrees ought to be firm and stable That these things being considered and since it was a received Custom that it was not lawful for the smaller part to annul what had been enacted and decreed by the major part of the States of the Empire He had therefore written to the Duke of Saxony and his Associates commanding them to ratifie and approve that Decree not to act to the contrary but to obey the same upon the Allegiance which they owned to him and the Empire for that otherwise he would be necessitated for maintenance of his Authority and for Example's sake to punish them severely but that he supposed his Letter was already or would very shortly be delivered unto them and that they would do as he had commanded them That that would be very acceptable unto him especially at this time when it was certainly reported that the Turk the Enemy of Christendom was marching through Hungary with all his Forces into Germany That for this reason then it was highly requisite to be in Peace and Concord at home For that though they should contribute Money for the Turkish War and other publick uses of the Empire yet without mutual consent of minds without peace and good will amongst all the States of the Empire nothing could successfully be undertaken or carried on against such an Enemy which was not to be understood of one or two Provinces only but of all Christendom and especially Germany For that not only the Wives Children and Fortunes of all and every one but the Faith Religion Laws and whatever was near and dear unto men lay now at stake that head was therefore to be made against him with all expedition and with united hearts and hands or all those horrid sad and dismal evils undoubtedly to be expected So that were there no other reason to move yet this alone were sufficient to incline them cordially to embrace what the greater part of the States of the Empire judged proper and convenient That this being the State of Affairs he again required and commanded them that they would submit to the Decree made as the rest of the States did who were no less desirous than they were to approve themselves unto God both by a good Life and true Religion also and that laying aside all strife and dissension they would consult with the rest and determine how his Brother King Ferdinand might be aided and the violence of the Turk repressed that it might not spread farther That he was about to treat of these Affairs with the Pope in Person that is how both the most cruel Enemy might be withstood and all Disputes about Religion be ended to the glory of God and to the Peace and Tranquility of all men That having also setled the Affairs of Italy to the good of all Christendom he would with all expedition bend his whole Force against the Turk which made him hope
Ambassadours to desire the Assistance of the Empire with which they doubted not but they might be able not only to beat off the Enemy but also to regain what they had lost But that if they should be left destitute the same Calamity that then lay upon them would soon after fall upon their Neighbours also That he had been very much concerned at these things and had therefore that Aid might speedily be sent commanded That all that Money which they were to have furnished him for his Expedition to be crowned at Rome should be converted to that use But that when his Orders therein were too slowly executed the Enemy having taken Rhodes the Bulwork of Christendom on that side marched farther into Hungary overcame King Lewis in Battle and took plundered and burnt all the Towns and Places betwixt the Rivers Save and Drave with the Slaughter of many thousands of Men That they had afterwards made an Incursion into Sclavonia and there having burnt plundered and slain and laid the whole Country waste they had carried away above thirty thousand Men into miserable Slavery and killed those poor Creatures that could not follow after with the Carriages That they had again the Year before advanced with an innumerable Army into Austria and laid Siege to Vienna the chief City thereof having wasted the Country far and near even as far as Lintz where they had practised all kinds of Cruelty and Barbarity sparing neither Sex nor Age ripping up the Bowels of young Infants deflowring Maids and Women driving them away before them like Brute Beasts So that he had been fully resolved then all other things laid aside to have marched thither with his Forces and to have bent all his Strength against them having written to his Brother Ferdinand and the Noblemen and Commanders of the Army who were besieged in Vienna to expect his coming and that in the mean time they should valiantly behave themselves But that upon the Retreat of the Enemy he had altered his Resolution and for many Reasons judged it best having quieted all things in Italy to have a Conference with the Pope about setling the State of the Publick and the Affairs of Religion and to call this Dyet That he could have been Crowned at Rome without any Impediment and from thence gone to Naples as the State and Condition of that Kingdom then chiefly required but that he had preferred the Interest of the Publick before his own Private Affairs and made all the haste he could to be present at this Dyet That now though the Enemy could not take Vienna yet the whole Country had sustained great Damage which could hardly be in long time repaired again And that although the Turk had drawn off his Army yet he had left Garrisons and Commanders upon the Borders to wast and destroy not only Hungary but Austria also and Stiria and the Places adjoyning and that whereas now his Territories in many Places bordered upon ours it was not to be doubted but upon the first Occasion he would return again with far greater Force and drive on his Designs to the utter ruine chiefly of Germany That it was so well known how many Places he had taken from us since he was Master of Constantinople how much Christian Blood he had shed and unto what Streights he had reduced this Part of the World that it ought rather to be lamented and bewailed than enlarged upon in Discourse That doubtless the Minds of all ought exceedingly to be affected with so many and such grievous Calamities and being moved by the sad Examples of past Times to conclude for a certain that if now as heretofore things were carried on so slowly and remissly and that if his Fury were not resisted with greater Forces than hitherto they must expect no Safety for the future but that one Province after another being lost all at length and that shortly too would fall under his Power and Tyrannie That there had been frequent Dyets of the States held during his absence about those Affairs whereat he had wished himself present but by reason of his Enemies and Wars he could not as he had by Letters and Agents several times Declared But that so soon as he could he had sacrificed all his Private Quarrels and Injuries to the Publick had made Peace with his Enemy and remitted much of his Right for the sake of Publick Peace and Concord nor would he longer delay his Return into Germany but having left the most flourishing Kingdom of Spain had with great danger crossed the Seas to Italy where he had reduced the remains of his Enemies and so quieted that whole Country which had been a great Hindrance unto him that he could not come at the Day appointed And that since by those occasional Subitaneous and Broken Aids nothing had been as yet effected there was need of new Methods and more ample Deliberation for that since the Design of the most cruel Enemy was to make Slaves of nay even to sweep all Christians off of the Face of the Earth it was now to be taken into Consideration how Aids might be perpetuated that is That at no time Men and Money might be wanting not only for carrying on a Defensive but also an Offensive War nor for recovering alone what had been lost but for taking from him also all that possibly could be done That the Pope had made him very liberal and ample Promises And that for himself also although he had granted all the Money which had been promised him upon account of his Coronation for this use having been at all the Charges of the solemnity himself and though he had laid out a great deal of Money besides yet in so Holy and Necessary a Work he would do what was befitting his Character and Person That the same might be expected from his Brother King Ferdinand who stood now in a manner as the Rampart of Christendom especially of Germany against the Fury and Rage of the Turk That other Kings and Princes also would not be wanting to some of whom he had written to that purpose and would also sollicite the rest That now as to Religion he had no sooner stept into the Government but that to his Grief and Sorrow he had heard of this Dissention arisen among them and therefore that it might be remedied in time a Decree past in the Dyet then held at Wormes with their unanimous Advice and Consent which if it had been obeyed would have prevented all those Evils and Troubles that for some Years now had afflicted Germany among which were chiefly to be reckoned the Insurrection of the Boors and Sect of the Anabaptists And that since he perceived that hitherto there had been nothing done by all their Treaties he thought his own Presence might be of great moment That therefore he had called this Dyet that therein every one might propose what they had to say in Writing that so the matters might be the sooner and better understood and
suffered to enjoy their Religion peaceably until the sitting of a Council they would also contribute Money for the Turkish War. Being therefore sent for next day to appear in Court there was a certain form of Pacification read unto them wherein they only were comprehended who had approved the Decree that was made whereupon a Debate arising and the Deputies alledging it concerned not them or if it did that it ought to have been conceived in clearer terms lest by its ambiguity it might afterward occasion dispute they made answer That they would make report thereof to the Emperour Two days after the Emperour sent for the Deputies of Strasburg and their Associates to come to his Lodgings and in the Assembly of the States ordered the Confutation of their Confession of Faith to be read a prolix and biting Paper especially in that part where it treated of the Lord's Supper The Authors thereof were John Faber and Eckius who having an odious Subject to descant on made use of all the severe Reflections they could that they might incense the Emperour and Princes The upshot of all was That whereas in matters of Religion they professed an Opinion different from all others and approved that most grievous Errour about the Lord's Supper That they had also thrown Images out of the Churches abolished the Mass pulled down Publick and Religious Houses built in former times by the Liberality of Emperours and Kings cherished and promoted several Sects by Books and Pamphlets which they published and dispersed amongst the People all over Germany That therefore he again required them to retract and embrace the Ancient Religion for that otherwise he would certainly do what in Duty he was obliged to do Some time after they made answer That in the Confutation many things were read otherwise than they were contained in their Paper That some things also were so bitterly represented that if true they deserved not only censure but punishment also but that these things were not rightly charged upon them for that no such thing was done within their Cities and if any person whosoever durst break out into the like Licentiousness they would certainly be punished for it That since then they had a clear Conscience that it was a weighty Cause and that the Paper was very long and could not be answered before they had made a Report thereof to their Principals therefore they desired in the first place That a Copy of it might be given to them and then that no Credit should be given to that Charge and Accusation before their Justification were heard and examined That in all other things they were ready to serve his Imperial Majesty to the utmost of their Power The Emperour told them He would consider on 't and five Days after the Elector of Brandenburg made answer in his Name That he could not give them a Copy for that upon weighty considerations the same had been denied to the Duke of Saxony and that all farther Dispute about Religion was prohibited But that if they had a desire to be reconciled and to return again into the Bosom of the Church he would not refuse them the hearing of the Confutation read once or twice more But that he charged them withal That they would profess the same Religion that the other Princes and States did and contribute Aid against the Turk for that unless they would give way and leave off to be so stubborn he would by the Advice of the Pope and other Kings act as it became him After some time granted them for Deliberation they made their Reply in presence of all the States That they had Orders to demand a Copy of what had been objected against their Confession that they might send it home which in their Opinion was done not for more Disputes sake but that if perhaps the Learned Men of the other side should interpret the meaning of their Paper otherwise than it ought or if any Crime might be laid to their Charge they might be in a Readiness to answer and justifie themselves That now since by what they could retain in Memory of the Confutation read they perceived that their Confession was perverted contrary to the Sense and Meaning of their Magistrates and otherwise interpreted than the very Words of it could bear that besides since many horrid things were reckoned up which could in no ways be attributed to them as they had said before they therefore again desired and prayed that they might have a Copy of the Confutation granted them whereby they might be enabled to purge themselves of what was objected against them especially seeing in the close of their Confession they had begged of the Emperour That he would refer this Difference about Religion to the Determination of a Lawful Council of Germany being the only way that had been always lookt upon as the most proper and convenient and that therefore since they were resolved to maintain no errour knowingly nor to be obstinate in any thing they begged again and again that the Cause might be decided by a Free and Holy Council That they would not refuse what should therein be decreed according to the Testimony of Holy Scripture That in the mean time they would serve the Emperour with their Lives and Fortunes and that they had lately acquainted the Deputies of the Cities with their Resolutions as to their contributing Aid and Assistance for the Turkish War which was That if Peace were setled throughout the Empire and security given them for the free Exercise of their Religion until the meeting of a Council they were willing to contribute what in Reason they ought For that the Year before they had liberally given and more too than came to their shares Which being so and that since hitherto they had received no answer they once more most earnestly prayed That Peace might be given to Religion for that otherwise though they might be never so willing yet they would not be able to contribute any thing The Marquess of Brandenburg said That he would make a Report of it to the Emperour In the Afternoon some Commissioners read unto them a Draught of the Pacification wherein they only were comprehended who should receive the Decree as hath been said before of the Duke of Saxony and his Associates They made answer That neither was there a Copy of the Decree given them nor were they comprehended therein so that they could not promise any thing in the Names of their Principals and that since the matter was still left at an uncertainly they expected to know the Emperour's Pleasure therein as they had also declared themselves to the Elector of Brandenburg The Deputies for the State of Strasburg in this Dyet were James Sturmey and Matthias Pharrer and the â—ormer pleaded the Cause with the Emperour and Princes both in the Name of his own City and also of their Confederates Whilst these Matters were in Debate the Cities of Ausburg Frankford Vlm and Hall declined the Decree
it might plainly appear That the Interest of the Publick and their native Country were dear unto them At the same time the Duke of Lunenburg the Landgrave and the Counts of Anhalt and Mansfield wrote at large to the Electors to the same purpose seriously advising them that they would not offer such Injury to the Laws and Rights of their Country and the rather since it was a common Report That there were Bribes and Promises in the case which was directly contrary to the Caroline Constitutions Afterwards on the last of December both the Princes and Cities we named before wrote to the Emperour a common Letter in all their Names wherein they resumed all the Proceedings at Ausburg what Sollicitations they had made for Peace what Answer his Majesty made at length especially concerning the Actions of the Crown and what kind of Decree was afterwards made there and that though his Majesty had himself qualified that Expression of the Elector of Brandenburg by telling them that the Agreement he had made with the rest of the Princes was not Offensive but only for the Defence of himself and Cause yet nevertheless if that Authority specified in the Decree should be given to the Imperial Chamber who could doubt but that it might extend to Force and Violence Since therefore both they and their Ancestors had given evident Proofs of their Zeal and Affection both towards him and his Predecessors they prayed That as he had in Word softned that Expression of the Elector of Brandenburg's so he would also really and indeed mitigate and put a stop to those Prosecutions of the Chamber that they might have assurance until the meeting of a Free and Holy Council that they needed not be afraid of any thing And that if they could obtain this at his Majesties Hands they would hereafter as in Times past contribute their Money Aid and Assistance not only towards the Turkish War but also for the other Publick Uses of the Government In the first meeting of the Princes Electors at Cologne the Emperour gave these Reasons for creating a King of the Romans Because he himself had several Kingdoms and People to govern and could not be always in Germany Because Christendom and especially Germany was in a Troublesome and Dangerous State by Reason of the Difference in Religion the Power and Force of the Turks the late Insurrection and Rebellion of the Boors and because many things were undutifully and disobediently acted in Germany for that though by their own Advice and Consent in former Years there had been a Senate and Judicature of the Empire appointed yet it was not obeyed as it ought to have been And that therefore it seemed absolutely necessary to him for the Welfare of the State that a King of the Romans should be chosen who might under him and in his absence be as it were another Head of the Empire that he ought to be a Man of Parts Vigilant Industrious and Powerful a Lover of Peace and Concord acquainted with the Affairs of the Empire and in short altogether such as he himself might Trust and Relie upon But that he knew no Man more capable of that Province than his own Brother Ferdinand King of Bohemia and Hungary whose Limits and Kingdoms were as a Wall and Rampart for the Safety and Preservation of Germany against the cruelty of the Turks The Princes Electors after deliberation had praid the Emperour that he would not leave Germany but settle his Court and Residence in it But he persisting in his Purpose on the Fifth of January they declared Ferdinand King of the Romans The Elector of Saxony did all he could which was to make his Son give Reasons why he could not approve that Election and to protest against it as illegall Long before the Dyet of Ausburg broke up there was a Report spread abroad That Ferdinand would be promoted to that Dignity From Cologne they went all afterwards to Aix la Chapelle where King Ferdinand was Installed on the eleventh of January who presently dispatched Letters to give notice of it all over Germany The Emperour also commanded by Proclamation That all should own him for King of the Romans and wrote separately to the Protestants to the same purpose In the mean while that the Emperour was at Cologne the Protestants Letter was delivered unto him wherein they desired to be exempted from the Prosecutions of the Imperial Chamber as we said before Thereunto he made answer at Aix la Chapelle January 13 by the Mouth of Frederick Prince Palatine That they needed not to go any farther or wait longer for any Answer for that he had not as yet considered of it but that he would in time think on what answer he should give them Having done so he went into Brabant a Province of the Netherlands THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK VIII The CONTENTS The Princes assembled at Smalkalde dispatch Letters to the Kings of England and France wherein they let them understand what false Reports are gone abroad against them They solicite the King of Denmark and the Maritime Cities to joyn with them in the League as far as they shall think it convenient The Switzers are not admitted into this Confederacy The King of France returns an Answer to the Protestants Letters and the King of England does the same The Embassadors of the Cities deliver in at Franckford their Sentiments concerning the Creation of a King of the Romans and there likewise the Controversie between the Bishop of Bamburg and George Duke of Brandenburg is agitated The Emperor appoints a Diet to meet at Spiers to which the Elector of Saxony refuses to come There are some Conditions laid down upon which the Protestants do promise to make their appearance there A Civil War breaks out between those of Zurich and the five Confederate Cantons in which Zuinglius is slain Soon after OEcolampadius departs this life A Treaty is held about entring into a Peace with the Protestants till such time as a Council should sit Christiern King of Denmark is taken Prisoner Solyman the Grand Seignior invades Austria and is driven out of it again The Elector of Saxony dies The Pope sends an Embassador into Germany to propound certain Rules and Methods for the holding of the intended Council to each of which the Duke of Saxony having diligently consider'd the matter returns a very full Answer within a few days IN the former Convention at Smalkalde this among other things was agreed upon that since the Adversaries were very busie in throwing dirt upon their Cause and endeavour'd every where by numerous Calumnies to bring their Profession of the Gospel into Disgrace the Kings of England and France should in the first place be written to that they would not suffer themselves to be influenc'd by such false Reproaches Accordingly on the 16 day of Febr. the Dukes of Saxony Brandenburg Lunenburg and the Lantgrave together with the Cities of Strasburg
seems to him not only most equitable but also most safe for the Publick which must needs be brought into a most miserable condition should the matter come to be determin'd by Arms. What he speaks concerning the Affinity between Germany and France is thus made out The German Franks that were Borderers upon Schwaben having made an Irruption and over-run those of Triers Kesel Morini Hainault Amiens Beauvais and Soissons set down at length in that part of Gaul which from them was called France and retains it's name till this very time of which Province Paris is the Capital City And when many of their Kings had reigned there by Succession and enlarg'd their Borders the Government at length descended to King Pipin and his Son Charles who for the vastness of his Exploits was call'd The Great he when he was the fourth time at Rome was by the Pope and all the People saluted August Emperor and took Possession of Germany Italy and France his Son Lewis also and those that descended from him were Kings of France Hither it is therefore that King Francis traces his Original and derives his Pedigree from the Stock of the Franks The same Wheedle he some years since made use of when after the death of Maximilian he affected the Imperial Dignity For knowing that the ascent to this Honour was precluded to all Foreigners by an ancient Law he had a mind this way to demonstrate himself to be a German But the truth of it is the last King of France of the Male-Line of Charles the Great was Lewis the Fifth who died without Children in the year of our Lord 988 when the Possession of the Kingdom had been in that Family for the space of 238 years After his death the right of Succession devolv'd to Charles Duke of Lorain Uncle to Lewis by the Father's side but Hugh Capet said to be Earl of Paris whose Mother through a long Genealogy trac'd her Kindred up to Charles the Great having vanquish'd and taken the Duke of Lorain invaded the Kingdom and transmitted it to his Son Robert whose Male-Issue was continued down by Succession ev'n to this Francis. There are some who affirm that this Capet was of a very mean and obscure Parentage but most Historians deny that and ascribe unto him the same Original that I have done Henry the Eighth King of England return'd his Answer on the third of May That he was to his great Satisfaction inform'd by them that their great aim and design was to heal the Distempers of the Church and procure a Reformation of those things which either through the naughtiness or ignorance of men had been deprav'd and corrupted without doing any injury to Religion or disturbing the Publick Peace That he takes it very kindly that they had in their Letters giv'n him a Scheme of the whole Action for there had been a Report rais'd to their disadvantage as if they gave Protection to certain mad Men who endeavour'd to confound and level all things But that he had giv'n no Credit to these Reports as well because Christian Charity so requir'd as because he judg'd it impossible that such Crimes could stick to such illustrious wise and noble Persons And though he never would have believed any of those things which were thus reported of them without a certain demonstration yet he is very glad to see them take this method of clearing themselves because it confirms that judgment and opinion he always had of them As to their desire of rectifying Abuses in that they may expect both his and all good Men's concurrence with their Endeavours For such is the condition of Humane affairs that as in the body Natural so likewise in the Politick and in all publick Administrations there is almost a continual occasion for remedies Those Physicians therefore deserve the greatest Applause who so apply their Medicines as to heal the Wound or cure the Disease without exasperating the parts and he does not doubt but their Endeavours have such a tendencies as this However they ought diligently to beware of a sort of Men who aim at Innovations and Preach up Levelling Principles and endeavour to render Magistracy contemptible for that he lately met with some persons of this Leaven within his own Dominions who were come thither out of Germany And since they make mention in their Letters of the Reverence due to Magistrates he therefore gives them this short advice that they would not open a gap to any Licentiousness this way and if they use but a sufficient Caution in this Point their Endeavours after a Reformation will prove a kindness of the highest Import to the Publick As for a publick Council there is nothing which he more desires and his Prayers to God are that he would inspire the hearts of the Princes with care and diligence in that Affair That he hopes all things well of them and there is nothing which he would refuse for their sake he will likewise earnestly intercede with the Emperor that some terms of Accommodation may be found out and in this business he will so behave himself as they at their several opportunities shall judge most convenient When at the day appointed they were assembled at Frankfort the Embassadors of the Cities according to appointment declare their Sentiments concerning the Creation of a King of the Romans That after mature deliberation they conclude it not at all advisable to raise an unnecessary Squabble or create to themselves danger about giving the Title to King Ferdinand For as long as the Emperor is alive and within the Bounds of his Empire the whole Sovereign Power is in his Hands but in his absence the chief Administration indeed falls upon Ferdinand but still he must execute in the Emperor's Name and as his Substitute That they had several times offer'd as much as lay in their Power a resignation of all their Affairs to the Emperor and should they now oppose the creation of a King they must expect that most Men would upbraid them with the falseness and vanity of their promise and so upon that account become their enemies and thus they should draw upon them the enmity of many who otherwise upon the score of their Religion would never have acted against them There is likewise great danger lest others should by these Measures be deterr'd from entring into the League who might otherwise have comply'd For these Reasons they think it is not safe for them to oppose Ferdinand in this business They will therefore carry themselves indifferent as to the matter of the Election which way soever it goes But should Ferdinand Command any thing contrary to the Word of God they will then by no means obey and should he make any forceable Attempts they will then act according to the form of the League and contribute all they can towards a Defence But the Princes write thus to the Emperor and to Ferdinand that they cannot possibly approve
thousand Soldiers who upon the approach of the Enemy gave notice to those in the City by several Messengers to fly with all speed to their assistance but such was the Expedition of the Enemy that they could not come in so opportunely to their Relief for having got upon the top of a Mountain over which they were to pass they beheld from thence their Friends in the Valley beneath very hardly press'd and in a dangerous condition having therefore encourag'd one another they made a confused descent from the Mountain the nature of which was such that they could not pass above one at a time Being therefore not able to draw up all their Forces they were over-whelm'd with multitudes and having lost many of their Men they at last turn'd their backs This happen'd upon the 11th day of October Among the number of the slain Zuinglius was found For the custom of Zurich is such that upon any Expedition the principal Minister of their Church goes out along with them Now Zuinglius who was in his own nature a very stout and couragious Man consider'd likewise with himself that if he should stay at home and the battel should go against them he must needs draw upon himself a great Odium for animating other Men by his Preaching and yet shrinking back himself in the time of danger he therefore resolv'd to run the common risque They us'd his dead body very barbarously which shew'd that their revenge could not be satisfy'd ev'n with his death He was aged 44 years being four years younger than Luther There was a Comet seen almost all the month of August and about that time died Lovice Mother to the King of France she was Sister by the Father's side to Charles Duke of Savoy Those of Bern who were to make War upon Vnderwalt having understood the misfortune send to encourage their Friends of Zurich and to promise their assistance assuring them that they will shortly be with them with all their Forces desiring that it might be left to them to revenge their Quarrel But when upon a meeting which was held about eight days after the battel they of Bern appear'd somewhat slack in performance the people of Zurich having receiv'd Aids from Basil Schaffhausen Suntgaw and Mulhausen draw out from their whole Body some select Troops who Marching out in the night do plant themselves in a Mountain near Memmingen that so they might be ready as soon as the Moon was up to make an effort and surprise on a suddain the City Zug But the Enemy who lay encampt not far off having notice of the Project flew to their Arms with all speed and marching before it was light came upon them unawares setting up mighty Shouts and Cries for the greater incussion of Terror This was upon the 20th of October Many were on both sides kill'd and though the five Cantons had the better of it yet those of Zurich would not in the least abate of their zeal for Religion At length a Peace being made up through the mediation of Friends this among other Articles was inserted That those of Zurich Bern and Basil should depart from that League which they had lately made with the City of Strasburg and the Lantgrave and that the five Cantons should do the same with Ferdinand And thus having drawn up Instruments which did mutually oblige them the Confederacy was on both sides dissolv'd Towards the end of November OEcolampadius departed this life He had conceiv'd an extraordinary grief at the death of Zuinglius which was thought to have heightned his Distemper there having been an intimate familiarity betwixt them He was aged 49 years There are some Exercitations of his extant upon the Prophets which are highly approv'd of by the Learned On the 19th of December the Protestant Embassadors met again at Frankfort and there came to an Agreement for a mutual Defence which was the only thing they wanted In this Convention those of Gossar Emberk and Embden were admitted into the League as those of Esling had been a little before But George Duke of Brandenburg was absent as were likewise the Embassadors of Nuremburg Camin and Heilsburg who though they profess'd the same Doctrin yet as we hinted before were averse to the League The Emperor leaving the Low-Countries in the beginning of January directed his Journey towards Ratisbon in order to hold a Diet there as we have said before Having in his way thither arrived at Mentz on the last day of January the Archbishop of Mentz and the Prince Palatine intercede with him again for Peace about which when he had permitted them to hold a Treaty they sent advise to the Duke of Saxony and the Lantgrave that they would likewise give their Concurrence Wherefore after some intercourse of Letters it was agreed that a Convention should be held in the beginning of April at Schwinfurt a Town of the Empire situated upon the Main Here they began to treat about establishing a Peace till the sitting of a Council The mediating Princes were there present themselves and by the Emperors Order laid before them these Injunctions That they should Innovate Teach and Publish nothing about Religion besides the Writing that was exhibited at Auspurg but should keep themselves within those bounds till such time as a Council should sit That they should not hold Communication with the Zuinglians or the Anabaptists lest under the pretext of Religion they should draw over to them and receive under their Protection the Subjects of another State. That they should not suffer any of their own Subjects to teach without the limits of their Dominions That they forbear all Reproaches and give no disturbance to the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction or to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church That they Contribute their assistance against the Turks and that they be Obedient to those Decrees which respect the Publick Good and the administration of the Empire That they be Obedient to the Emperor and the King of the Romans and that they dissolve whatever League has been made against the Emperor the King or those States that are of a different Religion If they will comply in these things they hope that both the Emperor and the King will lay aside all Resentments that have been formerly occasion'd The Duke of Saxony being detain'd by Indisposition had sent thither John Frederick his Son there were likewise present Francis Duke of Lunenburg and Ainhault as likewise the Embassadors of the other Princes and Cities to whom were lately added the Cities of Nortingen and Hall and Suabe After things had been long debated the Mediating Princes dispatch'd in writing all the Transactions to the Emperor who was holding his Diet at Ratisbone to the end that they might understand what his Pleasure was As to that Proposition which requir'd that the Duke of Saxony and his Allies should yield Obedience to the King of the Romans they commit to writing and deliver to the Mediators upon the
them sufficiently both for the procuring of Diet and Interest too But if that Persecution and burning of Christians which I just hinted had not happen'd and taken the King from his design he was resolv'd as they say to have pulled down their Convent and levell'd all their Works And here we may observe that before the Reformation there was abundance of Apparitions For the Spirits of the dead as was supposed us'd to be very troublesome to this World as soon as their Funeral was over and come and tell people either why they were damn'd or tormented for a time in Purgatory begging their near Relations or Friends to have pity on them Now it was common for them to desire either that their Vows which they had made to the Saints might be discharged or that the Prayers and Sacrifice of the Mass might be repeated as often as they gave directions for their enlargement This practise confirm'd the belief of Purgatory wonderfully and gave a mighty Reputation to Masses and enrich'd the Priests more than can be well imagin'd But after Luther's Doctrin appear'd and got Footing these Goblins went off by degrees and vanish'd For Luther proves from the Holy Scriptures that departed Souls are at rest and confin'd till the last Judgment And that those Disturbances those horrible Noises and Sights are caused by the Devil who omits no opportunity to establish an unlawful Worship and to confirm Men in mistaken Notions concerning Religion that so he may make the Incarnation of our Saviour ineffectual The Lantgrave after he had contracted with the French King raiseth an Army in the beginning of the Spring and before he proceeded any farther the Duke of Wirtemburg and himself wrote to King Ferdinand to justifie what they had done but receiving no other satisfaction from Ferdinand than that he was willing to have the Difference decided by Law at last they brought their Men into the Field And upon the 13th of May meeting with the Enemy who were ten thousand strong in Foot they played their Cannon upon them and routed them near Laufen a Town in the Dukedom of Wirtemburg Philip Prince Palatine who was Ferdinand's General was wounded with a Musket-shot in this Action and lost his Feet And a great many of his Soldiers were drown'd in the River Neckar which they attempted to cross in their flight After this Defeat almost all the Dukedom of Wirtemburg submitted to Vlrick their Prince And at last Auspurg which was built upon an extraordinary steep Rock together with Aurach Tubingen and Nipha all strong Forts upon the account of their situation surrendred themselves Upon the first of May Ferdinand published a Proclamation and wrote particularly to all the Protestants That none should be aiding to the Faction of these Princes but resist them to the utmost of their Power The Emperor also set forth an Edict to the same purpose a few days before insomuch that no body gave them any assistance openly and all Peoples thoughts were in suspence and concern'd about the Consequences of this Commotion While this War was carrying on the Archbishop of Mentz and George Duke of Saxony who was Father in law to the Lantgrave endeavour'd a Reconciliation between King Ferdinand and the Elector of Saxony and at last upon the 29th of June they concluded a Pacification upon these Conditions That no Violence should be offer'd upon the account of Religion nor no Law Suits commenced and that the Peace which the Emperor had made should be kept That Ferdinand by the Emperors Authority should stop all manner of Processes of the Chamber of Spire against the Protestants under which denomination neither the Anabaptists nor the Sacramentarians nor such other Sectarists were to be comprehended The Elector of Saxony and his Confederates should be oblig'd to acknowledge Ferdinand King of the Romans and give him that Title Ferdinand also engaged himself to procure a Decree of the Emperor and the rest of the Electors to this effect When there shall be an occasion to make a King of the Romans in the Emperor's life time that then the Electors shall meet before-hand and consult whether there is good and sufficient reason for such a creation if it appears there is then they shall proceed according to the Form of the Caroline Law All Creations contrary to this Provision shall be reputed null In case this Decree is not made within ten months the Elector of Saxony and his Allies are not to be obliged by this Treaty The Emperor likewise shall within the said term confirm the Elector of Saxony his Succession to his Fathers and Ancestors Dominions And lastly that Ferdinand should endeavour to get the Emperor's Approbation of the Elector of Saxony his Marriage with the Duke of Cleave's Daughter While these things were debating another Treaty was brought on where the Elector of Saxony engageth as a Person Commissioned by the Lantgrave and the Duke of Wirtemburg that those Princes will make good whatever is concluded by him At last after a long Dispute which continued till all the Dukedom was recover'd by force they came to this Agreement By vertue of which Duke Vlrick and his Heirs-Male were to come under Vassalage to Ferdinand as Arch-Duke of Austria and hold the Dukedom of Wirtemburg of him as Lord of the Fee And if the Family of the Wirtemburgs should happen to be extinct or have no Heirs-Male that then this Territory was to descend upon the Arch-Dukes of Austria who were to hold it of the Empire to which they should be oblig'd to pay Homage and Service upon this account Vlrick was bound to acknowledge Ferdinand King of the Romans and never enter into any League against him The Lantgrave and Vlrick were to make Restitution of those Estates and Goods which had been seized on during the War To force no persons to change their Religion To permit the Clergy the enjoyment of their Revenues without any molestation That those who have withdrawn either upon the account of danger or contempt may return home if they please and others who have a mind to depart the Country shall have the liberty to carry their Effects with them The Ordnance with which Auspurg was fortified shall be deliver'd to Ferdinand The mony which Ferdinand hath borrowed and converted to his own use he shall pay himself but that which hath been laid out for the advantage of the Country shall be discharged by Vlrick Duke Vlrick and his Heirs shall do Homage to Ferdinand and his Heirs Kings of Bohemia for those Lands in the Dutchy of Wirtemburg which they hold of that Kingdom Philip Prince Palatine and the rest of the Prisoners shall be dismissed without Ransome The Lantgrave and Vlrick are oblig'd within a certain time to be specified to beg King Ferdinand his Pardon either in their own Persons or by their Embassadors at which time the Duke shall be put into full Possession by Ferdinand who promiseth to intercede for their Pardon with
was to continue no longer than either till a general Council was conven'd or till the next Imperial Diet the Elector mov'd King Ferdinand that this last Clause might be omitted He also desir'd that those who profess'd the same Religion with other Protestants might enjoy the same Priviledges though they were not comprehended in the Treaty at Nuremburg and that no Prosecutions might be issu'd out against them To this Ferdinand reply'd that he could make no new Provision in this case without the Emperor's consent The Elector of Saxony reply'd that it was very hard since their Adversaries might recede from the Pacification when they pleas'd that himself and his Allies should be barr'd this Liberty The Security which was given them in the Treaty did not design without doubt to keep them in suspence and in the dark without being able so much as to know what they were to hope for or expect Besides as soon as ever a Proclamation for a Diet came out it would be look'd upon as a Signal to break the Peace and be like beating a Charge for new Disturbances from whence great Inconveniences would follow And he must add that if those of the same Religion with himself could not enjoy the benefit of the Pacification and happen'd to be proscrib'd or otherways aggreived it would be very uneasie to him and the rest of his Allies to connive at these things and desert their Friends in their Distress But the Elector gain'd nothing more of his Point by this Remonstrance only one of Ferdinand's chief Ministers reply'd that it was a long time yet before the Empire was to meet unless some great and unexpected occasion should happen and when there shall be a necessity for the holding of a Diet the present affair shall be setled by his Electoral Highness's and the Lantgrave's advice Upon this the Elector press'd this Request no farther But when he desir'd the Treaty might be ratify'd Ferdinand answer'd that he had not omitted to Command the Chamber to desist the last year pursuant to the Articles at Cadan But they told him that there were several Causes purely Secular and Civil intermixt with those that were Sacred now these were perfectly under their Jurisdiction for they did not relate to Faith and Religion but to Estates and yearly Revenues To this the Elector of Saxony reply'd that these mix'd Causes were the only reason which made them so earnest for a Pacification for though they did concern Mens Goods and Estates yet they were grounded upon Religion His Majesty may likewise be inform'd by the Princes of the Mediation the Elector of Mentz and the Palsgrave that these sort of Disputes were mention'd at the Treaty As for other Causes in which their Creed and their Consciences are only concern'd the Chamber never had any thing to do with those neither was there any necessity that himself and his Confederates should desire the Emperor to check the Judges upon such an account as this Besides long before the Pacification at Cadan the Chamber pretended that the fore-mention'd Causes were only Secular and therefore among other things there was a particular Provision made at Cadan that his Majesty should interpose his Authority to restrain that Court. After the Matter was thus discours'd at last the King yielded and promis'd to undertake that none of those Causes which his Highness and his Confederates at the Treaty at Nuremburg counted Religious should be try'd before the Chamber The French Embassadors Speech which I mention'd was answer'd by the Protestants as followeth Notwithstanding there goes various Reports concerning those Executions in France yet because his Excellency says those who suffer'd were contriving an Insurrection they could not blame the King's Proceedings since they did not tolerate such sort of Persons in their own Dominions But in regard all people have not every where the same Opinions of the establish'd Doctrins and Rites they entreat his Majesty that this Severity may not fall upon all Persons without distinction but that those may be spar'd who having laid open the Errors and Corruptions of the Times had reform'd their Creed into the same purity the Scriptures taught it and held to that Confession which themselves had made at Ausburg For it cannot be deny'd that many false and wicked Opinions have broke in upon the Church which are now very confidently maintain'd by ignorant and malitious Men upon Principles of Covetousness and Ambition Now it 's their way and they are Masters of it to forge Accusations against innocent and religious Persons that so they may exasperate Princes into rigour And since Kings and Princes are more peculiarly oblig'd to promote the Honour of God to purge the Church from Error and to check unreasonable Cruelty they earnestly beseech his most Christian Majesty that he would lay out his principal Endeavours upon so good a Work. If he pleases to do this they shall be assur'd that he hath a real regard for them which they hope may prove auspicious both to themselves and the Church What his Majesty discours'd concerning the ancient and constant Friendship between the French Kings and the Princes of Germany was wonderfully entertaining to them And they would make it their business that this Intimacy and good Correspondence might be continu'd for the future And whereas his Excellency offers to excuse the King from some Imputations they are very inclinable to gratifie him in this Point and acquiesce in his Apology desiring above all things that God would vouchsafe a general Peace to Christendom and Protect the Germans in their Liberties which were formerly gain'd at the expence of so much Blood. Now though that which his Excellency mention'd concerning an Accommodation in Religion belongs to an argument too large to be dispatch'd in a few words yet so prudent a Person as the King may easily perceive that the separation is wholly owing to the obstinacy of their Adversaries who have condemn'd all the reform'd Doctrin in a most violent manner They have desir'd nothing more for these many years than that the whole Cause might be argued before a lawful Council but the Pope and his Dependents have oppos'd this Overture with all the rigour imaginable 'T is true Clement the Seventh propos'd a Council under certain Conditions but then they were such as made it sufficiently apparent that he could not endure that Matters should be freely debated And this Pope though he promises a Council yet he will not suffer the Form and Method of it be disputed before-hand and besides he will have it conven'd out of the Territories of the Empire From whence it 's easie to conclude that there is foul play and deceit at the bottom and that nothing else is intended but to get the true Religion suppress'd by the Authority of a Council And since the calling of the Church together does not belong only to the Bishop of Rome but Kings and Princes are equally concern'd in it They beseech his Majesty to interpose so
thither precisely upon that day was not upon the account of the Decree which was made at Coblentz but in Obedience to the Emperor and Ferdinand King of the Romans afterwards they had a great Dispute with the Princes about the Contribution At last there was a Supply decreed for five months at the rate of twenty thousand Crowns a month They likewise decreed That when the Town was taken the innocent Crowd should be spar'd and that those honest Men who were either besieg'd or had remov'd some whither else should have their Goods restor'd to them When this Decree had passed the Bishop of Munster gives the Charge of his Army to Count Obestein but the Mony being levy'd very negligently and almost quite too late there was nothing considerable done nay the Officers themselves were more than once in great danger of their Lives by the Souldiers who mutiny'd for want of their Pay. Now when the Town was reduc'd to that Extremity that a great many perish'd daily with danger many of them also deserting it and coming out so lamentable lean and meager that the Enemy could not choose but pity them The Officers of the Camp gave the Townsmen to understand that if they would deliver up their King and some few Persons more they should have security for themselves The Citizens though they were very desirous to comply yet the Severity and Vigilance of their King was such that they durst attempt nothing For the King was obstinate to that degree that as long as there was any thing for him and a few others to live upon he was resolv'd not to surrender Therefore the Commanders write to them and charge them not to let any Persons come out of their City for the future no not so much as Women or Children This was the first day of June The day after they return an answer In which they complain that they were not allow'd a fair Hearing That they were us'd with extream Rigour without any just Provocation on their part but if any one could shew they were mistaken they would not fail to do their duty Then they fall of explaining the Vision of Daniel concerning the fourth Beast which was to be the cruellest of all The conclusion of their Letter was That by the Grace of God they would persevere in this Confession of Truth but all this stuff was dictated by their King. Now when the Town was brought to the last Extremity two Persons made their Escape one of them was taken by the Soldiers the other after he had receiv'd Security comes to the Bishop both of them enform him how he may make himself Master of the Town Oberstein and the Bishop after they had heard this Report of the Deserters and consulted upon the Point upon the 22d of June they advise the Townsmen in a Parley to surrender themselves and preserve the Multitude from starving They return an answer by Rotman in their King's Presence the Purport of which was That they would not depart from their Resolution Two days after about Eleven of the Clock at Night the Army marcheth up to the City without any noise and by the help of the Deserters some Souldiers who were drawn out for this purpose pass through the Ditch up to the Rampire and kill the Sentinels those were followed by others who finding a little Gate open about five hundred of them with some Officers and Colours enter the Town Upon this the Townsmen joyning in a Body dispute the Entrance of the rest and at last with great difficulty beat them back and shutting the Gate charge those who had broken in already and kill a great many of them and when they had fought very smartly for an hour or two the Enemy who were shut in break open the Gate which was next to them being defended by a very slender Guard and make way for their own Party who came up immediately in a great Body To whom the Citizens made some resistance at first and fortify'd themselves in the Market-Place but afterwards finding they had lost a great many Men at the first Charge and desparing of Success they beg Pardon and obtain it The King and Knipperdoling were taken at the same instant and Rotman having no hopes of coming off to prevent falling alive into the Enemies hand chargeth into the Body of them and is run through The Town being taken the Bishop reserves half the Booty and the Ordnance for himself afterwards he disbands the Army and keeps only two Companies for his Garrison After this there was another Diet of the Empire held at Wormes upon the 17th of July in which Ferdinand by his Ambassadors proposeth by way of question Whether since the Town was reduc'd there was any thing farther to be done towards the total Suppression of the Anabaptists He also puts them in mind that the Princes should solicite the Pope about the calling of a Council They answer That it was order'd by several Edicts already what was proper to be done to the Anabaptists That the Pope had more than once been importun'd by the Emperor about a Council and they said That they could do nothing farther In this Diet the Bishop of Munster desir'd that his Expences and the loss he had been at might be made good to him and complains that the mony he was to receive by agreement was not paid When they could make no farther Establishment and but few of the States were present they appoint another Diet to be held upon the first of November in which the Accounts and Charge of the War was to be stated and the Form of Government which Munster was to be under setled When the time appointed was come the Embassador of King Ferdinand relates briefly the occasion of assembling the Diet namely that among other things it might be debated how the City which was lately recover'd might continue in the ancient Religion Afterwards the Bishops Ambassador mentioneth how expensive the War had been to him all along what great Debts he had contracted how after the Town was taken to prevent Danger and Insurrections he was oblig'd to build two Forts there and place Garrisons in them all which things he desir'd might be consider'd To this it was answer'd That the Bishop had taken the greatest part of the Booty all the Ordnance and the Goods of the Citizens all which belong'd to the State of the Empire That it was reasonable these things should be valu'd and compar'd with the Charges he had been at That what was due to him after such a Computation should be accounted for Afterward it was decreed That the Bishoprick of Munster should be subject to the the Empire according to ancient custom That the Nobility should be restor'd and also the Citizens who had remov'd provided they were not Anabaptists Touching Religion the Bishop was to proceed according to the Laws of the Empire At the beginning of the next Spring the Princes Commissioners should go to Munster and enquire into the
behaviour and condition of the Citizens protect the Innocent and slight the Fortifications which the Anabaptists had rais'd The Bishop also was to demolish those Forts he had built in the Town and to punish the Captives the King Knipperdoling and Creching according to their deserts with the first opportunity and not to keep them any longer Concerning that which was decreed about Religion the Elector of Saxony the Lantgrave the Duke of Wirtemburgh and Earl of Anhalt openly remonstrated against it the same Protestation was made by the Cities besides they were not willing the old Fortification of the Town should be raz'd as concerning the new ones they had nothing to object The King and his two fellow Prisoners were carry'd up and down the Country to the Princes to shew and expose them this gave some of the Lantgraves Preachers an opportunity of conversing with the King with whom they dispute chiefly these following Points viz. concerning the Kingdom of Christ concerning Magistracy Justification Baptism the Lord's Supper the Incarnation of Christ and Matrimony and here though he defended himself with obstinacy enough yet they press'd him so hard with Testimonies of Scripture that though he did not yield in every thing yet they made him bend and let go his hold insomuch that at last he gave up the greatest part of the Cause which some think he did only to save his life For when they came to him again he promis'd upon condition of being pardon'd that he would engage to oblige the Anabaptists who were very numerous in Holland Brabant England and Friezland to give over Preaching and to obey the Magistrates in every thing Afterwards these Divines argued with his Companions both by word of mouth and writing concerning Mortification the Baptism of Infants Community of Goods and the Kingdom of Christ When they were brought to Telget the Bishop demands of the King by what Authority he could justifie the liberty he had taken in his Town and with his Subjects To whom he replies in a question Who gave him the Jurisdiction over the City When the Bishop made answer That he was chosen into this Government by the consent of the Chapter and the People The other replies That he was call'd to this Office by God. Upon the 19th of Jan. they are brought back to Munster and committed to distinct Prisons upon the same day likewise the Bishop came to Town with the Archbishop of Cologn and the Embassadors of the Duke of Cleve The two following days were spent in pious Exhortations to bring them off from their Error Now the King did own his fault and prayed to our Saviour but the other two would not acknowledge that they had done any thing amiss but obstinately defended their Opinions The next day the King was brought out into a place whose situation was higher than ordinary and tied to a Stake there were two Executioners by him with red-hot Pincers He was silent for the three first snatches but afterwards he did nothing but cry out to God for Mercy when he had been torn in this manner above the space of an hour he was run through the Body with a Sword and so died His Companions had the same punishment When they were dead they were each of them fasten'd to an Iron-Cage and hung at the top of the Tower in the City the King hangs in the middle and about a Man's height higher than the other two In January this year Catherine of Spain died who Henry King of England had divorc'd above three years since as I observ'd before In the Fourth Book I gave an account how Frederick Duke of Holstein was made King of Denmark by the assistance of the Lubeckers When he was dead there happen'd to be a very troublesome War between his Son and Successor Christian and the Lubeckers but by the mediation of the Elector of Saxony of the Lantgrave and Earnest Duke of Luenburgh of the Towns of Bremen Hamburgh Magdeburgh Brunswick Lunenburgh and Hildesheim the Quarrel was at last taken up this year in February At that time the Duke of Savoy was engag'd in a War with Geneva being assisted in it or rather provoked to it by the Bishop of that City partly because the Reformed Religion was introduced there partly for other reasons Now the Citizens of Geneva were Allies of the Canton of Bern who assisting them at last with their whole Forces the Enemy was beaten off and oblig'd to retreat and the Caenton-men of Bern pursuing them as far as the Lake Leman seiz'd upon as much of the Dukes Country as lay convenient for their Frontiers the same thing was done by the rest of the Switzers which joyn upon Savoy During this Action the French King who long before intended to make War in Italy especially after the death of Francis Sforza whom we mention'd before levies an Army in the beginning of the Spring and falls upon the Duke of Savoy who was his Uncle He grounded his Quarrel upon his Claim to an Inheritance which he said belong'd to him but was seiz'd on by the other The Duke of Savoy being weaken'd before and unable to Match so powerful an Enemy was outed of most of his Dominions in a short time For the King passing over the Alpes invades Piedmont and besides other Conquests takes Turin the Capital City of that Country and fortifies it with new Works and a Garison the Command of the Army in this Action being given to Philip Chabot Admiral of France The Duke of Savoy was married to Beatrix Daughter to Emanuel late King of Portugal and the Emperor to Isabella Sister to John who now Reigns and whereas formerly he had kept himself Neuter now by seeming to incline to the Emperor's side he provok'd the French King to break with him who was his Nephew by his own Sister Louise Some say Pope Clement when he was at Marseilles of which I gave account in the last Book gave the King this Council That if ever he intended to recover Millain his way was first to possess himself of Savoy and Turen However this was the next year the King sets a new Custom on foot and raiseth a standing Army of Foot to the number of about forty thousand which being quarter'd in several Provinces were to be kept in Discipline and always to be ready for Service upon occasion And as the French Kings had formerly been very considerable for their Cavalry which they always kept in pay He was resolv'd to add a well-disciplined Infantry to them that he might not always be oblig'd to hire foreign Soldiers The King's design was to March his Army into the Neighbouring State of Millain to recover that Dutchy which he had formerly been possess'd of for six years together and claim'd it as the Inheritance of him and his Children in the right of Valentina his great Grandmother who was Daughter to Philip Visconti the last Duke of Millain of that Family The Pedigree runs thus
it was once over That Letter which I mention'd the Emperor to have wrote in July was answer'd by the Protestants upon the 9th of September In which they acquaint him that his writing so courteously and frankly was matter of great pleasure and satisfaction to them For notwithstanding they did believe he would make good his Promises yet both because they had heard several Reports of his being displeas'd and because the Imperial-Chamber and other Courts of Justice had practis'd many ways against them without any regard to the Peace they had some reason to be a little doubtful and solicitous but now since he had declar'd his Mind in such an open obliging manner they did not in the least question but that he would perform every thing to the full and take away all occasions of Calumny from ill dispos'd minds which they for their parts should likewise endeavour to do and not give any farther credit to those who went about to possess them with other thoughts of his Majesty and in all other things they would take care to do that which became their Duty And notwithstanding the News of the Council which the Pope has summon'd to Mantua upon the 23th of May following is publickly known and call'd at his Majesties Solicitation as the Bull intimates which is so obcurely drawn that they cannot collect what the Conditions or Form of the Council will be yet since they have always earnestly desir'd there might be a free and religious Council conven'd in Germany since this Request of theirs was made a Decree both in the Imperial Diets and at the Pacification at Nuremburgh and since they had expresly and largely insisted upon this Point before his Majesty's and Pope Clement's Embassadors about three years agon they were entirely confident that he would manage this Affair in a legal unexceptionable way This month the Pope publish'd another Bull in which he professeth that in the mean time while the Council was convening it was his intention to reform the holy City of Rome the Head of all the Christian World and the Mistress of Doctrin Manners and Discipline that he would make a clear riddance of all her Vices and Uncleanliness that his own House being first put into order he might the more easily cleanse the rest Now the weakness of Humane Nature being such that it was impossible for him to dispatch this Affair wholly by himself and at the same time to manage other Concerns relating to the Commonwealth of Christendom therefore he had chosen a certain number of Cardinals whom God Almighty had made his Assistants and Coparteners in the Offices and Care of his Station to perform this necessary and profitable Work viz. the Cardinals of Ostia St. Severino Ginuccio Simoneta together with the Bishop of Cassano Nusco and Aix To these Commissioners all Persons are commanded to be Obedient under severe Penalties In October the Emperor set Sail from Genoa and return'd into Spain And soon after the French King came to Paris and upon the first of January married his eldest Daughter Magdalene to James the First King of Scotland who came into France the last Autumn Much about the same time Laurence de Medices treacherously murther'd Alexander de Medices Duke of Florence his Kinsman and near Relation after he had drawn him into his House in the night under pretence that he would help him to the enjoyment of a Noble Matron and Neighbour of his who was the most remarkable Lady of the whole Town for the reputation of her Beauty and Chastity After he was taken off the Government fell into the hands of Cosmus de Medices who afterwards with the Emperor's leave married Eleonora Daughter of Peter of Toledo Vice-Roy of Naples Upon the sixth of January the French King came into the Court where the Parliament of Paris was held which he us'd to do but seldom and in a very full Assembly made a very sharp Complaint of the Emperor and gave his Reasons why the Provinces of Flanders and Artois which the Emperor and his Ancestors held as Homagers under the French Kings ought to be recover'd to the Crown of France The Speech was made by Capel the King's Advocate who called him Charles of Austria instead of Emperor In the mean time the Cantons of Zurick Bern Basil and the Strasburgers Intercede with the French King for those who were Imprison'd for their Religion and desir'd him that he would recall those whom he had banish'd Now the King had given those who were in Exile leave to return and those in Prison their Liberty with this Proviso That they would abjure the Crimes charged upon them before the Bishops or their Vicars and give Security for their Behaviour for the future But this Condition the Switzers Ambassadors desired might be wholly remitted something of the rigour of which was relax'd at their instance however the King did not give them satisfaction in the answer which he sent them Feb. 24. by Anne Momorency Lord High Steward of his Houshold whom they suspected to have perswaded the King to be less king in this Point than otherwise he would have been The Embassadors made their Interest by the Queen of Navar who was the King's Sister a most incomparable Lady and very well affected to the true Religion In the mean time the King was making his Levies and in the beginning of March leads his Army into Artois and besiegeth the Town and Castle of Hesdin which was very well fortifi'd and within a month it was surrendred to him About this time Reginald Poole an Englishman lately made a Cardinal and of a very Noble Family was sent from the Pope to the King in Quality of Nuncio The occasion of his coming was suppos'd to be the forming of some new Design against the King of England When the King of Scotland married the French King's Daughter the Pope sent him a fine Sword of great value and tried to whet him up against the King of England Now the Popes have a custom upon Christmas-Eve to Consecrate as they call it a great many things with a certain Form of Ceremonies and amongst the rest a Sword which as a mark of Friendship and Respect they either deliver themselves or send to any Person they have a mind to Sixtus quartus is said to be the beginner of this Custom as their Book of Ceremonies hath it Afterwards Poole wrote a Book which he call'd A Defence of Ecclesiastical Vnity He addresseth himself in it to King Henry and reprimands him very sharply for making himself Head of the Church For that Office he told him belonged to none but the Pope of Rome who is the Vicar of Christ and the Successor of Peter whom Christ constituted Prince of the Apostles For it was he alone who answered That Christ was the Son of God. Upon this Apostle as upon a Rock Christ builded his Church It was for his Faith that Christ prayed That when he was converted
he would also convert his Brethren He said that St. John was always obedient to St. Peter after the death of Christ and when they both ran to the Sepulcher he would not go in first but gave the precedency to the other To him Christ gave the Charge of feeding his Sheep in a more especial manner besides when the Net was full of Fishes and a great many of them could not stir it Peter alone drew it a shore Then he proceeds to the business of the Divorce where he tells the King That it was not the terrors of Conscience and the dread of the Divine Displeasure as he pretended but Lust and an ungovernable Appetite which made him part with his Wife Catherine whom his Brother Arthur an infirm Youth of fourteen years of age had left a Virgin That it was not lawful for him to marry Anne Bullein whose Sister he had kept as his Miss before That Catherine was a Maid himself had confess'd to several Persons particularly to the Emperor But he falls violently upon him for writing to so many Universities for their Opinion concerning his first Marriage and for being pleas'd with the sense of his former uncleanness when some told him That Match was Incestuous That it was a most scandalous thing for him to prefer the Daughter of a Strumpet before a most excellent young Lady lawfully begotten Then he goes on to the Execution of the Bishop of Rochester and Sir Thomas Moore where he enlargeth himself and declaims very tragically against the cruelty of it From whence he proceeds to tell the King how he had oppress'd and impoverish'd all degrees of Men and made a most flourishing Kingdom miserable and what danger he was in from the Emperor for divorcing his Aunt and subverting Religion and what little reason he had to expect any Foreign or Domestick Assistance who had behav'd himself so ill towards the Commonwealth Then he applies himself to the Emperor and makes use of a great many words to provoke him to revenge such a notorious Affront put upon his Family and saith That the Seeds of Turcism are scatter'd about England and Germany meaning the Antipapal Doctrin At last after he had charg'd his Prince with a great many Crimes and almost call'd him all to naught he exhorts him to repent and tells him There was no other remedy to be had but by returning to the bosom of the Church which he had formerly defended in print and therein given a most admirable example This Book was publish'd without any date at Rome and lay conceal'd a long time at last a great many years after one or two in Germany got it The occasion of his writing he saith was because the King formerly desir'd it And though a great many learned Men in England who had done the same thing had lost ther Lives yet he was so much oblig'd by his Highness that he could not perswade himself to dissemble his thoughts for both his temper and way of living had made him very averse to that Vice and therefore what he had said ought not to be attributed to passion or ill will on the contrary since he endeavour'd to bring him into his way again and to rescue him from those Flatterers who had run him upon such gross Mistakes he thought he did him very great service Now King Henry had taken care to breed this Gentleman to Learning and had been kind to him in many respects But when that alteration which I mention'd happen'd in England and was disapprov'd by Pool Paul the Third by the advice and recommendation of Contareni makes him a Cardinal and invited him to Rome Those who were intimately acquainted with him say That he understood the reformed Religion very well and imagine that the reason of his writing against King Henry was to avoid the suspicion of Lutheranism They say he printed his Book at Rome at his own Charge and ordering all the Copies to be brought to him gave them out only to the Pope and Cardinals and to his special Friends for he was willing to stand fair in their Opinion and was likewise afraid it 's probable of falling under the Censure of those who had several times heard him discourse very differently upon that Subject THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XI The CONTENTS The Protestants send their Embassadors to the Emperor with whom they were principally to insist upon three things Eldo the Emperor's Embassador gives them a large Answer at Smalcalde To which all the Confederates reply and particularly they reflect smartly upon the Council they were invited to Eldo rejoyns upon them ex tempore In the mean time the Pope dispatcheth away the Bishop of Aix into Germany The Prosestants give their Reasons why they refuse the Council and write to the French King about it The Queen of Scotland dies The King of England and his Nobility publish a Manifesto against the Council which the Pope had call'd The Town and Castle of St. Paul in Artois is taken Terouenna is besisg'd by the Imperialists but without Success IN the Ninth Book I had occasion to mention the Ausburghers Now when these Men had made an Alteration in Religion and the Ecclesiasticks most of which were descended of good Families leaving the Town in a disgust upon this account The Senate address'd themselves to the Emperor to King Ferdinand and to all the States of the Empire and acquaint them with the Reasons of their proceedings in writing in which they let them understand how kindly they had us'd these Gentlemen how many things they had born from them and on the contrary how provokingly they had behav'd themselves attempting several times to raise an Insurrection in the Town Not long after Christopher their Bishop publisheth an Answer to this Book in the name of himself and his Party and after a great many Complaints he desires the Emperor and the Princes in regard the danger toucheth them no less than himself to make some Provision for the common Safety In the last Book I mention'd the Protestants Embassy to the Emperor in Italy The Persons sent were Joachim Papenheim Lewis Bambach and Claudius Peutinger a Lawyer They had three things in their Commission in which they were more especially to concern themselves To confute the Report which was spread as if they were entring into an Alliance with the Kings of England and France That the Emperor would Check the Proceedings of the Chamber of Spire And that those who were admitted into the League after the Pacification at Nuremburgh might enjoy the benefit of that Treaty The Emperor admitted them to Audience but being busied in Military affairs he told them he would send an Embassador into Germany with his Answer Therefore when he was about to return into Spain by the way of Genoa he sent Mathias Eldo his Vice-Chancellor into Germany When the Protestants understood this by their Embassadors at their return they appoint the Seventh of February
State and how much it will be expos'd to Misunderstandings and Tumults of the truth of this Allegation the Emperor's Edict which was then publish'd is a sufficient proof It was never their intention to plead in bar to the Jurisdiction of the Chamber in any Causes but those of Religion and they believ'd that Court could not prove the contrary upon them But they were very much troubl'd to hear from his Excellency that the Emperor had given the Chamber Authority to determine the quality of the Cause for they did believe all those Causes to be of a religious Nature and they were really such which could not be decided till the Extent of the word Religion was defin'd in a lawful Council which thing both by Letter and their Embassadors they had several times acquainted the Emperor and King Ferdinand with For this Dispute concerning the meaning and latitude of Religion is a preliminary Question and ought to be setled by the Council before other matters which relate to it are determin'd And in regard Benefices ought to be bestowed in consideration of Merit and Function They said they could not allow that those in their Dominions who were of a different Religion from themselves should enjoy the Revenues of the Church to which they had no manner of right because they were either unwilling to discharge their Office or wanted abilities to do it and since Conscience is more than ordinarily concern'd in the present case the usual Pleas of Law founded upon the right of Possession or Restitution ought not to be urg'd Moreover when the Treaty of Nuremburgh was on foot they particularly mention'd all those Suits and Difference which were then depending in the Chamber and in other Courts and represented them under the notion of Ecclesiastical Causes to the Princes of the Mediation who promis'd that they would endeavour to perswade the Emperor that they should be all exempted from the Jurisdiction of the Courts which was also promis'd by King Ferdinand at the Convention at Cadan besides it 's plain from that Clause in the Emperor's Edict which stops all Prosecutions of this nature that the Chamber of Spire has no Authority to determine the Quality of Causes And to say nothing more severe they could not choose but observe that the apparent Inclination of that Court to give Judgment against them had made a great many Persons much bolder and more contentious than they had formerly been which they were able to prove more than one way For when those of their Party moved that Court in any Cause their Suit was not only rejected but they were sent away with reproachful Language And lately the Hamburghers were commanded by them not only to restore the Clergy of their City their Goods and Estates but also to return them their old Religion and Jurisdiction back again and because they could not do this with a good Conscience they were amerced in a great Sum of Mony and therefore there needs no more Instances to let the Emperor understand what the Design of that Court is for if any Cause relates to Religion this certainly does But if the Judges are allowed to proceed in this manner the Truce serves to no purpose If the Rites and Ceremonies which were abolish'd may be lawfully restor'd by such Methods as these there will be no need of Council and yet the Emperor is pleas'd to grant that all Differences of this nature ought to be determin'd there and since their Exceptions against the Proceedings of the Court were not consider'd they were forc'd to decline the Jurisdiction of it As concerning the Persons of the Chamber there was not above one or two of the whole Bench of their Religion what Provision was made at Ratisbone for this Affair was well known it being apparent that those who were most violent against the Reformed were most acceptable to the Chamber nay a man may plainly discover how they stand affected by observing the air of their Countenances when they are trying of Causes and therefore they hope his Imperial Majesty will send them a positive Order to desist As for the Penalty which his Excellency mention'd was decreed at Ratisbone against Mal-administration that was no advantage to them Indeed if the Cause had related to Property and secular Affairs they might have had a compensation this way but matters of Religion were too weighty to be satisfied with Costs and Damages However if the Emperor is of opinion that they have intermix'd any civil Causes in their request they are willing this matter should be tried provided there may be a stop put to the Proceedings of the Chamber in the mean time Now as concerning those who came over to their Religion since the Pacification of Nuremburgh they confess'd that some few years since the Princes of the Mediation did insist at Schweenfurt that no more might be admitted into their Association which Proposition they then rejected and afterwards at the Convention at Nuremburgh they persisted in the same Opinion As to what his Excellency objects in reference to the Promises and Articles by which several of the States had engag'd themselves not to make any alteration in Religion To this the parties answer That some of them promis'd nothing others in private Treaties reserv'd this Liberty for themselves a third sort it 's true did engage themselves but it was upon the assurance which the Emperor gave them that a Council should be intimated within six Months and opened the year after But since this Assembly was delayed beyond their expectation and God had been pleas'd to give them a fuller apprehension of the true Religion they could not defer so good a Work any longer but thought it their Duty to make an open profession of that Doctrin which they were assur'd had both Truth and Piety to recommend it This the Canon-Law it self would justifie them in for from thence they had learn'd that if any Person had sworn to do a wicked Action this Oath did not oblige Besides as their Adversaries would not refuse any one who offer'd himself for a Convert so neither did they think it lawful to bar any person from coming over to themselves Therefore their earnest request to the Emperor was That the Judges might be check'd and that not only themselves but those who joyn'd them afterwards might be comprehended in the Peace For if matters should be otherwise carried and any violence should be offer'd they could not desert those they were allied to both by Vertue of their League and Religion This had been already declar'd to King Ferdinand at Vienna and that with a great deal of reason for the Cause of these later Confederates no less than their own belongs to the Cognizance of the Council But if the Judges of the Chamber will fore-stall the Hearing and hale in the business of the Council to their Court this is no less than down-right Force and Injustice against which by the Laws of Nature they are bound to defend themselves
Nuremburgh Hall and Hailbrun but being not Confederates they did not concern themselves in the other points When the Protestants had deliver'd themselves to this effect Eldo return'd them an Answer ex tempore where after he had enlarged himself again upon the Emperor's kind Inclinations towards them and concerning the French King his conspiring with the Turk to ruine Christendom he came to the business of the Chamber That no Man was to be prosecuted there for any thing relating to Religion he granted was undeniable But then the Pinch of the Controversie was what matters ought to be comprehended under this notion and what not for those Causes which they call'd Religious others believ'd to be of a civil and secular nature and it was very unjust in them to be unwilling to have the Point argu'd and not to hear the reasons and defence of the other side It 's possible they might mention some Causes to the Princes of the Mediation at Nuremburgh and threw them into the Classis of Religion but then the Emperor did not receive them as such because he did not perfectly understand under what denomination they were to pass Nay possibly those very Princes had not then any exact knowledge of the nature of the Causes nor have at present but only as they are inform'd by those who are concerned in the Dispute who will be sure to say nothing to their own disadvantage Now it 's agreeable to the Municipal Laws to Equity and the holy Scriptures that in all Disputes both Parties should have a sufficient Hearing and that no Sentence should be pronounced upon the Information of one side though the Allegations should be never so true Therefore the Emperor in referring this Debate to the Imperial Chamber had done nothing but what became a Person in his place His Majesty being of opinion that if the Reasons of the Protestants Proceedings were so weighty as they pretended they ought to be brought into view and made publick This was the way to clear the Controversie about the Preliminary Points and to satisfie all Parties what Causes were to be referr'd to the Council and what not And also whether those who had lost their Goods and Estates were to have Restitution made them neither did the Emperor believe the Judges would do any thing in this matter contrary to their Duty and solemn Obligations of this they had given his Majesty an assurance in their Letters intimating that they had not in the least concern'd themselves with any Causes relating to Religion which account they also wrote to himself and added particularly concerning the Hamburgers that all the while the Suit was depending between them and their Ecclesiasticks they did not so much as make the least mention of Religion but when Judgment was given against them and was ready to be executed then they began to insist upon it besides the Judges are willing to give an account of their Proceedings which ought to content them especially since he so lately acquainted them that the Emperor intends to give them Satisfaction as soon as he is assur'd that the Chamber has done them any Injury For his Majesty resolves not only to make good the Damages they have sustain'd but all Causes which appear to have been illegally decided shall be heard over again and all unjust Verdicts set aside and revers'd and for his part he declares he cannot apprehend what the Emperor can or ought to do more than this And whereas they alledge that those who refuse to be of their Religion ought not to be repossess'd of their Estates he does not see any manner of Equity in that Plea for we are not to pronounce in these cases till both Parties have had a Hearing in a legal way For they could not be ignorant that no Law gives any Man the liberty to rob another for the sake of Religion or upon any other account therefore he could not admire this method of proceeding let the Practisers of it be who they would Now to prevent such arbitrary and unaccountable Courses as these there was a Treaty concluded at Nuremburgh upon certain conditions and afterwards by the Emperor's Edict there was a general Peace setled and proclaim'd through the whole Empire And to speak truth it was his opinion that the business of Religion might be much more easily accommodated if they did not graspe so eagerly at the Temporalties Now these secular Advantages ought not to be so highly valu'd in the present Affair especially considering the Gospel prescribes us other Measures and teaches us to set our thoughts and inclinations upon other designs Their saying that either the dispute of the Hamburgers related to Religion or none can was very surprizing to him when there are a great many other Causes which the Chamber hath a right to take Cognizance of both by the Constitution of the Laws and by Vertue of that Edict which the Emperor set forth at Wormes but his Majesty out of a singular kindness to them had order'd the Process of them all to be stopped And since the Emperor will do nothing contrary to what he hath agreed to and expects the same exactness from them he desires they would give him a Categorical answer to this question As to their personal Objections against the Chamber he lately told them those Judges were chosen out of the heart of Germany and though there were very few of the Bench of their Perswasion yet it was not probable Justice would be less impartially administred upon that account because the Judges had no power to act Arbitrarily but were tied up to Rule and bound by Oath to give Sentence according to the Laws and Customs of the Empire which method was constantly observ'd when he was one of their number But let this matter be as it will if they have offended they will be sure to be punish'd neither does he pretend to justifie or excuse them indeed they did not desire he should but are willing to submit their whole Proceedings to Examination Now concerning those who came into their League and Religion afterwards he had lately acquainted them that the Emperor had yet receiv'd no certain account of that matter and his Majesty conceiv'd that those who were not expresly comprehended in the Pacification at Nuremburgh were bound to observe the precedent Laws of the Empire and wait for the determination of the Council And whereas they say that some of their late Confederates made no promises at all some reserv'd themselves a liberty in this point by private Treaties and others thought they did engage it was upon an assurance that a Council would be call'd in a short time whatever the truth of these Allegations may be he does not intend to examine at present but yet as to those who pretend a private Agreement he dares adventure to give them an answer on the Emperors's behalf if they can produce an Instance of any such thing For he could not believe that the Emperor had ever
one or two Towns left him to retreat to He was always a zealous Roman Catholick and punished those who professed the Reformed Religion Paul the Third in the beginning of his Popedom made two of his Grandchildren Cardinals and being sensible that he had lost some Reputation upon this account he promoted several others who were eminent for their Quality and Learning to this Honour partly that he might make the promotion of his young Relations less invidious and disobliging partly that he might be furnished with Friends able to defend his Cause with their Rhetorick and Writings Those who were created were Gasper Contareno Reginald Poole John Bellay Frederick Fregosi to which were afterwards added Sadolet Alexander Bembo Besides Erasmus was also thought on as he himself relates in a Letter of his to a Friend There are extant likewise several Letters of Sadolets to Erasmus in which he tells him in a great many words what a singular esteem the Pope had for him and that he intended to raise him very shortly to the highest Dignity Contareno was of a noble Family and a Senator of Venice a Man of great Reputation for his Learning and was said to be preferr'd to this eminent Station altogether beyond his expectation and when he made no manner of Interest for it THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XII The CONTENTS Pope Paul strictly charges his Commissioners for the Reformation diligently to enquire into the numerous Corruptions of the Church and provide â—ffectual Remedies Erasmus his Colloquies are prohibited The Protestants meet at Brunswick and receive the King of Denmark into their League The Persecution of Lutheranism revived in France The Pope goes on Progress to Nice de Provence Whither the Emperor and the French King also come The French King and several of his Nobility kiss the Pope's Right-foot The French of the Reformed Religion have a Church assigned them at Strasburg The King of England burns Thomas of Canterbury's Bones The Elector of Brandenburg gives the Elector of Saxony notice of the Preparation which the Turks made for a War. The Rise of the Antinomians Eldo's and the Duke of Brunswick's Designs discovered by the Lantgrave's intercepting the Duke's Letters A Convention is held at Frankfort where at last a Conference is decreed in order to an Accommodation which Henry Duke of Brunswick endeavours to prevent and raiseth Forces for hat Purpose George Duke of Saxony a most violent Enemy to the Reformation dies and Henry his Brother succeeds him The King of England publisheth another Paper against the Council appointed at Vicenza and makes several Laws touching Religion An Insurrection at Ghent to suppress which the Emperor takes a Journey thâ—â—her through France The Venetians make a Peace with the Turk who had secret Intelligence what their Senate had decreed touching this Matter I Have already mentioned the Prorogueing of the Council till November which was still delay'd after that Term was expired However that the Pope might keep up the Expectation of the World and seem to do something he had some time since pitched upon a select Number out of the whole Body of his Clergy whom he strictly charged to make a diligent Enquiry into the Abuses of the Church and lay them before him impartially without any manner of Flattery He likewise discharged them from their Oath that they might speak their Minds freely and ordered them to manage the Affair with great Secrecy The Delegates were Jaspar Contarino Peter Theatino James Sadolet Reginald Poole Cardinals Frederick Archbishop of Salerno Hierome Alâ—ander Archbishop of Brindisi John Matthew Bishop of Verona George Vener Abbot and Thomas Master of the Holy Palace These Persons after they had debated the Point among themselves set down their Reformation in Writing and addressing themselves to the Pope they begin with a high Commendation of his Zeal for the promoting of Truth which was not prevalent enough to gain the Ears of several of his Predecessors indeed the Fault was chiefly in their Flatterers who stretched their Prerogative too far and told their Holinesses That they were absolute Lords of all things and might do whatever they pleased From this Fountain it was that so many Disorders flowed in upon the Church which had brought her into that very ill Condition she was in at present Therefore his beginning his Cure in the first Principles and Original of the Distemper was an Argument of great Prudence and Vertue in his Holiness who according to St. Paul's Doctrine Chose rather to be a Minister and Steward than a Lord. And since he was pleased to lay this Task upon them they in obedience to his Commands had according to the best of their Understandings digested the Matter into several distinct Heads relating to himself the Bishops and the Church Now because he bore a double Character being not only Bishop of the Universal Church but a Monarch of divers Towns and Countries they would only consider the Ecclesiastical part of his Jurisdiction for the State was well already and governed very prudently and unexceptionably by him And first May it please your Holiness say they We are of Aristotle's Opinion That the Laws of a Country ought not to be changed upon a slight Occasion and apply his Maxim to the Canons of the Church which ought to be strictly kept up and not dispensed with but when the Case is very weighty and important For there can no greater Mischief happen to the Commonwealth than the weakening the Force and Authority of the Laws which were esteemed Sacred and almost Divine by our Forefathers The next Expedient is That the Pope of Rome who is the Vicar of Christ should refuse to receive Money for the granting any spiritual Privilege by virtue of the Power derived to him from Christ For since all these Advantages were freely bestowed upon him our Saviour expects he should communicate them in the same manner This Foundation of Regularity being once laid there must be a Provision made that your Holiness may be always furnished with a considerable Number of Clergy-men well qualified to take care of the Church Among these the Bishops are the chief But there is a great Miscarriage in this Point for all Persons are admitted into this Order without any Distinction or Difficulty when they have neither Learning nor Probity to recommend them and oftentimes when they are Boys Hence it is that so much Scandal ariseth that such Disrespect and Contempt is shown to Religion We therefore believe it most advisable for your Holiness to appoint in the first place some Persons at Rome to examine those who offer themselves to Holy Orders and then enjoin the Bishops the same Diligence in their respective Diocesses And that you would take care that none should be received without the Approbation of his Triers or Bishop and let those young People who are designed for Church-men have a Master set over them by particular Order that so their Learning and Morals may be fit
People and when he understood it was very kindly received he afterwards enlarged it And being a person of incomparable Sence and Elocution he diverts his Reader with variety of Arguments drawn from Conversation and such familiar Subjects as all people are acquainted with Where with admirable Address and a most entertaining Stile he intermixes moral and pious Discourses and sometimes upon Occasion reflects upon the old overgrown Errors and Corruptions of the Church which was the reason the Cardinals complained against him In February the French King makes Anne Montmorency who was Lord Steward of his Household Master of the Horse they call it Constable of France which is the highest Honour the Subject is capable of This Office had been kept void about fifteen Years ever since Charles Duke of Bourbon enjoyed it For the King was so extreamly offended with his Revolt that he would not trust any other Person with it till now Besides this Station hath been unfortunate to several others before who by their irregular Management of so great a Power have either provoked the King or the Nobility In the mean time about the latter end of May the Protestants meet at Brunswick there they treat of Matters relating to the League and receive Christian King of Denmark into it He was Son to Frederick and was converted to the Reformed Religion and committed the Modelling and Government of his Churches to John of Pomeren whom he had sent for from Wittenbâ—rg and was crowned by him John Marquess of Brandenburg Brother to Joachim the Elector desired the Duke of Saxony to move the Convention that he might be admitted into the League The Duke therefore had a Commission to treat with him after he came home upon certain Conditions and to receive him in the Name of the whole Party The same thing was desired by Albert Duke of Prussia who was Six Years since out-lawed by the Imperial Chamber which was the principal Reason why the Protestants did not admit him into their Society however they all promised to be kind to him When the Elector of Saxony the Lantgrave and their Friends were upon their Journey to this Convention Henry Duke of Brunswick denied to give them a safe Conduct through his Territories For now he was contriving a War against them as will appear afterwards In the Retinue of the Elector of Saxony there was one Maurice a young Gentleman of Seventeen Years of Age Nephew to George Duke of Saxony by Henry his Brother This Henry was a Protestant therefore the Elector took his Son Maurice who was his Kinsman into his own Tuition The King of Denmark also came himself to Brunswick In the Ninth Book I mentioned the Persecution of the Lutherans in France the Particulars of which will be tedious to relate but this Year upon the Fifteenth Day of April which was Nine Days before Easter a young Gentleman of Tholouse about Twenty Years of Age and a studious Person was burnt at Paris for eating Flesh It 's true he was not burn'd perfectly alive but hanged over a Fire where the Gallows was so contrived that he must in some measure feel the Flames which were kindled under him which way of Execution was granted him as a customary Favour of that place because before he came out of Prison he confessed he had done a wicked and irreligious Action into which Confession he was overawed by Judge Morin who took some Pains with him to fright him But this was all he got by his Submission for Repentance goes for no more there than only to procure a Man some abatements of Torture in dying But those who continue firm are executed with the utmost Severity as hath been shown already There was likewise Three Low-country Men in the same Danger and upon the same Occasion but having notice of it given them by a Gentleman of the Parliament a Man of great Sence and Learning they secured themselves by Flight In May the Pope takes a Journey to Nice de Provence a Port Town belonging to the Duke of Savoy whether the Emperor and the French King came also chiefly at his Request The Emperor sailed with his Fleet from Spain but the King took his Progress up the Continent having a Body of Germans among the rest of his Attendance commanded by William of Furstenburg After a long Debate though they could not agree in the main yet in June they concluded a Truce for Ten Years And here Margaret the Emperor 's natural Daughter was contracted to Octavius the Pope's Grandchild by his Son. This Lady was courted before by Cosmo Duke of Florence after the Death of Alexander di Medici The Kings had not their Interview at this place though the Pope desired it very much But some few days after he went away they met at Aigues Mortes a Town in Languedoc situate at the Mouth of the Rhone the Ancients called it Marius his Ditch Here the Emperor landed with his Fleet upon the Seventeenth Day of July in his Return to Spain But before he reached the Port the French King sent Velius his Admiral with several Galleys to attend his Imperial Majesty who when he had sailed almost up to Aigues the Constable of France came and entreated him That he would let his Fleet come to an Anchor in the Haven for the King would be there within Two Hours and wait upon him in his Galley Accordingly the Emperor made the Port as soon as those Ships came up which had lost the Body of the Fleet by reason of a Mist which fell the Day before Not long after the King came and went in a Shallop to the Fleet having in his Train Anthony Duke of Lorrain and the Cardinal his Brother The Emperor came as far as the Ladder of the Galley to meet him and there handed him in Where it 's not to be expressed what Embracings and Ceremony passed between them After they were seated in the Stern those Noblemen who attended the Emperor made very low and respectful Reverences to the French King There the Emperor ordered Granvell to bring Andrew Doria Prince of Melfi his Admiral into their Presence to pay his Respects to the French King from whom he had revolted Ten Years since as was observed in the Sixth Book When he came the King saluted him by his Title and told him since he was a Friend and Servant of the Emperor's and that it was his Pleasure he should see him he would gratify his Majesty in that point whom he esteemed as a Brother After they had conversed about an Hour in a familiar and obliging way the King took his Leave The next day early in the Morning the Emperor orders publick Notice to be given to all the Galleys That no Man should go ashore but himself attended with several Noblemen maketh up to Land in order to dine with the King As soon as he came to the Key the King and Queen and their two Sons receive him with all the Civility
unacceptable to the King set forward to Canterbury where they murthered Thomas and plundered his Houses But the King when he heard of it pretended to be extraordinary sorry and dispatched away Embassadors to Rome to purge himself who at last prevailed with the Pope to send some Persons over into England to enquire into the Murther And when the Pope had sent over Two Cardinals with Authority to act in this Affair and no Person upon Examination could be proved Guilty the King clears himself by Oath but because of his former Displeasure against the Archbishop and some extraordinary Expressions let fall by him it was thought he was to be a little suspected and blamed therefore his Peace was at last made upon these Terms viz. That he should show the Clergy all manner of Favour for the future that within Three Years he should go in Person against the Saracens and march his Army into Syria This Murther was committed in the Year 1171. Not long after Thomas as they say begun to work Miracles and grew famous upon it which when the Pope understood by his Legates he had him Canonized At the time of the Interview at Nice de Provence Joachim Elector of Brandenburg and Son of Joachim sends Eustachius Sclebius his Ambassador to the Elector of Saxony in the beginning of June with these Instructions That Sigismund King of Poland and John Vaivod King of Hungary had acquainted him that the Turk was making very formidable Preparations to take in Buda and fortify it that he may make another Descent upon Germany with the better Advantage That the Sultan had signified thus much to the Vaivod Now in regard his Father was enjoined in the Diet of the Empire to acquaint the rest of the States with whatever he could learn concerning the Motions of the Turks therefore he thought himself obliged in Duty to the Commonwealth to give this Notice and was very much troubled at the News because he was afraid it would prove a general Calamity to Germany For this and other Reasons he lately took a Journy into Lusace to King Ferdinand whom he found preacquainted with this Invasion and while he was there his Majesty received fresh Accounts of it both by Letters and Expresses Therefore if these Encroachments were not checked they might be assured That they who were in the Neighbourhood of the War should shortly see the barbarous Enemy in their own Country For all the way from Buda to his Electoral Highness his Territories and his own there was neither Castle nor fortified Town which was able to hold out against so great an Army no River no mountainous Marches no Defiles or straight Passages to stop his Progress excepting Breslaw and Lignite And what an open and fruitful Country Moravia and Silesia is his Highness knows too well to need any Information concerning the Quality and Situation of them And notwithstanding the Prospect of the common Danger had made him promise his Assistance to King Ferdinand upon his Request yet it was plain such a Supply as that would signify nothing For the Opposition and Consequences they have reason to expect are so considerable that they require no less than the united Forces and Contributions of the whole Empire Now because this cannot be had but in a publick Diet and by bringing all the Germans to a good Understanding between themselves and the Danger is so far advanced upon us that it will not bear any long Delay to Debate its Prevention therefore he had importuned the King in his last Conference with him that he would use his utmost Endeavours that the Peace of the Empire might be established within it self upon a firm and legal Foundation To this Request King Ferdinand who tenders the Good of the Commonwealth and has an Esteem for his Electoral Highness gave an obliging Answer and promised him his Interest and that he would recommend the Proposal to the Emperor as soon as he understood what his Highness and the rest of the Confederates desired And since the Case stands thus he entreats him to consider it and to acquaint him freely with those Terms which he thinks it proper to insist upon in the Treaty of Peace And then he will undertake that Ferdinand shall intercede with the Emperor in his own Name and does not question but that those Proceedings will be of great Advantage to the Commonwealth Moreover at this time it was much easier to repel the Turkish Invasion than formerly because the Difference between the Vaivod and Ferdinand was adjusted this the King had acquainted him with as a Secret not being willing such a Report should be made publick least the Sultan should know it Hitherto a great part of Hungary hath been embroiled by the Christians engaging in a civil War with each other but now seeing they stand upon good Terms and all Discontents are removed a very fair Opportunity for Action presents it self which makes him the more importunate in his Entreaties with his Highness whom he once again desireth that he would join in the common Cause of the Empire This Joachim was married to Sigismund the King of Poland his Daughter who was John Vaivod his Niece by his Sister This Alliance was the occasion of that intimate Friendship and Familiarity between them The Elector also was of the Lutheran Religion and published a Book concerning it but he refused to come into the League and was in other Respects entirely devoted to the Emperor and Ferdinand In his Reformation he retained some thing more than ordinary of the Ceremonies and was of a reconciling Temper The Elector of Saxony immediately gives the Lantgrave an account of this whole Matter in a Letter and afterwards upon the Twelfth of June they both of them write an Answer to the Brandenburger to this effect Although the present Affair is of such importance that it ought to be communicated to their Confederates yet they are very sensible of the Inconvenience of Delays especially seeing the Turk is as Enterprizing as ever and that they have spent too much time already in debating the Measures for the Settlement of Germany and opposing the Infidels with the whole strength of the Empire For as to their preparation for a Defence against so Savage an Enemy which his Electoral Highness pressed by his Ambassador he was certainly in the right the Interest of the State requiring no less But their Circumstances were such that a Peace among themselves was absolutely necessary for them a Peace that was fair and honourable likely to hold and not drawn up in ambiguous Terms For His Highness could not but see how unsafe and imprudent it must be for them to exhaust themselves upon the Turkish War when their Neighbours had not laid down their Quarrels and Animosities against them As for them they were very desirous of Peace but if they could not obtain it and therefore did not detach any of their Forces for Foreign Service while things looked so suspiciously at
Home and the Empire should receive any prejudice by such a Conduct the Fault could not in any measure be charged upon them but wholly upon those who refused to hearken to an Accommodation Besides in their Opinion it s the Interest of King Ferdinand and those other Princes who lie nearest the Turks to have these Proposals reported to all the States Neither is it for the Advantage of the Commonwealth that Diets should be discontinued thus long for though sometimes a supply must be so suddenly raised that a publick Decree cannot intervene so that it 's necessary to sollicite for Contributions and Aid in a private way yet the Turk is so powerful a Prince that he is able to carry on the War for many Years and it 's probable will not desist till he hath either gained his Point or received some signal Defeat therefore they conceive a Diet of the Empire is clearly necessary both to settle the Peace of Germany and make a standing Provision for the Turkish War which last Point is of such Consequence that though all things were quiet in Germany yet there ought to be a general Convention held Neither is it any material Obstruction supposing King Ferdinand's Affairs will not permit him to represent the Emperor at the Diet provided proper Ambassadors are sent thither with sufficient power to Treat Now if he can secure this Point the Emperor and all Germany will be very much advantaged by it Nevertheless that they may not be behind hand in their Service to the Commonwealth nor any ways obstruct his Highness's Interest they would take care to have their usual proportion of supplies in a readiness for this Occasion Neither did they doubt but that their Confederates would do the same provided King Ferdinand would procure them a firm and unquestionable Peace with the Emperor Signed by the rest of the Princes of the Empire of the Roman Catholick Religion If this was once done and the process of the Imperial Chamber stopped their Contributions would be ready in a short time And if the Emperor hath not leisure enough at present to perswade all those Princes to acquiesce in this proposal then let him bring these following at least over to his own Opinion viz. William and Lewis Dukes of Bavaria George Duke of Saxony the Bishops of Mentz Cologne Triers Saltzburg Magdeburg Bremen Bamberg Wurtzburg Munster Ausburg and Aichstet And if it should happen that these could not be prevailed on neither that then the Emperor and Ferdinand should ratifie the Peace in their own Names and conclude all their Subjects promising likewise to use their endeavours to gain the assent of the other Princes and if they refuse to engage yet their Majesties shall be obliged to stand to their Articles and Assemble a Diet at the first Opportunity for the adjusting of this and other Affairs If this Satisfaction be granted they hope their Allies will contribute their proportion to the War as themselves have resolved to do provided their Confederates are of the same Opinion and that both those who came into the League after the Treaty at Nuremberg and those who desire to be admitted for the time to come may be comprehended in the Pacification and lastly that this Peace may not be limited to the Princes of the Empire but extend also to the King of Denmark And to shew how inclinable they were to Peace in regard a Diet could not meet suddenly they would appoint a Convention of their Confederates in the mean time and give them notice to repair to Eysenach upon the Twenty-fourth of July with full power to Treat Therefore his Highness will do very well to endeavour that the Emperor's King Ferdinand's and the Palsgrave's Ambassadors may be sent thither together with his own When they had sent this Answer they writ to their Confederates and desire them to be upon the place at Eysenach a Town in Thuringia at the time before mentioned The Elector of Brandenburg had acquainted them by his Ambassador that if they were willing to come upon a Treaty he would take care that the Palsgrave who was heartily concerned for the Publick should do them the best Service he could When they wrote to the Elector of Brandenburg they sent him likewise the whole Debate which passed between Eldo and the Protestants at Smalcald that he might have a perfect understanding of the matter The Brandenburger as soon as he had received this Answer intreats Ferdinand that he would expedite this Affair with the Emperor before he returned out of Italy into Spain Afterwards he desires the Palsgrave to join with him in the promoting this Accommodation The Palsgrave answered that he was not unwilling to assist in this Business though none of the Protestants had desired him to appear in it But now those persons whom he used to consult upon such Occasions were not at hand however he puts his Highness in mind to send some of his Council thither by all means and if there was any need of his being there he promised not to be wanting to the Occasion Now as soon as they were convened the Elector of Brandenburg ordered his Agents for neither he nor the Palsgrave were present to acquaint the Elector of Saxony first then the Lantgrave and afterwards all the rest with what he had heard and done He also desired that they would intreat the Palsgrave to take the Trouble of this Affair upon him and assign a Day for another Meeting and in the mean time the Emperor might be prevailed upon to assent to the expedient of a Treaty and to order it to begin Moreover he prayed them that they would shew themselves fair and tractable and yield as much as possibly they could with a safe Conscience As for Ferdinand he would omit nothing which might promote the Accommodation neither did he question but that the Emperor's Inclinations also tended very much the same way To this the Protestants at Eysenach gave their Answer the Fifth of August in which they acquaint him That they were very desirous to conferr about the establishing a Peace upon condition they had an Order from the Emperor to authorize and support their Debate They tell him likewise That though they do not conceive it necessary to sollicite the Palsgrave in this Case who is already inclinable to assist them and because if the Emperor commands him to interpose they are assured he will not deny his Majesty yet they are resolved to write to him and when they have received the Emperor's Order the Day of the Convention for the managing of the Treaty shall be set by the direction of the Palsgrave and his Electoral Highness In this Convention Elizabeth the Lantgrave's Sister being a Widow was received into the League Hall and Hailbrun likewise desired to be admitted the dispatching of which Affair was referred to the Agents of Ausburg and Vlme Here every ones Complaints were heard and examined particularly the Cause of the Burghers of Gostar who
were very hardly used by Henry Duke of Brunswick therefore it was Decreed That the Elector of Brandenburg should be sollicited that Ferdinand amongst his other Requests to the Emperor might procure his Order to oblige the Duke of Brunswick to appear in Court and stand a Trial for unless this was done the Case of the Goslarians would be so very ill and their usage was so unreasonable that they could not desert them in such an Extremity At this place they received an account of the Truce between the Emperor and the French King and upon the Ninth of August the Assembly broke up This Year the Sect of the Antinomians began Their Opinion is That Repentance ought not to be urged from the consideration of the breach of the Decalogue and dispute against those who maintained that Men are not to have the Gospel preached to them till their Minds are alarmed and worked into Compunction by the Doctrine of the Law. But they assert on the contrary That let a Man's Life be never so Scandalous and Debauched yet if he does but believe the promises of the Gospel he shall be justified Johannes Islebius Agricola was their Leading-Man but this Heresie was soon confuted at large by Luther where he sheweth That the Law was not given that we might be justified by it but to discover the nature and malignity of Sin and to terrifie the Conscience and therefore it is to be pressed in the first place afterwards the Gospel is to be explained which represents the Son of God to us as a Mediator and Propitation for the whole World. At last Islebius was better informed and came over to Luther's Opinion having first received some private Instruction by him and compared one place of Scripture with another And after he had recovered himself he made a publick Confession of his Error in Print In the last Book I mentioned the Emperor's sending Eldo his Embassador into Germany This Gentleman not being pleased with the Answer he received at Smalcald applied himself to most of the Princes where after he had reflected upon the Protestants as if they would not be governed by any Rules of Justice or Law and had refused a Peace which he offered them upon the most reasonable Terms he began to sollicite them to enter into a League which he told them was the Proposal of the Emperor and Ferdinand neither did he give over tampering till he had effected his Design with some of them Those who engaged were the Archbishops of Mentz and Saltzburg William and Lewis Dukes of Bavaria George Duke of Saxony Ericus and Henry Dukes of Brunswick For the setling of this Affair there was a Convention at Nuremberg where the League was concluded with this Condition in the Head of it That if any Person was molested for professing the Roman or as they called it the Old Religion there should be Supplies ready to assist him Therefore they called it a Holy League as if it had been made only for the Glory of God and the Protection of the Church They decreed likewise it should continue Eleven Years The French King in his Return from Nice de Provence had a Conference with Mary the Emperor's Sister at Compiegne a Town in Le Soissonois Some thought this Lady contrived her self in his Way on purpose that she might take an Opportunity now the Truce and friendly Interview at Aigues Mortes was just over to alienate the King from William Duke of Cleves who was possessed of Guelderland and that the Colour of so great a Friendship gained by the Emperor might make the Duke very fearful and concerned about his own Security I have often mentioned the Proceedings of the Chamber of Spire Now these Gentlemen were constant to their Humor and would not make the lest Abatement of the Rigour or Extent of their Court of which they gave a late Instance in Proscribing or Outlawing Minden for a Suit which the Clergy of that Town had commenced against the Burghers which Sentence was publickly proclaimed abroad in open Air according to the usual Solemnity of that place When this was known the Elector of Saxony and the Lantgrave published a Remonstrance in the Name of themselves and their Confederates dated November the Fifteenth In which they set forth in order what Regulations the Chamber had been under for some Years past as I have already shown in several places But since they will not endure to be quiet but go on at their old rate of Obstinacy notwithstanding their Jurisdiction hath been unexceptionably demurred to and have Proscribed the Confederates of Minden in this manner therefore they desire all Princes and States to look upon their Sentence as unjust and not suffer themselves to be transported into any Act of Violence For if things were otherwise carried and there should happen to be any Executions of the Sentence they could not put up such Injuries done to their Allies In the mean time the Emperor at the Sollicitation of King Ferdinand writes into Germany to give them fresh Assurances of his Affection to the Empire and how willing he was to take up the present Differences about Religion And acquaints them that the French King had the same Inclinations for he had lately treated with him concerning the common Interests of Christendom And receiving Advice some few Days since That the Protestants are peaceably inclined and very desirous of a Treaty provided they have his Order and Consent to begin it He therefore who values nothing more than the publick Tranquillity cannot but approve this Method and accordingly hath constituted the Archbishop of Lunden and Matthias Eldo or either of them his Embassadors and given them full Power acting in Conjunction with the Agents of his Brother King Ferdinand and the other Princes of the Mediation to debate and conclude the whole Matter and will oblige himself to ratify their Agreement This Letter was dated at Toledo November the Twenty fifth and when it was delivered in Germany the Twelfth of February was appointed for a general Convention at Frankfort I have already mentioned the League concluded at Nuremberg in which Lewis Duke of Bavaria and Henry Duke of Brunswick were the leading Men which latter was very active to disturb the Peace of the Empire and made it his Business to get the War begun upon the Protestants Now he having received a Letter lately from the Archbishop of Mentz returned him a short Answer upon St. Stephen's Day entrusting Stephen Faber his Secretary with the rest whom he sent to him with Instructions But upon the Thirtieth of December the Lantgrave as he was going a Hunting near Cassell lights upon him having none but a Young Man of Mentz with him who carried his Letters The Lantgrave according to the Custom of Germany asketh the Young Man who met him first on purpose Who he was he told him he was a Servant to the Elector of Brandenburg Who is the other He is so too When
Venice is will be of the Duke's Opinion and not let their Town be filled with so great a multitude without a Garrison to secure it so that upon this account there will be as few people to open the Council as there was at Mantua And since whatever he hath done is no better than Mockery it 's not fit he should have such an unreasonable Liberty allowed him any longer 'T is true Councils rightly constituted and managed are the most proper and useful Expedients which can be tried but when they are pack'd for private Interest and Advantage and to establish the Usurpations of a Party they are inconceivable mischievous to the State of Christendom And now when the Name of a Council and the Church made so great a noise in the World Luther undertook to write a Book in High Dutch upon both Arguments where in the first place he treats of the Council of the Apostles at Jerusalem which is mentioned in the Fifteenth of the Acts. Then he sheweth how the Fathers contradicted one another more particularly St. Augustin and St. Cyprian about Baptism where he takes occasion to mention those Ecclesiastical Constitutions which are commonly called the Apostles Canons and proves them spurious by unquestionable Arguments and that those ought to be hanged who give them that name From thence he proceeds to the first four General Councils which are of the most considerable Authority and recites them in Order the Nicene the Constantinopolitan the Ephesine and that at Chalcedon and gives an account of the Occasion of their Meeting and what was Decreed there afterwards he comes up to the main Question and sheweth how far the Power of a Council reacheth And here he maintaineth that a Council ought not to make any Article of Faith nor enjoin any new Duty nor tie the Consciences of Men to Ceremonies which were not practised from the beginning neither is it lawful for such an Assembly to intermeddle in Civil Government nor to make any Canons to found their private Grandeur and Dominion upon On the contrary their Office is to see that all Innovations in Doctrine repugnant to the Holy Scriptures that superstitious or unprofitable Ceremonies may be condemned and removed and always to make the Scripture their Rule to determine Controversies by Then he goes on to define the Church and lays down the Notes to know her by and running a Parellel between Christ and his Apostles and the Pope and showing what a different Doctrine his Holiness had settled in the Church and at what a wicked Rate he had plundered Christendom he concludes he ought to be Excommunicated and obliged to Restitution Besides many other Instances by which he demonstrates in that Book what gross Ignorance there was in the times of Popery how much Religion was corrupted and debauched he tell us Things were come to that pass that even the bare Habit of a Monk was thought to contribute considerably towards the obtaining eternal Life insomuch that not only the Vulgar but many persons of Quality would be buried in it After-Ages possibly will not believe this Relation but yet it is very true and is chiefly practised in Italy and in my time Francis the Second Marquess of Mantua made express Provision in his Will to be buried in the Habit of a Franciscan or Seraphick as they call it The same thing was done by Albertus Pius Prince of Carpi who died at Paris and by Christopher Longolius a Low Country Man who lieth at Padua He was a very Learned Person and a great Admirer of Tully There is an Oration of his Extant against the Lutherans as there is also one of Albert's against Erasmus of Rotterdam After the Death of George Duke of Saxony Henry of Brunswick immediately set forward through France into Spain to wait upon the Emperor Much about this time Henry King of England called a Parliament where besides other secular Matters he Enacts these following Articles concerning Religion That the true and natural Body and Blood of Christ were under the Appearance of Bread and Wine and that the Substance of Bread and Wine does not remain after Consecration That the receiving all the Lord's Supper is not necessary to Salvation Christ being entirely contained under each kind That it is not lawful for Priests to Marry Vows of Chastity ought to be kept and private Masses continued Auricular and private Confession of Sins is both profitable and necessary Those who teach and do any thing contrary to this Act are to suffer as Hereticks And at the same time when this Law was made the King courted Ann Sister to William Duke of Cleve a beautiful Maiden-Lady who when she was contracted to him sailed over into England some few Months after Some thought the Bishops influenced the King to sign this Act touching these Points that they might have an Opportunity to ruine the Authority and Interest of Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury and Thomas Cromwell who were both of them Well-wishers to the Reformation This Year in August the Turkish Admiral Barbarossa took Castle-novo a Town in Dalmatia in the Gulph of Cataro by Storm where all the Garrison was put to the Sword and some of the Burghers carried away into Slavery The Emperor and his Confederates the Venetians took this place a Year before in October but the Emperor garrisoned it himself with Four thousand Spaniards and made Francis Sarmiento the Governor This was a surprize to the Venetians who said a Town situated upon that Coast did rather belong to themselves Thus being disgusted with the Emperor and likewise foreseeing that an Alliance with him would prove dangerous to their State they apply themselves not long after to the Turk and upon their request obtain a Truce of him At this time there happened an Insurrection at Ghent the most considerable City for Strength and Interest in all those Parts and which has often contested very warmly for Liberty with the Earls of Flanders under whose Jurisdiction it is When the Emperor heard of this Commotion he changed his design of going into Germany by the way of Italy and resolved to Travel through France being earnestly invited thither by the French King who made him very obliging proffers of Security and Accommodation for his Journey In the mean time the Palsgrave and the Elector of Brandenburg being Princes of the Mediation wrote to the Emperor concerning the Pacification at Francfort and desired him to give leave there might be a Conference of Learned Men at Nuremberg But his Imperial Majesty told them That the Death of his Empress and some other Occurrences intervening had hindred him from being at leisure to attend that Affair When the Princes of the Mediation had sent a Copy of this Letter to the Elector of Saxony and the Lantgrave without signifying whether the Emperor had confirmed the Truce for Fifteen Months the Protestants appointed a Convention on the Nineteenth of November at Arnstet a Town in Thuringia
Here they consulted about strengthening their League with new Alliances and how to prepare for a necessary defence in case the Emperor would not allow the Treaty at Francfort They likewise debated how the Church 〈◊〉 might be best disposed of as also concerning the sending an Ambassy into England to molliâ—le the King upon the Point of the late Act of Parlament made in Relation to Religion they resolved likewise upon an Address to the French King to entreat him not to Persecute Innocent People for the sake of Opinion and also about dispatching away their Ambassadors to the Emperor as soon as they had any certainty of his being in Flanders for there was a report as if he were come thither already And because some of the Confederates were absent and others had no Authority to treat in several Cases they agreed to meet at Smalcald upon the First of March to conclude the remaining Business At this Convention the Burghers of Riga a City of Livonia were received into the League They had a difference with their Archbishop which was the Case of a great many Towns in Germany they were concerned in the Alliance no farther than to be defended by the common Advocates of the Protestants in the Chamber of Spire and upon this account they paid the Confederates a Thousand five hundred Crowns Henry Duke of Saxony Brother of George was admitted into the League Two Years without any Incumbrance charged upon him because his Fortune was but small but with this Proviso That whenever his Circumstances were enlarged he should submit to the same Condition with the rest Therefore since he had now such a noble Inheritance fallen to him they assessed him his proportion of the Charge in his Meeting which ended upon the Tenth of December The Princes were not here in person but sent their Agents The Elector had also lately sent John Dulcius and Francis Burcart his Vice-Chancellor into England to be present at the Solemnity of the King's Marriage with Ann of Cleve whose Sister Sibill was his own Dutchess as I observed in the Sixth Book These Ambassadors therefore having this occasion were enjoined at Arnstet to treat with the King in the Name of the Confederates as was lately mentioned The Emperor having received a safe Conduct set forward in November with a very small Train when he came to the Frontiers of France next to Spain he found Henry and Charles the King's Sons there who had Horses laid to meet him the sooner The Constable likewise who went a great way before the Princes was there to wait on him with a great Attendance of Nobility Being thus received he was conveyed through the middle of France and through the fairest Cities and when he came to Loches in the Dukedom of Berry the King met him who was scarce then recovered of a late Distemper From thence he travelled to Orleans and came to Paris upon the First of January which he entered being placed in the middle between the King's Sons the Constable carrying the Sword before them Neither was there any sort of festival Solemnity or Respect omitted with which its possible for the Mind of Man to be entertained There came thither also Cardinal Alexander Farnese the Pope's Legate who with Cardinal Bellay the Archbishop of the Town received the Emperor in Nostre-Dame His Imperial Majesty after a weeks stay went for Flanders the King accompanying him to St. Quintins and his Sons as far as Valenciennes a Town in Hanault The King at this time was almost sure of recovering Milan but it fell out quite otherwise as will be shown afterwards When the Emperor was with the French King they both of them sent a very splendid Ambassy to the Venetians the Emperor sent Alphonso Davalo Governor of the Dutchy of Milan and the French King Claude Hanebald Governor of Piedmont These Ambassadors made a long Harangue to the Senate to perswade them to concur with these Two powerful Monarchs who were now united and to bend all their Forces against the Turk But the Venetians after they had parted with the Ambassadors in a very respectful Manner concluded upon a full Consideration of the Case That it was absolutely their Interest to get the Turk with whom they had a Truce already throughly reconciled to them At last therefore they came to a Treaty with him and bought their Peace by the Delivery of Napoli di Romania and Malvasia into his Hands Some say the French though in publick they pressed the same Opinion with the Emperor's Ambassadors yet they gave them private Caution to take care of their State and not run themselves upon so great Danger to which they were more exposed than others Indeed the French King himself in a certain Apology of his chargeth the Emperor with ruining the State of Venice which he says he had supported by his Assistance and recovered by his Mediation The Venetian Ambassador Aloisius Baduarius who was sent to the Port to treat about a Peace with the Turk was commanded to offer all his other Conditions first reserving the Two Towns for the last Necessity But the Sultan who had the Resolution of the Senate betrayed to him reprimanded the Ambassador for not sufficiently explaining his Instructions and would not conclude anything except those Places were consigned to him Baduarius was amaz'd to see the Secrets of the State betrayed but since the thing was out he agreed to the Proposition though with regret which possibly he must have made at last of his own accord When he came home he gave an Account of the whole Matter The Senate being wonderfully surprized at it after a most diligent Enquiry apprehended some Persons and upon their being found guilty beheaded them One of the Criminals took Sanctuary as it were in the Bishop of Montpellier's Lodgings the French Ambassador upon which Officers are sent to search the House but being denied Entrance the Senate ordered some Engines to be brought out of the Arsenal to batter down the House But the French when they saw what Danger they were in delivered up the Person The Senate afterwards gave the King an Account of their Proceedings in a Letter that he might not think his Ambassador affronted When the Emperor was come into Flanders King Ferdinand took a Journey from Austria to meet him And afterwards the Protestant Ambassadors came thither as they had agreed it at Arnstet These Gentlemen after they had in the beginning of their Speech wished the Emperor all Happiness and congratulated his Return into Germany told him They heard how they had been blacken'd by their Adversaries who charged them with Obstinacy and an Aversion to the supreme Magistrate that they were of a restless and turbulent Spirit and delighted in disturbing the Commonwealth They had often wished they said for an Opportunity to purge themselves of these Crimes before his Majesty and were very glad it was now in their Power to do it And first since God was
Protestants because of their Religion The End of the Twelfth Book THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XIII The CONTENTS The Protestants make Answer to the Emperor's Demands and by many Arguments prove that they aim more at Piety and Religion in their Actions than at appropriating to themselves Church-lands and Possessions They also refute the Arguments of the King of England The Emperor having punished the City of Ghent orders a Meeting of the Protestants who answer his Letters The Pope sends his Legate Farnese the same who went with the Emperor from Paris to the Netherlands He makes a long invective Speech against the Protestants In the mean time the French King makes a League with the Duke of Cleve to whom he gives his Sisters Daughter in Marriage At this time the Pope was making War against the People of Perusia The King of England turns away Ann the Sister of the Duke of Cleve Some Points of Religion are accommodated in the Assembly of Haguenaw The rest are repriev'd to the Convention at Wormes appointed by King Ferdinand whither Granvell came and made a Speech Campeggio the Pope Legate came after who also makes a Speech The Conference is broken off and all the Negotiation put off till the Diet of Ratisbone Luther makes a smart Answer to the Book of Henry Duke of Brunswick wherein Mention is made of the dear Pall which the Pope of Rome sells The Treaty commences at Ratisbone The Emperor passes over into Barbary Granvell presents the Book called the Interim to the Conferrers The Duke of Cleve marries the King of Navarr's Daughter TO these things the Protestants April the Eleventh make Answer and in the first place say they we return our hearty Thanks to the Heer Granvell who hath always advised the Emperor to Moderation in this Affair a Virtue which deserves the highest Commendation And we pray God to confirm him in this so laudable a Resolution for what can be more glorious than to allay publick Grievances by prudent and moderate Counsels without Slaughter and Bloodshed Now we pray all Men in general not to think that we delight in the Clashings and Dissensions of Churches that we propose to our selves any private Advantage or that it is out of Frowardness that we have separated from other Nations contrary to the inveterate Custom of many Ages It was not out of Wantonness Rashness or Unadvisedness that we have exposed our selves to the implacable Hatred of our Adversaries that we have undergone so much Trouble and Toil so great Charges and Losses and the continual Dangers of so many Years No but when Division in Doctrine broke out in the Church which hath happened oftner than once of old we could not in Conscience resist the Truth for the Favour of Men and far less approve the Actions of those who with great Cruelty persecute the Innocent Nay on the contrary for so many weighty Reasons for such true and holy Causes we are constrained to oppose them and separate from them For it is manifestly known that they defend gross and intolerable Errors not only in Word but by Violence and Force of Arms Now it is the Duty of the Magistrate to protect his Subjects from unjust Force And because we hear that we lie under Suspicion as if we only minded our own Profit and Advantage and not the Glory of God nor Reformation of the Church we beseech the Heer Granvell that he would justify us in that Matter to the Emperor We are sensible enough of the Calumnies of that Nature which are dispersed far and near by our Adversaries with intent to bring our Persons and the true Religion we profess into contempt and hatred But in the Emperors honourable Council whom God hath placed in so eminent a Sphere Truth only should be enquired into and regarded and all false Informations discountenanced For the Reason why they hunt about for Pretexts to load us with that Aspersion and publickly traduce us is because they maintain a weak and unjust Cause because they see their own Errors blamed and condemned by all Men and cannot withstand the pure Light of the Gospel But it suits ill with the Character and Duty of Bishops so to urge and importune the Emperor about Lands and Revenues as if the Christian Religion stood or fell with them when in the mean time they take not the least Notice of those many and enormous Errors and Vices which they themselves cannot dissemble It ought indeed to be their first care to see Religion and the purer Doctrine preserved in their Churches But now their Thoughts are wholly taken up how they may defend their Wealth and Power their Luxury and Splendor They know well enough that the Contest is not about Church-lands and Possessions they themselves know that these are not the things we aim at but they use that as a Cloak and Veil to cover their own wicked Counsels in resisting the Truth that they may inflame the Minds of Kings and Princes to the Destruction of this Religion For no Man of our Profession hath invaded any part of Church Possessions within the Territories and Dominion of another nor deprived any Bishop of ought that was his but the Bishops themselves have slighted their Jurisdiction when the Profits thereof began to fall and indeed they know not how to administer the same Again The Colleges of the Canons Regular still enjoy all they had but they on the other hand have appropriated to themselves the Revenues of many of our Churches and discharge their People from paying us any yearly Rent And whereas they were wont formerly to allow somewhat of their yearly Revenues to the Ministers of the Church and Schoolmasters they are now so far from contributing anything that way that the Cities are necessitated to be at all the Charges And it is not like that these Cities which both lie under heavy Burthens and are exposed to great Dangers do espouse and maintain this Cause meerly for Covetousness sake But our Enemies especially such of them as hunt after Church Preferments maliciously accuse us so to the Emperor We could heartily wish that the Emperor were rightly informed of the present State of Monasteries why monastick Institutions have been change and how these Goods are employed partly for maintaining the Ministers of the Church and Teachers of the People and partly for other pious Uses We would the Emperor also understood how our Adversaries hook in to themselves all Profits and rob and spoil not only Monasteries but other Churches also so that within their Precincts many Churches are wholly slighted and the People degenerate into Paganism But before we speak any more of that Matter we beseech Granvell that in his own excellent Judgment he would weigh these things with himself For grant we might from hence reap some Advantage yet it may easily be imagined that the Controversie proceeds not from this but from a far different and more considerable Cause and that for
they shall be answered And if perhaps there be any thing in our Apology too briefly or not plainly enough expressed we will explain it Again if it be convenient to alter any thing that hath been Printed and Published we will not be Obstinate when once the Fault is detected We know also that the weak and unlearned are offended that the same Laws are not every where observed in all our Churches And though there is no necessity of retaining the same Form every where provided the Doctrine be the same yet we do not refuse but that may also be handled in some Assembly Since therefore we have laid open our Thoughts and Intentions we beseech the Heer Granvell that he would advise and perswade the Emperor to reform and settle Peace in the Church For though manifest Vices and Errors may be defended by Power and Force yet God will always stir up those that shall confute and reprove them How unjust and contrary to the Law of Nature it is also to attempt by Force and Arms the Suppression of the true Religion is obvious enough to be understood The Emperor Constantine gave the Donatists twice a publick Hearing though they taught Doctrines manifestly false and he himself was present at a Third Hearing they had that nothing might be Decreed against them till he had been exactly informed of the whole matter a most excellent Example which ought to admonish us of Meekness and Moderation And since at this time also there are many most weighty Matters under debate we hope the Emperor will attempt nothing by Arms before a fair Hearing and Trial and therefore we humbly Petition his Imperial Majesty that he would appoint a Conference which by his Deputy he promised us at Francfort For it properly belongs to his Charge to consult the Salvation of Men especially when Popes are inflamed with most bitter hatred and have no other aim than to incease Kings and Princes against Innocent People that they may be dragg'd away to the Slaughter The Emperor also deserves high Applause and Commendation which will be celebrated by Posterity that hitherto he hath not given way to those sanguinary Councils And indeed it is the Will and Command of God That all Good-will and Protection should be shown to the Ministers of his Church Now the Report that is spread Abroad as if we enclined to the Emperor's Enemies is a Calumny of the same nature as the former For it can be made out that in time of the War we supplied the Emperor's Generals both with Work-men and Powder and that we enjoined our People to gratifie them in every thing they could Conditions it 's true were at that time offerred unto us and those neither inconsiderable nor inconvenient but we rejected them all upon no other consideration than that we might demonstrate our Loyalty and Affection towards the Emperor And if any one should be informed against as to that particular and the thing done openly we are of Opinion that the Emperor would be satisfied with his Justification Now it is our desire that Granvell would weigh all these things with himself and also represent them to the Emperor recommending to his Majesty at the same time our Duty and Services with a publick Reconciliation For unless a stop be put to that Persecution of Holy Men and such extraordinary Cruelty a horrid Desolation in all Churches will certainly ensue since the Popes and Bishops had rather have no Religion at all than admit of a Reformation We also desire that he would present to the Emperor our Grievance concerning the Imperial Chamber for many of our Associates are most unjustly oppressed by them contrary to Law and the Emperor's Edicts and for the smallest matters most grievous Suits are commenced against them as is notoriously manifest in the Case of Minden The Action was only for Threescore Florins which the Senate applied to the use of a Parish to which they really belonged and had of ancient time been applied but our Adversaries had rather that thet small Revenue should be filthily spent by useless and idle Drones And though the Clergy of that City wallow in Riches yet by no means will they suffer that small Pittance of Money to be taken from them and employed as it ought to be in the Service of the Church For this so inconsiderable a Trifle the Judges of the Imperial Chamber have prosecuted the City of Minden with the utmost Rigour and outlawed them Now it is our Desire that this so great Insolence of theirs may be in general restrained and all those Suits laid aside as it was agreed upon with the Mediators at Francfort for this must of necessity be done if the Emperor would see Peace in Germany And indeed what else are these Sentences and Condemnations of theirs but Alarms to make us prepare for War Against which the very Law of Nature warrants us to defend our selves For if the Emperor repress them not and others in the mean time raise Forces what can we judge but they are designed against us Which may give occasion to a great Combustion though sore against our Wills. We therefore pray the Heer Granvell that he would supplicate the Emperor in our Names to grant us that Peace which has been so often begged and desired When they had thus answered on the Thirteenth of April they put an end to their Deliberations having enjoined their Divines to refute the Arguments of the King of England concerning the Points of Doctrine we mentioned and that the Book should be afterwards sent thither To which if the English Divines should answer and any Hope 's appeared of a future Agreement it was resolved not to refuse a Conference but that they should make a League with him upon any other account than that of Religion no Man thought it convenient A Decree was also made for making Intercession to the French King for those that suffered for Religion in France but so That first they should be informed of the State of France and of the King's Mind and whether or not their Mediation would be well taken Afterwards Decrees were made concerning Church-Lands and the several Grievances Those of Hailbrun were also advised to abolish the Popish Mass in some Churches which they had not as yet done promising them Aid if they should chance to incur any Danger thereby Lastly They enact what was to be done if the Emperor should either reject a Peace or answer ambiguously or if the Imperial Chamber should proceed in their wonted way or Forces should be secretly raised During these Transactions the Emperor punished the Men of Ghent puting the Authors of the Sedition to Death and disarming the rest But that was not all for he deprived them of their Privileges and Immunities built a Castle and put therein a Garrison to curb them It has been a common thing for that City to resist their Princes as we have observed before Thus they served Charles Duke of Burgundy the
Emperor 's great Grandfather Philip the Grandfather of Charles Lowis Earl of Flanders Philip's Grandfather by the Mother side all whom the Emperor seemed now to have revenged nor were they ever brought so under as at this time Afterwards on the Eighteenth of April the Emperor wrote to the Elector of Saxony and Lantgrave That he had discoursed his Brother Ferdinand King of the Romans amongst other things about the State of Germany but especially the Difference concerning Religion which he wished were composed For as he had omitted nothing in time past that might have effected that so was he still in the same Mind provided they acknowledged this his Zeal and abused it not but made that desire of Peace which they had long pretended in Words and Promises appear now at length in Reality and Effect That for many Years past he had had frequent and very condescending Treaties with them but hitherto without any Success That all things now seemed to tend to the dissolution of the Government and great Disturbance of all the States of the Empire if some healing Course were not speedily taken That however though this was the present Case yet of his wonted Goodness he was willing to assign them another Diet to be held at Spire the Sixth of June Or if the Plague or Contagion did not allow it at such place as his Brother King Ferdinand should appoint there to treat of the Means how so great Danger as hung over Germany might be prevented and wholly avoided That in the mean time he hoped they and their Confederates would prize this Lenity of his somewhat more than hitherto they had done and that they would so carry themselves in all Consultations and Debates that he himself his Brother King Ferdinand and the other obedient Princes might plainly see that they were more inclined to Peace and Quietness than to Strife and Dissention That therefore they should come in Person to the place appointed by the Day prefix'd and let nothing but Sickness hinder them in which case they should send some of their intimate Counsellors Men that loved Peace were fit for Business and fully acquainted with their Minds That they should intimate the same to their Confederates that they also might be present at the Day That his Brother King Ferdinand would be there from whom they might expect a more ample Declaration of his Will and Pleasure and of the Effect of the Ambassy they sent to him That therefore they should so frame themselves for the Preservation both of themselves and Country that all matter of Dissention being removed they might to better Purpose consult of the other Affairs of the Empire That after all they needed not to fear any Danger for that he assured them upon his Royal Word and gave them the benefit of the Peace of Nurimberg nor would he suffer any Man to act to the contrary yet so that they reciprocally should not offend others To these Letters they answer May the Ninth That they return his Majesty their hearty Thanks for his good Inclinations to follow peaceful Counsels That as to the Admonition he gives them that they should acknowledge his Zeal and not abuse it there was no Cause said they that he should entertain any other Thoughts of them or their Confederates for that there was nothing dearer to them than Peace but why no Reconciliation had been hitherto made it was not to be imputed to them but to the greatness of the Cause and their Adversaries who would admit of no Explanation of their Doctrine That now they were very willing to obey his Majesty and be present at the Day appointed But because they would not tire out the King with needless Labour and Toil they thought fit to send their Mind in Writing Which was That his Majesty knew that from the very first Rise of this Dissention after much Debate in the Diets of the Empire it was looked upon by all to be the only proper Expedient that a lawful General Council should be called or a National Synod of Germany But when because of the shortness of time that way seemed not so convenient to others a future Conference was moved at Francfort and accordingly a Decree made That since this Matter was difficult and weighty whereon Mens Salvation did depend it would not be soon dispatched if they would effectually set about it and that therefore it would prove a hard Task not only to King Ferdinand but also to them and their Associates to attempt the Matter before a Conference were first had and the way prepared for it That upon this Consideration they thought it the best Course at present which was liked of by all at Francfort That if a National Council of Germany could not be had a Conference should be appointed for that in their Judgment a better way then that could not be found as they had also signified to the Count of Nuenar But that for themselves to come without the Advice and Consent of their Confederates they would not That again the time assigned betwixt and that Day was so short that hardly could their Confederates be called together and consult of the Matter That those who lived more remote could hardly with much adoe be present which therefore they acquainted him with that he might know their Thoughts That though it was so yet since his Majesty assured them that King Ferdinand would be there they would send thither their Deputies and write to their Confederates to do the like But on this Condition still that if nothing were done That then they might be free to take their other Courses from which they could not depart without the Consent of their Confederates That they would also give Instructions to their Deputies to direct all their Consultations to a peaceable Reconciliation as much as they could without offending God and their own Consciences and to prepare the Way as far as in them lay to an entire Agreement But that they hoped his Majesty would command that the Holy Scripture should bear the greatest Sway in all the Proceedings and that when their Adversaries deviated therefrom they should be made to stick to their Rule That when Matters were brought under Agitation if any Hopes of Success appeared they would not fail to come in Person That after all they prayed that the safe Conduct his Majesty promised might be extended to their Divines as well as Deputies since they were the Parties chiefly concerned in the Causes and that he would be pleased to let them know what his Pleasure was therein We mentioned Cardinal Farnese before He waited on the Emperor from Paris to Flanders being a Youth hardly of Mans Years and it was said that the Emperor was displeased that the Pope had not sent a grave Man of Age and Experience When therefore the matter of Religion and of the Turkish War came under Deliberation and Granvell had spoken his Mind Farnese at length in Presence of the Emperor
and King Ferdinand spoke to this purpose That the Pope was very desirous of Peace and of the Concord of Germany but of such a Peace and Concord as might not be displeasing to God That it was his Desire also that all their Force might be imployed against the Turk But that as to Religion and the Protestants there had been many Treaties with them in order to a Reconciliation especially in the Diet of Ausburg where they then presented their Confession of Faith in which Writing though there were many Errors to be found yet they had in the mean time deviated from it So that seeing they had nothing fixed or certain to which they adhered but were like slippery Eeles there was no more treating with them That in like manner the King had last Year at the desire of the Elector of Brandenburg appointed another Treaty with them but that they had stumbled at the very Threshold as is commonly said and given Intimation plain enough how far they were from any purpose of Agreement for that having once shaken off their Duty and Obedience they were now come to that That it was not the Reformation of the Pope they aimed at but his total Suppression not the removing of Faults but the overturning of the Apostolical See that so all ecclesiastical Jurisdiction might fall to the Ground And if they durst do so the Year before when the State of Europe was somewhat more peaceable and quiet what would they not do in all probability when Peace was not yet concluded with France and the Turk again preparing to Invade Hungary What but even grow more froward by the Adversity of the times and it was in vain to think that there could be any way of reclaiming them from their Designs for that they did only controvert about a few things but brought many chief Doctrines under debate That again it was in a manner uncertain how to come to any Agreement with them since they differed among themselves That Luther taught one kind of Doctrine and Zuinglius another not to mention any thing of the other Sects And that granting there might be some hopes of an Accommodation yet they would not obey the Church of Rome unless they had many things allowed them as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in both Kinds the Marriage of the Clergy and the like which are not to be altered without a publick Decree of Council That now if it should be said that for publick Peace sake these things might be granted them and the consent either of the Pope or Council be afterwards obtained that would not be ill said indeed but then they would presently lay hold on that Privilege and never want for a publick confirmation thereof And that if so then would they lay aside all care of a Council which would occasion great Divisions all over Christendom when France Spain Italy and other Provinces would differ from Germany in Rites and Customs That moreover should the Council perhaps condemn the Alteration made and indulged for a time and Decree the contrary then would all hopes be lost of reclaiming Germany now hardened in their Opinions and there would be danger least the Protestants the thing they chiefly drive at should move the rest of the States to make Defection also That the Emperor himself was not ignorant how in former Years they had made a Decree in the Diet of the Empire about calling a Council without his consent and that therefore care was to be had that they should not do the like hereafter That he represented these things unto them both that they might see what was to be expected from these private Treaties and Conferences That a Peace had been treated with them at Schweinfurt and a Truce afterwards made at Nurimberg under Penalty But that they without any regard to so great a Favour had broken their Articles and strengthened their own League by the Accession of many Cities and Princes and especially of the King of Denmark and Duke of Wirtemberg and had in many places changed the Religion contrary to their Oaths and Promises so that it easily appeared what farther hopes were to be had of them who by diverse ways partly by Favours and partly by Force drew Men over to their side That the Heat and Zeal of Religion was now grown cold and that Men were naturally prone to forsake the Rules of Austerity and to list themselves under a more easie and laxe Discipline But that they did not confine themselves within those bounds neither nor was it enough for them to mislead Men into Error unless they committed Sacrilege also cast out Bishops and profaned all Religion with Impunity Nay that they were now advanced to that pitch of Licenciousness that they would overturn that most upright Judicature of the Imperial Chamber to the intent that it being removed the Emperor's Authority in Germany might be weaken'd and that they without any Resistance might prey upon the Lives and Fortunes of all Men after their own Pleasure That therefore no firm nor lasting Peace was to be expected from those private Treaties And that if any such should be there was no doubt to be made but that it would invalidate the Dignity of the Apostolical See and all Ecclesiastical Polity That many other things could be alledged in this place but that for brevities sake he waved them That the next thing now was to consider how with the safety of Religion Provisions might be made for a Turkish War. That the most commodious way indeed would be if the Protestants and other States did jointly contribute Assistances But that since perhaps that could not be obtained unless Religion were settled and that the handling of religious Matters belonged not to private Assemblies but to a General Council it would be well done to have a Council called with all Expedition and the whole cause of Religion referred to it for that so he the Emperor would satisfie all others and over-awe the Protestants who when they saw the matter seriously set about would become much more Obedient and Tractable as perceiving a course taken to reduce them again into the right way and to root all Heresies out of Germany For that since the Christian Religion belonged to all Men in General there was nothing to be altered or reformed therein but with the common consent of all and that regard was not to be had to Germany alone but to France Spain Italy and other Nations also For that if any Innovation should be made in Germany without consulting them it would expose many to censure and be of pernicious Example That in like manner it would be a monstrous like thing if the Members of the Church answered not in proportion to their own Body That it was an ancient Custom even as old as the Apostles themselves that all Controversies should be determined by the Authority of a Council And that seeing all were very sollicitous for a Council and that Sigismund King of Poland had
though they could presently prove how some of their Adverse Party appropriated to themselves such Possessions yet they would deferr it till then At which time when the matter should come to be sifted it would plainly appear which of the two converted those Possessions more to their own private use than to the Honour of God. Concerning their Associates they answered as they did before praying that it might also be put off till the next Conference and that Peace might in the mean time be preserved King Ferdinand thereupon made a Decree July the Twenty-eighth wherein having recited the whole Proceedings he appointed a Conference at Wormes as we said before but conditionally if it pleased the Emperor The Princes Electors as also the Bishops of Magdeburg Saltsburg and Strasburg William and Lowis Dukes of Bavaria the Duke of Cleve and the Protestants are enjoined to send their Commissioners thither so that there should be Eleven on each side the same number of Clerks were also appointed to be there carefully to set down in Writing all the Proceedings in the Conference which was decreed to be about the Doctrines proposed at Ausburg and the Emperor was prayed to call a Diet of the Empire In the mean time by Command and Authority from the Emperor he charges all under severe Penalties to live in Peace and abstain from Violence And whereas it was urged by the Protestants that the Imperial Chamber had no power to judge of the Peace of Nurimberg he referred that to the Emperor's Cognizance The Decree being read the Protestants desired a Copy of it And because the Emperor having written to him from Brussels June the Fifteenth told him That he would declare his Thoughts as to the Imperial Chamber they begg'd to know what he had been pleased to signifie in that matter since there was no mention at all of that in the Decrce so that they knew not whether the Judges of the Chamber were discharged to proceed or not To this King Ferdinand made Answer That he had indeed Orders from the Emperor to acquaint them with his Resolution but it was upon Condition That all Church-Lands and Goods were restored or put under sequestration for that then all Proceedings were discharged but since they refused both he had no more to say but would make a Report of all to the Emperor Besides the Princes whom I named the Bishop of Trent was present and also Henry Duke of Brunswick but he went Home before the conclusion of the Assembly The Electors Palatine and Cologne and the Bishop of Strasburg were very Instrumental here for continuing the Peace for the rest hatched far different Counsels and urged the Decree of Ausburg saying That matters should not be put off with Conferences and Debates but that it ought to be taken into deliberation how the Protestants attempts might be quashed and restrained During this Assembly John the Vayvode King of Hungary died leaving behind him an Infant Son Stephen of whom Isabell the Daughter of Sigismund King of Poland had been lately brought to Bed. This was the Cause also that King Ferdinand having notice sent him of it hastened Home About this time also many Fires happened in Saxony and in Places about belonging to the Protestants for most part which burnt down some Towns and Villages The Duke of Brunswick was reported to have been the Author of this horrid Villainy as shall be said hereafter July the Fifthteenth one Robert Barnes Doctor of Divinity was burnt at London He had been for sometime banished England for the Protestant Religion but being afterward informed that King Henry applied himself to Piety and the Knowledge of the Truth he returned Home and was afterward employed in that Ambassy which was sent to Germany and was one of those who amongst other things treated with the Divines of Wittemberg about the King's Divorce as we told you in the Tenth Book But the King changing his Mind and in most things retaining the Popish Doctrine this Man who continued constant to the last was this Day Executed having at the Stake made a publick Profession of his Faith. Other two of the same Religion were burnt with him and the same Day Three others were burnt for maintaining the Pope's Supremacy and the Validity of Queen Catharine's Marriage In the Month of August died at Paris William Budey Master of the Requests a Man of extraordinary Learning and worthy to be Honoured by all Posterity were it only for this that he and Cardinal du Bellay Bishop of Paris were the Advisers of King Francis to that Noble and Generous Act of settling competent Salaries on the Professors of Languages and liberal Arts at Paris for it is hardly to be believed what plentiful Streams have flowed from this Fountain and watered not only France but other Countries also He ordered his Funeral to be made without any Pomp. This Year was memorable for extraordinary Heat and Drought however the Wine was excellently good The French King in the mean time about Autumn sent circulatory Letters to all his Bishops ordering Prayers and Supplications to be made in all Churches For though he was at Peace with the Emperor which he would not rashly break yet he was much afraid that the old Enemy of Mankind and hater of Peace might by his Engines and Instruments lay a Train for kindling a new War. The Emperor being informed of all that passed by Letters from his Brother King Ferdinand and the Commissioners Pacisicators comfirmed the Decree of Haguenaw and by Letters dated at Vtrecht the Thirteenth of August exhorted the Protestants that against the Day appointed they would send their Deputies and Divines to Wormes to all whom he granted a safe Conduct and assured them That since his Affairs would not suffer him to be there in Person he would send in his place some person of eminent Quality about him not doubting but that the Pope would send thither also for Reconciliation sake He promised likewise to call a Diet of the Empire where he intended to be personally present and to which Diet also the result of the Conference ought to be referred By other Letters afterwards dated at Brussels the Fifteenth of October he gives Granvell Commission to act and appoints him his Deputy at the future Conference Granvell was at that time at Besanzon a Town in the Franche Comte where he was Born and being so taken up with Business that he could not be there at the Day appointed he wrote to the Elector of Mentz and the other Princes designed for the Conference sending before on the Second of November John Naves of Luxemburg to excuse his Delay and crave their Patience For after he had upon some grudge wormed out Matthias Eldo as we said before he employed this Man in his place as being more obsequious and agreeable to his Humour In the mean time the Emperor called a Diet of the Empire to meet at Ratisbone in the Month of
Altar which are afterwards given to Two Subdeacons of St. Peter's Church who put them out to Grass and in due time shear them the Wool that comes from them being mingled with other Wool is spun and afterwards woven into these Palls which are Three Fingers broad and hang down from the Shoulders to the middle breast before and to the Reins behind at the end are thin Plates of Lead of the same breadth When they are thus woven they are carried to the Bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul and after some Prayers said are left there all night next day after the Subdeacons receive them again and decently lay them up and keep them until an Archbishop that needs one of them or his Proctor come to demand it Now it is delivered with many Ceremonies and they who carry it are charged not to rest above one night in a place if possibly they can This is neither a curious nor costly Commodity and yet the Archbishops pay dear for it to the Pope Nor is it lawful for any one to make use of his Predecessors Pall but every one is obliged to purchase himself a new one at Rome Besides if by exchange or any other way a Patriarch or Metropolitan is removed to another Church though he had purchased a Pall before yet he must needs be at the charge of a new one This kind of Fleecing gave occasion at all times of murmuring and complaining as hath been said in the Fourth Book especially in Germany And when in the Year of our Lord One thousand five hundred and eighteen Leo X. sent Cardinal Cajetan to the Diet of Ausburg to exhort the Emperor Maximilian and the Princes to a War against the Turk and moved that all the States and the Clergy too should contribute Money The Answer that was given him was That there was no Hopes of obtaining that from the Priests whose Rights and Revenues were by so many old and new Tricks and Divices clogg'd and diverted by the Court of Rome and that as for the People when any such thing was imposed upon them they cried That Money had been so often given upon that account that they wondered how it was spent or what became of those vast Summs that were yearly raised in Germany from the Annats alone We told you before of several Fires that happened in Saxony Now many of the Malefactors being take in divers Places and examined they all generally confess'd even with their last Breath That they had been suborned and hired by the Officers and familiar Friends of Henry Duke of Brunswick and got Money from them to do that Upon this account therefore as for other things also the Lantgrave and Deputies of Saxony accused the Duke of Brunswick to the Emperor at Ratisbone and exhibited in writing the several Confessions of these Incendiaries With these joined Duke William of Brunswick who also grievously Accused his own Brother Duke Henry that had kept him many Years in Prison When most of those who were expected to be at the Diet were now come it was opened on the Fifth Day of April by an Harangue made to them in the Emperor's Name according to Custom the Effect whereof was That they all knew how Studious and Laborious he had always been in endeavouring a right Constitution and Establishment of all publick Affairs But that when he perceived how Religion had torn and rent asunder the Empire and given occasion to the Turk to pierce almost into the Bowels of Germany it had been a great grief to him and therefore for many Years past he had with their own consents been essaying ways of Pacification and that all had judged a General Council to be the most proper and expedient remedy which had been the Sense and Resolution of the last Diet at Ratisbone but that seeing the Turk had at the same time Invaded first Hungary and then Austria with a design to fall upon Germany next with all the Force he could make He had made Head against him with an Army consisting of his own Forces those of his Brother King Ferdinand and of the whole Empire and not only so but had sent out a Fleet to Sea against him which having advanced a great way towards Constantinople had taken from him some Passes Castles and Towns that so his Force might be broken and diverted So that when the Turk had retreated Home he took a Progress into Italy treated earnestly with Pope Clement for a Council and pacified Italy that no Obstacle might arise from thene That he had afterwards returned to Spain that having ordered all things there also he might himself be present at the Council That in his Opinion they were not ignorant of the Reason why the Council was not called which the Pope had promised to open the Year after But that seeing not long after the Turk had sent his Admiral Barbarossa who put to flight the King of Tunis for preventing the publick danger he had crossed over into Barbary where by God's Blessing he had been Victorious and driven him out of all that Country That afterwards he had come to Sicily Naples and to Rome also where he had treated with Paul III. about a Council who was fully enclined to it and that being resolved to draw nearer to Germany to settle Affairs there At the same time a War broke out against the Duke of Savoy his Ally and a Vassal of the Empire who had a great part of his Country taken from him by force so that he was obliged as in Duty to undertake his Defence at that time That since that War had continued almost till Winter and that there was no great Hopes of a Council he had proposed some Conditions proper for Peace and so returned into Spain That afterwards he came back again to the Country about Genoa whither the Pope and French King came also And that having made a Truce there he went with his Fleet to Aigues Mortes where he had had a Conference with the French King as with the Pope before about the Peace of Christendom and the Turkish War That having returned from thence into Spain he had employed all his Thoughts about healing the Divisions of Religion and removing the Impediments of a Council and that being resolved afterwards to return into Germany through Italy he had been moved and entreated by the French King to take his Journey through France meerly to confirm their Friendship That he came next to Flanders where he found Affairs in a troublesome State but that he had applied a Remedy to the Distemper and that though his weighty Affairs would not then suffer him to proceed into Germany he had nevertheless appointed an Assembly at Haguenaw where his Brother King Ferdinand was present That it was fresh in the minds of all what had been done there and also at the Conference of Wormes and that he now mentioned these things that they might see the Care and Zeal he had for the
Thus all her Furniture and Goods being in haste pack'd up she departed in a hurry under the Conduct and Convoy of some Turkish Officers and Souldiers and then September the Second the Grand Seignior with his two Sons made his entry into Buda where in the Cathedral Church hallowed after their manner he gave God Thanks for his good Success and then returned into the Camp from whence having put Garrisons into Buda and Pest he retreated homewards with the rest of his Army and upon his March set at Liberty Alaski whom he had left Prisoner at Belgrade because of the Apprehension of Fregoso and Rink For the French King being exceedingly incensed at that Fact had by his Ambassador Paulain acquainted Solyman with the whole matter When the Diet at Ratisbone was over the Emperor went immediately into Italy and had an interview with the Pope at Luke whilst the Army he had raised of Germans Italians and Spaniards were putting on Board the Ships But because Winter now approached the Pope essayed to divert him from the expedition Nevertheless though he had notice of the overthrow in Hungary he was resolved to go that he might give the Turk a Diversion elsewhere so that setting Sail from Porto Venere he took his Course by Corsica Majorca and Minorca and on the Twenty-third of October arrived before Algiers a Sea-Port Town in Barbary His Army consisted of Two and twenty thousand Foot and somewhat more than a Thousand Horse The Van consisting of Spaniards was commanded by Ferrante Gonzaga Viceroy of Sicily the main Body being Germans by the Emperor himself and the Reserve who were Italians and Knights of Rhodes by Camillo Colonna That Day the Emperor arrived and next Day after the Weather was fair and the Sea calm but on the Third Day a great Storm arising with continual Rains hindered all Action so that the Emperor having lost many Ships his Guns and all his Ammunition and Provisions besides some Thousands of his Men was forced to depart without effecting any thing and to come again to Spain in the Month of November Thus went our Affairs to wrack both by Sea and Land in Africa as well as Europe This was likewise a fatal Year to Germany by reason of the Plague which raged especially along the Rhine there died of it amongst others at Strasburg one Capito and at Basile Simon Gryney both Men of extraordinary Learning the former by Profession a Divine and the other a Philosopher but a great Student also in Divinity The Emperor upon his leaving of Germany employed Frederick Prince Palatine to Negotiate the Restitution of Guelderland with the Duke of Cleve by the Mediation of the Princes Electors These sent Agents to the Duke to admonish him both of his own private danger and of the publick Disorders he might be the occasion of by standing it out too stiffly He on the other hand alledged That he was the next lawful Heir and that he had entered by fair means into Possession but however was willing to submit his Right and Title to a fair Trial at Law and that therefore he earnestly begg'd of them that they would perswade the Emperor to Equity and not suffer any Force or Violence to be used against him Upon the Emperor's departure out of Italy he left Granvell there that he might both sollicite the Pope about a Council and settle the State of Siena which was all in fermentation with Factions and Seditions When the News of the disaster in Africa was brought into France in December following it occasion'd open rejoicing for most Men were vexed at the Murther of Fregoso and Rink and said That now was the time to revenge them King Ferdinand after his bad Success called a Convention of his States at Prague the chief City of Bohemia There at length amongst other things the Nobility of Austria on the Thirteenth of December present a Petition to the King and in the first place to insinuate into his Favour they offer to employ their Lives and Fortunes in defence of his Honour and Dignity Then they deplore the sad State of the publick and their own Condition who had the Turk a most cruel Enemy and a Conqueror too so near them Wherefore said they it was high time to look out for Remedies and especially that the Wrath of God might be appeased who being offended with the Sins of Men plagued them with so great a Judgment For that in the whole Body politick there was nothing pure nor sound that all Discipline both publick and private was laid aside which was the Source of their common Evils but that the contempt of the Word of God was the chief Cause why he so scourged and afflicted them For both Sacred and Profane Histories inform us say they that God hath many times severely punished most flourishing Kingdom 〈◊〉 for those lighter Sins which sprug from our Nature and Dispositions but for false Worship and the Contempt of his Word The Jewish Nation was led away Captive into Assyria and Babylon for despising the Prophets and devising a new Religion and Worship to themselves At length they were utterly cut off and Jerusalem destroyed for their Crucifying of the Son of God. Those most flourishing Empires in former times the Babylonish Persian and Grecian now oppressed by the Turks have for the same Causes so lost their Religion Laws Goverment and Dignity that hardly any Print of them remains at this day and whilst partly they rejected and partly loathed the Blessings of God they have fallen into horrible Darkness and most ignominious Slavery Nor did all this change come of a sudden for the Turks waged War for the space of Six hundred Years and more before they subdued Greece which happened then at length when after so many Invitations and Admonitions they would not mend their Manners but added Sin to Sin and Transgression Now if a Man should compare those Kingdoms formerly so splendid and powerful wherein so many famous Wits flourished with that barbarous and brutish Monarchy of the Turks he would find that since the Flood a sadder Calamity never happened But if such powerful People were not able to resist so weak a Nation as the Turks were in the beginning God being pleased so to punish their Sins What are we to expect who are in the same fault indeed but in a far worse condition since we have to do with an Enemy much more powerful than we We see how God plagues us especially in these parts with War Pestilence and Famine The most cruel Enemy hath lately seized Buda the Capital City of the Realm Fire hath raged through Bohemia and what miseries have we not suffered now these Sixteen Years How much Blood hath there been spilt and how many Thousand Souls carried away into Slavery Now is the Power of the Turk grown to such an height that he lifts up his Head above all other Kings and Potentates And because he obtaineth almost continual Victories
the Chapter chosen to succeed in his place but the Elector of Saxony pretended that the Chapter had no Right to do so without his Consent and therefore in exclusion to Pflug he substituted Nicholas Amstorff a Divine of Wittemberg of a noble Family in his place whom in the Month of January Luther installed and afterwards published a Book in the vulgar Tongue wherein he asserted That the Flock of Christ was not to be committed to Pflug as being an Enemy to the pure Doctrine of the Gospel Pflug being in this manner rejected made a publick Appeal to the States of the Empire wherein he justified his Right and complained of the Wrong that was done him The Elector on the other hand answered the Writing of Pflug and having enlarged much upon the Right of the House of Saxony which he proved by ancient Precedents amongst other Reasons why he could not admit of him as Bishop he alledged this also That he openly opposed the Augustane Confession After the Overthrow in Hungary which we mentioned before a Diet was called by King Ferdinand in the Emperor's Name to begin at Spire in the Month of January wherein the Emperor appointed his Brother King Ferdinand to preside in his Name and gave him for Assistants Hugh Count of Monfort and John Naves The Princes who appeared there were the Elector of Brandenburg Frederick Prince Palatine Albert Duke of Meckleburg Ernest Marquess of Baden the Bishops of Mentz Wormes Spire Constance and Heildesseim The rest sent Deputies thither When they came to a Session which was the Ninth Day of February King Ferdinand in the Emperor's Absence opened the Diet by a Speech as is customary telling them That it was known to all how great Diligence and Care the Emperor had used both that Religion might be setled and the Government entirely established But that when Differences would not be wholly adjusted in the former Diet his imperial Majesty for weighty Reasons went from Germany into Italy where having treated with the Pope about a Council and the Turkish War he prevailed so far at length that his Holiness had promised to send a Legate to this Diet that he went afterwards with a Fleet into Barbary that having taken Algiers which was in the Enemies Hands and which did great damage to Spain and his other Provinces he might obtain a competent aid from his Subjects against the Turk after he had removed the Danger and secured the Sea Coast but that being by a Storm prevented from effecting what he had proposed he returned to Spain that he might again prepare himself to make War against the Turk both by Sea and Land. And that because the Turk had lately made himself Master of Buda the chief City of Hungary and of the Town of Pest over against it into which he had put Garrisons he had called this Diet to advise what was fitting to be done That seeing the Turk had left in those two places all the great Guns which he had either brought with him or taken from the Christians there was no doubt but he would come back again in the Summer time that he might not only take the remaining part of Hungary but also invade all the Provinces bordering upon Germany For that since Buda was taken and all other Passes laid open there was nothing now that could stop or divert him That therefore these were weighty and necessary Matters to be now consulted about at which Consultations the Emperor would willingly have been present but that being hindred by time he had committed that care to him who though the State of his own Religion did chiefly require his Presence yet was resolved not to desert the publick at such a Pinch Having made this preamble he declared to them what the Austrians Hungarians Bohemians and the Neighbouring People nay and what the Church Men of his Dominions would contribute to this War praying and exhorting them to do the like for that the Danger stared all Men in the Face and the condition of Affairs was now such that either the Enemy was to be driven out of Hungary or all were to expect and soon after undergo the extremity of Miseries After the Diet of Ratisbone John Gropper Deputy from the Archbishop of Cologne being returned Home mightily commended Bucer saying That of all Men he was the â—ittest to be intrusted with the Reformation of Religion for that he was both very Learned a lover of Peace and of a good and upright Life Wherefore the Bishop who knew Bucer before and had thoughts of employing him sent him word that he had a desire to speak with him Bucer therefore going this Year in the Month of February to Cologne was most courteously received and particularly by Gropper who had prevailed with him to come thither from Bonn. So after some conversation with the Bishop he gave him leave to be gone upon condition that when he should be sent for at another time he would come back again as shall be said hereafter About this time also King Henry of England cut off the Head of his Queen Catharine Howard for that having Married her for a Virgin he found that she had been defloured before He that defloured her had got some place in Ireland but being recalled by her when she was Queen and taken into her Family he was also Beheaded after her as some others were partly for the same Crime and partly for concealing it When she was out of the way the King married a Sixth Wife the Lady Catharine Parr The French King sent an Ambassy to the Diet at Spire and Francis Oliver Chancellor of Alenzon was the chief person in it who in a full Assembly of all the States when they were consulting about the Turkish War February the Fourteenth spoke to this purpose That he needed not use many words to plead for a favourable hearing at their Hands since all understood how well affected the King his Master stood towards the Interests and Welfare of Germany that what he had to say also was of so great moment that he doubted not but they would willingly listen to the King's Counsel and Proposals Seeing that when the Diet of Ratisbone was busie in Accommodating the Difference of Religion News being brought That the Turk was preparing to Invade Hungary with a vast Army the King had forthwith sent Ambassadors to the Grand Seignior to avert if he could the War from Hungary for the sake of Germany which lay next to it but that his Ambassadors had been apprehended by the Emperor's Soldiers and that it was as yet uncertain whether they had been kill'd or were still alive whereby not only the Truce but the Law of Nations was also violated Now that they were sent for that Cause the King would make it out by the very Letters and Instructions which were then intercepted by the Imperialists That afterward a false Report had been spread abroad as if the King had called in
Christ which nevertheless suits neither with the Doctrine nor Name of Christ Not with his Doctrine because he forbids us to resist Evil or to revenge a Wrong nor with his Name neither because in so great Armies there is hardly perhaps Five true Christians to be found most of them being worse than the Turks themselves whilst in the mean time all take to themselves that Name which indeed is an Affront and Injury done to Christ when his Name is in this manner defamed and vilified and would be far more if the Pope and Bishops carried Arms also and marched out into the Field with the rest For since it is their peculiar Office to resist the Devil by the Word of God and Prayer it is very undecent that they should leave that Station and make use of Sword and Pistol that ought to be the Care of the civil Magistrate and the Offices are distinct But it is now long since the Popes invented those things though they be forbid to do it by the Laws and Canons of our Ancestors How unsuccessful have Wars hitherto been for wrongfully arrogating the Name of Christ the thing it self makes it manifest since Rhodes and the best part of Hungary being now lost we have the Turk at our very Doors And how unlucky it is to have the Confederacy of Papists in a War may be seen by the Battle of Varna and the Overthrow of King Ladislaus who was perswaded by Cardinal Julian to engage the Enemy It may be seen also by the late Overthrow received Two Years since when King Lowis miserably perished Having made this Preface he came to the Matter it self saying That God was in the first to be reconciled and enjoining the Ministers of the Church to exhort Men to Repentance Afterwards he lays open the Religion and Impiety of the Turks and says That it properly belongs to the Emperor to make War against them not for Revenge Vain-glory or Profit but out of Duty that he may defend his Subjects from Injury That the Emperor was not to be excited to this War neither as being the Head of Christendom Protector of the Church and Defender of the Faith since these were false and vain-glorious Titles and injurious to Christ who alone defends his own Church And that the Injury was the greater in that most part of Kings and Princes were sworn Enemies to the true Religion That therefore the Turk was to be fought against and resisted not because he is of different Religion but because he Robs and Spoils carries on a most unjust War and brings along with him the Examples of a most foul and shameful Life Then comparing both together he affirms that the Roman Papacy is no better than Turcism and that as the Turk by his Alcoran so the Pope by his Decretals hath extinguished the Light of the Gospel That what he does by open Force the Pope does the same by his Curse and Excommunication That both lay a Reproach upon Marriage and are punished saith he for the Contempt of the Law of God which institutes Matrimony when being wholly rejected of God they burn in filthy Lusts and most flagitiously invert the Order of Nature Lastly speaking of the Power of the Turks he advises them not to be secure but war circumspectly as knowing that they had to do with the cruelest of Enemies These and the like Points of Doctrine were the Subject of that Book we mentioned But now when at the Perswasion of the Emperor and King Ferdinand the States of the Empire had decreed a War against the Turk he published another Treatise a Military-Sermon as I said that the Ministers of the Church who followed the Camp as is common might have some Form set before them of Teaching and Exhorting The first thing then saith he is that Men understand what they are to think of the Turk For the Scripture prophesieth of Two cruel Tyrants who are to lay wast and plague the Christian World before the last Day of Judgment the one by false Doctrine of whom Daniel and after him St. Paul speaks and this is the Pope of Rome And the other by Force and Arms to wit the Turk of whom Daniel speaks in his Seventh Chapter Let those therefore who will be Christians put on Resolution and expect no Peace no quiet Life for the future for that time of Trouble and Misery which he foretold is now come But let us comfort our selves with the Hopes of Christ's coming and our future Deliverance which will appear presently after these Afflictions and let us know for a certain that all the Rage and Malice of the Devil is fully poured out upon us by the Turk for no Tyrant hitherto ever raged as he doth Then he expounds the Seventh Chapter of Daniel about the Four Beasts coming out of the Sea and proves the Turkish Empire to be signified thereby For this is that little Horn says he which sprang up amongst those Ten Horns of the Fourth Beast And though it be grown to a great bigness yet it can never reach to the Power of the Roman Empire for the Prophet there describes only Four Empires which were to succeed in order that the last of them was the Roman Monarchy Therefore there shall never be another that can compare with the Roman in greatness And because Daniel assigns it only Three Horns which it is to pluck out from among those Ten its Force and Power will not proceed much farther For those Three Horns are long since pluck'd off being Greece Asia and Aegypt which three vast Provinces of the Empire the Turk now possesses and is by the Prophet confined within those Limits so that it is to be hoped that he 'll not hereafter make himself Master of any other Province of the Empire But now that he makes a Bustle in Hungary and is ready to invade Germany it is the last Act of the Tragedy He may possibly indeed get some Footing in those Provinces but it is not to be thought that he can peaceably enjoy them as he doth Asia Greece and Aegypt for the Prophecy is manifest and plain After this he handleth all the other parts inviteth all chiefly to Repentance and readily to obey the Magistrate who calls for their Service in this War against the Turk exhorting them not only to venture their Fortunes but even their Lives and Persons upon that account he uses also many Arguments to comfort the Slaves who were already under the Power of the Turks or might be taken by them thereafter and admonishes them to have a special Care they be not allured by that specious and painted Religion of the Turks For that he was told many Christians of their own accord made Defection to that Religion because it had a kind of shew of Probity and Holiness That they should patiently bear their Bondage and faithfully serve their Masters though Wicked and Profane not running away from them nor putting Hand on themselves through Impatience for the
and Rink chanced to be missing That however his Holiness himself who was chosen to be Umpire betwixt them was a Witness of his Willingness to have satisfied him in that Particular That this was the Pretext then he now used for raising new Troubles and Commotions in Christendom though it was long since he intended it That it was well enough known what Fregoso and Rink had by his Orders attempted in Italy and Turkey and what Services they had often done him That they went about to betray Christendom into extream Danger so that they had no right to the Peace of Nice who violated the publick Peace That again they scudded privily through Lombardie with a Train of Banditi's a Crime that 's capital by the Law and Custom of that Country That the Marquess of Pescara was heavily accused by him and yet he had offered to stand a Trial for it but that it was not unknown why he refused that and rejected other Satisfactions also That for his part when he thought he had been satified he passed over into Barbary and sent an Ambassador into France to recommend to him the publick Peace but that at the same time he gave the fairest Promises he was attempting several things against him in Germany Denmark and other places and laid a Design of invading Navarr That afterwards his Ambassadors at the Diet of Spire had made it their whole Business to foment the Difference of Religion promising each Party severally their Masters Frienship and Favour That he had endeavoured to disswade the States of the Empire from the Turkish War sollicited the Grand Seignior sent Forces into Italy caused Martin van Rossem in Brabant and Flanders and the Duke of Orleans in Luxemburg to make War against him before any Denunciation and then bent all the rest of his Forces towards the Frontiers of Spain That this forsooth was the Fruit of his Holiness's Tenderness who had indulged him in so many things and so often exhorted him to Peace That he should also suffer the Archbishop of Valentia to be detained Prisoner by him and several Noble-Men of Spain to be abused and affronted by the French in Avignon was in all Conscience too great a Forbearance That now therefore he must be forced to stand upon his own Defence at a time when he had least Fear of him by reason of his large and most ample Promises when he was preparing for the Turkish War and upon that account to return into Germany That the Injury and Damage was indeed great which he had done within his Territories and he and his Subjects both suffered by it but that he was not so much moved thereat as at the publick Calamity of Christendom for that as to his own private Concerns since he was always shuffling and breaking his Agreements it were far better for him to have open War than to trust to any Truce or Conditions which upon every light Occasion he could break and annul That Peace with him was for the most part a Snare since it was his Course in the mean time to hatch new Counsels pernicious to the Publick cherish and foment Factions and to make it his chief Study to disable him from resisting the Turks by harassing and tiring him out and exhausting him by Charges That this being his own Temper he made it his Care to bread his Children in the same Nature and Discipline That his Ambition and Covetousness was now grown to such a Hight that it could no longer be concealed That as his Ancestors had usurped Provence which belonged to the Empire so now also he held Savoy and part of Piedmont which he so fortified as made it apparent enough he had no mind to restore them That it had been his Design not only to invade Lombardy but Parma and Piacenza too then Luka and Siena and afterward the Patrimony of St. Peter that so he might have a Passage open into Naples and Sicily That there was no Doubt but his Project reached so far and that it might easily be gathered from the Designs and Stratagems he had on Foot in Italy That in short there was no Bounds to be set to his excessive Ambition nor was it ever to be thought that he would stand to any Agreement so long as there remained any thing for others to lose or for him to take For that he was so transported with this Disease and Restlesness of Mind as with a violent Calenture That forgeting all Religion and Piety he had made a League with the Turk and joined not only his Counsels but Fortunes also with the Enemy of Christendom making at this present mighty Braggs that Barbarossa with a Fleet would quickly be upon our Coasts That his Holiness in his own Prudence ought to consider if these were Courses to heal the Divisions of Christendom and begin a Council with That it had always been the Endeavours of the French King that no Council should be held as thinking it would prove prejudicial to his private Affairs Wherefore so soon as he had perceived that he had taken other Measures for composing the Differences about Religion in Germany and had therein Respect only to the Glory of God and the Honour and Dignity of the Church That therefore it was to be imputed to the French King who had always hindered and not to him who had taken so much Labour and Pains about a Council that there was not one sooner call'd That if then his Holiness were disposed to help afflicted Christendom he ought in Duty to declare himself an Enemy to him who was the Author of all the Disorder and Calamity who invited and allured in the Turk against Christendom and who left nothing unattempted whereby he might satiate his Ambition and boundless Revenge For that since the chief Care of Christianity belonged to him by virtue of his Pastoral Office the thing it self required that he should not suffer him to proceed any longer in these disorderly Courses but declare himself his Enemy That if he would do so it would not only be an Act most acceptable to all good Men but would prove of singular Use also for containing all other Kings within the Bounds of Duty For that it was the only Way to have a Council meet Peace restored and the Troubles of Christendom settled wherein if his Holiness did his duty he for his Part would not be wanting The End of the Fourteenth Book THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XV. The CONTENTS The Pope attempts in vain to make Peace betwixt the Emperor and French King. A hot War betwixt England and Scotland The French King suppresses a Sedition at Rochell In the Diet of Nurimberg Granvell in the Emperor's Name demands assistance against the French King who in a very long Manifest answers the Emperor's Letter Langey dieth Francis Landre and de Pensier make a publick Recantation Mention made of Marot by the bye Bucer Preaches at Bonn. The Pope offers to buy the Dutchy of
King had driven the Duke of Savoy out of his Country That he designed to do the same likewise with others when time and occasion should offer And that the cause of this violent Malice of his was because the Emperor put a stop to his Attempts and Enterprizes That they themselves had heard from the Letters lately read what designs he was carrying on with the Turk what also in Germany and how it was his Resolution to obstruct the Turkish War That in like manner since the Duke of Cleve was in League with him who also retarded the Emperor's most just Enterprizes and prejudiced the Welfare of Germany Aid was to be decreed against both that their Insolence and Boldness might be repressed In the mean time the Protestants present a Petition to King Ferdinand and the Emperor's Deputies wherein they relate at large what for many years had been done in Religion how that Peace had been granted at Nurimberg but that the Imperial Chamber had infringed it how that the Emperor two Years before had granted them a Proviso and told them his mind at Ratisbone how that there was a Decree made there for Reformation of the Imperial Chamber and rectifying of that Judicature what they also had then publickly protested unless the Decree should be fulfilled That now since none of these things were performed and that the Judges of the Chamber proceeded in their wonted way to molest them first for defending themselves against Henry Duke of Brunswick and then for non-payment of the Salaries and Charges of the Chamber they had declined all their Jurisdiction which they protested they would do long before in the General Diet That now therefore if the matter were otherwise represented to them they beg of them not to believe it for that necessity forced them to do as they did and to make use of a lawful Remedy which Justice and Equity allowed every Man to do For that should they go on in that manner usurping to themselves a power of judging and pronouncing Sentences of Proscription and other Penalties against them it would prove not only hurtful to them but also to the whole State For that who could doubt or be ignorant how seasonable and advantageous a thing it would prove to the Turks if Feuds and Animosities amongst the States should kindle a Civil War that might exhaust all their Wealth and Substance That many Instances could be given how difficult it was to pacifie and quiet Minds once exasperated and provoked That for their parts truly there was nothing they wished for more than to see a firm Peace settled and equal Justice administred in Germany That all their Animosities and Diffidences sprung from difference in Religion And that the cause of all that Dissension was that the preaching of the Gospel and true Worship of God were discountenanced and oppressed that Errors and notorious Vices were not only not removed and amended but through Ambition and the sake of Lucre even tolerated and defended That God being therefore provoked and offended by this ingratitude did afflict his People with great Calamities and would never cease to do it so long as they continued in them That it was therefore their desire that they would turn their Thoughts this way and effectuate at least that no stirs should be made upon account of Religion and that Justice should be impartially administred to all but that since this was not to be expected considering the present state of the Imperial Chamber they craved That that Judicature might be Reformed according to the Ancient Laws of the Empire and the Emperor's Declaration that other Judges might be appointed all Suits and Actions left in the same state as they were in before the Declinatory made and that Injunctions should be laid upon the Judges exactly to observe the Rules of the future Reformation and act nothing contrary to the Pacifications of former Years For that unless matters were so ordered and they sufficiently secured they would not consult about the Turkish War though otherwise there was nothing but what they coveted to do for the Publick When after much and long debate King Ferdinand and the Emperor's Deputies made Answer That there was a Council already called at Trent where the Emperor himself would be and that without a hearing of the Cause they could not remove the Judges of the Imperial Chamber that it was ordered to be Reformed and would soon be put in Execution That they could not deny Justice to Henry Duke of Brunswick who was ejected out of all and demanded it and that that was all they could grant and no more The Protestants reply That they did not approve that Council nor would they go to it That they had no Satisfaction given them in other Matters nor sufficient Assurances made them and that therefore they would enter into no other Deliberations Notwithstanding King Ferdinand and the other States make a Decree for Fortifying the frontier Places upon the Turks Territories for contributing Money to defray the Charges thereof and appoint the Third Day of July for the Reformation of the Imperial Chamber which they ordered to be Reformed according to the model prescribed Eleven Years before at Ratisbone They Decree also That those who did refuse to furnish their proportions of the Moneys and Aid imposed should be prosecuted in name of the Publick and be distrained therefore But the Protestants protested against this Decree as made without their Advice and Counsel as containing nothing positive concerning Peace and Property and as imposing the Contributions very unequally Now because upon the Emperor's coming the War was like to prove much hotter betwixt him and the Duke of Cleve the Princes Electors and rest of the States interceded by their Deputies and with much ado obtained a Truce from Granvell not indeed positive and absolute but such as it was still at the Emperor's Discretion so soon as he set Foot in Germany to ratifie or reject it and in the mean time Zittard a very strong Town upon the Frontiers of Juliers was put into the Emperor's Hands until he should declare his Mind in the Matter The Mediators promised also to meet the Emperor with an Ambassy to make intercession on behalf of the Duke and Granvell put them in great Hopes of obtaining a gracious Answer from his Majesty The Deputies of Cleve of whom the chief was John Vlatten a learned Gentleman approved this Agreement and thanked the Mediators for the pains they had taken But in the mean while a Battle happened at the Town of Zittard March the Twenty-fourth wherein Cleve having had the better partly for that Victory and partly to comply with the French King who supplied him with Money he grew obstinate and upon the return of his Deputies rejected the Truce The News of this Success being in great haste carried into France occasioned great Rejoicing there and the French King appointed publick Thanksgiving to be made for it at Paris The
that he would confirm his Son in the Possession of them and give him the solemn Investiture of a Prince The Emperor who held Milan and would not part with any part of his Right refused that The Pope had also a Design as it was said to have purchased from the Emperor with Money the Dukedom of Milan for his Grandson Octavio But the Emperor that he might be no longer hindered broke up the Interview and having compounded with Cosmo of Medicis Duke of Florence for the Castles of Florence and Leghorn which till then he had in his Hands and having delivered them up to the Duke for the Summ of above Two hundred thousand Crowns which he received for them he went on in his Progress Before he left Spain he had created his Son Philip King and gave him in Marriage the Infanta Mary Daughter of John King of Portugal This Year also Sigismund the Son of Sigismund King of Poland married the Lady Elizabeth Daughter of Ferdinand King of the Romans Henry Duke of Brunswick having made a Journey into Italy to meet the Emperor grievously accused the Protestants at Cremona And now the Emperor being upon his March with an Army from Italy the Protestants who had lately received his Letters dated from Genoa on the Twenty fourth of June met at Smalcald and there consulted about sending Ambassadors to him concerning those things that related to the securing the Dutchy of Brunswick and their own League and about Application to be made to Duke Maurice to the King of Sweedland to Otho Henry Prince Palatine to Wolfgang Duke of Deux-Ponts and to the Bishop of Munster who all desired to be admitted into the League This Assembly ended the One and twentieth Day of July Much about this time the Emperor and King of England made a League against the French King who assisted the Scots as we said before But the Pope was much offended at this Alliance and therefore looked upon the Friendship of France as necessary for his Interests When about the end of July the Emperor came to Spire the Protestants sent thither their Ambassadors Francis Burcart George Bemelberg Christopher Veninger and James Sturmey who being admitted to Audience on the Second of August spoke much to the same Purpose as we told you before they had done to King Ferdinand The Effect of their Speech was That if they had sufficient Security given them of Peace if the Judicature of the Imperial Chamber were reformed as had been lately decreed at Ratisbone and if the Inequality of Contributions were rectified they would not be wanting to their Duty in bearing their Parts in the publick Necessities That as to the Duke of Brunswick they desired the Cause might be brought to a fair Trial and then they offered to prove that he who had first done open Injury to those of Goslar and Brunswick Two free States was justly expulsed and driven out of his Country To these things the Emperor Two Days after made Naves give his Answer in Presence of Granvell That they could require no more of him for that their Peace had been sufficiently secured by former Decrees That the Judges of the Imperial Chamber could not be removed without a Hearing That in the Month of October ensuing Enquiry would be made into their Proceedings and that they should not go unpunished if they were found Guilty of any Fault That a Moderation in the Contributions could not be made but with the common Advice and Consent of all the States That they should reflect upon the present State of the Publick and that seeing it was in great Danger without speedy Help they should follow the Example of the rest of the States and contribute their Aid against the Turk That he the Emperor was now to make all the Head he could against the French King and Duke of Cleve that he might defend his Subjects from Injury That Henry Duke of Brunswick did earnestly urge a Restitution and therefore they should declare their Mind as to that Point They desired to have that Answer given them in Writing that they might consider it more carefully to which the Emperor consented and next Day leaving Spire went to Mentz The Ambassadors who had received the Answer in Writing followed him thither and made a Reply to Naves and Granvell showing them that they had not sufficient Assurances given them of Peace and urging the Emperors Declaration at Ratisbone mentioned in the former Book they altogether persisted in demanding the same things and that since their Desire was That the Cause of Brunswick might be brought to a Hearing they had no farther Instructions they said in that Particular They on the other hand alledged that the Emperor could do no more and repeating what had been said before told them That if the Duke of Brunswick were not restored he would certainly take some Course for recovering his own And this being all that could be had the Ambassadors departed to make their Report to their Masters The Archbishop of Cologne came to the Emperor at Spire and interceded for the Duke of Cleve But it was to no purpose for that unless he first delivered up the Possession of Guelderland the Emperor would not hear of Peace And when the Ambassador of Saxony by Orders from his Prince interceded for the same Duke with Granvell at Mentz and to perswade him alledged that a private Wrong should be sacrificed to the Good of the Publick especially when now the Turk was coming upon them His Answer was That the Emperor would not desist from his Enterprise whatever the Turk might do You heard before That the People of Heildesheim having abandoned the Popish Religion entered into the Protestant League therefore Valentine the Bishop of that City grievously accused them to the Imperial Chamber and King Ferdinand before and now to the Emperor That they had changed the old Religion and Ceremonies of the Church That they had appointed new Preachers to instruct the People abolished the Mass punished the Followers of the ancient Religion not only thrown down Altars and Fonts but demolished also Churches partly carried away the Goods Furniture and Ornaments of the Clergy and partly detained them in their Custody having seized the Keys of the Places where they were kept That they had lately made publick Plays wherein they had exposed the Virgin Mary and the rest of the Saints to the Scorn and Derision of the Mobile That they purposed to withdraw themselves from under his Jurisdiction had entered into the League and put themselves under the Protection of the Protestants That they compelled by Force Monks and other Religious to conform to their Religion and not only openly reviled but also banished out of their Territories those who would not comply The Emperor hearkening to this Accusation on the Sixth of August wrote to them from Wormes and with severe Threatnings commanded them to restore Religion and all things else to their
the Emperor's Subjects in the Netherlands because of King Christiern who was kept Prisoner and he desired Assistance from the Protestants but they alledged that that Cause had no Relation to the League for it was only stipulated That if any made War against him upon account of Religion that then they should join with him and assist him The Duke of Cleve having made his Peace with the Emperor sent an Ambassador to the French King to renounce the League he had with him and to demand his Wife to be sent unto him for whose Passage he had obtained a safe Conduct from the Emperor The King made Answer to the Ambassador That it was none of his Fault but that he had had both his Wife delivered and an Army sent him but that he himself was in the blame who had sent word that there was no free Passage for them through those Places nor could they be supplied with Provisions That he himself had generously performed what-ever he had promised and more too But that the Duke had not done well who forgetting his Lineage and Quality had cast himself into such Bondage That as to his Neece he might inform himself of her Parents and her self what their Resolution was for that he was no longer obliged to him in any thing The Emperor having settled of his Affairs in Guelderland came with a vast Army before Landrecy Thither also came the French King with all his Forces and there was no other likelihood but of a Battle betwixt them But the French having put Provisions into the place drew off so silently in the Night time that the Enemy perceived it not before it was Day Then at length they pursued and came up with the Rear of them of whom they slew a great many But because Winter now approached the Emperor thought it not fit to attempt any thing else only he sent some Forces to the Siege of Luxenburg and so dismissed the rest of his Army to Winter Quarters Duke Maurice served the Emperor as a Volunteer at Landrecy whereby he procured much good Will and opened himself a Way to his Friendship In the Winter time the Duke of Lorrain and some others mediated for a Peace but to no purpose The Emperor being returned home from Landrecy sent Ferrante Gonzaga Vice-Roy of Sicily to the King of England that he might edge him on more and more against the French King. We have several times spoken of Count William of Furstemberg He being now somewhat alienated from the French King made way by the means of Granvell to be received again into the Emperor's Favour and for a Proof of his Fidelity having raised some Companies of Foot in his own Territory in the middle of Winter he marched to Luxenburg and joined the Imperialists there But the French under the Command of the Duke of Longueville having put Provisions into the Place he retreated without doing any Exploit having lost many of his Men by Hunger and Cold. It was said before that the Emperor had appointed a Diet of the Empire to meet the last Day of November Therefore the Protestants assemble before at Franckfort to consult about the Affairs they were to treat of in the Diet And seeing the Meeting of it was deferred because of the French War the Elector of Saxony and Lantgrave wrote to the Emperor in November promising to come to the Diet provided he himself came and did grant them and their Confederates a safe Conduct Hereunto the Emperor wrote an Answer from Brussels dated the Tenth of December that he would come and that in the Month of January too and at the same time sent a safe Conduct Wherein nevertheless he excluded those who were engaged to his Enemies by Faith or Compact intimating thereby the secret Agents and Spies of the French King. So in the beginning of January he left the Netherlands and came to Spire On the Twenty sixth Day of this Month there happened a great Eclipse of the Sun which was beheld by all not without Admiration There were Three total Eclipses of the Moon also this Year a very prodigious thing indeed and such as Astronomers said had not happened before since the time of Charlemagne Cardinal Alexander Farnese having made his Journey through France met the Emperor on his Way to the Diet and took his Leave of him at Wormes It was believed that he was sent to mediate a Peace This Diet of Spire was exceeding great For not only was King Ferdinand present at it but all the Electors also which is a rare thing and generally all the Princes amongst whom was the Duke of Cleve too The Elector of Saxony came on the Eighteenth of February and was met upon the Rode by the Lantgrave the Archbishop of Cologne Frederick Prince Palatine and the Vice-Roy of Sicily Two Days after the Diet commnced which was opened by the Emperor's Speech to this effect That he had acquainted them by Letters from Genoa with the Causes that made him leave Spain to make another Journey into Germany and call this Diet Nor needed he now represent to them how much he had always studied the Safety and Wellfare of the Publick that all things being setled and composed at Home he might have turned his Arms against the common Enemy of Christendom and that therefore in the former Diet at Ratisbone he had earnestly proposed the raising of Forces and Supplies but that when the Year following the War undertaken against the Turk had proved unsuccessful their last Deliberations concluded in this That for the present the frontier Places should only be well fortified and garrisoned That now though it had been his earnest Desire then to have been personally present in the War according to the Duty of his Charge yet it was publickly known by whom and upon what Occasion he was and is still hindered and retarded For that by the Perswasion and Money of the French King a Turkish Fleet came last Year upon the Coast of Italy and made a Descent in the Country of the Duke of Savoy a Prince of the Empire where having taken the Town and Harbour of Nizza with all their Force they besieged and battered the Castle and that though upon the Approach of his Forces they were forced to raise the Siege yet they carried the War into other Places both of the Empire and of Spain having now nothing less in their Thoughts than to Ruin and Destroy all So that Matters are brought into extream Danger and are in a manner at the last Cast insomuch that if the Enemy be not resisted with joint Hearts and Hands Germany might too late see and bewail its own Calamity That he had many times wished he could have remedied those Evils but that the French King having attacked him at several Places at once he could neither return into Germany nor join his Aid with theirs Now that the Turk did so confidently invade Germany and
the Demands of the Emperor and King Ferdinand After long and great Debate about the Matter on the Twentieth of June the Diet was dissolved But though it seemed to lie heavy upon the States of the Empire to be charged with double Aid yet because they thought that the Turkish War might be more successfully carried on if the domestick Enemy were first reduced to Duty they granted the Emperor a Six Months Subsidy for entertaining Four thousand Horse and Twenty four thousand Foot against the French King of which Money the Emperor allotted a part to his Brother King Ferdinand for fortifying the Places upon the Frontiers against the Turks And for the future Turkish War they imposed a Tax and Poll all over Germany that all without Exception should pay according to their Lands and Estates and for their Heads They enacted under severe Penalties that no Man should serve Foreigners especially the French King in their Wars and Power was granted to Punish such as should be found Transgressors herein Because the Difference about Religion could not be treated of during these warlike Occupations it was referred to the next Diet to be held in the Month of December The Emperor in the mean time promised to employ some learned and pious Men to draw up a Form of Reformation He entreated the Princes to do the like also that having compared all together in future Diets something might be agreed upon by common Consent to be observed till the meeting of a General Council to be held in Germany or until a National Synod of Germany That in the mean time all should live in Peace without making any Bustle or Stir for Difference in Religion and that the Churches every where of what Religion soever should enjoy their Rents and Revenues which should be applied to the Maintenance of the Ministers of publick Schools and the Poor That the Judges of the Imperial Chamber should retain their Places during the time that was prefix'd to them After the Expiration thereof that all should be indifferently admitted to that Bench without any respect to their Religion That the Edict of Ausburg and all Suits commenced against the Protestants upon account of their Religion and Profession as also the Proscription of the Cities of Goslar and Minden should be suspended till the next Treaty That the Anabapists should suffer the Punishments long since decreed against them That nevertheless the Magistrates should employ learned and pious Men to convince them of their Error and reclaim them This Decree was much disliked by the Catholicks who with all their Force opposed it But seeing the Bishops of Cologne and Munster sided with the Protestants and Cleve and Baden submitted all to the Emperor's Pleasure who after much debate made it appear That this was a middle and tolerable way for both they being much weakened in number condescended at last not indeed to assent to it but yet that they might not seem to prescribe Rules to the Emperor nor to derogate from his Power to tolerate the same and the Electors Palatine and Brandenburg had interceded to have the Decree pass in this manner The Protestants also desired that the Cause of the Duke of Brunswick might be comprehended in that Decree but that could not be obtained And the Emperor urged That either they would restore him or else put the Province into his Hands by Sequestration until the matter should be Tried He had treated about this with the Duke of Saxony and Lantgrave whilst they were present and much more with their Deputies after their Departure The Cities at first refused to contribute to the Subsidy against the French because of Intercourse and Trade But when the Princes assented to it and the French King's Cause seemed Odious to all they also subscribed though much against their Wills especially they who bordered upon France The Deputies of Lunenburg and Wirtemberg refused also but they were privately admonished and with harsh words too that they alone should not put a stop to the Resolutions of the rest When the Lantgrave upon his Return Home went to take leave of the Emperor he was most graciously received his Imperial Majesty telling him That he would not now make use of him against the French King on purpose not to expose him to hatred but that so soon as that War was over he designed to march against the Turk and that then he would make him his Lieutenant General and commit the whole management of the War to his Care And when he modestly and humbly excused himself as unfit for such a Charge You have done good Service ere now saith the Emperor both for your self and others and I make no doubt but you can render me good Services too and with these words most courteously dismissed him so that he having acquainted some of his familiar Friends with what had pass'd betwixt them returned Home full of Hopes and Joy that the Emperor was so Favourable unto him As to the Business of the Sequestration after the matter had been long canvassed and disputed it was agreed upon at length That all the Country of Brunswick should be put into the Emperor's Hands as chief Magistrate until the Controversie were either friendly taken up or fairly tried and determined by Law And that the Emperor should commit the Government of the Country either to the Prince Palatine or the Elector of Brandenburg or else to Duke Maurice or the Duke of Cleve that they that did not obey should incurr the penalty of the breach of the publick Peace That the Emperor should command Henry Duke of Brunswick to obey or else to punish him according to Law. The Emperor at length proposed these Conditions and persisted in that and the Protestants ratified them afterwards as you shall hear in the proper place After the Conclusion of the Diet the Emperor went from Spire to Metz. Now all his Army had Mustered in Lorrain upon the Borders of France and about the latter end of May had taken Luxenburg upon Surrender In this War Duke Maurice of Saxony and Marquess Albert of Brandenburg served the Emperor with a Thousand Horse a piece also Count William of Furstemburg an Officer of Foot and Sebastian Scherteline all Protestants Whilst the Emperor was at Metz Hubert Count Bichling a German that served the French was taken in Lorrain and brought to Metz. He was there condemned to lose his Head and his Wife who came thither and fell at the Emperor's Feet could not prevail for his Pardon so that all things were prepared for his Execution But at length Maximilian King Ferdinand's Son whom the Emperor had lately received into his Court being sollicited used his Interest with the Emperor and at last saved his Life In the mean time Babarossa either because his Affairs so required or that he was perswaded by the French King or else that he feared the King might make Peace with the Emperor returned Home and Landing made
sad Havock in all maritime Places which belonged either to the Emperor or Empire that he pass'd by in his Voyage but he spared the Popes Territories at the French Kings desire as it is credible The Imperial Army advancing took the Town and Castle of Liney three Miles from Bar from thence they marched to Sandizier a Town under the Dominion of France upon the River Marne It was kept out by a strong Garrison commanded by Landrey he who the Year before valiantly defended Landrecy against the Emperor and the English Whilst these things were acting Anthony Duke of Lorrain died not so much for Age as of Grief and Trouble that he conceived at the neighbouring and almost domestick War. To him succeeded his Son Francis who as we said before had married the Emperor's Sister's Daughter At this time the King of England crossed the Sea with a great Army and came to Calais Afterwards he besieged Montrevil having in his Army Maximilian Count to Buren who served him by the Emperor's Order From thence he marched to Boloigne a Sea Port Town and besieged it The Emperor laid Siege to Sandizier and after he had battered the Place gave the Assault on the Thirteeth of July but having lost about Five hundred Men and the Towns-people making a brave Resistance he was obliged to desist and had not the Town till Two Months after that Landrey being killed by the fall of a House and they wanted Powder within it was surrendered to him During that Siege Renate Prince of Orange received a Shot whereof next day after he died to the Emperor 's great grief having made his Cousin William the Count of Nassaw's Son his Heir The Protestant Ambassadors were then in Lorrain for confirming the Articles of Sequestration lately proposed by the Emperor They stopp'd first at Metz and then at Toul from whence by frequent Letters they gave the Emperor and Granvell an Account of the Businesses they were come about But at length the Emperor excusing himself as being hurried with the Affairs of War ordered them to return home putting off the whole Matter to the next Diet of the Empire or to a more convenient time Sandizier being taken the Emperor August the Twenty fifth advanced with his Army and leaving Chalons a Town of Champaigne encamped by the River of Marne on the other side whereof lay some Troops of French Horse to defend the Passage There Count William of Furstemburg who was well acquainted with all the Ways and Passes in France went out of the Camp in the Night time with one Servant only to wait on him that he might discover where the River was fordable and the Army might pass it Having therefore taken a Peasant for his Guide who shewed him a Ford he passed over the River but falling in amongst some French Horse on the other side he was taken and carried to the French Camp with great Derision and not without Reproached for that in the French Service before he had got a great deal of Gold and carried it with him out of France From thence he was sent Prisoner to Paris This Accident happened quite contrary to the Emperor's Expectation and held him some time in Suspence The French King all this while declined a Battle because the Swisse had not as yet joined him And the Emperor removing his Camp marched forward along the Marne There was a great Magazine of Provisions and Ammunition in the Town of Espernon on his March but the French that it might not fall into the Enemy's Hands partly removed it down the River in a great Tumult and Confusion and burnt what they could not carry away they themselves setting Fire to the town wherefore the Emperor without any Opposition came to Chasteaâ—-Thiery a Town upon the same River not Two Days Journey from Paris And though the French King's Ambassadors sent to treat of Peace were in the Emperor's Camp yet he advanced forward still so that being come thus far incredible was the Consternation at Paris all fled who had any considerable Estates nor could the King's Edicts and Proclamations stay them none but the Rabble remaining in the City So that this vast and rich City was now in danger of being plundered by their own Rascality that stayed in it There was a vast number of Students there from all parts of Europe almost these also fled and the King had likewise by Proclamation commanded all Strangers to depart immediately upon pain of Death this was in the beginning of September Some Days after the King of England having much shattered and battered Boloigne had it surrendered unto him which was more then his Father and all the Kings before him could ever atchieve At length on the Twenty Fourth of September the Emperor concluded a Peace with the French King at Soissons after he was come from Chasteaâ—-Thiery The Commissioners who treated the Peace were on the Emperor's part Gonzaga Vice-Roy of Sicily and Granvell For the King were Claude d' Annebaud Admiral of France Charles de Nucil and Gilbert Bajara Now these were the Conditions That whatever had been taken on either side since the Truce of Nice or Nizza should be restored That the French King should deliver back the Town of Asâ—eney to the Duke of Lorrain because it was a Dependance on the Province of Luxemburg That they should mutually assist one another with all their Force for restoring the ancient Religion and the Unity of the Church That the French King should assist the Emperor in the Turkish War with Six hundred Horse and Ten thousand Foot That he should renounce all Claim and Title to Arragon Naples Flanders Artois and Guelderland That the Emperor on the other Hand should renounce all Pretensions to the Bolonese Peron and other Towns situated upon the River of Soame as also to low Burgundy and the Country of Mascon Again That he should give in Marriage to Charles Duke of Orleans the King's Son his own eldest Daughter the Lady Mary or the Daughter of King Ferdinand his Brother and that he should have Four Months time to declare which of the Two he would give If he gave his Daughter that she should have in Dowry Brabant Guelderland Luxemburg Limburg Flanders Holland Hainault Artois Namure Freiseland Vtrecht and all his Provinces in the Netherlands with the Dutchy of Burgundy to be possessed and enjoyed by them after his Death The French King in that case for him and his Heirs renouncing all Right and Title to Milan but that if the Emperor's Daughter should die without Issue then the Duke of Orleans should leave the aforementioned Possession and the King retain his Right to Milan as the Emperor to the Inheritance of the House of Burgundy If he gave King Ferdinand's Daughter that the Dutchy of Milan should be her Dowry That with which of the Two the Marriage were it should be accomplished within a Year and the French King should restore the Duke of
Savoy to all that he had taken from him That the French King should also keep Hesdin And that the Emperor should use all his Endeavours to procure a Peace betwixt England and France That as to the Duke of Cleve since the King and Queen of Navarre did affirm that their Daughter never consented to that Marriage but on the contrary had protested against it in the solemn and usual manner the French King should within Six Weeks send that Protestation to the Emperor that he might consider what was to be done In this Peace were comprehended the Pope King Ferdinand the Kings of Portugal Poland and Denmark the Venetians and Switzers the Dukes of Savoy Lorrain Florence Ferrara Mantua and Vrbin the States of Genoa Luca and Siena the Princes Electors and States of the Empire that were obedient to the Emperor The Peace being concluded the Emperor dismissed his Forces and returned home from Soissons All Men wondered at this Pacification for the Emperors familiar Friends promised themselves certain Victory before the Emperor took the Field and bragg'd that within a few Months France should be their own or at least the King become Tributary having Three such powerful Enemies against him the Emperor the Empire and the King of England The End of the Fifteenth Book THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XVI The CONTENTS The Pope writes to the Emperour admonishing and expostulating with him sharply threatens his first-begotten Son and the same year promotes a great many new Cardinals A Council is again called The Clergy and Colledge of Cologne once more vigorously withstand their Archbishop Peter Bruly having preached the Reformed Religion at Tournay is therefore burnt alive The Divines of Paris assemble at Melun During the Diet at Wormes wherein many things are handled they of Merindolle and Cabrieres commonly called the Waldeneses are miserably harassed and at length turn'd out of all Though the Pope had called a Council yet he is wholly bent upon a War against the Protestants Luther publishes a little Book wherein he sets him off in his colours Grignian is sent Embassadour to the Protestants that he may perswade them to approve the Council The Emperour cites the Archbishop of Cologne to appear before him A hot War between the Kings of England and France The Duke of Orleans dies A War breaks out betwixt Henry Duke of Brunswick and the Landgrave wherein the latter prevails The Elector Palatine embraces the Reformed Religion Rumour of War against the Protestants is spread abroad A Conference appointed at Ratisbonne about matters of Religion This being broken up a Council is called at Trent and the Sessions begin Luther in the mean time dies IN the heat of War the Pope sends Letters to the Emperour bearing date August 23. acquainting him that he had an account of what nature the Decrees were which he had lately made at Spire but that in discharge of his own Duty and for the love he bore to him he could not dissemble his thoughts concerning them and that the Example of Eli the High-Priest was a warning to him to do so whom God severely punished for his too great indulgence to his Sons That in the same manner since these Decrees tended to the danger of his own Soul and great disturbance of the Church he could not but give him this Admonition First then that he should not leave the uniform practice of the Church nor customs of his Forefathers but carefully observe the same Discipline Method and Rule which Method is that when any Debate happens about Religion the whole Decision ought to be referred to the Church of Rome Whereas he lately in appointing a General and National Council and a Diet of the Empire had had no regard to him who by Divine and Humane Right hath alone power of calling Councils and determining matters of Religion Nor was that all he was to be blamed for but also that he allowed not only private men but even the Asserters of damned Heresies to judge of Religion that he gave judgment concerning Ecclesiastical Possessions and the Controversies that arose about them that he restored to Honours and Dignity such as were out of the Communion of the Church and long ago condemned by his own Edicts without the consent of those who persevered in their ancient Allegiance and Religion Did these things agree with the sacred Laws and Ordinances Nay rather did they not overturn all Discipline and Order That it was his opinion however that these things proceeded not from himself but that ill affected persons out of the hatred they bore to the Church of Rome had counselled and sollicited him to give some signe of his aversion to the same but that it grieved him the more to see that he should be drawn in and perswaded by them in that he clearly perceived the prejudice it carried along with it would be greater both to himself and the Church unless he repented That this his fear also grew greater and greater when he considered who the persons were with whom he had contracted friendship for that as ill company corrupts good manners so also it was very dangerous to make Alliances with wicked and vicious men That he made no doubt but they had used specious pretext to him since there is no counsel so bad but may be varnished over with some plausible colour but that in truth he who searches the Scriptures will meet with many and famous instances of the wrath and vengeance of God against those who had usurped to themselves the Offices of the High-Priest That Adversaries object Negligence to Priests as an odious crime and make use of that as a Spur to incite Princes whilst they exhort them to undertake the care and conduct of Religion a thing indeed that seems fair and laudable but which has no foundation in reason to support it That as in private houses the Master of the Family allotted to every one their several businesses and would not suffer any to set about the work of another lest Order might thereby be disturbed so also in the Church which is the house of God every one had his duty assigned to him which he was to discharge so that it was undecent that Inferiours should take upon them the Offices of Superiours and that that was so much the more to be observed by how much the Church surpasses any other house in greatness and glory That seeing then the chief Office of the Church is by God recommended to Priests it was a great injury in him to act their parts and take upon him their honour That it was known what happened to Uza who put his hand to hold up the Cart wherein the Ark of God was which was tottering and ready to fall That no man but would think he had done right when in the absence of the Levites he lent a hand to support the Cart which was in danger of falling Nevertheless that God's striking of him with a sudden death was
that cannot be performed by man. That every one ought to confess his sins daily to God and beg his mercy and forgiveness that if the Conscience be disquieted by any scruple counsel is to be had of a Minister of the Church for comforts sake but that that Auricular Confession and Enumeration of ones Sins had neither any warrant in Scripture nor was it possible to be done but was a very dangerous racking of the Mind That he never doubted of the Perpetual Virginity of the Virgin-Mother Some days before he was brought to tryal he wrote of all these things to his Wife and the rest of his Friends who earnestly had begg'd that of him making use of the assistance of his Sister And being condemned in another Letter he acquainted his Wife with the kind of Death he was to suffer the day following telling her for her comfort That the Servants condition ought not to be better than that of his Master and prescribing her also some Rules of good Life The Divines of Paris two years before had made some Decrees of Religion as hath been already mentioned Now again by the Kings command they assemble at Melun a Town standing upon the Seine about ten miles above Paris The King was in the neighbouring Palace of Fontainbleau and had summoned them to meet that since the Peace being concluded there was now a Council to be they might consult about and resolve upon such necessary Points and Articles for the Church as they thought might be defended in the Council that publick Theatre of all the Christian World. The issue of this Convocation was that though there had been a great deal of Jangling amonst them yet they altered nothing in those Articles which they had already published at Paris as hath been already said In imitation of the Parisians the Divines of Louvaine draw up Articles also and afterwards by the Emperour's License publish them They were in number thirty two and exactly of the same kind as those of Paris we mentioned before which the Emperour confirmed and established by an Edict March the 14th the Divines published their Letters signifying that they had the more willingly put themselves to that pain because they certainly knew it would be very acceptable to the Emperour who had already a good while ago earnestly craved some such thing to be done In the Pacification of Soissons it was agreed as we said before that the Emperour and French King should use the utmost of their power for resetling the ancient Religion as they called it so that what we have been now relating seems to look that way and the Cardinal of Tournon who had been in Flanders with the Duke of Orleans was thought to have contributed not a little to that design But Luther by contrary positions answers the Divines of Louvaine calling them Bloud-thristy Hereticks who teaching impious Doctrines which they could not make good neither by Reason nor Scripture betook themselves to force and disputed with Fire and Sword. For they as also the Parisians laid down only bare Rules and directed what was to be followed but alleadged no Texts of holy Scripture and withal incited the Magistrate to severity and animadversion At that time there was an Imperial Diet held at Wormes but the Emperour who resolved to be there being hindered by the Gout came not to it till it was late The Deputies he had there were the Cardinal of Ausbourg and Frederick of Furstenberg March the 24th in absence of the Emperour King Ferdinand opens the Diet telling them That it was known to themselves for what that Diet was called to wit for setling Religion Right and Peace and for considering of the Turkish War. That the Emperour indeed wished he might have been present at these Deliberations by the time appointed and as it was decreed at Spire but he could not because of his sickness and that therefore he had prorogued the Diet first to to the second day of January and then to the first of February but that seeing his Disease lasted longer than he expected he had changed his mind and that he might no longer be a hinderance to the publick Deliberations especially those concerning the Turkish Affairs he had pressed him to supply his place which for the Publick sake to his so small detriment he had undertaken That therefore they should take into deliberation the Affairs of publick and common concern that when the Emperour himself should come some things might be in a readiness to pass into Laws for that the daily Advices both by Messengers and Letters giving a good account of his health he made no doubt but he would soon be there for the publick good That for this cause also he had made Peace with the King of France his Ally and had therein preferred the publick before his own private Interest to wit that all things being quieted Religion might be setled and reformed and then an Expedition with all force and alacrity made against the Turks That the advantage of this Peace extended to all Germany and especially to the States of the Empire That the King of France had also promised assistance against the Turk and by his Plenipotentiary Embassadours in Flanders approved the Council of Trent and resolved to be present at it himself or to send thither a most ample Embassie That the Emperour had likewise prevailed with the Pope again to call the Council which he had before prorogued so that the 14th of March past was the day appointed for its meeting to which Embassadours were already sent both from the Emperour and himself That the Emperour having sollicited the Pope also that for the dignity of his place and character he would give Aid against the Turk his Answer was that in this Diet he would by his Legat signifie what he intended to do as to that That they themselves were not ignorant what trouble the Emperour had been at in procuring a Council to be called how industriously he had dealt with Clement VII at Bononia afterwards with Paul III. at Rome Genoa Nizza Lucca and lately at Busset And that though the Emperour after the last Diet at Spire was taken up about most weighty Affairs yet he had not neglected what was enacted at Spire but had employed some good and learned men to frame a Model of Reformation which he had also received from them But that this being a matter of very great moment requiring long and serious deliberation and that because of the approaching Council and the threatned irruption of the Turk to consult about that reformation was not seasonable the Emperour thought it proper that waving it now the progress of the ensuing Council was to be expected And that if it appeared that there was no Council like to be that then before the dissolution of this another Diet of the Empire should be appointed upon this very account As to what concerned the Peace and every mans Right that the Emperour
Apostles Ceeed Lastly They pray the King to give credit to their relation for that if any other report be made of their Belief and Doctrine they offer to prove it false provided they may be heard The King was then engaged in a War and therefore the Matter rested but Peace being made it broke out again and at the instigation of some flamed into this so hainous a cruelty Mention was made before of the Spaniards whom the Emperour had sent into Winter-Quarters in Lorrain These having done a great deal of mischief in those places by orders from the Emperour take the Field in the Month of April and having marched to Strasbourg and passed the Rhine there they advance through Shwabia into Austria to the number of Three thousand Foot. At this time died Louis Duke of Bavaria the Brother of William leaving no Issue behind him for it had been agreed betwixt them that he should not Marry that the Inheritance might not be dismembred Great friendship and familiarity past betwixt him and Henry Duke of Brunswick For as we said they were the chief of the League made against the Protestants and the Duke of Brunswick being driven out of his Countrey fled first to him The Emperour came now to Wormes May the sixteenth and next day Cardinal Farnese I dare not affirm what the cause of this Man's coming was but it was certainly thought that he came to stir up a War against the Lutherans He acted indeed nothing publickly nor in his way from Rome did he pass through the Duke of Wirtemberg's Countrey but resting sometime at Delinghen a Town upon the Danube belonging to the Cardinal of Ausbourg he struck off another way King Ferdinand had written to the Duke of Wirtembourg that for his sake he would give him safe conduct and be civil to him to which the Duke made answer that he had rather indeed he had taken any other way but that nevertheless if he had a mind to pass through his Countrey for his sake he should be welcome But he as we said took another way and came to Wormes the day after the Emperour arrived The Emperour having made Peace with the King of France sollicited also some other Potentates that they would assist at the ensuing Council and taking that occasion his Embassadour whom he sent to the King of Poland declared to him That for many Years now past it had been the Emperour's chief care that all Christians in the World would undertake a common War against the Turk and that now almost all were inclinable to it but that the Controversie about Religion was the only hindrance to the same now that that might be removed and that the desire of the Protestants might be satisfied who still insisted upon a Council after much pains and care the Emperour had now procured a Council to be called at Trent That therefore he besought him that he would send his Embassadours thither who by their presence might honour that solemn Assembly and confirm the Decrees that should be made therein concerning religious matters But that because the Emperour thought that the Protestants who were always obstinate would neither forsake the Confession of Ausbourg nor yet obey the publick Decrees the thing it self required that Kings and Princes should interpose and unless they did obey fall upon them as the disturbers both of Church and State Now seeing he amongst others had the reputation of a Pious and Christian King it was the Emperour's desire that he would both think of the Turkish War and subscribe to the Council of Trent and that if the Protestants returned not to their Duty he would assist him with Council and Force which other Kings had likewise promised to do The King of Poland's answer was That he longed to see that day when Christian Kings and Princes putting an end to all civil and intestine Wars would convert their united Forces against the Turk and that then he should not be the last That as to the Council and Protestants he would do any thing that might conduce to the tranquility of Church and State nor would he be wanting on occasion to assist the Emperour his Friend and Allie in his greatest dangers At that time it was written from Rome That though the Pope had called the Council and sent his Legates already to Trent yet he was so desirous of a Lutheran War that he had promised an assistance of Twelve thousand Foot and Five hundred Horse that Captains and other Officers were also secretly listed by him but when it was represented to him that the Season was too far spent for doing any important Action and that another occasion was to be expected he had presently communicated the same to his Commanders and put them in hopes against the next Year On Whitsun-munday an Italian Franciscan Fryer preached before the Emperour King Ferdinand Cardinal Farnese the Bishop of Ausbourg Granvell c. and in his Sermon digressing to the Lutherans after he had bitterly inveighed against them It is time said he most powerful Emperour that at length you do your Duty too long indeed have you delayed the business ought to have been done long since God has honoured you with great Blessings and made you the Defender of his Church wherefore exert your strength and utterly destroy that pestilent sort of Men. For it is not fit they should longer see the Sun who so defile and confound all things nor must you say it shall be done for now even now I say it ought to be done and no delay interposed How many thousand Souls do you think are in daily danger of eternal damnation through their madness all which unless you apply a Remedy God will require at your hands It is said that Granvell was offended at that alarm either that he counterfeited displeasure or that he perceived it gave the Protestants a warning to be upon their guard Not many days after that Sermon Cardinal Farnese departed secretly in the night-time and made all hast back to Rome Much about the same time was published Luther's Book written in the Vulgar Language with this Title Against the Papacy of Rome constituted by Satan in which Book he first answers the Pope's Brief wherein in a high strain he dehorted the Emperour from medling with the Administration of Religion as we mentioned before then he most amply refutes those places of Scripture which the Pope makes use of for the confirmation of his Supremacy and retorts them upon him He put a Picture before his Book which plainly represented the Subject thereof The Pope sitting in a lofty Chear stretching forth his joyned Hands in solemn pomp but with the Ears of an Ass a great many Devils of various shapes surround him of which some set a triple Crown upon his Head with a Sir-reverence on the top of it others with Ropes let him down into the middle of Hell looking dreadfully underneath others bring Wood and
Coal and others again in an officious manner lift up his Feet that he may go streight and easily down Not long after came forth some of his Theses that he had sometime defended of the three Hierarchies the Ecclesiastick Politick and Economick which he saith God hath instituted against the rage of the Devil But from all the three he excludes the Pope because he condemns and stifles the Gospel raises himself above all Laws and Ordinances forbids Marriage to whom he pleases and therefore says he is the Beast which over Germany has its name from a Woolf and Bear. Nothing is fiercer saith he nothing more cruel than it wherefore when the sign is given or a rumor started all presently run to their Arms that they may kill it now if perchance it were kept up in a Cage or within a Fence and the Governor or Judge of the place should take it out or defend it nevertheless it were to be pursued and they that should stop or hinder the pursuers might be safely assaulted In the very same manner if the Pope prepare Men and Arms and make War he is to be resisted as a cruel and raging wild Beast whatsoever aids helps and assistances he may have For those who fight for or assist a Robber ought to expect the Reward they deserve He published also another Picture ridiculous enough indeed but a prognostick of what afterwards happened The Pope in his Pontificals is riding on and spurring a great Sow with large Duggs with the two first fingers of the right hand stretched forth in the usual manner he blesses those that chance to be in his way in his left hand he holds a new reeking Sir-reverence the smell whereof makes the Sow turn up her Snout and gaping snatch at the Prey but he scornfully and bitterly chiding the Beast I must ride thee and spur thee too said he whether thou wilt or not thou hast troubled me long enough about a Council that thou mayest traduce and freely accuse me take here then that Council thou keepest such a clutter about By the Sow he meant Germany Most Men censured those ludicrous trifles of his as immodest and unworthy of him but he had his own reasons why he did do so and it was thought his prospect reached farther than other mens for there are many Prophesies to be found here and there in his Books concerning most weighty Matters some of which the effect hath verified already and the rest are still in the hand of God. The Emperour in the mean time employs Granvel and Navis to treat with the Protestants about the Council and the Turkish War. For that end they chuse Francis Burcart Gunter Chancelour of Hess Christopher Veninger and James Sturmey who in few words repeal all their former Plea and so desire to have security for the Peace that it may not be frustrated by a Decree of the Council moreover that the Imperial Chamber may be constituted according to the Decree of Spire And if these things be done that they would be ready to consult with the rest about Publick Affairs To this the others replied That it was not in the Emperour's power to grant their Demands to wit that he should exempt them from the Decrees of the Council and grant them such a Peace as might excuse them from obeying the same to whose Authority all are subject for what excuse could the Emperour make for that to other Kings and Princes or to what end should there be a Council if Germany alone for whose sake it is chiefly called should have the liberty to submit to it or not On the other hand the Deputies give their Reasons why they did not own it for a lawful Council that their publick Declarations concerning that matter were extant also that if Assistances were to be given against the Turk they had need that security should be given them that whatever the Decrees of the Council proved to be they should not suffer violence To this again it was returned That they might appear in Council and there declare the Reasons why they suspected it of partiality they should there be heard for it was not the Pope that had all the power that if then the Proceedings seemed unjust it might be refused but that now they spake of things future and pass'd a judgment upon matters that were not yet in being which was a little too great precipitancy in them To this the Deputies say That the Pope and all his Faction had already long ago condemned their Religion and severely punished the Professors of it that therefore there was no necessity that they should come and there make their declinatories But that the only way to pacifie Germany would be in a mild and friendly way to examine and inquire after the truth since nothing but mischief was to be expected from a Council over-ruled by the Pope Grignian Embassadour from the King of France because he could not speak Latine drew up what he had to say in Writing and had it delivered by an Interpreter June the 20th The sum of which was That by God's blessing the King his Master was reconciled to the Emperour and that a Peace was made which would be profitable to all Christendom That the King his Master for the love he bore to Germany and because of his ancient League would be extreamly pleased if they also could agree among themselves about Matters of Religion for because of that difference much calamity had befallen Christendom which daily grew greater and greater that since then there was no better way of curing all those Evils than a Council and that the same was already called and almost began at Trent the Emperour and the King his Master had resolved that all things should be done legally and in order and that Offences being removed Concord might be re-established and the wished for Peace restored to Germany that therefore the King besought them that after the example of other Kings and Princes they also would approve the Council as being the way to procure their own safety Grignian was an intimate friend of the Cardinal of Tournon who is thought to have been the Author of this Embassie For as we said before he had been in Flanders and treated there of Matters relating to the Council and then it was so concerted that the King of France by an Embassadour should also exhort them to the Council which the Emperour and he had already approved for it was thought that this would strike a terror into the Protestants At this time Francis Duke of Lorrain died leaving behind him a young Son two Years old He had a Brother named Nicholas Bishop of Metz who contended with the Mother of the Child Christina the Emperour's Niece about the Guardianship of the Heir The Nobility inclined more towards him disdaining the government of a Woman but by the intercession of the Emperour both were admitted to the Administration yet so that the Mother had
what I have now declared to you And therefore I trust you will not be wanting to me on your parts that both their sauciness may be curbed and that you may recover your ancient Dignity If you do so you may expect from me all good will and kindness and of this I shall make a more ample Declaration if you send me any Embassadour to that purpose The Emperour wrote also to the Duke of Wirtemberg to the same effect and the very same day the Letters were written Granvell and Naves sent for the Deputies of the Cities I mentioned and having discoursed them severally much to the same purpose told them that this War was not designed against the free Cities but against some Rebels who were guilty of High Treason had contemned the Emperour's Authority invaded the Estates and Possessions of some Princes and Bishops and who if occasion did offer would not spare the free Cities neither That therefore they advised them to be true and faithful to the Emperour and not assist his Enemies that the Emperour might have no cause to be offended with them to whom he wished well that they should with all expedition acquaint their Principals with these things and exhort them to continue in their duty and that the Emperour would himself write and send Embassadours unto them The same day a Decree pass'd at Trent that a Divinity Lecturer should be established in the Abbeyes and Monasteries of Canons Regular and Monks and that some Benefice should be annexed as a Stipend to the Office but that no man be admitted to that place but he whose learning good life and conversation the Bishop or Abbot is assured of and because the preaching of the Gospel is no less necessary than the reading of Divinity the Bishops and all other Guides of the Church are enjoyned to teach the People or if any lawful impediment hinder them that they substitute another in their place Pastors and Curates are likewise commanded that every Lord's-day at least they instruct the People in those things that are necessary to Salvation exhort them to Vertue and deter them from Vice A Penalty is appointed for those that neglect their duty and the Bishops are admonished to be diligent in examining what Doctrines are taught and that if perhaps Heresies or erroneous Opinions be broached they take a course according to Law to prevent the danger of them Then a Decree is made touching Original Sin all the guilt whereof they say is washed away by Baptism That in those who are baptised there remains indeed a disposition to sin or concupiscence and that though St. Paul call that sometimes sin yet he does it not as if it were really and properly sin but because it inclines men to sinning But that the Virgin Mary is not to be comprehended in the Decree and that as to that particular what Sixtus IV. heretofore defined is to be observed And to conclude the nine and twentieth of July is appointed to be the day for the next Session Now Sixtus IV. in the thirteenth Year of his Pontificate made a Decree whereby he excommunicates as Hereticks those who teach that the Virgin Mary was conceived in Original Sin and that the Festival of her Conception appointed by the Church of Rome was not to be observed which Decree is extant in the Extravagants of the Canon Law. In this Session of the Council the French Embassadour Peter Danes made a Speech wherein having extolled the Merits and Zeal of the Kings of France towards the Church of Rome from Clouis the first Christians King and downwards he enlarged in the Praises of King Francis who being descended of such Ancestors was inferiour to none of them in dutifulness to that See having entertained a constant friendship with Leo Adrian Clement and now with Paul III. And in all this tempest and agitation of Religion suffered no alterations within his Dominions because he would have the decision of the whole matter referred to the Church for though he was naturally a most gracious and merciful Prince yet had he inflicted most severe Punishments upon those who through private rashness had presumed to disturb the state of the Church by which strict care and animadversion he had gained this point that now he could put all France into their hands in a peaceful and quiet state For in it there was no strange nor new Doctrines nor any thing but what had been introduced and setled by ancient custom and discipline and since it had been always his opinion that there was nothing more beneficial to the Publick than that the Pope of Rome as Successour of St. Peter should be Head of the Church to whom all others should submit and refer themselves he had always been careful that none should impeach his Supremacy And that though he had been many times sollicited by large offers to do other ways and follow the example of another who had done so yet nothing could ever shake him in his resolutions but that so soon as he had heard that some Fathers were met to celebrate the Council which was lately called he had presently ordered some of his select Bishops to repair hither and that when the Decrees made in some Sessions were brought into France he had dispatched hither him and his Colleagues to declare his will and pleasure unto them First then That it was his desire that once for all they would establish what ought to be followed and believed by all men in general in matters of Religion In the next place That they would prescribe to all Church-men a most strict and austere Rule of Life and Manners assuring them that whatever they decreed in those matters should by the King's command be punctually observed all over France That moreover because the Kings of France had merited very much of the Church of Rome they would not suffer any alteration or diminution to be made in those Rights and Priviledges which the Kings of France had constantly enjoyed from the time of Louis the Debonnair the Son of Charlemaigne Lastly That they would confirm all the Rights Priviledges and Immunities of the Gallican Church the protection whereof was transmitted to him from his Predecessors June the twenty-fourth Lazarus Schuendi came from the Emperour to Strasbourg with the Letters we mentioned a little before and other more ample Instructions having met the rest we named on his way But the Senate having dismissed him not long after writ back to the Emperour acquainting his Majesty that the reason why they did not presently give their answer to Lazarus was because of the difficulty of the Matters proposed which concerned not them alone but others also that what his Majesty was pleased to say of his good Intentions towards Germany they gave him their most humble thanks praying him to continue in the same mind and not to listen to those who would incite him to a Civil War that it was a
it was a great argument of God's goodness towards them that in this dissension about Religion they lived in peace together whereas upon that occasion grievous commotions were raised in other places for the quieting whereof he had from the very beginning of his Pontificate applied all Remedies and made use of greatest lenity that he had lately betaken himself to the last refuge by calling a General Council and appointing it to be held at Trent a Town of Germany where that vicious Seed of Hereticks most encreased to which Town they might safely come and there if they pleased maintain their own interests That he had hoped that that being so august an Assembly to which Christian Kings and People had always payed a great deference and the Congregation of so many Bishops who under the conduct of the Holy Ghost treated of Matters of Religion no man would be so wicked as not to submit to so great an Authority and presently forsaking all erroneous Doctrines yield to the judgment and decision of the Catholick Church That he entertained still the same opinion of them and hoped that by reason of their domestick peace those of them who had continued faithful and constant would obey the Council and that the rest who not deliberately but by too much credulity had been led away into errour would not slight the Authority of the Assembly which that they would do and repair to the Council as unto a Celestial Congregation wherein God himself presided he now again earnestly exhorted them as he had done before But that it was a great grief unto him that there were not a few in Germany and of the number of those also who were reckoned Princes that not only with pride and insolence despised the Council but reproached and reviled it also declaring that they would not submit to its Decrees that it chiefly therefore grieved him to see himself necessitated by the stubbornness and obstinacy of those desperate men to seek a remedy by Arms. For that he could no longer suffer neither the loss of so many Souls which perished daily through Heresies nor this oppression of the Christian Religion the one whereof belonged to his Pastoral Office and the other concerned the Dignity of his Place and Character And that whil'st he was often casting about in his thoughts for a remedy and making his Prayers to God that he would discover to him a way it happened most opportunely that the Emperour a most religious Prince being provoked by the same Crimes in a manner of wicked men as he himself was had resolved to revenge the cause of Religion by Arms for when by his means and at his intercession a Council was granted to Germany it seemed to him that they who refused and slighted it despised also what he had done and set light by his authority that therefore he had willingly embraced this occasion as offered by Heaven and was resolved with all his own and the Revenues of the Roman Church to further and assist the Emperour 's laudable inclinations for that should he do otherwise should he act negligently and remissly there was no doubt to be made but that God would require at his hands as at the hands of a Father the Souls of so many Children corrupted and undone by the treachery of Hereticks that therefore he made known to them this his purpose and resolution that they might both see the anxiety that overburdened him and joyn their Wishes and Prayers with him that is with God and Religion That they were famous for many noble Exploits but that a more honourable Name they could not procure to themselves than by entertaining their ancient Amity with God according to the example of their Forefathers by paying their wonted Love and Obedience to the Church of Rome which had always gratified and obliged them and lastly by contributing their Aid and Assistance which he earnestly begg'd of them in this so just and religious a Cause The Embassadours of the Protestants of Upper Germany on the fifth of July came to Baden from Ulme to a Convention of the Suizers and having delivered their Message were put off to the Month of August Their Demands were That they would not grant a Passage to foreign Soldiers through their Countrey And that if there was occasion they would permit their Subjects to serve them in the War. The Men of Brunswick Goslar Hildesseim and Hannover by orders from the Duke of Saxony and Landgrave demolished Wolffembottle the chief Fort of Henry Duke of Brunswick which to this time he had kept by a good Garrison In these stirs and commotions the Elector Palatine by his Embassadour Sir Wolff Affensteyn made application to the Emperour at Ratisbonne and desired to be informed what the Cause of the War was and against whom these Preparations were making he disswaded him also from hostility and begg'd that he might have leave to mediate Some days after the Emperour sent him this Answer by Granvell and Naves That it was no difficult thing for him to know both what the cause of the War was and against whom it was designed Afterwards he objected the same things almost that he had before alledged in his Letters to the Free Towns That they would not obey him that not only in Germany but in foreign Parts also some had contrived and plotted many things against him under a colour of Religion that they would be bound by no Laws that they had invaded other mens Possessions and especially Church-Lands disposing of them in a tyrannical manner with no other intent certainly than that by a kind of hereditary right they might transmit Bishopricks and other Ecclesiastical Dignities and Possessions to their Children and Off-spring was it credible that they who committed such things would abide by any fair and lawful tryal and was it not rather their intention by raising Broils and Troubles to baffle all Justice and Censure that there was not the least hopes of amendment and that he himself knew what lenity he had used and how many faults he had pardoned them that nevertheless all he had got thereby was that growing more insolent they tampered with the rest of the States and stirred them up to Rebellion That he knew not by what Arts they did do so but that it might be easily perceived by any how unworthy a thing it was and how justly to be lamented by him That since they without any regard to Law or Justice acted arbitarily and by violence trampling upon the Decrees of the Empire there was no other way now to be essayed but that which was familiar and common to themselves that 's to say Force and Arms that therefore it was his purpose by this War not only to settle Religion but also to compose all other differences restore the Peace and Liberty of Germany and to secure those under his protection who did their duty but severely punish all disturbers of the publick peace and oppressours of liberty according
Protestants send Ambassadors to the Kings of England and France who as has been said had lately made Peace to sollicite them for Succours In the mean time after that the Duke of Saxony and Landgrave had written privately to the Emperour as we said before they publish a Declaration July the thirteenth wherein they alledge That this War was a War of Religion and that it was the Emperour's Design under a certain colour and pretext of Rebellion and as if he intended but to punish a few to divide and break the Confederates that so he might afterwards more easily destroy them one after another For confirmation of this they bring several Proofs and give a Relation of what King Ferdinand Granvell Naves and others had privately said at Ratisbonne to wit That the Contempt of the Council was the cause of this War. They affirm also That the Emperour had sent Letters to the Magistrates of Ravensberg who had lately received the Reformed Religion That they should within a few days desist from their Enterprise else he threatned to give their Town and Lands to be plundred by his Soldiers but that the Messenger was recalled with his Letters when he was upon the Rode leâ—t it might become publick that Religion was the Ground of the War. That the Archbishop of Cologne also was for attempting a Reformation excommunicated by the Pope and deprived of all his Ecclesiastical Possessions and Dignities and is threatned almost with the very same by the Emperour What was that if not a plain Declaration of the Cause of the War For it was no light Report that went about That the Cardinal of Ausbourg a great Incendiary in these Troubles was by force to be put into his place That it was also given out by some That when they were once vanquished and subdued Forces should be dispersed all over Germany to see that the Decrees made in the Council concerning Religion should in the Emperour's Name be obeyed and put into execution Moreover that many Letters gave an account That the Archbishop of Toledo chiefly and many other Prelates of Spain did contribute vast Treasures for the carrying on of this War which they would not certainly do if any Secular Interest were the cause of it That it was known besides what sort of a Decree it was that past at Ausbourg sixteen years since when the Emperour declared That he could not endure that Sect and Doctrine of Luther but that he and his Friends would hazard all they had Life Strength Blood and all that he might destroy it Root and Branch For should they indeed be subdued which God forbid then would it soon appear that no favour was to be shewn to this Religion but that rather having killed their Ministers ravished their Wives and Children they would again restore Monks and Friars and the rest of that filthy Rout That it was not lawful for the Emperour to use violence against any State nor to proscribe any Man without a Trial nor yet to call into Germany Strangers or Forreign Forces nor indeed to aspire to any Hereditary Right or Succession to the Empire because to these Conditions he was bound by a sacred and solemn Oath For could he in right do otherwise there would be no lasting Form of Government in the Common-wealth That they could not imagine what the Cause of his Quarrel was For as for my part saith the Duke of Saxony all the Difference that he and his Brother King Ferdinand had with me was two years ago wholly ended at Spire and to cement our Friendship Eleanor the Daughter of Ferdinand was freely promised to my eldest Son provided we could agree about Religion The Emperour approved of that then and when I was returning home from the Diet he sent Granvell and Naves to my Lodgings to complement me in his Name and to assure me of his Kindness and of his Good-will towards my Person Children and whole Country What Crime can I have been guilty of since that time that he should from such cruel Resolutions against me But the truth is this is our Case as we said before we refuse the Pope's Counsel and therefore incur his Hatred However he had no reason to act so nor to design such things against the House of Saxony for he knows that after the Death of Maximilian this Imperial Dignity being offered to my Uncle Frederick he by his Vote and Interest secured it to him not to mention many other good Offices which at several times the Family of Saxony have done to the House of Austria But if perhaps he be offended that I turned Julius Pflugg out of the Bishoprick of Numburg as to that I both asserted my Right in a Publick Manifesto and referred my self to any unsuspected Judges and Arbitrators that the Emperour might appoint Now as for my part saith the Landgrave I was fully reconciled unto him five years ago at Ratisbonne and if that some years past I intended to make War against the Bishops and did after assist my Cousin the Duke of Wirtemberg in the recovering of his own for all that and whatever also I might have publickly or privately acted against the Statutes and Written Laws of the Empire I had a Pardon in due form What then should be the Cause of Prejudice or Animosity I cannot at all imagine Besides when I was to wait upon him lately at Spire he was so gracious and obliging to me both in Countenance and Speech that I could not perceive the least sign of Displeasure in him It was stipulated betwixt us five years since at Ratisbonne That if at any time he should attempt any thing against the Duke of Cleve I should not at all meddle in the matter He made War afterwards against him and I performed what I promised and when afterwards he received the Duke of Cleve into favour again which was before Venlo he pardoned all that had served under him or assisted him in his Wars But if he be offended at our Absence and that we did not come to Ratisbonne both of us made our Excuses the Duke of Saxony by Ambassadors and I personally in a Conference at Spire But what Liberty or Form of Government is there then in Germany if that should give a good Cause for War when not only in former Diets but in the very same Diet also of Ratisbonne several Princes were absent And as for the War of Brunswick we cannot be blamed for it is lawful for all Men to withstand Force by Force We frequently moved and earnestly desired in several Diets That a Restraint might be put upon his Boldness but unless it were fair Words and Letters we could obtain nothing And nevertheless the Publick Letters which at our desire King Ferdinand wrote to Duke Henry were accompanied with other Private ones whereby Duke Henry was given to understand that he was not to obey them These Letters under the King 's own Hand were found in Wolffembottel and if need were could be
used against any man for any cause whatsoever but that all things should be done according to the standing Laws and ancient Customs and then he sheweth how the States of the Empire are bound in Duty and Allegiance to him But without any regard had to any of these things says he John Frederick Elector of Saxony and Philip Landgrave of Hesse have with insolent boldness at all times as much as in them lay frustrated all the pains and labour we have been at for the publick good and have continued disobedient nor did they themselves only resist our Authority but inticed likewise the other States to enter into unlawful Combinations with them Besides the Landgrave some Years since under I know not what pretext made War against some of the chief States of the Empire and marching into their Countries raised great vast Sums of Money there then afterward both in conjunction together without any cause given invaded a certain Prince of the Empire drove him out of his Country and seized his Territories Nay they have also appropriated to themselves some Bishopricks and other both Secular and Ecclesiastical Fiefs the Owners whereof by ancient Custom are Members of the Empire and have place in the Assembly of the States and still detain them in that Bondage though they have often sued to Us and implored our Protection in several Diets They have also spoiled many of their Estates and yearly Revenues and received into their Homage the Clients and Vassals of others Lately also they were so strangely bold as to sollicite some of the States not to repair to this Diet that they might thereby hinder the dispatch of all Affairs and bring Us and Our Authority into contempt And all these things they do with the greater security and liberty that they slight Justice and neither fear nor stand in awe of any Magistrate for through their fault the Supreme Judicature of the Empire is suppressed the Laws are silent and now for a long time which is a thing not to be paralelled there has been no Administration of Justice to the great prejudice of many And what is most grievous all these things they act under the specious and sweet Name of Religion Peace and Liberty for these plausible Titles they make use to veil and cloak their Actions when in the mean time they desire nothing less than Agreement in Religion or the Peace and Liberty of Germany Surely they can prove by no Text of Scripture that it is lawful for them in any manner of way obstinately to resist the Supream Magistrate but the contrary is easily made out both from the Word of God and approved History to wit that the ancient Professours of the Christian Doctrine who not only confirmed their Faith by their words and actions but sealed it also by their death obeyed even profane and Pagan Kings How much less then ought they under a pretext of Religion to deny Us their Duty and Obedience for by denying it they make it manifest that their Design is to Usurp our Crown Scepter and Authority and having put all into confusion and disorder to oppress Religion Law Peace and Liberty that with the accession of new Titles and Possessions they may constrain all men to truckle under their Tyranny And indeed nothing less can be gathered from their haughty Words and Menaces and from those scandalous Libels and Pictures scattered abroad in all places among the People to the great dishonour and contempt of Our Person and Authority Moreover they have not only made Leagues against Us in those Conventicles of theirs but also stirred up foreign Kings against Us and under-hand assisted them both with Supplies and Councel Some may be found also that can tell Tales how far they have gone that they might invite the Turk into Germany which is indeed the more credible that such a Juncture would have proved very commodious for their designs By these Acts of their then they break their Allegiance to Us trample upon the Dignity of Our Character and evacuate the force of all Decrees which they look upon as made for no other end but that others should be barr'd from the liberty of resisting Violence and they only allowed a permission to do wrong to all men For all which Causes they have fallen into that most heinous Crime of High Treason and incurred the Penalties thereunto due by the Laws as plainly appears by their Villanies which are so notorious that it is to no purpose to spend time in proving them Now though we might have long ago used Our Authority and punished them according to their deserts nevertheless for peace-sake and for avoiding all stirs and troubles We still shewed them Our Favour and in many things condescended to them more than was becoming and in that We often offended our own Conscience lessened our Authority and neglected the Interests of others Thus We used most gentle means five years ago with the Landgrave at Ratisbonne and two years since with the Duke of Saxony at Spire and that in hopes that being gained by our extraordinary lenity and forbearance they might at length break off their ill purposes and save themselves and Us the trouble of any more violent Remedy But now that We find all our endeavours to have been in vain and that they have plainly cheated Us by their Words in regard that slighting our Decrees and the Laws of the Empire they obstinately go on even contrary to their own Covenents and Engagements and through an unbridled Desire of Rule invade other mens Rights and Possessions having no respect to Law but in all their Actions aiming at the overthrow of the Government so that unless they be restrained there will be so little possibility of composing the Differences of Religion that all the parts of the State must remain discomposed and out of order We are forced to use the power that God hath put into Our hands against them And since their Rebellion is so notorious that they themselves cannot deny it and that they carry all things on in a violent way refusing to submit to Law and Justice We therefore Proscribe and Outlaw them as false Traitors perfidious and seditious Rebels and are resolved to bring them to condign punishment that they may no longer be a hinderance unto Us in setling the State and doing those things which properly belong to Our Character and Place We therefore strictly Charge and Command all and every one of Our Subjects that they presume not in any manner to aid and assist them or otherwise take their part under the pain of forfeiture of Lives and Fortunes and that such as are now in their Service return to their Duty and Obedience to Us without pretending any League or Association to the contrary all which we hereby rescind and annul We moreover absolve all the Nobility Gentry and Commons of their Dominions from their Oath of Allegiance to them assuring them in the Word of an Emperour of all Security and
Protection if they obey and that such as refuse and are disobedient to Our Commands shall be punished in the same manner as the Principals July the two and twentieth Gerard Feldwig who lately returned from Constantinople is sent back again thither from Ratisbonne When the Emperour perceived that there was no business to be done in this Diet of the Empire he Prorogues it to the first of February the year following We spake before of the Pope's Letters sent to the Suizzers now so soon as Jerome Franco his Holiness's Nuncio had received them he sent them forward from Lucerne with Letters of his own dated July the twenty-fifth wherein he acquaints them That three days before he had received Letters from the Pope and Colledge of Cardinals and that though they were much to the same purpose with some other former Letters of theirs yet because they contained somewhat that was new he had sent them in all haste a Copy of them promising to produce the Originals in the next Assembly and that because in the League which the Pope and Emperour had concluded about the latter end of June there is place left for others who would engage in the same Confederacy and because also it was stipulated That the Emperour should first try if without a War his and the Enemies of the See of Rome could be reclaimed and brought to their Duty his Holiness did earnestly desire of them that they would in plain terms tell whether or not they would enter into that League and submit to the Decrees of the Council of Trent Wherefore since they had appointed him a Day at their next Assembly at Baden to give him an Answer to his former Demands he did now write of these things unto them that they might in the mean time consider of them That therefore he begg'd of them for the Blood of our Saviour Christ's sake that they would seriously reflect how glorious and advantagious it would be to them and to their Children also if they did contribute in extinguishing the Flames of Division in Germany and approve the Decrees of the Council In that the Pope divulged the Cause of the League some looked upon it as cunning Fetch that by that means he might entangle the Emperour in many Difficulties for it is certain as shall be said hereafter that he took it very ill that the Emperour had pretended another Cause for the War. About this time Albert Son to the Duke of Bavaria married the Lady Anne Daughter to King Ferdinand and William Duke of Cleves the Lady Mary her Sister For seeing the Duke of Cleve had in vain expected the Daughter of Navar from France as hath been said before he was dispensed with by a Bull from the Pope to marry another He therefore married this Lady and both Marriages were celebrated at Ratisbonne amidst the Tumult and Noise of Wars and were designed as a Bond to strengthen a new Alliance The Session of the Council of Trent was appointed to be about the latter end of July as hath been said but it was put off to the beginning of the next Year as will appear in its proper place There was at Trent at this time besides the Cardinal-Legats the Cardinal of Trent and Cardinal Pacieco a Spaniard four Archbishops thirty three Bishops and of these 〈◊〉 French five Spanish and one Sclavonick the rest were all Italian Bishops 〈◊〉 of Divinity who were of Religious Orders thirty five and twelve others were Secular for most part all Spaniards Moreover two of those Archbishops were Titular only Olaus Magnus of Upsale and Robert Venant a Scottish-man Now the occasion of this was When Gustavus King of Sweden the Neighbour of Denmark made an Alteration in Religion in the Year 1537. John Magnus Archbishop of Upsale who disliked that Reformation leaving his own Country fled to Rome whither he came with small Attendance Afterwards going to Venice he was made Vicar and as they commonly call it Suffragan to the Patriarch of that City But being afterwards weary of that Office he returned to Rome and there being reduced to such Straits that he sold his Horses and broke up his Family he was by Pope Paul placed in the Hospital of the Holy Ghost and there died in a poor and low Condition He had a Brother Olaus with him to whom the Pope gave that Gothick Archbishoprick though it was not within the Pale of the Roman Church and sent him to the Council with an Allowance of fifteen Duckets a Month for his Maintenance The other the Scottish-man having informed the Pope of the Archbishoprick of Armagh in Ireland obtained it from him in Title He was a blind Man and nevertheless not only said Mass but rid Post also These two then the Pope would have to be present at the Council only for ostentation as if those two so distant Nations the Swedes and Irish had acknowledged his Power when in reality they enjoyed no more but the Shadow and bare Title of Prelates We told you before That Duke Maurice after a private Conference with the Emperour left Ratisbonne and went home King Fendinand following not long after he went to wait upon him at Prague Afterwards on the first of August the Emperour sent to Duke Maurice from Ratisbonne a Copy of the Proscription we mentioned before and in his Letters to him and the People relates the same things almost that were contained in the Ban and Instrument of Proscription And because he was related in Blood and Affinity to the Parties Outlawed so that he might claim some Right and Title to their Estates and Goods he strictly charges him to assist him with all his power in seising and taking possession of their Provinces nay that for preservation of his own Right he should with all diligence put himself in possession of all else the first Possessor whoever that might be should have all without any regard had to his Consanguinity and the Rights of Entail That besides if he slighted his Emperour's Command he should incur the same Pains that they had done He charges also the Nobility Gentry and Commons upon the same Penalty to obey his Proclamation and faithfully assist the Prince These Letters were equally directed to Duke Maurice and his Brother Augustus The Whole Protestant Army was now come to the Danube There the Duke of Saxony Landgrave and Council of War August the third wrote to William Duke of Bavaria signifying That it was to no purpose for them to say much of the Emperour 's Warlike Preparations since the whole Matter was well known to himself That though they had never been wanting to the Emperour in any kind of Dutifulness nor did think they had ever given him any cause of offence yet had they long since learned both from his Answer and the Discourses of other Men also that he intended a War against them as disobedient Subjects when in the mean time they were neither convicted
any Confederacy with them That since it was so then and that they were convinced of his Intentions and of the Cause of the War he was very confident that they would reject their League keep their Men at home recal those that were already in the Service under severe Penalties and in nothing act contrary to the ancient Leagues and Alliances but according to the example of the rest be still and live in peace and friendship which would redound to their own praise and be very acceptable to him To these Letters they make Answer in the same manner as we said before they answered the Embassadour and beseech his Majesty to take in good part their delay and that because he assures them that by that War there was nothing intended against the Liberty of their Country and their Religion they also on their parts would do what was fit and becoming them that if any were gone from amongst them to the Wars it was in no ways by permission from them but that they went privately as many times they had done before however that it was not their Custome to recall those who went into foreign Service without their privity and consent but to punish them when they came home again The Landgrave and Duke of Saxony sollicited the Bohemians as well as the Suitzers but these answer in such a manner that it might easily appear their minds were already prepossessed with the Calumnies of King Ferdinand When the Protestants perceived that by their Letters they write an Answer about the latter end of August assuring them That Religion was the thing aimed at by the War they send them also the Declarations published by them upon that subject desire of them that they would commit no Hostilities against them and that they would signifie unto them what their Intentions and Inclinations were At the same time also they publish a Declaration importing that they were informed by credible Persons that the Pope that Roman Antichrist the Instrument of Satan and the Author of this War who caused many places to be set on Fire in Saxony had now suborned Poysoners to infect their Wells and Standing-waters that what Fire and Sword did not Poyson might destroy Wherefore they give warning to all especially to their own Subjects to use all endeavours to Take and Apprehend those Emissaries put them to the Rack and punish them severely when their Crime should be made out Some days after the Elector's Son John William by publick Letters warns his Country-men that they have a special care of themselves for that at Weimur a Town in Thuringe an Italian had been lately apprehended upon suspition who had confessed That he and some others had received Mony at Rome in the Pope's Name to do all the Mischief they could in Germany by Fire and Poyson We spoke of the Proscription and Imperial Ban before and how that a Copy of the Instrument thereof was sent to the Duke of Saxony and Landgrave So soon then as they had received this from the Camp at Ingolstadt for their Honour and Reputation sake they frame a large Answer which they published on the second of September That he so highly commended his Zeal and Affection towards Germany was nothing but dissimulation for that from the very time of his Inauguration it had been his whole design to bring it into Bondage That that indeed was the reason why leaving Spain and his other Provinces he had so often returned into Germany and been at so vast Charges that what he said of Religion was of the same sort it having been always his purpose with the first opportunity of time to suppress the true and Reformed Doctrine So often say they as he hath given Peace to us and our Religion it was cunningly done by him to serve a turn only till we had contributed Mony for the publick Concerns of the Empire that afterwards he had called the Decrees that were made in question and kept the matter in suspence until in the mean time he might make Peace with France and a Truce with the Turk and till the Pope and he waiting for a fit opportunity might call that same Council of Trent and enter into League together We will now give some instances for the proof of this Five years since he made a Decree at Ratisbonne concerning Religion and when that Decree did not satisfie us in very many things he declared his mind more fully and for our security and satisfaction gave us an explanation of it in Writing which afterwards his Commissioners and King Ferdinand confirmed in another Diet but when two years ago mention was made of that in the Diet of Spire he did not call to mind he said that Declaration In the Diet of Wormes the year before the Bishop of Hildesheâ—â— said openly in presence of the Princes That he had past his Word to the Catholicks That the Decree of Spire should be of no force after the War with France were over Some Months since when he was going to the Diet at Ratisbonne Granvell told me in presence of the Elector Palatine some Counsellers of mine and of the Duke of Wirtemberg's Embassadours said the Landgrave That that Decree of Spire was accommodated only to the times but that now the Emperour could not justifie it to the rest of the States Six years ago when King Ferdinand declared his Instructions to the Catholick States at Haguenaw he said That no Decrees were to be observed to us for that they were made in time of the Turkish War when there was need of our assistances What! Does not this seem to be a pretty fetch for circumventing us and our associates they themselves confess it to have been a trick whereby they squeezed Money from us It is plain then that he hath always been contriving the destruction of our Religion as the League lately made demonstrates and that he waited only for a fit opportunity of accomplishing it Now that he might seem to have a lawful pretext he always dealt with us that we would submit to the Council but why we could not do so our printed Papers sufficiently declare It was all along his design to maintain the Decrees of the Council and to put them in execution for the accomplishment whereof he long before sollicited the assistance of some Foreign Princes but fearing lest by that means he might stir up against him all that espoused the Cause of Religion he devised another colour and feigned a Rebellion that he might divide the Confederates and having suppressed the chief of them constrain the rest afterwards to submit to his pleasure And though he and his Brother laboured with great Care to conceal this their cunning and crafty Councels yet through God's great blessing it came more and more to light daily for the Pope himself by his Nuncio informed the Suitzers both of the Cause of the War and gave them a Copy of the League whence it is evident that not
should invade his Cousin's Lands his own Province was in danger of suffering greatly thereby that they themselves knew how unsafe it was that strangers should get footing in those places That in consideration of all those things he desired both in his own and his Brother Augustus his name that they would seriously weigh the matter and assist him with their Aid and Counsel he on his part assuring them that what lay in his power according to his duty he would do for them The matter being debated it was concluded that the Elector of Saxony and Landgrave should be made acquainted with the Emperour's Commands and King Ferdinand's Preparations and that both should be dealt with that for the avoiding the calamities of War they would suffer their Provinces to be possessed by Duke Maurice which seemed to be all that could be done with honour and safety Therefore October the 11th they write to both separatly relating all that had past the Counsel they had given in the beginning of the War the Commands of the Emperour the Preparations of King Ferdinand and the Bohemians what Duke Maurice had done to take off King Ferdinand and then acquaint them that forreign Souldiers being now upon the Borders of Saxony the Country was in extream danger that they heartily lamented the present state of affairs but that since they understood that all was done by the Emperour's order who had secur'd them as to their Religion they could not resist him who was chief Magistrate over all that since then they were so closely linked together in interest that if any injury were done to the one the other must needs suffer by it they had long considered the matter and thought that the only safe way and expedient that now remained would be for them to suffer Duke Maurice to take possession of their Provinces for that by that means a forreign War would be staved off Religion secured and when all things were again in peace and quiet they would far more easily recover them from him than out of the hands of others That they would therefore seriously weigh the matter with themselves and comply with this Advice which was the best that could be given in these troublesome and distracted times They likewise by Letters besought the Landgrave that he would perswade the Elector to embrace the counsel Duke Maurice wrote also to the Landgrave his Father-in-law to the same purpose and that because forreign Souldiers were at hand it behoved him to take care that Saxony should not be wasted He then expresses a great deal of friendship and good will towards him assuring him That he coveted nothing of what was his that the King of Poland offered also to intercede with the Emperour as his Embassadour had informed him that he begg'd of him therefore to comply and not suffer himself to be exasperated by any words that he would incline the Elector of Saxony to do the like and not refuse to submit to the Emperour that this was the only Door left open for reconciliation and that he would not be wanting to contribute all that lay in his power to bring things to happy issue John William Son to the Elector of Saxony hearing of the Preparations of King Ferdinand sent Embassadours to the Convention of States at Friburg desiring of Duke Maurice that upon account of their Hereditary Alliance he would joyn in Arms with him to free their common Country from danger Duke Maurice made answer That he had spared no pains in endeavouring to accommodate matters but seeing that his labour was in vain and that now his Neighbours were in Arms he could not act any thing against the chief Magistrate who was excepted in that ancient Alliance It was late before the Confederates had intelligence of the Emperour 's marching to Donawert which we spake of before Next day they resolve to march and that in the night-time too to Lawgingen which is a Town upon the Danube three miles above Donawert But it being uncertain whether the Emperour was marched or not and that if they went to Lawgingen and he at their back some said there was danger lest he should take Nordlingen and then by Remserthal fall into the Dutchy of Wertemberg they altered their resolution and continued a day longer where they were Scherteline was displeased at this and some things else wherefore going to Ausbourg from whence he was sent out into the War he carries off the Garrison that was at Lawgingen and returned no more to the Camp. In the mean time the Emperour removing from Donawert has Dilingen and Hochsterit and shortly after Lawgingen and Gundelfinghen upon the River Brent surrendered unto him So that being Master of the Danube he had many advantages for action and leaving a Garrison in Lawgingen he past the Brent and encamped near the Village of Southeim in his way to Ulm three miles distant When the Protestants had intelligence that the Emperour was marching to Ulm they remove their Camp at length October the 13th and next day come to Gienghen a Town upon the same River not far above Southeim so that the River run betwixt the two Armies So soon as they had halted but not as yet pitched their Tents there they discover some Horse upon a neighbouring Hill. Amongst these was the Emperour himself who with the Duke of Alva was come out to view the Enemy The Duke of Saxony commanded the Van that day and with all hast makes towards the enemy sending the Landgrave word instantly to follow after but seeing the Enemy retreated he slackened his pace and waited for the Landgrave upon the Hill. There again as it was thought they lost a fair opportunity of doing their work for the River could not be foarded over and there was but one Bridge thereabouts so that though the Emperour might perhaps have escaped yet the chief Officers would have been hard put to it which they themselves as it is said afterwards confessed But the Emperour now altering his mind of marching to Ulm lest the Enemy being left behind his back he might lose the advantage of the Danube took another course and October the 15th planted an Ambush of three hundred Musketeers in a neighbouring Wood. The Prince of Sulmona was afterward sent out with some light Horse to skirmish who having engaged a Party of the Enemy and feigning to flie he drew them into the Ambush so that the Musketeers rushing forth out of the Wood began to ply them very warmly The Landgrave observing that hastened to the relief of his Party which consisted but of four Troops of Horse and so both were engaged in a brisk Dispute which lasted till night the great Guns all the while playing also In the mean time the Duke of Saxony staid with the Army that he might defend the Camp if the Emperour should in that Hurly-burly offer to attack them This first Stratagem not succeeding the Emperour orders another
entering the Town with his Army brings them into subjection to the Emperour He was a Gentlemen of an open and free humour and therefore when he was feasted by the Senate he is said to have played upon them for their cowardly and easie surrendering of the place telling them that Darmstadt-men deserved to live in Frankfurt and that they ought to be transplanted to Darmstadt for that Town in respect of Frankfurt is no more in a manner than a Village But the reason why they did so was amongst others because they saw that the City of Ulm and Duke of Wirtemberg were endeavouring to make their peace and then because they were afraid that their Fair might be removed to some other place for all their Wealth consists in that nor were they ignorant that both Mentz and Wormes made their several applications to the Emperour for obtaining it Having afterwards sent Deputies to the Emperour they are received into favour but at the cost of fourscore thousand Florins When the Duke of Saxony came with his Army to his own Frontiers December the 22th he wrote to the States of Duke Maurice to this effect I purposely made no answer saith he to your Letter of the 11th of October because I had a mind to see the event but what hath been now done in the interim is publickly known The truth is though by reason of the Kindred Amity and League whereby we are linked together and of what I have deserved at your Princes hands I expected no such thing from him nor from you neither nor did it so much as enter my thoughts that he would ever have used me and my people after this manner and much less that you should have been the Authors and Devisers of such Counsels as must needs tend to the detriment of the whole Country and your own prejudice also But this I suppose seemed to you to be a fit time for bringing upon the Stage the crafty and treacherous purposes which many years ago have been hatched by some of your States but hitherto by Gods goodness prevented for consider with your selves a little what kind of act that of yours was when you advised Duke George to disinherit his own Brother and Brothers Sons for a difference in Religion and appoint the Emperour and King Ferdinand to be his Heirs unless they would profess and restore the Popish Religion Now that without any regard to that will the whole Inheritance was conveighed to his Brother Henry and the Protestant Religion retained it was brought about by means of me and my Associates And though he professed our Religion and entered into the League also having signed and sealed Writings to that effect both in his own and his Sons name yet ye because you were disappointed of your first hopes wrought upon him so as to make him forfeit his Engagements and after his death that his Sons followed the footsteps of their Father was doubtless the effect of your Councils also And as that Inheritance fell to Henry and his Sons much against your will so also it was no small grief to you to see the friendship that was betwixt Duke Henry and me which you many times attempted to have dissolved nor indeed were your endeavours altogether in vain for what you could not accomplish whilst he was alive you have now at length effected with his Sons especially Duke Maurice of whom I had conceived the greatest opinion and hopes of virtue and Friendship for five years ago almost not long after he had entered into the Government ye stirred him up against me undeservedly and in such a manner too as it was like to have proved a very dangerous matter And though that Storm by the mediation of the Landgrave was allayed and security given that no such thing should be done for the future but that in every thing the ancient League should be a standing Rule to both our actions yet ye advised him and his Brother Augustus that in my absence he should invade and take possession of my Province whereat I am the more troubled that in the intercourse of most friendly Letters that past betwixt us he gave me not the least intimation of any such thing and that the intercession of the Landgrave and other Associates had no influence upon him as to that particular I am exceedingly grieved at the calamity of an innocent multitude of my poor people whom he hath plagued with an Army of forreign cruel and barbarous Souldiers that make havock of all they have it grieves me also that in most places the Ministers of the Gospel are turned out and forced to flie and Virgins and Matrons ravished which outrageous Villanies I make no doubt but God will sometime or other punish But above all I am grieved and troubled at his perfidious and unexpected Hostility whereunto I make no doubt but he has been advised by you who like the Traytor Judas are bought and sold for money He gives a pretext for his invading my Lands That forsooeth the Emperour so commanded and King Ferdinand urged him to it But the nearness of Bloud and Relation the League and Alliance that is betwixt the two Families ought to have been preferred far before their Edicts for it is long ago since all differences excepting that of Religion which the Emperour or King Ferdinand had with me were taken up and ended the Crimes that are laid to our charge are all forged and we are only persecuted for Religion If his Command move you why are you not rather moved at the baseness of the fact Why did you not consider whether or not it was lawful for your Prince to execute so unjust and unreasonable an Order But you brought to Council with you a corrupt mind long ago depraved with prejudices and passions and your Prince and you were more taken with my Dukedom than with Equity and Justice For otherwise Reason it self would have told you that since we were condemned without a Tryal the Proscription it self is against all Law and Justice and contrary to the Oath and Promises wherein he stands obliged to the Empire Duke Maurice also might have easily perceived that it was not lawful for him to obey so wicked and arbitrary a Command and he ought to have had greater regard to the Welfare of his Country but he chose rather to follow the footsteps of accursed Doeg and cloak his Crime with a feigned pretext of necessary Duty Nor is it to the purpose what you say that he would have done no such thing had not King Ferdinand come with an Army upon my Frontiers For the matter is far otherwise and I have it from credible persons first that you your selves and Duke Maurice craftily started the thing and had Cabals and secret Treaties about it with the Emperour and King Ferdinand both at Ratisbonne and Prague as will appear all in good time and then that it was not with the advice and consent of all but of a
Emperour accused the Farneses as the Authors of this Enterprize and especially Petro Aloisio Duke of Piacenza of which more in its proper place The Session of the Council of Trent which was to have been held about the latter end of July the year before was put off till this time and January the 13th the Fathers as their custom was meeting in the Cathedral-Church make a Decree about Mans Justification and condemn all those who say That by the fall of Adam man lost his Free-will that man is justified by Faith alone and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ that Justification is nothing else but a confidence in the mercy of God who forgiveth sins for Christ's sake that it is necessary that a Man firmly believe and doubt not that his Sins are forgiven and that he is of the number of the Elect that no Man can keep the Commandements of God not though he be justified that Justification received is not preserved and encreased by Good Works that after Baptism Justification that is lost may be recovered by Faith alone without the Sacrament of Penance that a penitent Sinner has his Offence wholly forgiven him and that there remains no Punishment to be endured for the same neither in this Life nor in the Life to come in Purgatory and that these Decrees derogate from God's Glory and Christ's Merit Upon the Elector of Saxony's approach with his Army Duke Maurice puts a Garrison into Leipsick and burns the Suburbs At the same time above a thousand Hungarian Horse came thither so January the thirteenth the Place began to be besieged But the Towns-people making a slout Resistance about the end of the same Month the Siege was raised without any Success Nevertheless the Town was miserably shattered and defaced by the Batteries of great Guns that continually plaid upon it The Duke of Saxony marching from thence not only recovered what he had lost in Thuringe and Misnia but took all Duke Maurice's Towns also except Leipsick and Dresden He gained likewise the Bishoprick of Magdenburg and Haberstadt having compounded therefore with John Albert the Bishop The day before he laid Siege to Leipsick King Ferdinand commanded the Bohemians to take Arms and march to the Assistance of Duke Maurice they obeyed indeed but afterwards returned home again without Orders wherefore about the end of January King Ferdinand renews the same Command But the Inhabitants of Prague who have the Chief Authority in those Places make application to the Senate that they would use their Endeavours with the King and prevail with him to recal his Order because it was inconsistent with their Liberty and they could not honestly obey it for that there was no reason why they should take Arms against the Elector of Saxony that in many things their Religion agreed with his and that besides he had been always very forward and instrumental in beating off the Armies of the Turk Whereunto King Ferdinand amongst other things said in answer That they did not make War against him upon the account of Religion but Rebellion and that what was alledged of his giving Aid against the Turks was quite otherwise for that some Months before he had by Envoys sollicited the Turk to make War upon Hungary and Bohemia to grant no longer Truce and to break that which he had made and that he had promised for the better Success in the Attempt to fall upon them on the other side When the Emperour was made acquainted with the State of Saxony and had been sollicited by frequent Letters from Duke Maurice he sent him Supplies of Horse and Foot under the Command of Albert of Brandenburg and then orders the Spanish and Italian Forces to follow under the Conduct of de Sandi and Marigan January the ninth Marquess Albert marched with his Troops from Hailbrun The Emperour departing also from thence went to Ulm and in his Progress receives into Favour the Cities of Lindaw and Esling It hath been mentioned before that the Pope pronounced Sentence of Excommunication against the Archbishop of Cologne and deprived him of his Dignity and Function At the same time he did that he conferred all his Right and Authority upon Adolph Count Schavenburg whom some years before the Archbishop had amongst all others chosen to be his Coadjutor Wherefore the Pope by a Bull enjoyns all the States of the Country to own and accept of him as their Prelate and moves the Emperour withal to see the Sentence put into execution But when the Archbishop being several times admonished to dimit his Charge had answered That he could not do it with a safe Conscience the Emperour who had now conquered all in a manner sends to Cologne his Embassadors Philip Laleing Governour of Guelderland and Viglius of Zuichem a Lawyer By them he enjoyns all the Orders of the Province whom he had ordered to meet at a certain Day there to shake off their Allegiance to Archbishop Herman and to tender their Fidelity and Duty to him who had been their Coadjutor as to their lawful Prelate It was no difficult matter to obtain that from the Clergy for they had been the Authors of the Revolution But the Nobility and of them many of the chiefest Quality with the Deputies of the Towns remonstrate That they could not make defection from him whom they had so long obeyed whom for so many years they had found to be a very good Prince and to whom they had bound themselves by an Oath of Allegiance This Difficulty being started the Duke of Cleve their very next Neighbour for avoiding greater trouble sent some of his Counsellors thither to mediate who after a long and serious Debate obtain'd at length of the Clergy that they would be quiet until the other States should fairly represent the Case to the Archbishop To him therefore were sent Theoderick Count Manderscheyt and William Count Nouenar the chief of all the Nobility who by their Dexterity and the Interest they had with him perswade him that in compassion to the People and that the whole Province might not be undone by a War he would comply and resign his Place Accordingly he released all his Subjects from their Oaths and Allegiance and so the Coadjutor whom we named who had been always as dear to him as dear to him as a Brother succeeds and takes possession of his Dignity January the twenty fifth The Archbishop had a Brother Frederick who as we told you in the Tenth Book had been Bishop of Munster and was now Provost as they call it of the Church of Bonn but he was turned out of that Office and Gropper had it for his Share Count Stolberg Dean of Cologne who had constantly stood up for the Archbishop met with the same Fate Presently after by Orders from the new Archbishop there was a Change made in Religion and all Bucer's Reformation overthrown When the Embassadors of the
Protestant Confederates had been with the French King they went to the King of England to negotiate the same thing with both But King Henry was then on his Death-bed for his Sickness growing upon him about the latter end of January he died in the eight and thirtieth year of his Reign having by his last Will left Prince Edward a Child of nine years of age his Heir and to him substituted the Lady Mary whom he had by his first Queen and the Lady Elizabeth by the second But before he died he condemned Thomas Duke of Norfolk a Peer of great Authority to perpetual Imprisonment and beheaded his Son the Earl of Surrey for some suspicious Words he had spoken during the King's Sickness after whose Death a Change in Religion hapned as will appear hereafter For though he had shaken off the Pope's Authority in all his Dominions and had made it Death for any Man to own him for Head of the Church nay though in the Publick Prayers of the Church he detested him as the Bane of Religion and Antichrist yet he still retained the Popish Doctrine as hath been said before He had caused his Son to be well educated from his Childhood and upon his Death-bed left him sixteen Guardians and amonst these Edward Earl of Herford the young Prince's Uncle To him the rest of the Guardians afterwards committed the chief Care and Tuition of the King as thinking he would be the most faithful to him of any and gave him the Honourable Title of Protector of the King and Kingdom The King also made him afterward Duke of Somerset He was both a Friend to the Reformed Religion himself and used his Endeavours also that it might be publickly received having perswaded the King his Pupil to embrace the same wherein he was chiefly assisted by Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England a Man of singular Learning About the same time died also Queen Anne Wife to King Ferdinand the Mother of many Children whose Funerals the Emperour solemnized at Ulm. In the mean time the Citizens of Ausbourg moved by the Example of their Associates and their own Danger and having got proper Mediators amongst whom was Anthony Fuggher made their Peace and were received into the Emperour's Favour again but upon condition that they should pay a Fine of an hundred and fifty thousand Florins furnish twelve Pieces of Cannon and receive a Garrison of ten Companies of Foot. Scherteline lived in the Town and for many years had served under them and taken their Pay one that the Emperour and King Ferdinand could not endure because he had taken the Castle of Erenberg Wherefore though the Senate interceded earnestly for him yet because the Emperour was so stiff that otherwise he would not treat with them he was forced to fly the Country and with his Wife and Family to remove to Constance a Town bordering upon Suitzerland During the Siege of Leipsick the Elector of Brandenburg interposes and having sent Embassadors to both desires that they would refer the Matter to him The Elector was not unwilling but Duke Maurice blaming him exceedingly for pursuing the War so hotly six days after when he saw the Town was not likely to be taken began to answer coldly and be off on 't Brandenburg therefore presently acquaints the Landgrave with it praying him to perswade Duke Maurice and that because the intestine War of Saxony could hardly be taken up unless the Publick War with the Emperour were also ended he entreats him to bend his Mind that way The better to perswade he lays open before him the great danger he was in That most of his Confederates were already reconciled to the Emperour and that the Duke of Wertemberg was fain to capitulate upon very hard Terms That the Emperour was preparing fresh Forces and that seeing he was not able alone long to resist so great a Power as was against him he advises him not to think ill to submit but to capitulate upon the Conditions which he himself had drawn up and now sent to him by his Embassadors For seeing the Emperour's Mind was for many Reasons much exasperated the thing it self required that with a kind of humble Submissision he should beg Pardon That he should therefore turn his Eyes upon himself and Children and upon the promiscuous Multitude and not drive on things to the utmost extremity He wrote also to the Elector to the same purpose A little before the Protestants in the Month of November broke up and quitted the Field The Emperour gave Commissions to some that they should forthwith raise new Forces and carry the War into those Places which bordered upon Saxony that the States and Towns of those Quarters might not be able to give the Duke of Saxony and Landgrave any Assistance The Command of these Forces consisting of one and twenty Ensigns of Foot and twelve hundred Horse he gave to Joyce Grunning Governour of Zeelandt These put Conrade Count Teckelbourg one of the Protestant Confederates the Towns of Osnaburg and Minden the Count of Lippe and some others in those places under Contribution and compel them to take Orders from them They also take the Castle of Ritberg and from thence fall in upon Bremen Here served under the Emperour Philip Count Eberstein Christopher Vrisberger and Frederick Speed. The Elector of Saxony being informed of the Emperour's Success February the thirteenth wrote to the Senate and Council of Strasburg giving them an Account how that he had recovered his own and taken from Duke Maurice most part of what belonged to him in Thuringe and Misnia That he had made the Nobility and Gentry of his Territories swear Fidelity to him and that he had added to all the Bishoprick of Magdeburg But that Ulrick Duke of Wirtemberg and most of the Free Towns of Upper Germany should have capitulated upon so very hard Conditions and without mentioning their Religion and promised the Emperour Assistance against him and the rest of the Confederates was a thing that had fallen out quite contrary to his expectation and was wholly repugnant to the Tenor of the League That he heard well of them in that they continued constant which had been acceptable News to him That they should go on then and not faint acting as became Confederates and if they were harder put to it that they should defend themselves with the Aid of the Suitzers and King of France That it was his hearty desire he could give them all Testimonies of his Love and Fidelity but that he was hindred by a Domestick War which if it would please God to put an end to to his advantage he would not then be wanting unto them That the Deputies of the States and Free Towns of Saxony were now met at Magdeburg That he treated with them there about those Affairs for which the Convention was called at Frankfurt and that he was in hopes they would
generous Answer immediately departed and because of the Saxon-War went to Nordlingen Whilst the Duke of Wirtemberg performed this Ceremony of Submission there was a vast Crowd of People got together who being told of it before flocked thither to see the Shew In those three Places we named before of the Dutchy of Wirtemberg the Emperour had already placed Garrisons and chiefly Spaniards THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XIX The CONTENTS The Seventh Session of the Council of Trent is held When the City of Strasbourg had captitulated and made Peace with the Emperour he orders his Army to advance Shortly after the Death of the King of England Francis King of France dies The Fathers that were at Trent go to Bolonia The Duke of Saxony is taken in Battel and though he was condemned to die yet with undaunted Courage he professed the Reformed Religion Wirtemberg being surrendred the University is dissolved Duke Maurice and the Elector of Brandenburg earnestly intercede for the Landgrave who being come to wait on the Emperour is detained Prisoner King Ferdinand by Letters to those of Prague appoints a Convention of States A great Commotion raised at Naples because of the Spanish Inquisition as they call it Henry King of France is Crowned and the Solemnity of the Coronation described The Emperour by Proclamation puts the City of Magdenburg to the Ban of the Empire He sollicits the Suitzers to enter into a new League A Diet is held at Ausburg Petro Aloisio the Pope's Son is assassinated in his own House The English overcome the Scots in a great Battel The Protestant Electors are prevailed with and the Free Towns terrified A Contention ariseth about the Imprisonment of the Landgrave Means are used for recalling the Fathers to Trent but they who had removed to Bolonia firmly persist in their Opinion and Resolution so that there is nothing but Confusion in the Council of Trent THE Seventh Session of the Council of Trent was held the third day of March. In it were condemned all who maintain either that the Sacraments of the Church were fewer than Seven or that they were not all instituted by Christ who deny that one is of more Dignity than another who affirm that they are only outward Signs of Grace or Righteousness received by Christ who deny that they confer Grace who hold that no spiritual and indelible Character or Mark is by Baptism Confirmation and Orders stamped upon the Soul and that all have like power to administer them or that the usual Ceremonies of the Church may be omitted or altered in the Administration of the same who say that the Doctrine of the Church of Rome the Mother and Mistress of all others concerning Baptism is not sincere That Vows made after Baptism are of no force and derogate from the Faith they have professed who assert That Confirmation is but an idle Ceremony and was no more in ancient Times but an Instruction of Youth who deny the Virtue and Influence of the Holy Ghost to be conferred in Confirmation and who assign the Office of Confirmation not to Bishops solely but indifferently also to any Priest Then they make Decrees concerning Ecclesiastical Benefices That Bishops and other Rulers of the Church be lawfully begotten of due Age and conspicuous for Good Manners and Learning That no Man of what Quality he be do by any Title whatsoever possess more than one Bishoprick and that such as have Pluralities keep which of them they please and resign the others within a Year That those who have the Cure of Souls reside upon the Place and substitute no others to officiate for them unless for a time and so as that they have made appear to their Bishop that they had a lawful cause of Absence which is to be allowed of by him who is to take care that the People be not neglected that the Faults of Priests be punished and what is amiss amongst them reformed And then the one and twentieth of April is appointed for the Day of the next Session King Ferdinand being at Dresden with Duke Maurice on the eighth day of March writes to the Bohemians acquainting them That Duke John Frederick was resolved to invade them That therefore they should be upon their Guard and obey Sebastian Weittemull whom he had appointed to be his Vicegerent in his absence The Deputies of Strasbourg who as we told you went to Ulm being come back with the Conditions prescribed by the Emperour which the Senate did not dislike are sent back again to transact and make a final Conclusion Setting out upon their Journey then they find the Emperour at Nordlingen taken ill of the Gout and having March the one and twentieth made their Submission are received into Favour They had pretty tolerable Conditions for the Emperour put no Garrison upon them was satisfied with Thirty thousand Florins and did not exact above twelve Pieces of Ordnance of them The Elector of Brandenburg in the mean time bestirred himself affectionately in behalf of the Landgrave and applied himself also to King Ferdinand But very hard Conditions were proposed which were these That he approve without exception all the future Decrees of the Diet of the Empire That he give one of his Sons in Hostage That he dismiss Duke Henry of Brunswick and his Son and submit to the Emperour's Decision as to the Difference betwixt them That he send the Emperour a Supply of some Troops of Horse and eight Companies of Foot against the Elector of Saxony and the Confederates and that he pay them for six Months That he submit himself to the Emperour and openly confess his Crimes But he rejected the Conditions and acquainted his Friends by Letters That unless they were mitigated he had rather seeing he could not in Honour condescend to them undergo the worst of Fortunes The day the Emperour transacted with the Strasburgers he parted from Nordlingen to go to Norimberg And next day upon the Road having dispatched Letters to the States of Duke Maurice he tells them That forasmuch as that Outlaw John Frederick flying to his own Home had not only regained what the Prince Elector Maurice had by his Orders taken from him but those Places also which King Ferdinand his Brother possessed in that Country as Dependents on Bohemia he was now upon the march to come and repress his Boldness Wherefore he charged them in the first place that they should take care that in those Places through which he was to march with his Army nothing might be wanting that was necessary and that the Soldiers might be kindly used In the next place That they should despise the Threats of John Frederick and shew all Love and Duty to their Prince as they had hitherto done since the main Design of the present War was to daunt his insolent Fierceness and to settle Peace and Quietness amongst them The very same day he wrote to the Council and Magistrates
15th of March the Emperour dismissed at Nordligen that he might go and raise fresh Troops came thither also bringing his new Forces with him The Emperour leaving Nordlingen went to Norimberg and from thence to Egra a Town belonging to King Ferdinand upon the skirts of Bohemia The King had several times commanded those of Prague to lay down their arms and the rest of the States being by them informed of this April the fourth they write back to him That the reason why they had taken up Arms and marched with their Forces was that they might stand upon their own and Countries defence against any unjust Invasion especially now that he was absent In the mean time they begg'd of him that he would intercede with the Emperour not to pursue the War against the Duke of Saxony but refer the matter to an amicable Arbitration they also desire that he would call a Convention of States as he had promised Much about this time the Emperour came to Egra and April the 7th the day after King Ferdinand and Duke Maurice arrived there wrote to all the States of Bohemia and having repeated what he wrote the month before he told them that his designe was only against the Duke of Saxony that therefore they should supply him with Provisions furnish him Corn and return home for that otherwise both he and his Brother King Ferdinand would take it very ill That they needed not to be in any apprehensions as concerning the matter of Religion for that during the whole War he had molested no man for his Conscience At the same time the Commissioners who were at Prague send Letters again into all parts earnestly importuning the States that they would in all hast arm and come to the defence of their Country which was now in extream danger King Ferdinand April the 11th answers their last Letters from Egra writing much to the same effect that the Emperour had done That they would therefore desist from their Enterprize if not that he would take a course to bridle that rashness of theirs That he wondered exceedingly they should intercede for the Duke of Saxony since he deserved no such thing neither of the Emperour nor of himself nor yet of Bohemia That as to the Convention of States they desired he should do what was fitting as to that In the mean time the Duke of Saxony advancing takes Friburg and Meisen a Town lying upon the Elbe from Duke Maurice About this time also the Fathers of Trent remove to Bolonia and made no more Decrees after that Session wherein they treated of the Sacraments as we mentioned before The cause of their departure was given out to be the unwholsomness of the Air of the place in the judgment of Jerome Fracastorius of Verona who was Physician to the Council and had a Salary from the Pope of threescore Dukats a month The Emperour was highly offended at the matter and commanded the Bishops and Divines of his Dominions not to stir a foot from Trent So that the Council was divided one part of it being at Trent and the other at Bolonia When the Emperour came to Norimberg from Nordlingen Maximilian Count of Buren who kept Franckfurt with a Garrison of twelve Companies of Foot and about four hundred Horse being sent for came thither to him and returning afterwards to Franckfurt again April the 12th he caused two persons to be put to death of whom one named William Verden was a Townsman but the other John Gelluse a Subject of the Landgraves The reason why they were put to death was that they were said to have been suborned by the Landgrave to get a Smith to make and sell them the Keys of one of the Gates to set fire to the Town in four several places to nail up the Canon by the help of their Associates to kill the Count of Buren his Friends and Attendants the Consul and Senate of the Town in the hurry and confusion of the fire and to poyson the Fountains and Wells of the Town and especially that which served the Count of Buren's Kitchin and another in the Court. Afterwards there was a Writing published declaring that they had confessed the Conspiracy in Prison and owned the same at the place of execution But the Landgrave purged himself affirming that since Franckfurt fell into the Emperours hands he had never attempted any thing and confuting the Crimes objected against him by many and weighty reasons That sometimes indeed he had ordered John Gelluse to inform himself what way the Emperour and Count of Buren marched with their Forces and that that was all Now if through the violent pain they suffered on the Rack they confessed what was false and thereby wronged not only others but himself also he hoped that no man would therefore entertain the worse opinion of him that it was dangerous and unsafe to lay any stress upon what was extorted from men by over-rigorous torture whereof this was a proof that they themselves when they were brought to execution declared those very persons innocent whom they had named before as Complices in the Conspiracy April the 13th the Commissioners at Prague writ again to the States of the Kingdom and earnestly advise them to fulfil the League which they had with the House of Saxony they complain also that it hath been already infringed by some and therefore command that it be punctually observed by all for the future The same day they write to King Ferdinand praying that he nor the Emperour would not be offended at these their military proceedings nor attack the Elector of Saxony first because of the League they are mutually bound in and then because he was desirous the Cause might be brought to a fair tryal The very same day also King Ferdinand sent John Bishop of Olmuntz and some other Counsellors to the Convention of States at Prague which was appointed to meet the 18th day of April By them he excuses himself that he could not come in person and then demands of them that they would annul the League they lately made and lay down their Arms for that otherwise there could be no free Convention If this were denied the Commissioners had instructions to treat no farther but if they obeyed then to proceed in course however to determine nothing but refer all to him The Emperour the same day set out from Egra accompanied by his Brother King Ferdinand who had with him six hundred Cuirassiers a thousand Hussars and ten Ensigns of foot Duke Maurice and his Brother Augustus were also there with as many men At length after ten days continual march on the 22th of April he came near to Meisen where the Duke of Saxony then was who having intelligence of this drew out of the Town burnt the wooden Bridge and encamped near to Mulberg upon the Elbe But the Emperour fearing that he might retreat to Wittemberg a strong
and period of this Captivity then said the Landgrave or by what space of time is it to be limited Though the Emperour should detain you for the space of fourteen years or more said Alva yet he would do nothing contrary to his promise The Landgrave then that he might recover his liberty as soon as he could payed in all the Money not long after razed his Castles and delivered up his Artillery Now the Emperour had got a vast number of great Guns partly from him partly from the Dukes of Saxony and Wirtemberg and the Free Towns which as they say amounted to Fifty in number Of these he sent some to Milan some to Naples others to Spain and the rest he distributed in the Low-Countries there to be kept as the Monuments and Trophies of his Victory Ebleben a worthy Gentleman who as we said had been the Messenger and Truchman in negotiating the Landgrave's Pacification took his Captivity extremely ill and shortly after died for grief of it as most People thought The Emperour had resolved to fall upon the City of Magdenburg which lies upon the Elbe two days Journey below Wittemberg for they were the only People that stood it out but at the very same time Henry King of France employed Sebastian Vogelsbergh to raise Men in Germany to the number of ten Ensigns a thing the Emperour began to be jealous of Wherefore partly for this cause and partly because he thought he had another way to humble them leaving Hall he marched into Upper Germany and June the seven and twentieth sent the Marquess of Matignan with an Aid of eight Ensigns of German Foot to his Brother King Ferdinand Ferdinand was then at Leutmeritz expecting an Opportunity of Action and so soon as he had received Intelligence of the Emperor's Success and the taking of the Landgrave he wrote to those of Prague July the first commanding them to appear before him in the Castle of Prague the sixth of the same Month to answer for what they had done Being come thither with his Forces he lays open before them in a publick Assembly all the past Transactions and how many ways they had offended him accusing them of High-Treason and bidding them answer to every Particular There they humbly submit to his Will and Pleasure beseeching him not to use the Rigour of Law against them Wherefore at the Intercession of young Ferdinand the Son Augustus the Brother of Duke Maurice and some other great men the King on the tenth of July proposes these Conditions unto them That in the next Convention of States they wholy annul the League they had entred into by cancelling it and breaking all the Seals That they deliver up to him all their Charters and Writings of Liberties and Priviledges to the intent he may reform some of them and grant and confirm to them anew such as he shall think fit That they also resign all the Charters of Liberties and Immunities granted to Companies and Incorporations because some of them did give occasion to Stirs and Commotions That in like manner they give up their Castles and renounce all Jurisdiction and Customs as also all Instruments of Leagues and especially of that Association which they made amongst themselves and of that Alliance they had entred into with John Frederick That they pay for ever the Excise of Beer which had been granted him only for three years That they bring all their Artillery and Ammunition into the Castle and all their private Arms into the Town-house If they thus do he promises to spare the Multitude excepting some few whom he resolved to punish as they deserved and keep Prisoners for the Publick Good. The People being acquainted with this and fifty Prisoners set at liberty the Conditions were accepted and agreed unto Some of the Nobility being cited and not appearing at the day were sentenced to have forfeited Honour Life and Goods so that some other Cities and Nobles submitted without any Condition as Prague had done But Caspar Pflug whom the Confederates had made their General as we said was condemned of High-Treason and a Reward of Five thousand Florins set upon his Head. Afterwards in the Convention of States the League was abrogated and cancelled and the King obtained from them every thing almost that he had demanded Whilst the Emperour is triumphing in Germany a dangerous Sedition broke out at Naples The Cause of it was That the Viceroy Peter of Toledo would after the Spanish manner inquire into their Faith and Religion The Citizens murmured heavily at this and being weary of the Spanish Government rose in Arms But after a great deal of Butchery and Bloodshed committed in the City the Spaniards who were Masters of the Forts and Castles got the better on 't So that some of the Seditious being fined the rest were banished Now the Spanish Inquisition which makes such a noise now adays was heretofore set up in those Places by King Ferdinand and Isabel against the Jews who after Baptism observed their own Rites and Laws But now that Luther's Name was up it was promiscuously practised and that with great Severity and short Process too against all who were in the least supected At the very same time the French King sends seven Cardinals to Rome commanding them to stay there till fresh Orders That was thought to have been done that by their means the Pope might be wholly inclined to the Amity and Friendship of the King and that if he chanced to die being now fourscore years of age they might procure another to be chosen that was no Enemy to his Majesty Nor were there wanting some who gave it out that it was done by the advice and interest of the Constable that they being out of the way he might alone do all with the King for generally they all followed the Court whithersoever the King went. A little before the Pope had sent a Legat into France Jerome Roman a Cardinal with a most ample Commission to dispence with many things prohibited both by the Laws and Decrees of Councils At that time also he created Charles the Son of Claude Duke of Guise and Archbishop of Reims Cardinal as knowing him to be the King's Favourite On the other hand the King of France to ingratiate himself the more promises his Natural Daughter a young Lady of nine years of age in Marriage to Horatio Farnese the Pope's Grandchild by his Son. The Emperour leaving Hall came to Bamberg that at so near a distance he might awe the Bohemians the more and give Strength and as it were Sinews to his Brother King Ferdinand Whilst he was here on the third day of July he called a Diet of the Empire commanding all to meet the first of September at Ausburg the Princes in Person and all the rest by Deputies with full Power and Commission and declaring That the War had hindred him from holding a Diet at
acquaint you with for my own Justification The very same day the States give Duke Maurice and the Elector of Brandenburg an account of this Relation of the Emperours whereunto they next day make answer to this effect That they now confess what hitherto they had always done that they had no cause to accuse or find fault with the Emperour in this particular but that nevertheless they had had several and private Negotiations with King Ferdinand before he went home from the Camp before Wittemberg and with some of the Emperours Counsellors though not many and that perhaps through a slip of Tongue some mistake might have happened which they will not much contend about That however it be they had for the preservation of the innocent Multitude and that Germany might recover its long wished for Peace advised the Landgrave when he had not the least apprehension of Custody or Confinement to come to Hall beg the Emperours Pardon and accept of the Conditions of Peace But now that he had lost his liberty and was still kept Prisoner to the great danger of his health was a thing that no man but must see did extreamly reflect upon their Honour and Reputation That therefore they did most earnestly desire them that they would joyn with them in an Address to the Emperour and beseech his Majesty that it would please him to have more regard to them who had faithfully served the Empire than to the Landgrave's Offence and not to suffer them to be any longer exposed to Obloquy and Censure but to restore him to his liberty especially since all the Conditions were in a manner fulfilled and that the Emperour had most ample security for the performance of them to the least title So then an Intercession was made in the common name of all and the Landgrave 's Wife prevailed with the Lady Mary the Emperour's Sister to second it but it was all in vain And because Duke Maurice and the Elector of Brandenburg said that they had past their promise and obliged themselves by Bond to the Landgrave 's Sons so long as he should be detained Prisoner the Emperour sent John de Lire to the Landgrave who then was at Nordlingen being removed thither lately by the Spaniards requiring him to deliver up all his Writings and amongst the rest also the Letters of safe Conduct and obligation of Security He told him That they were not in his keeping but that his Sons and Counsellors had them That although he should write to them it would be to no purpose for that they had told him at parting that they would not deliver them up before he were set at liberty That nevertheless if he might have assurance from the Emperour of the time of his enlargement he would do what lay in his power to perswade them to deliver all up The Emperour dissatisfied with that Answer shortly after removed his Servants from him allowing him but one or two at most About the latter end of November Peter Martyr a Florentine who had for five years with great applause taught at Strasburg went now with leave from the Senate into England whither he had been invited by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the King's Name and was made Professor of Divinity in Oxford His Companion that went along with him was Bernardine Ochino of Siena who being in high esteem in Italy for his Eloquence and the opinion Men had of his Virtue forsook his Monastick Life and embraced the Reformed Religion and going first to Geneva and from thence afterward to Ausburg published some Sermons of his in print Much about this time King Henry's Laws about Religion which we mentioned in the twelfth Book are by publick Proclamation abolished all over England and Images and Pictures removed out of the Churches which was the beginning of the Reformation there On the ninth day of December the Cardinal of Trent discharged the Commission the Emperour had entrusted him with in a full Consistory of Cardinals where the Pope himself presided representing in an elaborate Speech what Pains and Danger the Emperour had undergone for the sake of the Council and that now through his Diligence and Authority Matters were brought to that pass that all the States were willing to obey and submit to its Decrees That therefore by all that was Sacred he besought the Pope in name of the Emperour King Ferdinand and the whole Empire first That he would order the Fathers at Bolonia to return to Trent there to perfect the Work begun which was so very necessary for the Publick Good next That he would send a Legat or two into Germany that with their Advice and Counsel some Rules of Good-living might be established until the Council should be ended and that the Clergy might be reformed Lastly That he would also consider and determine that if the Pope should happen to die during the sitting of the Council whether or not the power of Election ought to lie in the Fathers of the Council or in the Cardinals lest if the Case should happen it might give occasion to new Commotions Five days after the Cardinal of Trent had had his Audience James Mendoza by Orders from the Emperour spoke in the same Auditory to the same purpose and besides That if the Pope did make any delay or excuse he said he was commanded by his Master to joyn with the Embassadors of other Kings and Princes and openly protest against the Council The very same day which was the fourteenth of December the Archbishop of Rheims who as we said already was made Cardinal the Summer before being by the French King sent to Rome makes an Harangue to the Pope and Cardinals In the beginning he commends the late King Francis that amongst other his Virtues he was so tender of the Rights and Liberties even of other Princes that upon that account he never declined Danger nor Cost That his Son King Henry did in no ways degenerate from him in Manners and Inclination who so soon as he was seated on the Throne and had performed his last Duty to his deceased Father had nothing more in his thoughts than how to make appear his Zeal and Duty towards the See of Rome therein treading the Steps of his Ancestors the Kings of France who had given so many and illustrious Instances of their Affection towards the Popes of Rome that they were justly reckoned the first and went before all other Nations in that Character And that since now adays there was a Race of froward and saucy People sprung up that opposed and railed against the Majesty of that Place it was a matter of greatest moment that at the same time a most potent King did as it became the eldest Son of the Church and Chief Captain of Christian People submit himself and all he had to the same Church for the maintenance and defence of whose Dignity he was ready to employ and sacrifice all that was near
Judges but as Honourable and Worthy Prince And in the first place saith he for clearing of the matter I am to speak some things of the Prutenick Order The Kings of Poland made over a good part of Prussia to this Order which is commonly called the Teutonick Order upon condition that they would serve them in the Wars against Infidels and the Enemies of Christendom But they having most ungratefully rebelled turned their Arms against their own Sovereigns So that many times they had Wars together and many times in Treaties the Conditions were renewed which by reason of their antiquity it is to no purpose to relate And I shall only mention that which happened almost in our memory King Casimire the Father of Sigismund having overcome them in a great Battel forced them to accept of Conditions of Peace Amongst other things it was agreed upon at that time that for the future they should acknowledge the King of Poland for their chief Magistrate and swear Allegiance unto him But there were some Masters of that Order afterwards who violated the Conditions and put themselves under the Protection of others Amongst these was Albert of Brandenburg for one who being by his Tenure obliged to do Homage to the King his Uncle within six months refused to do it so that the King who was a great lover of peace was forced to make War against him And though it never came to a pitcht Battle betwixt them yet much mischief was done by Inrodes plundering burning of Houses and smaller skirmishes in so much that Albert being overpowred came to make a Truce with the King. At the very same time some forces came to his assistance out of Germany which made him depart without concluding any thing and begin the War again afresh But being forsaken of them not long after he was now forced to do in good earnest what he had only pretended to do before that he might obtain a Peace So that by the mediation of some Peace was at length concluded upon these Conditions That he should swear Allegiance to the King and perform all those things that a true and faithful Vassal ought to do to his Liege Lord. It is certain then That Prussia hath time out of mind and ever since the Christian Religion was planted there both by the Law of Arms and by Mutual Compacts and Agreements belonged to the Crown of Poland for if any others have claimed right to it that has been done by the Insolence and Injustice of the Masters of the Order who being by the permission of our Kings Natives of Germany have often attempted to bring Prussia under the Dominion of Strangers which hath occasioned many broils and quarrels betwixt the Poles and Germans and was the cause of the Decree whereby Albert stands proscribed But what power had they who proscribed him over the Vassal of another For that he did not appear in Judgment when he was cited by those who were not competent Judges he did so by the Kings Command on whom the whole blame is to be laid if any there be Now if he be outlawed for acknowledging the King to be his chief Magistrate it is really very unjust that a Man should be punished for doing his Duty Wherefore it is the earnest Suit of the King my Master to you most Triumphant Emperour and most Noble States that that unjust and unlawful Decree of Proscription may be abolished Nor is it to be thought that the King out of any ambitious or covetous design intends to enlarge his Dominions by the accession of Prussia For how can he be suspected of any such thing who has refused most ample Provinces offered unto him And indeed he values not this Country so much but that if he could do it with his Honour he could easily dispense with it but since it properly belongs to his Dominions as it hath been already often made out he can do no otherwise for that there have been frequent strifes and contentions about it it hath been always the fault of the Masters of the Order as hath been said whom God failed not now and then to punish for their Audacious Crimes Your Grandfather Maximilian most mighty Emperour and King Ferdinand knew this very well who being mindful of the injuries which both he and his Father Frederick had received from them made a solemn promise to King Sigismund when they had an Interview at Vienna and this Promise he made too both in his own and your Names that he would never give any assistance to that Order Now Maximilian in this did no new thing but therein followed the footsteps of his Ancestors for both Sigismund the Emperour in an Interview with Ladislaus my Masters Grandfather promised not only as much but also to give assistance against them and your Great Grandfather Frederick the Emperour joyned Forces and Arms with Casimire the Father of King Sigismund against Matthias King of Hungary and the Order we now speak of who were at that time Confederates And though King Casimire being entangled in the War of this Order could not send Auxiliaries to the Emperour Frederick yet he supplied him with the Money that he owed him by virtue of their League and Agreement So that it plainly appears that this Order hath been always an Enemy to the House of Austria which hath ever been most closely united to Poland by the Bonds of Leagues and Alliances and that King Sigismund now refers to your serious Consideration For if there be any of that Order that look upon themselves as bound to fight for the Christian Religion there is nothing for them to do in Prussia since all Neighbouring States profess the Faith of Christ They are to look for other places then where they may imploy themselves and indeed Jerusalem for some Ages now has been in the possession of a harbarous Enemy for the defence of which place this Order is said to have been instituted Constantinople also is in the hands of the same People Here is work enough cut out for them if they have a mind to be doing Or if they think the pretension too old and the place too far distant there have been many strong Holds of Christendom lately taken why do not the Order march thither that either they may regain what is lost or defend what remains from the Enemy But if they delight more in Civil War any Man may then judge how ill they deserve their Name This indeed is the Case It is an Order that hath always been out of order And therefore they were not only driven out of Prussia but an hundred years ago out of Bohemia also nor hath any Man as yet sued for a Donation of those places in Bohemia out of which they were expulsed as being publick and vacant Poland alone is thought fit to be molested that way whereas it ought most of all to have been favoured for though that Order is offensive to many yet none has suffered so
much from it as Poland does Because excepting some few and those too the first Masters hardly any of the rest ever did their Duty Nay for the most part letting the Barbarians alone they turned their Arms against their own Sovereign the King of Poland And not only so but they Negotiated also a League with the Tartars a cruel sort of Men and implacable Enemies to the Christians as it is reported of Michael Cochmester So that if one should reckon up the Labours Perils Charges Wars Tumults Battels Slaughters and Desolations that this Order above all others has been the cause of he 'll find it to be hardly worth so much Now it is the Kings desire that once for all an end may be put to these Evils for if any make War against Albert Duke of Prussia the King cannot sit still and see him wronged because he is both his Uncle and Patron The threatnings of some flie about and are brought to the Kings Ears and he is very much troubled thereat for he loves peace and quietness and above all the Concord of Christendom However if any offer Violence it will be against his will indeed to take up Arms but for all that he will do it for the defence of him and his He desires the friendship of all Princes but yours especially most mighty Emperour and King Ferdinand and wishes it may be perpetual therefore he hath often interceded with you by Letters and Messengers that the Decree of Proscription against Albert might be recalled And that it hath not as yet been done he imputes it not so much to you as to the troublesome times But now that all rubs and impediments are removed out of your way he thinks it is now in your power to accomplish what sometimes you generously promised when in more Letters than one you assured him that you wanted ability rather than good will to gratifie his desires Now in case the Order will not be quiet but raise Stirs and War he is very confident that you will observe the Articles and Compacts of your Predecessors the Emperours Maximilian and Frederick One thing more I have in my Instructions and that concerns the Cities of Dantzick and Elwang Though these are under the Dominion of Poland yet are they called to the Diets of the Empire the King therefore desires that no such thing may be done for the future and since no Man but he hath any right to them that henceforward they may be suffered to enjoy their own Laws When the Emperour had heard his Demands he made a Report of them to the Diet of the Empire and gave a Copy of the Speech to Wolfgang Master of Prussia who January the Twenty third made an Answer to it in the vulgar Language and having begun with a little Preface The Hinge of the whole Controversie turns upon this saith he Whether Prussia belong to the Dominion of Poland or to the Empire and if I make out the last the decision will be very easie The State of the Case then most Triumphant Emperour most Potent King most Noble Princes and States is thus as I am about to shew you About four hundred years since when a publick War was undertaken against the Barbarians who exceedingly distressed those of our Religion in Asia and Africa the Order we now speak of was instituted by Emperours afterward bountifully endowed and by Popes confirmed The Knights of that Order for some years after sustained most difficult and dangerous Wars in those parts for the good of Christendom but at length having received a great overthrow they were scattered and dispersed into several places It happened about that time that Conrade Duke of Muscovy was sadly put to it by the Prussians who were then Enemies to the Christian Religion He being unable to defend himself any longer against them implored first the Pope of Rome that as the Custom was he would publish a Croisadoe and by promises of Heavenly Rewards encourage Men to become Soldiers Then next he joyned to himself this Order of mine bestowing upon them all the Country of Culm bordering upon Prussia and the more to excite them afterwards all Prussia it self The Emperour Frederick II. confirmed this Donation and made a promise to Horman Salcie then Master of the Order That if he would make War against the Prussians and overcome them their Land should be his for ever This was in the year 1226. so that my Order having by the help of the Emperours Popes and Princes of the Empire carried on a continual War against the Prussians for almost filty three years at length they subdued Prussia and converted it to the Christian Religion adorning it with some Bishopricks and Colledges and strengthening it by Castles and Towns which they built that for the future that Country might be as a Wall and Bariere to the Empire and a Sanctuary for the Nobility of Germany Thus one part of that Country continued in our hands until the year 1450. and the other till the time of Albert of Brandenburg When in process of time afterwards the Lithuanians joyning with the Tartars made War against the Poles and Muscovites our Knights being mindful of their Order and Institution took Arms totally routed the Lithuanians and invaded their Country So that we had a lasting Peace and Amity with the Poles until a certain Prince of Lithuania was chosen King of Poland He to revenge the loss and affront that his Country had received suddenly set upon us and with the Assistance of the Barbarians did us much hurt But being by our Men forced to retreat and stript of a considerable part of his own Dominions he made but an unlucky end of the War so that he preferred his Grievances to the Council of Constance whereupon a Decree was made That our Order should restore that part of Poland which they held by the Law of Arms. Having in this manner recovered what he had lost he forgot the kindness that was done him and renewed the War pretending that some Provinces of our Order belonged to the Dominion of Poland And though by the Mediation of the Kings of Hungary and Bohemia the matter was taken up yet the sore broke out again and at length the Cause was brought before Sigismund the Emperour who approved the former Composition that was made by the two Kings However the King of Poland could not rest thus but raised another War which lasted till twenty four years after in the Reign of Ladâ—slaus it was made an end of at Torn In which Pacification he quits all Claim and Title calls not himself Lord or Inheritor of Prussia and obliges all his Successors that within a year after they come to the Crown they swear to Ratifie that Peace make the Bishops and other States of the Kingdom take the same Oath and that every tenth year the same be renewed It was then also Stipulated that if thenceforward any King of Poland should wage War against
the Masters of Prussia his Subjects should not be obliged to obey or aid him but that they should mutually entertain a perpetual Peace And this same Pacification was sealed with about two hundred Seals as it may be made appear nevertheless that peace lasted not above fourteen years For in the year 1450 the People rebelled and conspired against the Master and although the Pope Excommunicated and the Emperour Frederick the Third Proscribed them although the Master was willing to submit to a fair Trial yet they were so far from being reclaimed that about seventy Towns and Castles made a desertion in one day Casimire King of Poland the Father of Sigismund struck in with this Conspiracy and reduced us to such streights that Lewis Erlinsuse who was then Master of the Order forced by fear of the present danger which may affect even the stoutest of Men that he might both retain the Province and live securely therein Capitulated with him upon most unreasonable Conditions without the Authority of Pope Emperour or States of the Empire Amongst others these are the Conditions of this Peace That henceforward the Masters of Prussia within six months after they enter into the Government shall come to the King of Poland and by Oath acknowledge him for their Sovereign whom they shall aid and assist against all Men That they shall receive Poles as well as Germans into their Order and admit them to Perferments and that what Lands and Possessions they shall acquire for the future the same they shall hold in fee of the King of Poland Now these are Conditions which tend not only to the private loss and prejudice of my Order but also to the publick detriment and disgrace of the Empire and Nobility of Germany And therefore there have been Masters since who perceiving the injustice of the thing made sad Complaints of it to the Popes and Emperours but for all that they have been forced to Swear And Prussia continued indeed in Vassalage to the Empire until Frederick Duke of Saxony and Marquess Albert of Brandenburg became Masters of the Order For these would not swear Allegiance to the Kings of Poland because that neither the Pope nor Emperour had ratified that Transaction of Casimire's and that in the year 1500 the Emperour Maximilian by a Decree made in the Diet of Ausburg commanded them to do Homage only to the Empire And when afterward for settling the Controversie Maximilian had appointed a Meeting at Passaw in the year 1510. whither Ambassadours were sent yet nothing could be concluded whence this last War arose besides Albert himself was four and twenty years since at the Diet of Norimberg where he took his place amongst others as a Prince of the Empire and signed the Decree that past there It is manifest then that neither the King of Poland had any right to Prussia nor Albert any colour of Law to do Homage and Swear Allegiance to him Now whereas the Ambassador reproacheth my Order with ingratitude and breach of Treaties he does us an injury and it may be made out by Authentick Records that the King of Poland seldom or never kept faith to us Was there ever any publick Instrument seen to which more Seals were put than that which was made with King Ladislaus Can greater security be given And nevertheless that Writing being cancelled and the Seals broken the War was again renewed against us and this was the Thanks we had for restoring unto them Tartary and a good part of Lithuania He names some Emperours of former times who he say's were offended with my Order but the matter is far otherwise For Sigismund not only determined the Controversie and judged in our favours as was said a little before but also sent us Aids against our Enemy Then again Frederick at that time when the People rebelled as we have already mentioned shew'd us not only all friendship and favour but also proscribed the Conspirators and for that end held a Diet of the Empire at Norimberg in which Diet a Decree past for sending us Succours The same were the good Intentions of Maximilian towards us for neither would he have us to swear Allegiance to the King of Poland but sent several Letters upon that account to King Sigismund both in his own Name and Name of the Empire and made then an Honourable Decree in our Favours The Orator goes on and in a facetious manner plays upon us asking Why we do not recover Jerusalem and such other places I am not so wholly a Stranger to Affairs but that I could could retort many things upon him but in Reverence to this August Assembly I forbear and shall only ask one Question again of him First Why the King of Poland does not recover the places which some years ago the Duke of Muscovy took from him and which are as large in extent as all Prussia is And then why in this his prosperous fortune he defends not his borders against those daily incursions of the Tartars These now are punishments for his breach of faith He saith that heretofore our whole Order was driven out of Bohemia What reason he had to alledge that I cannot tell unless he intended to prove by Example that it was lawful to rob and spoil us also of our Lands and Possessions For the Calamity of that time reached not only our Order but also overspread all Bohemia plagueing those chiefly who adhered to the Religion of their Forefathers when grievous troubles arose about the Doctrine of John Huss My Order I confess have had Wars with the Kings of Poland but that they were the Causes of the War I utterly deny Nor did they ever take up Arms unless it were to defend or recover their own Right He saith we made a League with the Tartars but that had more truely been said of themselves it being notoriously known that they have made use of their helps against those that professed the Christian Religion Besides it may be easily gathered from the situation of the Countrys whether by reason of propinquity the Tartars are more for their turns or ours Lastly what he saith of Dantzick and Elwang hath no reason to support it for both are Cities within our Jurisdiction and belong to the Empire of Germany nor hath the King of Poland any other Right or Title to them but what he has made to himself by the treachery and desertion of the Citizens as might be made out by many proofs Wherefore in consideration of all these things I humbly beg most Triumphant Emperour most Powerful King and most Noble States that the Sentence already pronounced may be put in execution For the Justice of the Cause the Dignity of the Empire the State of Religion and the Honour and Profit of the Nobility of Germany all these things I say ought and do plead for this at your Hands The Ambassadour of Poland had indeed prepared a Reply to this Speech but did not give it in for the
made me this Report That if rightly understood it was not inconsistent to the Catholick Religion nor with the Doctrines Canons and Constitutions of the Church except only in two Points the one concerning the Marriage of Priests and the other touching the Lords Supper But that it was a proper Expedient in its kind for establishing the Peace of Germany the thing I most wish for For what would be more agreeable than to see all the States unanimous in following one and the same form of Religion Which being so I require those who have hitherto to their praise observed the Laws and Rites of the Catholick Church that they continue in the same without wavering or starting of any Innovations as they have heretofore promised unto me and I earnestly desire those who have changed their Religion that they would either come over to the rest of the States and joyn with them in the Profession of the same Religion or moderate their Doctrine according to the Prescript of this Book and in every Point make it their Pattern Nor would I have them alter or add any thing to it but contain themselves within the limitation therein prescribed and neither in their Writings nor Sermons publish or vent any thing to the contrary but obediently expect the Decree of the Council which I shall endeavour shall be called as soon as possibly may be In the mean time it is my whole care that a Form of regulation be conceived for reformation of the Clergy When he had thus spoken by the Mouth of his Secretary as the Custom is he commanded the Book to be read So soon as that was done the Archbishop of Mentz who has the first place amongst the Electors without consulting the rest of the States started up and as in name of the whole Dyet gave the Emperour most hearty thanks for the great labour and pains he had been at for his care and diligence and for the zeal and affection he had for his Country And that seeing they had formerly referred the Matter to his prudent and faithful management and that now he had laboured to bring it to effect It was but just and reasonable said he that with most thankful hearts they should acknowledge so great favours and dutifully submit to the Decree The Emperour took the thanks for a publick consent and confirmation nor would he afterwards admit of any excuse as shall be said hereafter and commanded the Book to be printed both in Latin and in the Vulgar Tongue Four days after he represented to the States the great labour and charges he had been at in restoring Peace to Germany And that because the thing it self required that the same should be secured for the future it therefore seemed to him very necessary that some considerable sum of Money should be raised and in certain places kept in a publick Bank that if any Commotions should happen to arise within or without the Empire there must be a remedy ready at hand Some few days after that King Ferdinand also represented to the States that for necessary causes and considerations which were not unknown to them and needed not to be related he had by his Ambassadour made a Truce with the Turks for five years which had begun the year before And that though the Turk had charged his Subjects that they should act nothing to the contrary yet he nevertheless desired that they would contribute the Aids which they had promised before that if he should chance to break the truce he might be in a condition to make head against him That besides since the Turk fortified his frontier places with strong Garisons it concerned him not to be negligent And that therefore he had resolved to fortifie all proper places and keep Garisons in them But that because of the great charges he had been at in the late Wars he was not able long to support so great a burden That therefore he entreated them that they would give him a yearly Subsidie for those uses during the continuance of the truce For that that concerned the quiet and safety of them all in general In the mean time Maximilian the Son of King Ferdinand went from Ausburg to Spain to celebrate his Marriage with the Lady Mary the Emperours eldest Daughter and his own first Cousin The Cardinal of Trent was sent with him and the Duke of Alva went some Months before about the later end of May. The Neapolitan Horse who had before quartered in Nortgow came into the Country about Strasburg and continued almost three Months there behaving themselves with incredible insolence They came now and then into the Town which created no small suspition Duke Maurice not long after the publication of the Emperours Decree departed But Marquess John of Brandenburg Brother to the Elector Joachim waited upon the Emperour and in presence of King Ferdinand humbly begg'd that he would spare him as to that Decree and having taken a little notice of the services he had rendered him told him that it was chiefly the confidence he had in the Emperours promise concerning the free exercise of his Religion that made him serve in the late Wars The Emperour made answer That the Decree was made with the consent of the States of the Empire and therefore not to be dispensed with He on the other hand cryed that all had not assented nor could he with a good Conscience approve that Decree and challenged the Emperours Word and Promise When the Emperour perceived there was nothing to be done with him he bad him be gone and it was thought he did so that by his Example or Discourse he might not confirm the minds of others Wherefore the same day towards the Evening he set out on his Journy homewards and made no alteration in all his Country His Brother the Elector who had made it always his study to please the Emperour shew'd no resistance Nor the Elector Palatine neither who otherwise was not much in favour at that time with the Emperour When the Decree was put to the Deputies of the Cities that were of the Augustane Confession they prayed that they might have leave to consult their Principals about the Matter that afterwards they might answer according to their minds which was granted them Wolfgang Duke of Deux-ponts of the House Palatine had his Deputies there but the Emperour commanded him to come before him in Person which being done he pressed him to approve the Decree He made Answer That he knew no other Religion but that wherein he had been born and bred to that very day wherefore he prayed his Majesty to have some Consideration for him promising to do therein whatever he could with a safe Conscience At that time the Emperour did indeed dismiss him but plied him sharply afterwards by Messengers and Letters as shall be said in its proper place Whil'st the Senate and Council of Ausburg are consulting the Emperour posts Soldiers
footsteps Nevertheless we beseech Your Majesty on the other hand to consider that since every one must render an account of his Actions to God we have just cause to be concerned for our Salvation and to take care that we do nothing contrary to our Conscience Which was the reason also we were in good hopes that having given Audience to our Divines Your Majesty would have moderated the Decree But since now you refer us to the Council where you say matters shall be handled according to the holy Scriptures we admit of the condition and that we may not seem to be contentious or obstinate we are not against it but that the Bishop may by men of his own Order officiate in some of our Churches according to the formulary you have prescribed We shall transact with him about the Churches and shall neither offer any disturbance nor hinder the Citizens from repairing to them but it shall be free to every one to follow what Religion they please and that seemeth rightest to them Yet still on this condition that we on the other hand may be allowed some Churches wherein the Word of God may be purely taught and the Sacraments administred as is fitting and in the vulgar Tongue We shall also take care that the People live orderly and that nothing be done undecently Besides we shall command Holy days and Fast days to be observed and that no Flesh be eaten on days prohibited nor shall we suffer that in Sermons or any other way the least cause of Offence be given And because this Doctrine hath now for many years taken such deep rooting in men's Minds that without wounding their Consciences it cannot be so suddenly taken away And then Sir since in the manner we have declared Your Majesties Decree will be received amongst us we beseech Your Majesty from the very bottom of our Hearts that you would be pleased to condescend to our humble Supplications and suffer us to enjoy our Religion until the sitting of the Council This will be an Office most acceptable to God and most conducible to the Peace of our City and whole Province When the Emperour had heard this Letter and also what James Sturmey after his eloquent way had more largely said to the same purpose and by the mouth of Selden made ample protestations of his affection and good intentions towards Germany at length after a long Parly he thus dismisses them that they should accord with their Bishop but on this condition That if they did not agree they should stand to his Arbitration When the Emperour was come into the Low Countries he kept the Duke of Saxony with him but the Landgrave he sent to Oudenard a Town of Flanders And upon the borders of Brabant he dismissed all the Forces that he had brought thither from Ausburg We mentioned before that the States of the Empire had referred it to the Emperour to constitute the Judicature of the Imperial Chamber The first day of October then according as it had been enacted it began and three Advocates were turned out upon suspicion of Lutheranism and all the rest are cautioned amongst other things that they continue in the Doctrine of the Catholick Church or be turned out of place There Henry Duke of Brunswick commenced a suit against the confederate Protestants for the past War wherein he was overthrown He had conditioned nay and sworn too when he was let go out of Prison that he would not attempt any such thing but he fell off from that Agreement and not only he but also the Elector of Mentz the Master of Prussia the Counts of Nassaw and Solmes brought their Actions against the Landgrave The Men of Constance lately outlawed being reduced to great streights and seeing no way how to save themselves fly to the last refuge and surrender themselves for ever to the House of Austria King Ferdinand then takes them into his Protection and presently sent a Noble Man to be their Governour who on the fifteenth of October proposed these Conditions unto them That from henceforth they acknowledge King Ferdinand and his Heirs for their lawful Lords that they perform all Fealty and Obedience unto them at no time fall-off from their Allegiance and not enter into any League with others That they absolutely obey all Decrees to be made by King Ferdinand and his Governours concerning Religion and all things else That they faithfully and truly serve King Ferdinand and his Heirs and obey his Commands as the rest of his Subjects do and then they swear to these Conditions Two days after the Governour calls a Council and demands of them what Money they had in their Treasury and that an Inventory be made of all their Artillery and Ammunition He also commands that no Towns-man wear a long Sword that none presume to come near the Works of the Town nor the Guard-house that the Names of those who during the War gave the City intelligence of their danger be given in that the Goods of those who are absent and of those who have removed to other places be inventoried and detained That all publick Writings be produced and some who are skilful in the Affair give an account what every one of them concerns Afterwards all the Ministers of the Churches are commanded to leave the Town within eight days In this Month Augustus Brother to Maurice Duke of Saxony Brother to Maurice Duke of Saxony married the Lady Ann Daughter to Christian King of Denmark It was agreed upon in the Contract of Marriage that Duke Maurice should settle no Estate of Inheritance upon him out of the Lands of Duke Frederick but out of his own Paternal Inheritance At that time there was a great Insurrection through Guienne about the gabel of Salt and the Customs The chief City of the Country is Bourdeaux a large and populous Sea-port Town which sometimes belonged to the English They were the very chief in the Rebellion and killed the King's Governour This being then a thing of most dangerous consequence the French King sent thither under the Command of the Constable and Duke of Aumale one and thirty Companies of Foot of which one and twenty were Germans and a small Body of Horse The Bourdeaux-men hearing of this make their Application to the Constable offering him free entry into their Town with his Soldiers but pray him not to suffer the Germans to enter His answer was That they were not to give Rules to him that the Germans were in the King's Service as well as the rest that he would do what he thought fit and if they did not open the Gates he had Keys to unlock them So then he entred the Town October the nineteenth and having drawn up his Men in several Posts he first commands the Citizens to bring out all their Arms and carry them to the Castle which took up two days time The third day they began to enquire from house
consult with him in what manner they might put in execution their Commission and that afterwards when they understood that it was not possible for them themselves to have access into all places that stood in need of their help they had been necessitated to employ others This Indulgence or Indult of the Popes as they call it the Emperour presently sent to all the German Bishops admonishing them severally to use gentle and mild ways and to try all Courses by fair Language Exhortation and Entreaty before they should come to Threats and Excommunication Wherefore the Archbishop of Mentz writing amongst others to the Landgraves Governours and Counsellors and having said much of his own Pastoral Care and of the Emperour's earnest Concern for the Publick requires them to shew the Pope's Indulgence to the Ministers of the Church and command them to obey it The thing being proposed to the Preachers their answer was That their Doctrine agreed with the Doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles and that though their Lives and Conversation did not suit with their Profession yet they acknowledged no Error in their Doctrine and that therefore they stood not in need of an Indulgence from the Pope that they had preferred Marriage before an unchast single Life according to the Word of God and that they would not forsake their Wives and Children whom Christ himself commanded us to love cherish and provide for That in administring the Sacrament under both kinds in their Churches they therein followed the command of Christ and the custom of the Primitive Church and that there was no reason to admit of any Alteration therein In the Month of May Peter Martyr and the Divines of Oxford disputed publickly concerning the Lords Supper and the Presence of Christs Body in the Sacrament Martyr proposed these Points to be defended That the substance of the Bread and Wine was not changed and That the Body and Bloud of Christ was not Carnally or Corporally in the Bread and Wine but sacramentally united to them Afterward there was a Book of this published wherein the presidents of the Dispute who were appointed by the King give no obscure intimation that Martyr had the better on 't in that Debate On the Tenth day of June the Queen of France was crowned at St. Denis as the custom is the Ceremony being performed by the Cardinals of Bulloigne Guise Chastillion Vendosme and Bourbon for all the rest were at Rome Six days after the King made a most splendid and magnificent Entry into Paris the chief Town of the Kingdom where he had not been seen publickly since the death of his Father and two days after the Queen During his abode there some were put to death for Lutheranisme and as it is said he himself was a Spectator of the Execution Afterwards July the Fourth he made a solemn Procession and Prayers in the Churches and next day after published a Printed Proclamation declaring the causes of it to have been That he might give God thanks for the many Blessings he had bestowed upon him that he might pray to God for the safety and preservation of himself his Wife and Children and of the whole Kingdom and Commonwealth as also for the Souls of good Men departed especially for the Kings of France his Progenitors and the late King his Father after whose Example he was resolved to take upon himself the protection and defence of the Catholick Religion the Authority and Liberty of the Apostolick See and of the Ministers of the Church that amongst others this was also a chief cause that it might publickly appear how much he detested those who contrary to the command of Christ contrary to the Traditions of the Apostles and the consent of all Antiquity deny the presence of the Body and Bloud of Christ who take away all force and efficacy from Baptism Penance good Works and the Sacraments who professedly despise the Authority and Hierarchial Order of the Church who reject the Worship and Adoration of Saints and Relicks Moreover that by that solemn Procession and Supplication he might make known what his Judgment and Inclinations were to wit that according to the Example of his Forefathers and in a certain Hereditary Imitation he so thought and believed as the Catholick Church the Apostles Creed the first Council of Nice and many other Councils of the Fathers enjoyned as also that he was fully resolved to root out of all his Territories those Heresies which were long ago condemned but now again partly revived and partly contrived by Luther Carolostadius Zuinglius Oecolampadius Melanchton Bucer Calvin and such other monstrous and pestilent Arch-Hereticks and severely to punish such as deserved it This Writing set forth in the Vulgar Tongue he sent all over France commanding it to be published to the People and accordingly publick Processions and Prayers to be made in all places A little while after he caused Monsieur de Vervius to be beheaded for surrendring the Castle and Town of Bulloigne as was mentioned in the Fifteenth Book and confined to perpetual Prison his Father in Law d' Abigny a very ancient Man who had been Governour of all the Bolonese and one of the four Mareschals of France For many Months now he had solicited the Switzers to renew with him the League they had made with his Father and though the Emperour by Messengers and Letters did what they could to dissuade them from it yet they judging it more for their Interest consented and first the Catholick Cantons with the Rhinwalders and Wallisserlanders and afterwards also those of Basil and Schafhawsen to the great astonishment of many because of those Edicts and Punishments we spoke of For it was the general opinion that no League nor Society ought to be made with him who so cruelly persecuted the Reformed Religion and by name condemned their Churches and Doctors But the Cantons of Bern and Zurick following the counsel of Zuinglius as may be seen in the third and sixth Book refused to enter into that League We took notice before of the Convocation at Leipsick But now that some talked and complained that Popery was again stealing in upon them Duke Maurice in his Letters addressed to his Governours July the Fourth tells them that he was informed many partly out of a too solicitous jealousie and partly through the suggestions of others were apprehensive that the old Errours might be by degrees introduced again that some of the Ministers of the Church and other busie and restless spirits that delighted in changed were not altogether free from fomenting of that Calumny that by several Declarations he had formerly made publick what his Purpose and Resolution was which now because of the Slanderous Reports raised he again repeated thereby to convince all that his Religion was dear unto him that therefore he required those who either out of a fond credulity or through the suggestions of others were
Emperour and Princes of the Empire So soon as these came to Ausburg which was ten days after they bring a heavy accusation against the Senate and People of Magdeburg and in consideration that Duke Maurice had taken into his Service the Forces of the Duke of Meckleburg that they had also sent him Supplies and that they were not able long to support such Charges they desire the Princes to take some speedy course to quench the common Flame that both the Soldiers may be paid and these outlaw'd Criminals brought to condign Punishment before they recovered Strength and Courage after their late overthrow for that otherwise the Soldiers would run away to the Enemy which would put not only them who were the next Neighbours into present danger but also all the States of the Empire That it was their whole design to overturn the Government and to raise a popular Insurrection all over the Empire and therefore they proposed a Supply of eight thousand Foot and twelve hundred Horse The same day the Answers of the Bremers and Magdeburgers to the Princes Letters we mentioned before were publickly read and the Bremers in the first place plead the earnest desire they have always had of Peace and the Emperour's Friendship that for obtaining it they had not only employed Deputies of their own but used the mediation also of the King of Denmark and the Maritime Cities and that the Conditions proposed were very hard But however that it might appear how great the Emperour's Authority was with them they would not refuse to send Deputies and promised to do any thing provided they might be allowed their Religion and Liberty The Magdeburgers again alledge that in the former Dyet they had made most humble and earnest suit to the Emperour for a Peace but that the Conditions were intolerable and the Wrongs since that time they sustained so grievous that finding no end nor measure of suffering Injuries they had been necessitated to resist force by force but still moderately That the cause why they were so much hated was only that they desired to retain the true Doctrine and eschew Idolatry That as affairs stood they could find none that would undertake to go in their Name with full power to the Diet against the Day appointed as they were commanded That besides George Duke of Meckleburg had unexpectedly made War upon them and declared openly that he did it by command from the Emperour and Empire That now also the City was blockt up by the Enemy but that if these did withdraw and safe Conduct were given to their Deputies with liberty to return and make a report of their Demands they would not refuse to send some About the beginning of November Ulrick Duke of Wirtemberg died whilst the suit which he had with King Ferdinand as we said before was still depending and his Son Christopher succeeded him When the Emperour had received the Answers of the two Cities he said the Bremers were to be expected because they had promised to come but as to the Magdeburgers since the matter was quite otherwise than what they said and because they answered with a kind of contempt he bids them proceed in consulting what was to be done with them and chiefly that they should take the Demands of the States of the Bishoprick into their serious consideration and do therein what they should think fit both for the welfare and dignity of the Empire The Princes and States easily perceived that no Peace could ever be made upon these Conditions and therefore they desired easier Terms might be proposed but the Emperour persisted in his purpose So they at last though much against the minds of many especially of the free Towns assent and promise Assistance but on the other hand they pray the Emperour that he would also contribute And then that if he could not command in person he would appoint a General to carry on this War and for that end propose to him Duke Maurice if he thought fit but as for the Charges of it it was their judgment that they should be paid out of the Money already raised for the future occasions of the Publick The Emperour on his part made answer That he had been at vast Charges in the former War to restore Peace to Germany and therefore desires them to take it into their Consideration That as to Duke Maurice he was very well pleased nor did he know any man at that time more fit for the Charge than he was and that for several Reasons But that Money should be taken out of the publick Treasury he so far approved and allowed it as that what was taken out should within a certain time be refunded again for that that Money was not raised for this use and he exhorted them to prosecute the matter with all their Force that they might be punished according to their Deservings which was easy enough to be done he told them if Castles and Redoubts were raised about the Town and the Siege vigorously carried on without intermission till they were forced to yield but that there was need of expedition because of the season of the Year and the opportunity of Action For that if that headstrong and obstinate Rebellion were not suppressed it was obvious to them how much it would redound to the prejudice and disgrace of the Empire So then Duke Maurice who as we said had already thrust himself into Action having mustered the Forces under him is now publickly entrusted with the management of the War For defraying the Charges whereof a Subsidy is granted of threescore Thousand Florin's a Month and an hundred Thousand allotted for the Charges already made The Emperour in the next place assured the Princes That the Council should be again continued at Trent before Easter for that he had the Pope's Promise for it In the mean time he urges the Decree of Ausburg and bids them tell him the Reasons why the Regulations that were made two Years before for the Reformation of Religion and the Clergy were not observed The Electoral Archbishops answer That they had not omitted any thing and were at present wholly taken up about it but that the cause why it did not take effect was the Exemptions and Privileges that some pretended to The Representatives of the absent Electors said That all Endeavours had been used but that an inveterate continuance had withstood the effect for that this Religion was not so soon to be pluckt out of Men's minds but that there was need of Instruction and bringing them over by degrees who were fully persuaded that that Decree was in many things repugnant to the Holy Scriptures that no violent Change could be made without Troubles and Stirs and that if any Man should constrain the Preachers to it there would be no Service in the Churches for that hardly any one could be sound that would stoop to it because of that Article of Celibacy and of
enough penn'd sharpened them and skrewed them up to the highest pitch of Rigour inviting and encouraging Informers by ample promises of Rewards Which the King as it was thought did with this design that he might curb those who were desirous of a change of Religion in France that they should not take to themselves the greater liberty because of his clasing with the Pope at this time Again that they who honoured the Church of Rome might entertain no suspicion of him as if his mind hankered after a new Religion And lastly that both the Pope and College of Cardinals might perceive that they might have access still to his Friendship when they pleased Afterward a Declaration came forth out of the Emperour's Court wherein the original of the War of Parma is related and how just a cause of Offence the Pope had against Octavio and the Prince of Mirandula of how restless a mind the French King was who laid hold on all occasions and made it his whole study and endeavour to hinder and disappoint the Emperour's most honest and lawful Designs But that the Emperour was so little moved at all these things that he would proceed with greater Courage and Resolution Octavio had given it out that he was necessitated to put himself under the protection of the French King because of the Injuries and Treacheries of Ferdinando Gonzaga but in this Declaration that is refuted For that if there were any cause of fear he himself gave the occasion who had oftener than once laid wait for the life of Gonzaga Then there is an account given how Piacenza fell into the Emperour's hands for that Petro Aloisio the Pope's Bastard Son being invested into Parma and Piacenza governed the Poeple tyrannically and like another Nero practised his detestable Lust not only upon Women but Men also as his custom was that therefore he was slain and murdered in his own House by the Citizens who could no longer suffer so great Cruelties That the Towns-people then perceiving the present danger they were in if they should fall again under the Jurisdiction of the Pope and Church of Rome had no other way of security left than to resign themselves over to the Emperour especially since of old they had been free Denizons of the Empire That therefore they had applied themselves to Gonzaga praying him to receive them into the Emperour's protection for that otherwise they must look for help and patronage somewhere else That it was an idle thing in him then to pretend fear seeing the Emperour had bestowed many favours upon the Family of Farnese that he had chosen Octavio to be his Son-in-law given his Father Peter Aloisio the City of Novara in Fee and Inheritance and honoured him with the Title of Marquess But that they had been very ungrateful at all times but particularly when under a counterfeit mask of Friendship they assisted him in subduing some Rebels of Germany their whole design was at the same time to have taken from him Milan and Genoua for that Joannin D'Oria a brave and valiant Man was basely killed in that Scuffle and Tumult whilst he discharged his duty to the Emperour and stood up for the safety of his Country There came out an answer to this afterward in name of the French King wherein a relation is given how that the Emperour to endear Paul III. to himself had given to his Son Petro Aloisio the Title and Quality of Marquess how that he had taken his Son Octavio to be his own Son-in-law how that he had gratifyed and obliged his other Son Alexander with many Ecclesiastical Preferments and in short how that he had made a League with the Pope wherein it was provided as it is said that the Emperour should confirm the Decree of the College of Cardinals concerning the Principality of Parma and Piacenza to the Family of the Farneses But that when the Emperour was at War in Germany and pretended it was not for Religion but to punish the Rebellion of some that he had taken up Arms it was a very unacceptable Contrivance to the Pope as wel perceiving that by so doing he minded only his own private Concerns and aimed at Dominion And that he had not been out in his Judgment neither for that when the War being over the Emperour stood not much in need of the assistance of the Farneses he had given no dark intimations of his ill will to the Pope for that then his Governours in Italy had had an eye and mind to Piacenza and that not long after Ruffians being subborned to murder Petro Aloisio in his Chamber before that the Citizens heard of the Murder Soldiers had been brought into the Town who seized the Castle in the Emperour's Name That if the Emperour had not been privy to the Fact it had been but reasonable that after the death of Paul the Third he should have restored it to the Church but that he not only restored it not but had also endeavoured to take Parma from his Son-in-law and had even in the life-time of Paul laid his measures for effecting it insomuch that the Trouble and Vexation which the Pope thereupon conceived shortened his days That afterwards Assassines had been apprehended at Parma who voluntarily confessed That they had been employed by Ferdinando Gonzaga to kill Octavio that being reduced then into such streights that they from whom he expected help and his own Father-in-law too had designs upon him to rob him both of Life and Fortune he had implored help and protection from him which upon his humble Supplication he could not refuse THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH BOOK XXIII The CONTENTS The Fathers of Trent meet in Session aâ—d draw up the form of a safe Conduct for coming to the Council The French King consents not nay he persuades the Switzers to send none to it Peace is fully concluded with the Magdeburgers The Conditions of the Peace are set down Some Cities of Germany send Deputies to the Council The Ambassadors of the Duke of Wirtemberg are deluded Duke Maurice having sent Ambassadors to the Emperour about the Landgrave and obtaining nothing but shifts and delays he presently resolves upon a War. The Bishop of Waradine lately made Cardinal by whose help King Ferdinand had made himself Master of all Transilvania almost is slain in his own House The Emperour in his Letters which he sendeth to appease the Electoral Archbishops tells them That he expects nothing but what is fair and honest from Duke Maurice who the better to cloak and conceal his designs sends his Deputies also to the Council with whom others joyn and demands a safe Conduct for his Divines to come but especially that they who are of a contrary persuasion should not sit as Judges in the Council They depart without success when it began to be spread abroad that their Master Duke Maurice was a preparing for War. The Tridentine Fathers disagree among themselves Shortly after news
in the Council then he ordered the Divines to follow who being advanced on their way as far as Norimberg there stayed for Letters from the Ambassadors we mentioned as hath been fully related in the preceding Book He sent before other Ambassadors also to the Emperor Christopher Carlebitz and Ulrick Mordeysen who were to stay for his coming upon the Frontiers of Bavaria being to use them in his Treaty and Negotiation Besides he ordered Lodgings to be taken for him at Inspruck and he himself set out and advanced some days Journey in the way but then stopt shoâ—â— and making an excused by very kind 〈◊〉 which upon the roaâ— he wrote to Inspâ—â—â—â— returned home Thus from 〈…〉 time till in the very beginning of the Spring having timely recalled his Ministers he began to muster the Soldiers whom with great Secrecy he had raised in the Winter time and published his Declaration to all the States of the Empire to this purpose That there was nothing in this World so dear unto him as Peace and Concord but that the chief thing he wished for was agreement in Religion according to the Doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles that their Adversaries had indeed put them in hopes of that both privately and by publick decrees that however nothing had been performed and that they did not only interpret these Promises and Decrees in another sense now but wholly rescinded and abrogated them that they had not spared neither to tell some that unless they were obeyed no Man needed much to trust or rely upon former Promises for that when they were made the state of the times and affairs was different but that now all must obey or expect to suffer if they refuse That not satisfied with these Expressions which yet shewed a hostile Mind they had stirred up also foreign Kings against himself and other Princes of his Rank and Profession and invented many causes of hatred against them sometimes their Religion and sometimes other Crimes whereas the thing it self made it plain that Religion was least in their thoughts but that it hath been always their aim to make the difference in Religion a step to raise them to Dominion and Rule for that it was now obvious to all Men what arts and tricks they had used to overturn and destroy the true Religion which in former years was set forth and professed at Ausburg that in order thereunto they had banished the Preachers of the Gospel out of the Empire and without staying for the decree not to say of a lawful but even of a Popish Council had begun where they should have ended with Execution that therefore he was not to be blamed if by Wars he rescued himself and People from that slavery of Mind and Conscience But that seeing the Glory of God was concerned in that who alone was able to promote and defend his word he referred all to his divine Majesty heartily beseeching him that he would give him grace constantly to persevere in the true knowledge of him to his lifes end That there was another thing he intended to speak of and that related to the Landgrave his Father-in-Law that five years since he and Joachim Elector of Brandenburg had been in the Emperors name put in hopes that if the Landgrave could be perswaded to come and humbly beg the Emperor's Pardon the Emperor would demand no more of him than what was contained in the Articles of Peace accorded to but would graciously dismiss him that therefore they had prevailed with him by Letters to comply having bound themselves to the Sons Body for Body for the Father that they should submit to the same fortune that he underwent that so he had come with full assurance to Hall and made his humble submission to the Emperor then supped with the Duke of Alva and spent a good part of the Night pretty chearfully but that when he was about to return to his Inn he had been contrary to all expectation detained and committed to Custody wherein he had now for almost five whole Years languished in great Misery and that though his Sons the Nobility and People had ratified and approved the transaction though he himself the Elector of Brandenburg and Wolffgang Prince Palatine had engaged as sureties for him that unless he did perform his Conditions they would deliver him up into his Hands and that though according to the treaty of Pacification his Fine was payed the Artillery with all the Ammunition delivered the Castles and Forts demolished Duke Henry of Brunswick and his Son set at liberty and the Copy of the League and Confederacy exhibited so that no more indeed remained to be performed nevertheless neither the Prayers nor intercession of himself of the Elector of Brandenburg of his own Wife who died for grief of the People nor of other Princes could hitherto any way prevail That he had often made his application to the Emperor and because many entertained a sinistrous opinion of him had earnestly begg'd of his Majesty that he would have regard to his Honour and Reputation that he would be pleased to have respect to the good Offices that their Predecessors had rendered to his Ancestors and to what they themselves had deserved at his own and Brother King Ferdinands hands and in consideration thereof set him at liberty but that none of these Arguments could prevail with him nay that on the contrary he had compelled him being a Prisoner to answer Law-suits and against all Law and Justice especially in such difficult matters to plead his Cause under constraint not to mention how suspiciously and with how great precipitation the matter was managed a thing not before known or heard of in Germany that under that pretext of Law forsooth he might by degrees turn him and his Children out of all and reduce them to such streights that they might not be able to maintain their rank and quality for the future That it highly concerned him not to suffer this both for the near relation he had to the House of Hesse and the right he had to its Succession That this might seem strange indeed were it not now obvious to all Men that these kind of Arts tended mainly to the establishing of that Monarchy which for so many years had been a rearing That the third and chief thing he had to say concerned all Germans and their common and native Country Germany whose condition was certainly most sad and deplorable for that contrary to Laws and Treaties foreign Soldiers had been brought into the bowels of the Empire where they now after many years continuance began to take rooting devouring other Mens Goods and Estates both in City and Country and practising all kinds of filthy Lust that besides new ways of raising Money were invented and the ancient Liberty many ways imposed upon wherein no rank nor state no not the Electors themselves were spared That the Ambassadors of foreign Kings who grieve at these things and who tender the wellfare
enrich himself that for some years past he had served the Emperor and King Ferdinand in their Wars to the great prejudice of his Estate without any other prospect or design but the purchasing of Honour and Reputation by his Services that fair and ample conditions had been several times offered him also but he had rejected them that he might espouse this War for the Liberty and ancient Dignity of his Country That if perhaps in this War the overgrown Power and Authority of the Clergy which is prohibited in holy Scripture should chance to be weakened and impaired he was not to be blamed for that since to say the Truth the chief Bishops of the Empire had been the cause of all these Evils that it was not his design though that those religious Houses which were founded chiefly for the use of the Nobility and Gentry should be destroyed but that the vices being rooted out and those things reformed which could not be suffered they might continue in their own station nay and flourish too and that he would assist them therein provided they were willing and did not suffer themselves to be perswaded by his Adversaries to the contrary The French King also made publick Declaration that it had been his chief design Religion being once setled that he might do good to the publick but especially to his Friends That therefore immediately after the death of his Father he had restored Scotland to its ancient dignity renewed the league with the Switzers recovered Boloigne brought back the People that had been dispersed up and down into their own Lands and Possessions again and made a Peace and strict Friendship with the King of England But that whilst he was intent upon these things the Emperour by close and clandestine Counsels had contrived many things to his ruin and oftener than once given him a cause of War but that to give some ease and refreshment to the publick and to his own People also in private he had been still and winking at these injuries had wholly applied himself to the settling of his Kingdom that this his quietness had been by his Adversaries interpreted Cowardise and Faint-heartedness afterwards but that in the mean time sad and grievous Complaints had been brought to him from many of the Princes and States of Germany who said that under the specious Pretexts partly of Religion partly of a Turkish War and punishing of Rebellion designs had been carried on to bring them into Bondage and that through cunning and crafty counsels Factions and Divisions were fomented and Germany totally exhausted so that it was no longer to be doubted but that he aimed at an universal Monarchy for himself and the house of Austria that that truly had been a great grief to him not only because of the common origine of both Nations but also of the ancient alliance and friendship which had always remained firm and unviolate so long as the craft and subtlety of the Emperor had given it leave for that if the Government should be changed and Germany lose its liberty he well understood how dangerous and prejudicial that would be unto him that Germany was indeed the Bulwark not only of France but of all Christendom also and that therefore he had many times heartily wished and prayed that both People might have united their strength and put themselves into such a condition as not to need to fear any danger but that since there appeared no hopes of that and that in the mean time many craved his assistance but on different accounts he could see no way how he could succour the Empire so much rent and torn Nevertheless that in this so weighty a deliberation God the just Judge of all had offered him a very fit occasion for that Octavio Farnese Duke of Piacenza and Parma for whom the Emperor and Pope Julius laid Snares had implored help from him and by laying open before him all the injuries received had perswaded him to undertake the Protection of him and the Prince of Mirandula that afterwards came those complaints from the Princes of Germany who desired to enter into league with him as being the only way in their opinion to restore the State that he would not mention those weighty and just causes that the Princes had to take up Arms since they might be understood from their own declarations but yet that any Man might consider with himself whether this insatiable ambition of their Adversaries was not a just ground of grief who having ruined the Wealth of Germany swept all into their own Coffers and Treasury Were not the provinces of Utricht Liege and Cambray sufficient instances thereof And what was also Constance and many other free Cities oppressed That the Burgundians now hovering over the People of Treves Cleve and Wirtemberg had left the Prints of their footsteeps upon their Borders and many ways made havock of the Landgraves Territories that in like manner and for the same purpose the Emperor excluded his Ambassadors from the Diets of the Empire prohibited by publick Edict the Germans from serving foreign Princes in their Wars cut off brave and valiant Soldiers and amongst those Vogelsperg whom he himself to glut his revenge saw executed at Ausburg Was it not a thing of bad example that he should encourage and hire Men to kill those who served in his Wars That it was not certainly to be expressed what Arts their Enemies used for such were by them thrust in and admitted into the Judicature of the Imperial Chamber and Diet of the Empire as might make it their whole business to bring about and accomplish whatever they pleased and that indeed the blame of all the Evils that had happened was to be imputed to those kind of Men but especially the Judges of the Imperial Chamber That for these reasons he could not refuse his assistance to the Germans who desired it that therefore he had made a League with them and not only done so but was resolved also to employ all his force nay his very Person in that war that he did not neither look for any private profit or advantage thereby but that it was only his intent that by asserting the Liberty of Germany delivering John Frederick Duke of Saxony and the Landgrave whom he had detained in a tedious and base Captivity he might purchase to himself Praise and immortal Glory as Flaminius had heretofore done in delivering Greece from bondage nor needed any Man to fear Violence for that since he had undertaken that War for the sake of Liberty he would take care that no Man who did not deserve it should receive any hurt that therefore they might believe the Promise which he faithfully made to them and not give credit to their Adversaries who gave it out that it was his design to afflict and plague the Clergy that he was so far from entertaining such thoughts that he took them all under his protection and defence provided they gave him
desired only that they would furnish him with Provisions and that he might March with his Army through their Country promising them all Good-will and Friendship He made use of the Cardinal of Lenoncour as his Agent who commended his Zeal and good Intentions to the Senate The Constable had written to them also most friendly but when he was come nearer the Town with his Forces he desired to be let in and obtained it and next day he made himself Master of the Gates and all the Works and Fortifications Afterward on the eighteenth of April the King himself came also and stayed four days there He obliged the Senate and People to take an oath of Allegiance to him and appointed Monsieur Gonnâ—r to be their Governour with orders to disarm them to carry all their Weapons into one place and to fortifie the Town the same he did in those Cities we mentioned In Lorrain also and by Messengers sent before to Strasbourg Haguenaw all the neighbouring places and to the Bishop of Strasburg he demanded supplies of Corn and Provisions Ausburg being taken as we said the old Town-Council whom the Emperor had turned out restored and the Power of Election also being again confirmed to the Companies the confederate Princes marched to Ulm which had refused to enter into League with them When on the twelfth of April they were come thither they rode about the Town but being shot at with the great Guns from within they demanded satisfaction for the Injury done unto them and rated it at three hundred Thousand Florins which being refused they fell to Hostilities But Duke Maurice went from thence to Lintz a City of Austria that he might understand from King Ferdinand what the conditions of Peace were for he as I said was by consent of the Emperor Mediator The Emperor in the mean time had by Letters exhorted the chief Princes of the Empire to use their endeavours to quench this Conflagration and find out some means of Peace wherein he would not be wanting and when some implored sucours from him as being unable to act any thing against so great force to encourage them he made answer that there was a treaty of Peace on Foot which he hoped would take effect but if otherwise that he would not be wanting neither to them nor the Publick The Princes having besieged Ulm six days on the nineteenth of April removed to Stocach a Town in Hegow where they received three Months Pay in the French King's Name as it had been agreed and Gamey de la Mark the French Hostage was delivered up for the other de Nantueil died on the way thither The Hostages whom the Princes gave the King were Christopher Duke of Meckelburg and Philip the Landgrave's Son. April the last the Princes returned to the Danube some Miles below Ulm. In the mean time Albert of Brandenburg burnt and destroyed the Towns and Villages belonging to Ulm raised Contributions from them and took their Castle of Helfenstein seated on a high Hill putting a Garrison therein He also raised a Contribution of eighteen Thousand Florins from the Town of Gislingen three Miles distant from Ulm and some adjoyning Villages When Duke Maurice came to Lintz he offered Proposals about the setting at Liberty the Landgrave his Father-in-Law about settling the difference concerning Religion the right Establishment of the Government about the making Peace with the French King their Confederate and the reception of the outlawed Persons into Favour These were the Rhinegrave and others whom we mentioned before amongst whom also was Count Heideck who some years before had put himself under the Protection of Duke Maurice as hath been said but on whose head the Emperor had set no rate that he might not offend Duke Maurice as it is credible To these demands King Ferdinand with whom were his Son Maximilian his Son-in-Law the Duke of Bavaria and the Emperor's Ambassadors made answer that the Emperor did not refuse but that the Landgrave might be set at Liberty yet so that they presently laid down their Arms that as to Religion and the regulation of the Government he was pleased that the matter might be determined in the next Diet of the Empire but that the Emperor was very loth that the French King should be comprehended that however Duke Maurice might learn of him upon what terms he would make Peace that the proscribed might also be received into Favour provided they would submit to the condition offered by the Emperor King Ferdinand demanded besides that after the conclusion of the Peace Duke Maurice would assist him in Hungary and that the Soldiers should not take on under the French King. But Duke Maurice having answered that without the consent of his Associates he could not conclude any thing they broke off the Treaty at that time and appointed another meeting to be on the twenty sixth of May at Passaw a Town lying between Ratisbonne and Lintz where the River Inn falls into the Danube that the Princes Mediators and their Deputies should also be there On the first of May the Landgrave's Son and John Albert Duke of Meckelburg led the Army to Gundelfingen and there lay eight Days waiting for Duke Maurice's return from Austria Next day after he came the Army was Mustered at Laugingen a Town belonging to Otho Henry Prince Palatine for they had recovered his Province out of the Emperor's Hands and driven the Bishop of Ausburg out of his Country Otho Prince Palatine having also joyned in League with them From thence they direct their March towards the Alpes but it happened at this time that King Ferdinand obtained a Truce from them which was to last from the twenty sixth of May to the eighth of June In the mean time the Emperor was raising Forces at the Foot of the Alpes who assembled at the Town la Rue During these Commotions the Cardinal Bishop of Ausburg who otherwise was not rich and had suffered much damage went to Rome that he might obtain from the Pope new Promotions and Benefices to fill up the chinks again After this the Judges of the Imperial Chamber fled from Spire for both the French King and the Princes had in their Declarations hinted their displeasure against them plainly enough and cast the blame of all the troubles upon them The French King marched with his Army along the Borders of Lorrain and May the third came to Saverne a Town belonging to the Bishop of Strasburg within four Miles of that City He had before demanded a supply of things necessary from the Strasburgers and therefore Deputies had been sent to him to Sarbruck seven Miles from the City to offer him a certain supply of Corn and Wine and the Deputies were Peter Sturmey Frederick Gottesseim and John Sleidan but the Constable undervalued that offer as nothing answering his Expectation and though the Deputies left him with a promise to make their report to
the Left-hand and made his escape to Villach a Town in Carinthia upon the Drave having a little before set at Liberty John Frederick Duke of Saxony whom he had kept Prisoner full five Years that the Enemy might not Glory as if they had done it which the Prisoner himself did not at all desire who though he had his Liberty yet waited on the Emperor whithersoever he went. The Emperor's Sister Mary Queen of Hungary Governess of Flanders at the same time held a Convention of the States of the Low-Countries at Aix la Chapelle about making a League with the Neighbouring Princes The Duke of Cleve indeed excused himself but Adolph Archbishop of Cologne went thither and made an Alliance with the House of Burgundy so also did George of Austria Bishop of Liege When Duke Maurice came to Inspruck all that belonged to the Emperor the Spaniards and Cardinal of Ausburg was plundered but no damage at all done to the Goods of King Ferdinand or the Towns-People And because the Truce that was made for the future Treaty as I said expired within three days Duke Maurice went from thence to Passaw but the Confederate Princes returned by the same way they came to Fiessen May the twenty eighth and then by Messengers whom they sent caused a Proclamation to be published at Ausburg both in their own and Duke Maurice's Name to this Effect Forasmuch say they as in our former publick Papers we have declared that we took up Arms chiefly for the defence of Religion and the Liberty of Germany the thing it self requires and we are bound in duty that able Teachers be provided to instruct both the People and Youth Now that it hath always been the endeavour of the Enemies of the Truth by the oppression of the Godly Teachers to restore the Idol of Popery and to breed and educate Youth in those Errors and false Doctrines which might stick to them when they were grown up is so manifest in it self that it needeth no farther Demonstration For even at that time when they had the confidence to say that there was no design against Religion they employed all their Power and Skill that they might utterly extirpate the purer Doctrine nor did they only cast the Godly Preachers into Prison but even in this City with great Inhumanity compelled them to take an Oath presently to depart out of the limits of the Empire And though that was a most impious Oath and therefore contrary to Law and Justice yet to avoid all cavilling we have recalled those Ministers and Schoolmasters who were thrust out by our Adversaries thinking it to be our Duty to do so Wherefore by these Presents we do absolve and free all those who have been thus turned out from that Oath which contrary to Law they were forced to take and restore them again to their liberty enjoyning them that not only in this City but in other places also where they have a Call to Preach the pure word of God according to the confession of Faith heretofore exhibited in this place and rightly to breed up and instruct the Youth in all Pious Learning under our Patronage and Protection We moreover command and charge that no Man upbraid nor molest them as if they acted contrary to their Faith and Promise for since they have now for several Months lived in Banishment not for any fault of theirs but only for the Profession of the Truth we make no doubt but good Men will pity their Condition and think them worthy of all favour and kindness And because they who in their absence have taught in the City are suspected and inconstant Men so that by reason of the different way of Teaching they cannot conveniently be with those whom we have recalled we require the Senate to silence them from Preaching and so to demean themselves that this our Edict and Proclamation may have its full force and effect This Proclamation being published on the seventh of June five Days after the Ministers were restored and Preached again in their Churches to the great delight and joy of the People Before Duke Maurice was come back from Lintz Marquess Albert of Brandenburg being detached with his own Forces from the rest of the Army burnt and plundered where-ever he came in the Territories of Wolfgang Master of the Teutonick Order and having exacted Money from him marched into the Country of Norimberg and on the fifth of May took by Composition the Castle of Lichtenaw five Miles distant from the City with the adjoyning Town both belonging to the Jurisdiction of that State. His Army consisted of two Thousand Horse and nineteen Ensigns of Foot. Next day he wrote to the Senate to this purpose although said he the French King and Confederate Princes have by publick Declarations made known at large what their Intentions were as to the publick and at the same time that they would recover the Liberty of Germany and settle Religion in confidence that not only all good Men would with thankful Minds embrace their Design but also to the utmost of their Power assist it as some indeed have done but as for you ye have neither declared what your Mind and Resolution is nor as I hear have sent your Deputies to the Assembly appointed to be held at Ausburg but have prepared all things for a Defence planting Ordnance here and there upon your Walls and Works and raising new Forces so that as I am told you brag that you will hold it out to the last which I am the more apt to believe because hitherto you have sent no Deputies to me to sue for Peace a thing nevertheless that hath been done by some Princes and Cities more remote Since therefore it hath been publickly declared by the King and confederate Princes that they who either resisted or did not actually aid and assist them in this their Enterprise should be accounted Enemies again since it is my charge in the same War to bring those into whose limits I come to do their Duty and to leave no strong hold behind us from whence any force or eruption might be feared for this cause then have I taken from you who have not hitherto answered Expectation the Castle of Lichtenaw which much incommoded my Camp having spared the Garrison whom nevertheless I might have used more rigorously But because the main thing remains still to be done I require you both in the name of the French King and of the confederate Princes that you openly declare what you are resolved to do for the defence of the Liberty of Germany and the settlement of Religion and send me your answer by to Morrow that I may understand what is to be expected from you and how I ought to look upon you Now it is to be observed that when Duke Maurice and the Confederates met at Schuinfurt March the twenty sixth as has been said they sent agents to the Norimbergers to invite them into
parts of one and the same Empire under one Prince and governed by the same Laws but that when in the vicissitude of time the Empire devolved upon the Germans the Dukes of Saxony and other Emperors as deriving their Original from the Kings of the Francs entertained constant Friendship with the French insomuch that Philip the August King of France caused that ancient League which was almost worn out by time to be written of new in Golden Characters and to be laid up in a more Sacred place and not without just Cause neither for that so long as this Union lasted both People lived in a most flourishing State That the force of Germany was then so great that they gave Laws not only to the Hungarians Bohemians Polanders and Danes but to the Italians also and the Kings of France again who fought for the maintenance of Religion obtained many glorious Victories in Europe Asia and Africa over the Saracens and Turks the declared Enemies of Christendom But that the times proved more unlucky afterwards when some Emperors as being ingrafted upon the Stock but no natural Germans nor worthy of that Dignity forsook the amity of the Kings of France and brought great Calamities upon the Empire but that through God's Blessing this Wound was Healed by the Illustrious Family of Luxembourg which hath produced some Emperors Princes of great Merit and most intimate Friends of the Kings of France For the Father of Charles IV died fighting for the King of France that the Princes of the House of Austria have entertained the same Amity and Kindness and particularly Albert the first whom neither the Promises nor Threats of the Popes could move to make War against France that he mentioned these things with this Intent that they might be convinced how little some of the Counsellors and Courtiers of the most mighty Emperor Charles V. tendered the wellfare of the Empire whilst they make it their Business not only to divide and rend asunder those two most renowned Nations but also did by their Arts and Cunning so far prevail formerly that King Francis a most excellent Prince was by their Procurement judged an Enemy and no reason given why That they did those things for their own private Gain and Advantage indeed but to the great Prejudice of the Publick That this alone was enough to shew how difficult it would be for them so long as Friendship continued betwixt both Nations to infringe the Liberty of Germany and to erect their own Monarchy that the fear of the French Arms made them now proceed more remissly and not so much urge their Spanish Yoke of Bondage as formerly that these were the Men who by Prayers and Tribute obtained Peace from the Turk that they might under the Colour of Religion and Loyalty raise Feuds and Animosities in Germany that being aided by the Forces of Germany they might make War against Germany that they might squeeze Money from all and reduce the Empire to a sad and miserable Condition placing here and there Spanish Garrisons exhausting the Magazines and making way for Arbitrary Rule For that matters were now brought to this Pass that the great Seal of the Empire the Judicature of the Imperial Chamber and the right and liberty of Diets all depended on the Will and Pleasure of one Man the Bishop of Arrus For what instance could be shewn or reason given that free-born Germans who for a livelihood served Strangers in their Wars should be Punished Proscribed and have Princes set upon their Heads Not to mention so many Murthers lascivious Practices Devastations plunderings of Towns but especially the varying and altering of Religion according to occasion and the turn of Times That there was no doubt to be made but that whatever had been done of this nature for many Years past tended only to this that the Laws of the Empire being Confounded King Ferdinand either forced or wheedled by Promises and the Princes of the Empire over-awed the Prince of Spain might be designed Emperor Were not Death more eligible to brave Men than to live and see the Sun with so great Misery That no Man certainly could be imagined so Barbarous as not to be moved at these things That it ought not to be thought strange then that some Princes should at length arise and amongst others Duke Maurice Elector of Saxony who thought the danger of their Lives too little for recovering the liberty of their common Country But that finding themselves inferiour in Strength they had implored the Aid and Assistance of the King of France and that he setting aside all the Provocations received in former Years had not only imparted to them his Treasure but also employed himself wholly in the Affair having made a League with them wherein amongst other things it was provided that no Peace should be made with the Emperor without the Advice and Consent of the King Moreover that Duke Maurice though he lay under that Obligation yet that he might serve his Country and comply with the Desires of King Ferdinand had lately demanded of the most Christian King that he would let him know upon what terms he would be willing to make Peace That the Proposal had been made somewhat contrary to his Expectation indeed for considering what a great Favour he had done he thought that in matters concerning himself he ought to have Treated Personally and not at so great distance But that nevertheless since he preferred the publick far before his own private Interests he was not willing to deny any thing to a Confederate Prince That therefore if the Wounds of the State might be Healed as they ought to be and such Care taken that they might not for the future Fester again if the Captive Princes might be set at Liberty upon the Conditions prescribed by the League if the ancient Alliance betwixt France and the Empire and the League made lately with the Princes might be confirmed so as it should be perpetual if all these things might be procured the King was so well affected towards the Publick that he not only assented to the Treaty of Peace but would render hearty Thanks to God that by Counsel and Assistance he had contributed thereunto That as to private affairs since the Emperor detained many things by force and upon no just Cause had made War the King thought it reasonable that he who had first done the wrong should first also make the Satisfaction That for his part though he did not distrust his Strength yet he would so behave in all things that it should appear he was not only desirous of Peace but willing also to gratify Duke Maurice and them all To these things the Princes make answer that the Commemoration of the ancient Alliance betwixt Germany and France brought from the Records of former times had been very pleasant unto them nor was it less acceptable to understand that the King preferred the Publick before his own private Advantages and that he was willing
the Confederate Princes should make Peace with the Emperor For that it was the Interest not only of one Nation but of all Europe also that it should be so since the civil Broils that disturbed the same threatned no less than its ruin That they made no doubt but the Conditions which the King desired would be obtained For that the Emperor as before so now in these intestine Commotions was well affected towards the Publick and would not have the Liberty of Germany depressed That there was great hopes also that he would shortly set the Princes at Liberty But that as to the renewing of ancient Leagues and confirming new ones the King in his own Prudence knew very well that a matter of so great moment could not be transacted in that Assembly That nevertheless they wished the Friendship and Correspondence that had always been betwixt both People might remain firm and inviolable That it was not only their chief Desire that such private Controversies as he had with the Emperor might be adjusted but that they would also use their utmost Endeavours to accomplish it That nevertheless since the King had hinted that the Emperor detained some things that were his and that he had somewhat to re-demand from him it seemed not unreasonable to them that he would declare what his Pretensions were For that they were resolved to state the Controversie to the Emperor and interpose as Mediators and that they earnesty prayed the King to take these things in good part Now as to the Relation that is betwixt the French and Germans we discoursed in the eighth Book But as to what the French Ambassador spoke of the Family of Luxembourg the matter in short is this Henry Count of Luxembourg had a Son Henry who was afterwards Emperor and the seventh of that Name He again had a Son who by Marriage became King of Bohemia and this Prince aided Philip of Valois in his Wars against Edward the third King of England and being present in a Battel wherein the English got the Victory he was slain there leaving amongst others an eldest Son who was afterward the Emperor Charles IV. the Father of Wenceslaus and Sigismund who were both afterwards Emperors and Sigismund also King of Hungary and Bohemia he who procured the calling of the Council of Constance Albert of Austria of whom he spoke the Son of the Emperor Rodolph when he became Emperor entertained a firm Amity with Philip the Fair King of France though Pope Boniface VIII had eagerly incited him to War. Besides the delivery of the Landgrave Duke Maurice insisted chiefly on two things First that as to those things which wounded the liberty of Germany and had been reckoned up by him King Ferdinand his Son Maximilian and the Mediators would themselves forthwith determine and pronounce Sentence concerning them according to the Laws and ancient Custom of Germany And then that Religion should be let alone in Peace and no Man molested upon that account till all the difference should be fully agreed The Mediators did not disapprove this Course But the Emperor's Ambassadors in his Name interposed and said that their Master thought it but reasonable that they who for their Fidelity to him had incurred Calamities and sustained great Losses should have reparation made them When some Points after much debate had been moderated they came to this Resolution at length that the Emperor should by the third of July give his positive Answer and that in the mean time there should be a cessation of Arms wherefore on the sixteenth of June the Mediators wrote to the Emperor and exhorted him to Peace We told you that after the taking of Erenberg and the plundering of Inspruck the Confederate Princes took another way through the Alpes and about the latter end of May returned to Fiessen Marching from thence they came on the nineteenth of June with all their Forces and Encamped at Aichstadt and Episcopal City upon the Frontiers of Bavaria where they expected the coming of Duke Maurice with great Desire being in some Anxiety for his Absence At length he came and gave them a full account how Affairs stood but on the last day of June took Post back again to Passaw upon Horses purposely laid on the Road that he might be present by the day appointed and the day following the Confederate Princes decamped and after four days March came to Rottenburg a Town on the Danube bordering upon Franconia Notwithstanding all this Marquess Albert still pursued his Point and having brought Norimberg to accept of Peace compelled the Nobility and States in those Places to submit to his Orders For though he acted in the common Cause at first as he promised in his publick Declaration he would yet he was not joyned in that Confederacy and after the siege of Ulm was raised he began in a manner to act separately either because he would take all to himself that the Fortune of War gave him or that he disapproved what Duke Maurice had done or else that being put on by the French King he entertained other Designs but yet he made those who had given Oath to be true to him to swear the same also to the Confederates His next Expedition was into the Territories of the Archbishop of Mentz where along the River of Mayne he did very much damage by Fire and Pillage and demanded a vast sum of Money of him but when Agents being employed to treat could not agree about the Sum the Elector having first sunk his great Guns in the Rhine July the fifth fled for his safety At the same time Marquess Albert who left nothing unattempted demanded of the Archbishop of Treves that he would put into his Hands the chief Castle of his Territories it stands where the Rivers of Rhine and Mosell do meet upon a very high Hill both strong by Nature and very commodiously scituated This demand he made as he said in name of the French King. But the Elector having advised with his Friends made Answer that he could not comply with his Demands Because in the latter part of the Answer which the Princes Mediators made to the French Ambassador as we mentioned before they had said that it seemed reasonable to them that the King would declare what Pretensions he had and what he demanded of the Emperor The Ambassador having received Instructions from the King wrote to them from the Camp at Aichstadt June the nine and twentieth That the King had undertaken that War for no other Cause but meerly for the publick Good and especially that he might retrieve the liberty of oppressed Germany having been thereto much sollicited by some Princes of the Empire That he had not at all proposed to himself any private advantage therein as the thing it self might bear him witness For that he had not possessed himself of any thing in Germany which he could easily have done That he had also given his Confederates
Emperor could not make use of Albert's Service witout increasing the suspition which was then in Germany That this would be a very great affliction to him who desired nothing more than the Peace and Tranquillity of the Empire In the beginning of August Augustus the Brother of Maurice returned out of Denmark a few days after having consulted with his Council he caused his Subjects and amongst them those of Wirtemberg to take an Oath of Allegiance to himself and his Heirs-Male and that if he had no Male-Issue that then they should return under the Subjection of John Frederick and his Sons if he were obedient to the Emperor and observ'd the Treaties made some years since but if he did otherwise then they were to admit the Landgrave This being thus done he was proclaimed Electoral Prince and summoned a Diet of his States to meet the Twentieth of August The Seventeenth Day of August there was a very great Earthquake at Meissen in Misnia At the Day appointed the States assembled and a numerous Diet was opened at Leypsick Augustus proposed to their consideration in the first place Whether they would enter into his late Brother's League with King Ferdinand the Princes and Bishops and prosecute the War against Albert. Secondly What should be done in order to a Peace with John Frederick the late Elector because in the absence of Augustus that Prince had sent Ambassadors to the Great Men and demanded to be restored to the Electoral Dignity and to his Possessions which had been taken from him by the Emperor and conferred upon Maurice After Deliberation the States gave Answer That they were of Opinion that he should make a Peace with both Parties and that Albert the Elector of Brandenburg should be induced to enter into a Treaty of Peace and to that purpose there passed an Act of State though Ferdinand King of Bohemia very diligently sollicited them by Henry Plaw his Chancellor to continue in the late League To this Convention John Frederick sent another Ambassy and demanded to be restored to his Inheritance with some sharpness of Words and it was seconded also by those which were his Subjects in this Assembly but it had no effect Augustus pretending that he was not obliged to a Restitution and adhering to the Articles and Agreements made by John Frederick with the Emperor when he was taken Prisoner yet he said he would consent to a Continuance of the Claim and not reject all Treaty thereupon During this Convention of the States Henry Duke of Brunswick desired the Aid of Augustus Duke of Saxony against Albert who was then levying new Forces So soon as ever John Frederick heard of the Death of Maurice he sent John William one of his Sons to the Emperor into the Low Countries to sollicite his Restitution and almost at the same time the Nobility and States in the absence of Augustus sent Ambassadors to recommend him to the Emperor John Frederick at the same time also sent Ambassadors to Ferdinand and to the King of Denmark about the same Affair In the mean time the Bishop of Wurtzburg besieged Schweinfurt which had been Garrison'd by Albert as I have said above and the Forces of the Bishop of Bamberg and of the City of Norimberg when they had sometime besieged Collebach levied the Siege and joyned with the Count of Plaw who then lay before Hosie a Town belonging to the Elector of Brandenburg In this Month Nine Persons were condemned to be burnt at Lyons some of them having been imprison'd above a year There were Questions proposed to them one by one concerning the Presence of Christ's Body in the Eucharist Purgatory the Mass Auricular Confession the Ceremonies of the Church Invocation of the Virgin Mary and the Saints the Primacy of the Pope of Rome Free-Will Justification by Works concerning the Church the Power of the Bishops the Monastick Vows the Choice of Meats Extream Unction Confirmation and Images They all of them severally made the same Answers to every one of these Questions with great constancy alledging for what they said the Testimony of the Scriptures Whilst they were yet in Prison they comforted one another by their Letters and they sent others to their Friends and to the Neighbour-Churches wherein they gave an Account of what had happened One of these Prisoners Lewis Marsac a Souldier reciting several Passages out of the Sacred Scriptures the Inquisitors who examin'd him asked him if it were fit for him to read the Scriptures and how he knew these things were in the Gospels The King's Lieutenant also said there were only two Evangelists Matthew and John the other two and Paul pick'd up a few Scraps or ends of the Story and patch'd them together He said also That if the Doctors of the Church had not given Authority to the Writings of St. Paul he should not have regarded his Epistles more than he did Aesop's Fables When on the other side Marsac replied That there were very excellent Testimonies in the Scriptures concerning the Vocation and Apostleship of St. Paul especially in the 1st Chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians He replied That is nothing to the purpose for he bears witness to himself The Executioner had order to put an halter about the Neck of each of the Prisoners when they were carried to Execution but Marsac having served the Crown as a Souldier the Judges had ordered he should be led without that Mark of Disgrace But Marsac turning to the principal Judge said Is their Cause better than mine I Pray Sir why do you not bestow the same Chain upon me Why should not I too be admitted into the Fellowship of this Noble and Illustrious Order of Knights Alluding to the Custom used by Princes who to honour and exalt their particular Friends admit them into their Order as they call it and give them a Chain or Collar of Gold as an honourable Badge of it Five of these who were Frenchmen had been Students in the University of Lausanne where they had been maintained by the Canton of Bern in which that City stands and when they heard these Students were taken up and in great danger the Canton sent a Memorial to the King and desired these Students might be returned to them But the King disappointed them in this pretending that by Law he could not do so It is thought the Cardinal of Tournon blew the Coles in this Affair We have already spoken of the Death of that Illustrious Prince Edward the Sixth King of England He had before been consumptive and in the beginning of January he fell sick His Disease increasing he became very sollicitous for his Kingdom and the State of Religion and began to consult his more intimate Friends Who was the fittest Person to suceed him For though his Father had by his last Testament made Mary and Elizabeth his two Sisters his Heirs as we have above related yet because now he was come to somewhat a more advanced Age
great change that was made in the Publick Religion and the Laws betook themselves to Germany some to Wesel and others to Franckfort and Strasburg John Alasco a Polander of Noble Birth and great Learning who was the Brother of Jerome before this Winter began went thence to Denmark but being not so kindly entertained there on the account of his differing from them in the Point of the Eucharist and being denied an Habitation on the same score in the Lower Saxony at length he went to Emden a City of Friseland and there he setled The Fourth Day of March the Queen put out a Book of Articles or Injunctions wherein she commanded the Bishops and their Vicars not to admit any man into Holy Orders who was suspected of Heresie That they should extirpate Heresies suppress and destroy hurtful and pestilent Books That they should prescribe certain Rules to all School-Masters and Preachers and suppress those who did not conform That they should deprive all Married Priests and punish them as their wickedness deserved but that those who with the consent of their Wives should promise to divorce themselves and to abstain for the future should be treated with more gentleness and that they should restore all those that would do Penance for this Offence to their Livings again That all Publick Prayers should be in the Latine Tongue and according to the ancient Forms That all the ancient Holy-days Fasts and Ceremonies should be again observed That all Children already Baptized when they grew up should be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed And that they should be taught in the Schools how they are to minister to the Priest in the Mass at the Altar When Henry the Eighth abolished the Papal Supremacy in England as I have observed in the Ninth Book of this History he passed an Act of Parliament that no man should be admitted to any Ecclesiastical Function or Dignity unless he had first taken an Oath in which he acknowledg'd him and his Successors Supream Head of the Church of England and that the Pope had no Authority over the Church nor was better than a Bishop of Rome with whom they would have nothing to do This Oath the Queen even now remitted and commanded the Bishops not to exact it of any man and thereby did tacitly restare the Pope's Supremacy That which concerns the Publick Prayers went thus Henry the Eighth had commanded them to be said in the vulgar Tongue and in them amongst other things they prayed that God would deliver them from the Seditions Conspiracies and Tyranny of the Bishop of Rome and this Printed Form of Prayer was by this Order of the Queen abolished Soon after this Elizabeth the Queens Sister a Lady of great Learning was committed to the Tower because she was suspected to have had an hand in Wiat's Rebellion In the End of March the Enemies of Albert Marquess of Brandenburg returned to the Siege of Schweinfurt In April there came over into Germany Sir Richard Morison Knight whose Embassie I have mentioned in the Book before this Sir Anthony Cook and Sir John Cheeke Knights both the King's Schoolmasters and Men of great Learning and these all afterwards travelled into Italy And soon after Dr. John Poinet Bishop of Winchester came over also who together with many other Bishops was about this time displaced by reason of this Change of Religion The Forces of the Duke of Florence and the Pope besieging Siena about this time Peter Strozza who defended that City in the Name of the King of France learning something of their state by his Spies on a sudden made a Sally upon them and slew a great number of their Souldiers but they recruited their Army and continued the Siege for all that Loss whereupon the King of France levied Three Thousand Swiss for the relief of that Place The Duke of Florence also marries his Daughter to Ascanio the Pope's Nephew and the Methods of advancing his Fortunes by this Marriage were taken into consideration About this time also Ferdinand Gonzaga Governor of the Duchy of Milan came into Flanders to the Emperor Baptista Castaldus whom the Emperor had sent some years since into Hungary as I have said came also about this time to him About the middle of April Sir Thomas Wiat was executed at London He declared that neither the Lady Elizabeth nor Courtney Earl of Devonshire were acquainted with the Rebellion About the same time Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury and Hugh Latimer Bishop of London were removed first to Windsor and then to Oxford and a Disputation being mannaged against them by the Students both of Oxford and Cambridge the 16th 17th and 18th of April concerning Transubstantiation and the Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass and they continuing stedfast in their Former Opinion they were again committed to Prison At the same time there was a Parliament sate in England wherein the Queen especially recommended to the States her Marriage and the restitution of the Pope's Supremacy The first of these she carried upon certain Conditions but the latter was so vigorously opposed by the Upper House that she could not then bring it about In the mean time Cardinal Poole having spent some time with the Emperor in Flanders went to the King of France and endeavoured to bring these Princes to make a Peace but his Mediation had no good success In the end of April Albert of Brandenburg having received 60000 Crowns set Aumale his Prisoner at Liberty A little before this time Holansperg another of his strong Places was taken from him by the Confederates Not long after this the Emperor being then at Brussels by his Letters confirmed the Outlawry decreed the last Winter in the Imperial Chamber of Spire against the Marquess of Brandenburg in which having complained that the Marquess had with impunity committed such Ravages and made such Devastations in the Empire he in the next place severely commands all the Princes and States and especially those that lay next him to execute the said Sentence against the Marquess There had before this been two Meetings at Rotenburg a City of Franconia upon the River Tauber in order to the putting an end to this War but they being both frustrated the Emperor put out this Decree against him which was set up in all places and soon after there was a Diet of the Circle of the Rhine holden at Worms concerning this Business I have often mentioned the General Diet which was summoned in August but the Emperor being hindred from being present in it both by Sickness and Wars Ferdinand his Brother at his Request undertook the management of it and sollicited the Princes to meet who excused their Appearance there on the account of the troubled state of Germany The Emperor had already sent thither some of his Council and amongst them the Cardinal of Ausburg but none of the Princes coming thither for the Causes aforesaid it was deferred to a fitter opportunity Albert had
it to the Chancellor that it might be read which being done the Chancellor ask'd the States if they ratified it Which being affirm'd by them the King and Queen rose up and presented it to the Cardinal He having read the Petition delivered to them the Bull of his Legation which was also openly forthwith read that all might know that the Pope had given him Power to absolve them after which he made a Speech wherein he shewed them how acceptable Repentance was to God and how much the Holy Angels rejoyced in the Repentance of a Sinner and having given them many Examples of this he gave God great Thanks that inspired into them a Mind desirous of Amendment This being done he arose as did also the King and Queen and their Majesties kneeled down whilst he addressed himself to God imploring his Mercy and beseeching him to look mercifully upon the People and to forgive them their sins And saying that he was sent as Legate from the Pope Christ's Vicar to absolve them he lifted up and stretched out his Hand over them as their manner is blessing all of them and absolving them at the same time From thence they went to the Chappel where solemn Thanks were again offered up to God with much Musick and all the Signs of a Festival Joy according to the Custom of the Nation They who were intimately acquainted with Cardinal Pool and had enjoyed his Conversation and knew his Customs did much admire this Action and did expect something from him very different from what they found The 18th of December the Emperor from Brussels sent a Letter to all the Princes and States of the Empire the Contents of which were these The great Causes for which Albert Marquess of Brandenburg was about a year since out-law'd by the Imperial Chamber of Spire and declared guilty of High Treason have been clearly shewn to you by the Letters of that Chamber which were publickly set up and also by those Letters and Commands you afterwards received from us And whereas I am informed that he stubbornly continues in his said turbulent and seditious Counsels and doth certainly design new Troubles that he may yet further afflict and vex Germany which is our common Countrey and lastly because he has made his Retreat and found shelter and refuge with some I think it necessary to renew the former Sentence for the Welfare of our Countrey I do this the rather because I believe there is not one amongst you who does not love his Countrey and desire that care may be taken for the preservation of himself his Territories and the People and that the ill designs of the said Marquess and his Adherents may be hindred and retarded Wherefore upon the Penalties heretofore proposed I again command That no man presume in any wise to assist him or his Adherents with Help Counsel Entertainment Money Victual or Ammunition and Arms As also I will that every of you make it his greatest care that neither he nor his Adherents may be suffered to gather any Forces or list any Souldiers in the Territories belonging to any of you and that every of you do to the utmost of his Power hinder those within his Territories from running over to the said Marquess and punish all such as shall be found Breakers of this our Order and disobedient to our Commands This Letter was Printed and sent into all Parts The Twenty Ninth Day of December Ferdinand King of the Romans came to Ausburg on the account of the Diet I have so often already mentioned but finding none of the Princes or States there two days after he sent Letters and Envoys to the several Princes representing to them That seeing that there being many things of the greatest moment to be transacted in this Assembly he to his great loss and trouble had left his Territories and was come thither that he might consult with them That they might together consider of the necessary and safe Means of relieving the afflicted state of Germany He therefore earnestly desired that they would forthwith personally come thither and not send their Deputies for such was the greatness of the Cause now under consideration that it could not be well otherwise dispatched That the Emperor his Brother had given him a full Power and that he would not detain them longer than was necessary The Sixteenth of January the Parliament of England was dissolved Amongst many other Acts passed in this Parliament after the Repeal of the Act of Attainder against Cardinal Pool the Acts made in the times of the former Kings R. 2. H. 4. and H. 5. against Hereticks and in favour of the Bishops were revived The Papal Power was entirely restored and whatsoever Acts of Parliament had been made against the See of Rome within Twenty years last past were repealed Most thought the Crown of England would in this Parliament have been given to King Philip but there was nothing of that Nature done In the beginning of February there were Five condemned to be burnt for persisting in the Protestant Religion and refusing to return to the Roman Catholick Religion John Hooper Bishop of Gloucester John Bradford Lawrence Sanders Rowland Taylor a Lawyer and John Rogers all men of eminent Learning The last of these was burnt in London where he had been a Preacher the rest were sent into their respective Countries Gloucester Manchester Coventry and Hadley who all of them suffered Death with great Constancy The 30th of March Ferrar late Bishop of St. Davids was burnt also at Carmarthen by Morgan his Successor in that See. There were also three Ambassadors sent from England to Rome to thank the Pope for his great Clemency shewn to them and promise his Holiness an entire Obedience and Fidelity for the future The Fifth Day of February King Ferdinand opened the Diet at Ausburg though few of the Princes were then arrived there by a Speech wherein he told them That they very well knew for what grand and necessary Causes this Diet had been first appointed to be held at Ulm by the Emperor who had afterwards commanded it to be opened in this City the 13th of November That he for his part desired to have begun it that day pursuant to the Desire and Command of his Brother but that he was kept at home by the necessity of Affairs that so he might secure his Countries from the Insults of a near Enemy in case any Attempt had been made upon them and that he might so order his Affairs at home in this Interval that all things might go regularly forward during his Absence That after this forced Delay he arrived here the 29th of December in order to the holding this Diet. He said The Sum of the Emperor's Desire was That whatever tended to the Glory of God and the Tranquillity of the Empire might be established by the Council of all the Princes and States That as to the Diligence Study Labour and Care which the
the Emperor resigns the Government to his Son. The Answer of the Roman-Catholicks to the Demands of the Lutherans Those Bishops that change their Religion are to be removed A Parliament in England Libells against the Spaniards spread about London John Gropper offered a Cardinal's Hat which he refused The Deputies of Austria ask of Ferdinand a Liberty to embrace the Reformation The Duke of Prussia professeth the Augustan Confession Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury Burnt The Bavarians desire to embrace the Reformation A Truce between the Emperor and King of France The Cardinal of Ausburg's Apology The Diet opened at Ratisbone Transylvania revolts from King Ferdinand The Emperor and his Sisters set Sail for Spain The Death of John Sleidan the Author of this History I Have given an account how England returned under the obedience of the See of Rome in the last Book when the account of this Revolution which was sent with the utmost Celerity came to the Knowledge of that Court there was a vast Joy expessed in the City and extraordinary Processions were made to the Churches and the twenty fourth of December the Pope published a Declaration to this purpose After I had heard saith he that England which has now for some Years been separated and torn off from the Body of the Church was by the immense Mercy of God and the extraordinary Diligence Faith Study and Labour of King Philip Queen Mary and Reginald Cardinal of England reduced to the Communion of the Church and the obedience of this See My Mind was filled with a mighty Joy and as was fit I forthwith rendred to Godâ—s great Thanks as I could nor have I since omitted any thing which might tend to the Communicating the Fruit and Benefit of this my Joy to the whole City But then as the Father in the Gospel who received his Prodigal Son was not satisfied with an inward Exultation and private Joy but invited others to his Feast that they too might rejoice with him and make merry So that the whole Earth may understand the greatness of my Joy I will and Command that publick Thanksgivings and Prayers be made And also by the Authority and Power which I have I allow every Man the Liberty to chuse what Priest he likes best and that having rightly confessed his Sins to him I allow also that Priest a Faculty to remit all sorts of Sins how abominable soever they be even those Sins which belong only to me to remit and which are wont by Name to be excepted And that he shall not only remit the Guilt but the Penalty or Pain due to those Sins which are so confessed That he shall impose what satisfaction he thinks fit and relax all Vows except those of Chastity and religious Orders and so as they be commuted into other works And trusting in the Mercy of God and the intercession of St. Peter and St. Paul I grant a full and intire remission of all Sins which is only granted at the Determination of fifty years at other times to all those who with an humble and contrite Heart shall turn to God and perfectly confess their Sins as soon as they hear of this my Bull and shall twice or thrice in a Week endeavour to appease God by Fasting Alms and other Pious Exercises and shall after this receive the Holy Eucharist with Thanksgivings beseeching God in their Prayers that he would illuminate those that walk in the darkness of Error with the Light of his Countenance that he would send us Peace and incline the Hearts of Kings to Concord And I grant the same Benefit to those who are hindred by Age or Sickness from performing what is above required And that these our Letters may be every where Published I command all Patriarchs Archbishops and the like so soon as they receive the Copy hereof that they forthwith divulge it throughout their several Provinces and as it is a free Gift that they propose it every where without any gain I have said in the former Book that Blasseburg was the principal Fortress the Marquess of Brandenburg had in all his Country and that it was surrendred to the Confederates These Princes considering that being by one means or another recovered it might be the occasion of greater Mischiefs and about this time entirely ruined and demolished it to the great Exasperation of the whole Family of Brandenburg and of all the Kindred of it In the Interim Ferdinand King of the Romans both before he left his Territories and after he arrived at Ausburg for the holding the Diet did continually by his Envoys and Letters sollicit the Princes to hasten thither as I said in the last Book His first and greatest Care was to perswade Augustus Elector and Duke of Saxony He had before this alledged for his Absence the unsettled State of Saxony and now again sent his Deputies to the Diet with the same Excuses and occasionally mentioning the Turks he endeavoured to shew the great danger Germany was exposed to which heretofore having been Potent and formidable to her Enemies was now almost exhausted and depopulated by the many Mischiefs and Wounds she had suffered He said this Calamity received a great Improvement from the disaffection and distrust which the States of the Empire laboured under That the Emperor and his Majesty had omitted nothing which might procure a Remedy against this Disease But that hitherto all their Labour had been in vain for that the Minds of Men were so Exasperated and such ways were open to the admitting new offences that it was not reasonable to expect any mitigation His Brother Maurice some years since he said had commanded that some Ceremonies and other things of an indifferent Nature should be retained in the Churches of his Provinces but then this Command was not only slighted and disobeyed but was attacked by many Libels and rude Reproaches so that afterwards it was not in his Power to re-establish those things unless he would have exposed himself and that by this means some other Princes had been deterred from attempting any thing of this Nature But now those who are of the other Party and oppose the Augustan Confession have given apparent Signs that they intend not the least Pious and Legal Reformation by the Actions of the former times when this affair was considered either in Councils or Conferences Seeing therefore after so many fruitless Labours the loss of many Years and the disappointment of many Councils no way to an Agreement and Union could be found out because perhaps it was the Pleasure of God thus to punish the Sins of Men therefore he desired very earnestly that the Confession of Faith delivered in at Ausburg as a Sum of the Christian Religion might not be thought by his Majesty an impious Book but that it was a pure and a Pious Writing which shew that the Son of God was the Author of Salvation that the Doctrine of it did exactly agree with the
nature of them being changed they should be turned into Civil or Lay-Fees It is apparent to us that a part of the Empire depends upon and is founded in these Sees which we do not in the least desire should be diminished or imbezelled but by all means we would have them preserved It would have been to our great satisfaction if this question had never been moved but that we might have pursued the decrees of the former years made at Norimburg Ratisbonne and Spire which include all them that imbrace the Augustan Confession And at first the Legates of the three Electoral Archbishops did also wisely consider this but when some others had started and exagitated this Doubt then they joyned with them They who first moved this question had perhaps some reason for it but what has since followed is apparent For if this Rub had not been cast in our way we had long e're this been at our desired End and all things in our Opinions had been determined but then there are many grave and pious Reasons why we should not admit that Condition For any Man may see what a contempt and detriment it will be to our Religion if we suffer those that imbrace it to be put out of their Places deprived of all Dignity and to be treated as Hereticks we will now in silence pass over the first Institution of Colleges or Chapters and the Corruptions which by degrees crept into them But nevertheless we are of Opinion that very much of that Institution is no way repugnant to our Religion And for us to consent that no Bishop that imbrace our Religion which we profess as true and Christian should continue in his Station is a great Wickedness because by this act we should condemn it as impious and unworthy of the order of Priesthood whose duty it is to promote and exercise it Wherefore great Sir we humbly beseech your Majesty to consider this seriously and according to the Power given you by the Emperor to cause this Clause to be struck out and omitted But he answered that no more could be granted and that they had obtained what they could never gain before in the many years they had endeavoured for it That they should have some Consideration for him for otherwise the Diet should be ended and nothing done which if it happened and any Inconvenience ensued there was no reason the Blame should fall either upon the Emperor or him who had so sweetly and patiently Treated of this Affair and attended upon it thus long but could now stay no longer Therefore he would give them ten days more that in that time they might send home to their Princes that so he might have a positive Answer When that day came they having shewn their utmost Diligence that in all other things the good of Religion might be promoted and considering that it belonged to the Emperor and King and not to them to limit this Article the King also on his side remitting some things as shall be said hereafter they upon these Considerations gave their Consent So the twenty fifth of September the Decree was publickly read according to the Custom which is as followeth Neither the Emperor nor Ferdinand King of the Romansâ— nor any of the other Princes or States in the Empire shall in any manner whatsoever hurt or injure any Man for the Confession of the Augustan Doctrine Religion and Faith nor shall they by Command or by any other way whatsoever force any Man to forsake his Religion Ceremonies or Laws which he has already instituted within his Dominions or which those of the Augustan Confession shall hereafter Institute nor shall the said Emperor King or Princes contemn the same but shall suffer them freely to profess this Religion and also quietly to enjoy their Goods Estates Tolls Possessions and Rights and this Controversy in Religion shall not be attempted to be Composed by any other than by Pious Friendly and quiet ways Those of the Augustan Confession shall behave themselves in the same manner towards the Emperor King Ferdinand and all the other Princes and States which joyn in the ancient Religion as well Ecclesiastical as Civil and towards all others of the Clergy and their Colleges whither soever they shall travel to dwell provided they exercise their Ministries in manner and form following All which shall be suffered freely to enjoy their Religion Ceremonies Laws Possessions Tolls and all other their Rights and shall not in any way be hindred in the peaceable enjoyment of the same and if any Difference or Suit shall arise it shall every where be tried and determined by the Laws and Customs of the Empire and those that embrace neither of these Religions shall not be included in this Peace If any Archbishop Bishop or Prelate or other Clergy-Man shall make a defection from the ancient Religion he shall presently relinquish his Bishoprick Diocess or Benefice and shall lose all those Fruits he should otherwise have received from the same which yet shall not in any wise tend to the Infamy of the said Person And it shall thenceforth be lawful and free for the Chapter or those to whom the Eâ—ection shall belong by Law or Custom to elect and constitute another in his Place who is of the ancient Religion whereby the right of Institution Election Presentation and Confirmation together with the peaceable Possession of all the Goods thereunto belonging may be fully preserved to them Yet nothing shall hereby be taken to derogate from the intended Reconciliation above-mentioned And because some Princes of the Empire and other States or their Ancestors have assumed some Ecclesiastical Revenues Districts Chapters or Colleges of Monks and other such Church Revenues and have assigned them to the use of their Ministers to Schools and to other good uses they shall not on this account be troubled nor brought in question but such Goods which do not belong to any of the other States of the Empire or to other Persons who are Subject to the Empire the Possession of which was not at the time of the Treaty of Passaw nor since in the possession of Ecclesiastick Person shall from henceforth continue as they now are and be comprehended in this Peace and it shall not be Lawful for the Judges of the Imperial Chamber upon the account of these things thus taken and alienated to hear or determine any thing against the said Princes and States The Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction shall not be exercised or take place against those of the Augustan Confession their Religion Faith Rights Laws and Ecclesiastical Ministry But shall be suspended and stopped and shall not give them the least disturbance till the difference in Religion be entirely taken away But in all other things which do not concern the said Religion Ceremonies Laws and Ministry it shall be of the same force and be exercised according to the ancient Laws and Customs And all the Revenues Tolls and Rights belonging to the Clergy shall
except ye are resolved to feel the greatest of all Calamities and Miseries I will not be larger now and I trust you will in this do what the necessity of Affairs and the consideration of your Duty shall require But they on the contrary urged the same things over again and said they could not desist and if they obtained nothing the consideration of the Supplies would thereby be obstructed and hindred because they had no Command to promise any thing till they had obtained a sufficient Security for the freedom of Preaching their Religion their Ministers and Schoolmasters In this Month of February Henry Duke of Brunswick Married the Sister of Sigismond King of Poland and about the same time John Isemburg Archbishop of Trier Died and was succeeded by John Ley. The twenty sixth of the same Month the Elector Palatine Frederick died at Alzem in a great old Age and Otto Henry his Brother's Son succeeded him who had before imbraced the Reformation and had thereby run the hazard of being deprived of all his Fortunes He having taken the Oath of Allegiance of his People presently put out an Edict that no Man should say Mass or use the other Ceremonies of the Church in his Dominions In our twenty second Book we have given an account of the disturbances raised in Prussia by Osiander who had brought in a new Doctrine concerning Justification but the greatest part of the Learned Men disliking his Opinion Albert Duke of Prussia by a publick Declaration set forth that he was resolved to follow the Doctrine of the Augustan Confession and therefore he Commanded the Ministers of the Churches to Teach according to it and promised them to pass by what was past if they obeyed thiâ— Edict for the future That therefore this Controversy might be truly composed and not break out afresh John Albert Duke of Meckelburg the Son-in-Law of the Duke of Prussia a Prince of very great Learning went thither and calling in the Assistance of some other Learned Men he reduced John Funcius the principal Man of the Osiandrians to an open acknowledgment of his Error and obtained a Promise from him that he would for the future Teach according to the Augustan Confession and this being done by the other Divines of that Province too there was a Reconciliation made between the Parties and that Church was setled in Peace The fourth day of March a Comet appeared and was seen for twelve days together and in the same Month the Deputies of the German Princes and Cities met at Ratisbon and began with the consideration of the Case of Albert Marquess of Brandenburg because his Adversaries in the last Diet had desired the Assistance of the Princes against him But his Kindred interposing on his behalf it was at last decreed that he should have the publick Faith for his Security and that this Cause should be determined by Arbitrators and upon his return into Germany out of France in the Month of February there was accordingly a Treaty begun which was now assumed by the Diet the affairs of the Empire being delayed to the Month of April Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury had been long since condemned and after the Death of Ridley and Hooper was returned back to his Prison as I have said but now the twenty first of March he was burnt at Oxford Some few days before upon promise of Life and at the urgent Perswasion of some that were sent to him he had recanted most of his former Doctrines and appeared unconstant but when he saw he must die he made an Exhortation to the People wherein he spoke much of Repentance and amendment of Life the People being very attentive to him then he said how much he had offended God by denying the Truth and recapitulating the principal Points of Doctrine he shortly explain'd his Belief as to each of them and proved that the Papacy was the Kingdom of Antichrist Here he was interrupted and after many Reproaches he was hurried to the Place of Execution When he was tied to the Stake and the Fire was kindled about him he stretched forth his Right Hand saying This has Sinned by subscribing those wicked Doctrines which the Enemies of the Truth proposed to me and therefore it shall first be Punished he thereupon thrust it into the Flames as far as he could that it might first be Tormented Thus was the Primate of England Burnt a Person of great Learning and Authority At the time the Papal Character was taken from him by what they call a Degradation which is attended with many Ceremonies he was forced to wear mean Cloaths made of Canvas and he was now brought out in this Habit that he might be scorned but it had a contrary Effect for that the greatest part of the Spectators commiserating his Condition could not forbear weeping over him though they did not doubt but he was changing this miserable Life for an Immortal one and passing into his Heavenly Country Cardinal Pool soon after was enriched with his Spoils and made Archbishop of Canterbury having the Winter before been made a Priest for he was only a Cardinal-Deacon when he came over As the Inhabitants of the Lower Austria sollicited King Ferdinand to grant them the free Exercise of the Lutheron Religion so the Subjects of the Duke of Bavaria about the same time became very troublesom to Albert their Duke upon the same account This Prince observing that King Ferdinand his Father-in-law had yielded something he also having then need of Money did for a time comply with his Subjects and granted them liberty to take the Sacrament of the Lord 's Supperin both Kinds and to eat Flesh on the days prohibited in case of great necessity Yet at the same time he made a long Protestation That he would not desert the Religion of his Ancestors nor suffer any thing to be changed in the Ceremonies and Rites of the Church which he said was not lawful for him to do without the consent of the Supreme both Civil and Ecclesiastical Magistrate And that he granted these two things for so long time only as till there was a publick Order made to the contrary or a Reconciliation between the contending Parties for that it was his will that all his former Orders concerning Religion should be exactly observed in all other Points but these Two and that in these he would take all the care he could that the Metropolitans and Bishops should confirm these his Concessions and should not on these accounts trouble any of them This Edict was dated the last day of the month of March. About this time some of the Nobility of Transylvania revolted from King For dinand whereupon he commanded the Dyet to be prorogu'd to an uncertain day and began to levy Forces which were afterwards sent down the Dâ—â—ube towards Hungary There is a Town call'd Oberen seated in Alsatia three miles from Strasburg an Inhabitant of this place who was a Vine-Dresser being then in
mean time the Duke de Alva withdrew his Army to the Town of Colonna The Duke of Florence had now obtained what he desired by gaining the State of Sienna the Duke of Guise was gone for France the Pope's Forces were sufficiently baffled and his Towns lay at the Mercy of the Enemy his Treasures were spent and the Venetians had absolutely refused to assist him So that the Pope was now forced to come to a Treaty of Peace in good earnest and it was well he had the King of Spain and the Duke de Alva to treat with considering in what State his Affairs were The Peace was however agreed at last upon these Terms I. That the Duke de Alva in the Name of his Master should beg the Pope's Pardon and it should be granted II. That the Pope should renounce the Amity with France III. That the King of Spain should restore to the Pope one hundred Towns and Castles he had taken in this War the same being dismantled first and that they should restore those Estates they had seized to the proper owners IV. That both Parties should remit all Wrongs Injuries and Losses Sustained during the War and Pardon all that had taken Arms on either Side And that Paliano should be put into the Hands of Bernardo Carbone a Kinsman of the Caraffa's to be kept by him for both Parties with a Garrison of eight hundred Men till they should otherwise dispose of it by mutual Consent These Articles were publickly signed at Cava the fourteenth of September but there was a private Article signed the same Day That John Caraffa should have such a Recompence for Paliano as should be adjudged an Equivalent by the Senate of Venice who were the Arbitrators in this Treaty The Place meant was Rossano a Populous and Rich City in the Kingdom of Naples which was to be granted to him by the King of Spain with the Title of a Principality which he might transfer to whom he pleased if not an Enemy of the King of Spain's That upon the delivery of this Grant and Place Paliano should be dismantled and Caraffa should yield up all his Right in it to the King of Spain which he also might assign to whom he pleased if he were not Excommunicated or the Pope's sworn Enemy which was added to exclude Mark Anthony Colonna and was easily granted by the Duke de Alva in complyance with the Morose and Inexorable Humour they are Thuanus's Words of the Old Gentleman who would soon die and then the King might dispose of Paliano as he thought fit The Duke de Alva in a short time after went to Rome and on his Knees begged the Pope's Pardon with as much Humility as could have been wished And the Pope absolved him and his Master with as much Haughtiness as ever need to have been used The great Desire I had to lay all this Italian War together has made me omit some things that happened in the former Year among which one was the Death of Francis Venero Duke of Venice to whom succeed Laurentius Prioli a Learned Wise Eloquent and Magnificent Gentleman so that for many Years after his Death the Venetians regretted the Loss of him and wished for such another In England the Persecution was so far from extirpating the Reformation that it made it spread but the Quarrels at Frankford among our English Exiles about the Liturgy had a more Pestilent Influence upon that Religion then and in after Times than the former had The Queen in the mean time was very busie in raising the Religious Houses and had nothing to disgust her till the breaking off of the Truce between her Husband and the King of France which very much afflicted her every way The Duke of Guise shipped his Men at Civita Vechia for France and himself took Post-Horses and went by Land. The Cardinal of Caraffa went soon after the Pope's Nuntio to King Philip and Augustino Trivultio to the King of France to procure a Peace between those two Potent Princes who had been engaged in this War by the Pope and his Relations In the Interim the Duke of Ferrara was exposed to the Resentment of King Philip and had certainly been ruined if the Prudence of Cosmo Duke of Florence had not prevented it First by sending slow and small Supplies against the Duke of Ferrara and then by maintaining and fomenting Differences between the Spanish Commanders at last by representing to the Duke de Alva who visited him at Legorn That the King of Spain had no other way of setling his Affairs in Italy than by quieting those Commotions his just Resentment against the Duke of Ferrara had raised That all Italy being weary of Wars promised themselves a Peace would follow upon the Victory of that Prince but now if he should go on to make one War the cause of another he must expect to lose their Affections and that mere Desparation would enforce them to take other Measures and seek new Allies and new Counsels This convinced that Duke That it was his Master's Interest to make a Peace with Ferrara because then there would be neither Prince nor Commonwealth in Italy that would have any dependence upon France Our Author John Sleidan has only given us the Letter or Speech which began the Dyet at Ratisbonne but dyed before he could give us any account of the Transactions there After they had consulted of those things which related to the State and the Turkish War there arose some debate concerning the composing the Differences of Religion And here it was first agreed That all that had been done in the Treaty of Passaw and the Dyet of Ausburg concerning the Peace of Religion should remain firm and immoveable But then those of the Augustane Confession presented to King Ferdinand by their Deputies a Protestation in Writing to this purpose That King Ferdinand had performed a most useful Office for the good of Christendom by setling a Peace in the Matters of Religion between the Princes and the States of Germany But then he had annexed a Limitation which was very Grievous That no Archbishop Bishop Abbat or other Ecclesiastical Person should receive the Augustane Confession but that he should resign his Office and be deprived of the Revenues thereunto belonging That those of the Augustane Confession did not consent to this Limitation nor can they now consent to it because this was a denying them the Benefit of imbracing the Saving and True Doctrin of the Gospel by which not only the Bishops but their Subjects too were driven out of the Kingdom of God which was not fit to be done Besides it was a Reproach to their Religion to suffer those who should imbrace the Augustane Confession to be judged unworthy of the Sacred Ministery And therefore they could not approve this Restriction in the Dyet of Ausburg without doing Injury to the Glory of God and their own Consciences neither can they now consent to it
That this Limitation was an Hindrance to the so much desired Union of Religion seeing thereby the Bishops were deprived of the Liberty of speaking their Minds freely in Matters of Religion because they should thereby forfeit their Office and Revenues if they approved of the True Religion That on the contrary the Peace would be much stronger between the Princes and States of the Empire if Religion were perfectly Free. That therefore the Electors Princes and States who had imbraced the Augustane Confession desired now as they had also formerly done in the Dyet of Ausburg That this grievous Limitation and Restriction might be abolished and that it might be free for all Ecclesiastical Persons to imbrace the Augustane Confession and suffer their Subjects to imbrace it That they of the Augustane Confession did not by this desire that the Revenues of the Church should be dissipated or turned to Profane Uses or annexed to certain Families but they would take great Care to prevent these Inconveniences and do their utmost in it And that by this means the true Intention of the Founders should be observed tho' the Profession of the True Religion should be permitted for it was without doubt their Design to have the Pious and Sincere Service and Worship of God Promoted and Setled tho' they err'd in their Choice That the Electors Princes and States aforesaid would suffer the Publick and Civil Business of the Empire to be dispatched in this Dyet at Ratisbonne but then they had commanded them their Deputies not to give any consent to any thing till the said Limitation were taken away But then if it was once Abolished and Repealed they were ready and willing to assist and promote the Publick Affairs in this Dyet to the utmost of their Abilities This Protestation or Remonstrance was very often renewed afterwards in several of their Dyets but being always opposed by the Princes of the opposite Religion and by the Emperours it could never be obtained because they ever thought That the granting this Liberty would end in the Rnine of the Roman Catholick Religion On the other side those of that Religion wrote sharply against the Peace of Religion as it was then established by the Treaty of Passaw and the Dyet of Ausburg calling it a Lawless Confusion and in private saying That as it was obtained by a War so it must by a War be revoked In the Year 1556 the Thirty first of July Ignatius Loyola the Founder of the Order of Jesuites died in the Sixty fifth year of his Age. He was born in Spain and at first served as a Soldier which Employment he deserted in the Year 1521 upon a Wound received at Pampelune In the Year 1528 he began to gather Companions In the Year 1534 or 35 this Order was first framed by him and in the Year 1609 he was Canonized by Pope Paul IV. And as Petavius saith it was confirm'd by Paul III in 1540 the Twenty seventh of September James Lainez a Spaniard was this Year his Successor and the second General of that Order which had then obtain'd One hundred Colleges in several Parts of Christendom as one of that Society assures us In the beginning of this year Albert the Son of Casimir Marquis of Brandenburg having lately by the Interposition of some of the Princes obtain'd leave from the Dyet to return into Germany to defend his Case and sojourning then with Charles Marquis of Baden at Pforzheim in Schwartzwalt being extremely worn out with the Troubles of his Affairs and a Disease which sprung from the Intemperance of his former Life died the Eighth Day of January This Prince was an Illustrious Example of the Instability of Human Greatness and of the Divine Justice For He that was once surrounded with so many Thousands of Fighting Men that his Name was terrible to all Men and almost the whole German Empire lay exposed to his Ravage at last by a change of his Fortunes was deserted by all Men and now ended his Life in great Misery and Poverty being despised by his very Enemies as the great Thuanus represents it The Eleventh of March the Dyet began at Ratisbonne the last year was ended In it there was a Decree of Recess made That a Friendly Conference should be held the Fourteenth of August at Wormes for putting an End to the Differences of Religion That a double Supply of Eight Months should be granted to King Ferdinaud to enable him to carry on the War against the Turks That the Peace of Religion and that of the State should be preserved with great and exact care and for the Renewing the Imperial Chamber of Spire which is the Supreme Court of the Empire In April died John Count Palatin of Simeren President of the said Imperial Chamber and the Father of Frederick who about two years after succeeded Otho Henry in the Palatinate of the Rhine He was a Prince of great Learning and managed this Trust with the highest Commendations both for his Prudence and Justice Soon after the great Controversie between the Families of Nassaw and Hesse which had been depending Fifty Years and is often mention'd by Sleidan concerning the County of Catzenellobogen was friendly ended at Frankfort upon the Main by the Interposition and Mediation of Otho Henry and Augustus Electors William Duke of Cleves and others who were made Judges in this Affair for both Parties the Landgrave of Hesse by their award retaining that County upon paying to William Prince of Orange 1600 Crowns and resigning up to him the Earldom of Diez for 1050 Crowns When the time of the Conference appointed by the Dyet drew near the Divines who were of the Augustane Confession had a Meeting at Frankford on the Main the First of August to adjust their own private Differences before they entred into a Conference with the Roman Catholicks so that this latter was not begun till the beginning of September At the opening of it Julius Pflug Bishop of Naumburg who was President in this Conference desired those of the Augustane Confession that they would in the first place shew openly their Disagreement with and Detestation of the Zuinglians Osiandrians Synergists and Adiaphorists Because the Peace of Religion was only granted to those of the Augustane Confession by the Dyet and this Conference was appointed with none but them and the Emperor besides knew that most of them had Orders to do this That therefore some benefit at least might result from this Conference they would once for all by a common consent condemn these Erros and there would be much less danger and difficulty in the rest The younger Ministers and Deputies of Saxony easily assented and producing their Instructions were very forward to separate the Augustane Confession from these Errors But Philip Melancthon an old wise Man who saw the drift of this cunning Gamester said the Examination and Explication of their several Doctrins ought to go before the Determination and Condemnation of them and that
Forces and be in a condition to oppose the Victorious Enemy Another of the Andelot's got into the Town with about Five hundred Chosen Men and some few Volunteers of the Nobility but when all was done King Philip coming in Person into the Camp and Siege being carried on with great diligence the Town was taken by Storm the 27th of August and Coligny and Andelot became Prisoners too and the latter was wounded At this Siege there was Eight thousand English employed who did great Service but finding themselves ill used after the Town was taken they returned to Calis There were above Four hundred French Soldiers slain in this Town and Three hundred taken Prisoners and more had perished if King Philip who was present had not entred the City and by Proclamation restrain'd the fury of his own Soldiers to whom he granted the Plunder of the Town which was great and took particular care that those who had not been concern'd in the danger of the Storming the Town might have no share in the Plunder of it Soon after this Victory King Philip sent an Express to the late Emperor Charles his Father who was then in his private Retirement in Spain desiring him to send his Advice how to proceed the wise and good Prince return'd him an Answer to this purpose as the Great Thuanus relates it Though this Retreat gives me the utmost security yet I received the Account of your Victory with a joyful and a pleased Mind and I congratulate the happy and fortunate Beginnings of my beloved Sons Reign and I render to God Almighty my humblest and devoutest Thanks and Praises who hath not suffer'd the Perfidy of his Enemies to go long unpunished but has thus suddenly chastised the Truce-breakers both in Italy and on the Borders of the Netherlands For though my mind foretold me it would come so to pass and I comforted my self with that hope yet I was vex'd that just at that time when I had restored Christendom to her Peace and was going to compose my Soul in Peace all things should of a sudden be fill'd with an unexpected War and Tumult But then as to the Advice my Son desires from me he is not to expect it either now or hereafter He has with him many grave and wise Men of an approved Fidelity and bred up to Business during my Reign whose Counsel I would take if I were now at the Helm Let him consult with these Men and well considering the weight of their Reasons after he has first implored the Divine Assistance and Grace let him determine what is best to be done This Wise Prince would neither put himself to the Trouble of considering what was best to be done nor his Son to that of approving what perhaps he would not have liked or of rejecting the Counsels of a Father which would have been dishonourable to both He had been so long a Sovereign that he knew the Thoughts and Tenderness of a Princes Heart and could distinguish between Civility nnd reality And which was most of all he was really and not pretendedly Dead to the World. The Germans tumultuously demanded their Pay after the Victory the English also desired leave to return pretending they had been ill used and the King was forced to grant their Request to prevent worse Consequences So that in a short time this victorious Army moulder'd to nothing tho' his Captains did what they could to persuade him to keep his Army up And which was yet worse many of the Germans passed over to the French and helped to fill up their Numbers so that King Philip took only Castelet Han Chaulnes and Noyon all small Places and this last by Surprize too And then in the latter end of October was forced to withdraw his Army into the Low Countries having in the mean time fortified S. Quintin Han and Chaulnes to preserve them Whilst the Spanish Army was thus mouldering away and dispersing the French King was every Day increasing his He had sent for six thousand Switz which were coming out of Piedmont his German Supplies were come as far as Is Sur Tille near Dijon And the Duke of Guise was every Day expected out of Italy with the Forces under his Command who was sent for presently after the Defeat of S. Quintin and was now on the Road with the Duke de Aumale his Brother And the Duke of Nevers was strengthning Compeigne with a Royal Fort by the King's Order The Duke of Guise upon his arrival at S. Germain was honourably received and declared General of the Land-Forces which had till then from the taking of Montmorencey been in the Hands of the Duke of Nevers The Disorder of the War diverted Men from the Thoughts of Persecuting the Protestants in France so that now they grew and multiplied very much even in Paris The fifth of November in the Evening there was a great number of these met in a Place called Bertomier in S. James-street to perform the Offices of Religion and to receive the Lord's Supper after their way This being discovered by some that lived near that place they provided good quantities of Stones in the neighbouring Houses and their Arms ready in the Street and when in the dead of the Night the Meeting broke up they that first went out had Stones thrown at them and a Tumult thereupon arising a vast number of the Rabble at that Signal came running together and attempted to break into the House they that were yet in the House advised by their Danger drew their Swords and issued out and all of them except one who was slain in the Crowd made their escape tho' some were wounded The Women and others who were less able to shift to the number of one hundred and twenty rendred themselves to Jean Martignon the then Sheriff who when it was now Day carried them to Prison the People being hardly kept from pulling them in Pieces by the Constables and their Guards Thereupon there were divers Rumors spread abroad concerning this Meeting as is usual in New and Odious Occurrences That this Rabble met in a Chamber in the Night to Eat and play the Whore and that after the Supper was over they committed promiscuous Villanies the Mother lying with the Son the Father with his Daughter and the Sister with her Brother That the Tables and Provisions were found and that the Carpets and Tapesteries had still upon them the Marks of these Villanies And because this was not enough they added to enrage the Multitude yet more against them that they had Communicated in the Blood of a Child This Account was given to the King but without any Author to justifie it but then no Man daring neither to contradict it for fear of being taken for an Heretick those that were of the Religion wrote a small Piece which they called an Apology in which they shew That the Crimes thus laid to their Charge were meer Slanders and they
the mean time Mary Queen of England dyed which occasioned a great Change in England France and Scotland The greatest part of the Scots were not pleased with this Marriage and the French too underhand disliked it as tending to the exalting the House of Guise and the depressing that of Montmorency and Gasper de Coligny Admiral of France who were both at this time Prisoners to King Philip. A meeting in the mean time being appointed at Perone between Christierna the Mother of the Cardinal of Lorraine and Perrenot Bishop of Arras for King Philip and the Duke and Cardinal of Loraine for the French Perrenot deploring the progress of the Turkish Arms during this unfortunate War and above all things the increase of Heresie in France and the Netherlands cunningly offered the House of Guise their Assistance for the ruining Montmorency Coligny and Andelot as favourors of the Reformation when a Peace were once setled between these two Crowns The House of Guise hereby only seeking to aggrandize it self upon the Ruine of these three great Men and the Spaniards to imbroil and weaken France The Cardinal at his return acquaints the King with what concerned Andelot intermixing a mention of a Peace with it Henry II was a mild and most merciful Prince but had an implacable aversion for the Reformation which had been instilled into him in his Infancy by those who had the Care of him and he had before this heard something of Andâ—lot's Inclinations to favour that Party and thereupon sent for him who waited upon the King at Monceaux a Castle near Meaux The King gave him great assurance of his kindness to him and of his Sense of his Merits and Services and then told him He was much concerned to hear from all Places That he was not sound in the business of Religion and thereupon asked him what his Belief of the Sacrifice of the Mass was Aidelot who was a Man of Spirit answered otherwise than the King desired and according to Calvin's Doctrin The King admonished him That he should consider himself and not run into Mischief He replied with more confidence than he had shewn before That it was a great Satisfaction to him that the King whom he and his Family had found a Bountiful Master and to whom he had in all things hitherto shewn himself a most Loyal Faithful and Industrious Subject had so far approved of him But then he was not to play the Hypocrite with God in the business of Religion his Body his Estate and his Honour were in the Hands of the King and he might dispose of them as he thought fit but his Soul was subject to none but God who gave it and therefore in this matter he must obey God only as his greatest Master This Answer so inraged the King that taking his Lance in his hand and intending only to throw it on the ground he wounded the Dauphin with it who sate beneath him and the Tables being taken away he ordered Andelot to be taken into Custody who was for some time detained in the House of the Bishop of Meaux and from thence he was sent to the Castle of Melun Andelot being thus laid aside the Baron de Monluc a Person of good Merit was made General of the French Foot in his stead which was a Place of great consideration in the Army This Lord had been educated in the Court of the Duke of Lorain and was much addicted to the Interest of that Family Yet as he saith in his Memoirs he refused this Employment at first because he foresaw it would expose him to a flagrant Envy and the Resentments of the Family of Montmorancy In the beginning of May the French sat down before Thionville with about Five thousand Horse and Fourteen thousand Foot. This Town is seated in the Dukedom of Luxemburg in a Plain Country but Low and Marshy and having the Moselle on the N. W. which fills its deep Ditches on which sides it has only two Bastions which are short so that they cannot clear their Dikes and at a great distance from each other The rest of the City is secured by great Towers which extend themselves beyond the Walls and they again are within well fill'd with Earth Quaderebbe a Brabentiner was Governor of this Place who had a Garrison under him of One thousand nine hundred Foot and Two hundred Horse The chief Battery lay on that side which is covered by the Moselle This place after a sharp defence was taken upon good Articles the Twenty third of July But then Strozzi an excellent Commander and a Man of great Courage and Prudence was lost before it who was accounted one of the best Captains of that Age. Four thousand Townsmen and Fifteen hundred Soldiers marched out of this place when it was yielded up most of the latter being wounded on the Head. The French lost Four hundred and had more wounded in this Siege After this they took Arlone another Town in the same Dukedom three German Miles from Luxemburg to the West by Surprize which being burnt by an unexpected Accident was dismantled and deserted Their next Design was against Luxemburg but here they spent seventeen days to no purpose It had been order'd by the Council That at the same time the Duke of Guise invaded the Dukedom of Luxemburg Thermes who was Governor of Calais should enter Flanders and that the Duke of Guise should second him with some German Forces and that his Brother the Duke of Aumale should joyn also with him at Faire en Vermandois If their Orders had been as well pursued as they weye prudently contrived the Affairs of King Philip had been brought into great distress Thermes went from Calais in the beginning of July with Five thousand Gasconers and Germans and Fifteen hundred Horse passing by Graveling and coming suddenly before Dunkirk and while he was treating with the Inhabitants taking advantage of their Negligence he Surprized the place and having Plundered the Town he put a Garrison into it after which he took Vinoxberg without resistance though it was a Rich and a Populous Town which he treated in the same manner but then being seized by the Gout his usual Disease he committed his Forces to the Sieur Villebonne a Man too much addicted to Spoil and Rapine who wasted all the Country with Fire and Sword as far as Newport King Philip in the Interim had sent the Duke of Savoy to Liege with Orders to assemble Forces near Maleburg to oppose the Duke of Guise but when he saw Thionville and Arlonne lost and the Duke of Guise lye still he took the opportunity to Surprize these Frenchmen before any Succors were come up to them to which end he sent Count Egmont an Industrious Captain to whose diligence the Victory of St. Quintin was very much owing he coming to Graveling which lyes between Dunkirk and Calais and from the several Spanish Garrisons got together Twelve thousand Foot and Three
thousand Horse and a great number of Peasants who being inraged at the Spoil of their Country were desirous of an opportunity to Revenge their Losses This being known to Thermes who expected the Duke of Guise every day according to his order he recollected his scattered Forces and although he was not well took Horse and posted to his Camp near Graveling being very solicitous though too late to secure his Retreat to Calais Count Egmont being now at his heels with his Forces A Council of War was thereupon held in the Night and it was resolved that the French should take the advantage of the Ebb the next Day and march by the Sea-shore towards Calais They passed the River Aa that Morning without any difficulty at the Low-water which Egmont observing he passed it too and met the French. Thermes who saw now there was no security but in their Valour having the Sea to the North the Dike of Boulaie on his Back and the Enemy on his Front and Side thereupon drew up his Men in the order of Battel being secure on two Sides to the South which was his left-hand he placed his Wagons and planted his Field-pieces in the Front which consisted in six Culverins and three Faulcons and on his Wings he placed his Horse that they might cover the Gasconers who were in the Front the other French were in the Middle and the Germans in the Reer Count Egmont had for haste left all his Cannon on the other side of the River and would not stay for it fearing the French might in the mean time escape him dividing his Horse into five Parts he commanded the Light Horse to begin the Fight his Foot were divided into three Parts according to their Nations Flemings Germans and Spaniards He himself was one of the first that charged the Gasconers who at first stood their ground stoutly and Count Egmont's Horse was slain under him but his Army being most in number when they came to close Fight Horse to Horse and Foot to Foot the Flemings being much encouraged by the hopes of Victory and the French despairing of any other Escape the Fight was a long time doubtful the Gasconers fought manfully the Germans were only Spectators and the French Horse could do little for want of Ground in the very heat of the Battel twelve English Ships coming up put an end to the Fight by gauling the French on the Right Wing with their Canon on that side they thought themselves most secure Fifteen hundred were kill'd in the Fight and many more perished in the Flight being knock'd on the head by the Peasants who were inraged by their Rapins others were drown'd and Thermes Villebone Senarpont the Count of Chaulness and Merviliers were taken Prisoners and the English Fleet took up Two hundred in the Sea and carried them into England to the Queen This Victory cost the Flemings Five hundred Men and was gain'd the Thirteenth of July The Duke of Guise hearing of this Defeat return'd to Pierre-pont in the Borders of Picardy and Champagne the Twenty eighth of July that he might be ready at hand to prevent any Attempt might be made on France The Townsmen meeting as the Custom is in a place call'd the Scholars Field without the Suburbs of St. German near Paris a few of them who were addicted to the Protestant Religion began to sing David's Psalms in French Metre thereupon the People began to leave their Sports and joyning with them sung the same Psalms After this a greater number and among them Anthony King of Navarr and Jonae his Lady who was already suspected to favour that Religion fell into the same Practice The Clergy were much allarm'd at this affirming that this new Invention was design'd to bring the ancient Custom which they had received from the Church of Rome their Mother of singing the Publick Service in the Latin Tongue into contempt by introducing the use of one understood by the meanest of the People Whereupon they represented this as very Seditious to the King who order'd an Enquiry after the Authors of it to be made and forbad the Use of this Custom for the future on pain of Death About the same time News was brought of the arrival of an English Fleet of an Hundred and twenty Ships upon the Coast of Normandy under the Lord Clinton Haure de Grace and Diepe being feared they sent the President of Boulogn to take care of those Places but the Fleet went on and at Conquet a Port of Britain the Thirty first of July they landed an Hundred and fifty Pesants at first opposing them but Seven thousand Men being landed and the Ships with their Cannon playing upon them the Inhabitants left the place and fled The English entred the Town and plundred it but Kersimont the Governor of that Province coming up with Six thousand which he had hastily raised he forced the English with the loss of Six hundred of their Men to return on board their Ships about an Hundrd of them fell into the hands of the French and among them one Hollander who told the Fnench that thirty Dutch Ships under the Command of one Wakenheim had joyn'd this Fleet at the Isle of Wight by the order of King Philip and that they were ordered to take Brest which the French thereupon fortified and took great care of Whereupon the Lord Clinton finding no Good was to be done returned having made a very expensive and unprosperous Voyage The French by this time had got together a very great Army which the King saw drawn up near Pierre-pont and King Philip's was not less but then neither of these Princes were disposed to try the Hazards of the War any further and Montmorency having agreed for his Ransome at the rate of one hundred and sixty five thousand Crowns and being now grown old and averse from the Thoughts of War he and Christierna the Mother of the Duke of Loraine went to and fro between the two Princes to promote a Treaty of Peace Vendosme Vidame of Chartres who was made Governour of Calais after Thermes was taken Prisoner had a Design upon S. Omers but it was discovered and prevented In the middle of September Ambassadours from England France and Spain met at Cambray to treat of a Peace in good earnest and the first thing they agreeed upon was the withdrawing of the two Armies because they seemed very dissonant from the End of that Meeting The greatest Difficulty they met with was about Calais which the French were resolved to keep pretending it was an ancient Piece of their Dominions tho' lately recovered And the English on the other side would never consent to the Treaty if it were not restored But before this Contest could be brought to a conclusion Mary Queen of England dyed which ended the Controversie for the present and thereupon this Congress was dissolved and another Meeting appointed in the same Place in January following The fifth of November the English Parliament
troubled Israel Then Anna du Bourg beginning with a Discourse of the Eternal Providence of God to which all things are subject when he came to the Question proposed said There were many Sins and Crimes committed by Men which the Laws had already forbidden and yet the Gallows and Tortures which were imployed had not been able to prevent the frequent Perjuries Adulteries profuse Lusts and Profane Oaths which were not only connived at but cherished On the contrary every Day new punishments are invented against a sort of Men who could never yet be convicted of any wicked Attempt for how can they injure the Prince who never name him but in their Prayers for him Are they accused of breaking our Laws perverting the Allegiance of our Cities or Provinces No the greatest Tortures could never extort a Confession that they so much as thought of any such thing Are they not accused of Sedition only because they have by the Candle of Scripture discovered the shameful and encreasing Villanies and corruptions of the Roman Power which they desire may be reformed Christopher Harlay and Peter Seguier the two Presidents said with great Modesty that the Court had hitherto justly and rightly discharged its Duty in this Particular and that it would still do the same without changing to the Glory of God and therefore neither the King nor People of France would have cause to repent the trusting to it Christopher de Thou with great freedom reflected on the King's Attorney and Advocates for presuming to defame the Proceedings of that Court and indangering its Authority Renatus Baillet desired the Judgments which were blamed might be re-examined and more maturely considered Minart having made a short Preface to soften the Envy which had been raised against them only added That he thought the King's Edicts were to be observed After these Maistre the President made a sharp Harangue against the Sectaries instancing in the Severities which Philip the August is said to have employed against the Albingenses 600 of which he burnt in one day and in the Waldenses which were massacred with Fire and Smoak partly in their Houses and partly in the Dens and Caves they had fled to The King having obliquely reproached the Court for entring upon this Debate without his Order added He now clearly saw what he had heard before That there were some among them who despised both his Authority and the Popes That this was the fault of but a few but it was dishonourable to the whole body of them but only they that were guilty should suffer the Punishment And therefore he exhorted the rest to go on in their Duty The Reflections of la Faur and du Bourg who mentioned the Story of Ahab and the frequent Adulteries exaseperated the King more than the rest and therefore he commanded Montmorancy to apprehend them who again ordered Gabriel de Montgomery a Captain of the Guard to take them and carry them to the Bastile Afterwards Paul de Foix Anthony Fumee Eustace de la Porte were also taken into Custody but la Ferriere du Val and Viole were concealed by their Friends and escaped this Storm Men censured these Proceedings as they stood affected but the Wiser were much disgusted That the King should be so far imposed on by others as to come personally into his Court to subvert those Laws he ought to have protected That he should make use of Threats and Imprisonments saying That this was a clear Instance that he was subject to the Passions of others and who could think but these things were the foreunners of great Changes The Ministers of the Reformed Religion notwithstanding held a Synod at S. German June 28 one Morelle being President in which they setled the order of their Synods the Authority of the Presidents the taking away the Supremacy in the Church the election of Ministers and their Office and Duty Deacons and Presbyters Censures the Degrees of Consanguinity and Affinity of contracting and dissolving Marriages which yet were only temporary Decrees to be varied as future Synods should think fit but to oblige particular Persons till so altered About the same time came Embassadours from the Protestant Princes of Germany with Letters to the King subscribed by Frederick Cout Palatine of the Rhine Augustus Duke of Saxony Joachim Elector of Brandenburg Christopher Duke of Wirtimberg and Wolfang Count of Weldentz In which they represent to the King How much they were afflicted to see so many Pious Quiet and Holy Men who professed the same Religion Imprisoned Spoiled Banished and put to Death as Seditious Persons in France That they thought themselves bound by Christian Charity and the Alliance which was between them and France to beseech him well to consider this Affair which concerned the Name of God and the Salvation of so many Souls that he ought to free himself from Prejudice and imploy great Judgment and Reason in it They assured him they were no less solicitous for the Glory of God and the Salvation of their Subjects than he and upon the Differences of Religion had maturely considered how they might be composed That they had found by degrees and insensibly through Avarice and Ambition many Corruptions had crept into the Church which were dishonourable to the Majesty of God and Scandalous to Men and that they ought to be reformed by the Testimonies of the Holy Scriptures the Decrees of the Primitive Church and the Writings of the most Ancient Fathers That the Corruptions and Disorders of the Court and Church of Rome had long since been complained of in France by W. Parisiensis John Gerson Nicholas Clemangius and Wisellius of Groeningen the Restorer of the University of Paris under Lewis XI and other Divines That King Francis his Father of Blessed Memory was convinced of this and had wisely endeavoured to put an end to the Differences of Religion and to reform the Discipline of the Church That now France was not involved in War abroad they besought him the Difference of Religion might by his Authority and Conduct be quietly ended That this might easily be effected if the King would but appoint Learned and Peaceable Men who should examin their Confession of Faith without Partiality or Prejudice by the Holy Scripture and the Ancient Fathers That in the interim he should suspend all Legal Severities discharge the Imprisoned recal the Banished restore their Estates to those that had been ruin'd This they said would be acceptable and pleasing to God Honourable to the King Profitable to France and very Grateful to them The King entertained the Embassadors kindly and having read the Letter said he would suddenly send them a satisfactory Answer but by that time they were arrived at the Borders of France the Fire their coming seem'd to have abated raged more horribly than ever June 19. a Commission was issued to Jean de Saint Andre the President and Promoter of these Troubles Jo. James de Memme Master of the Requests Lewis Gayaut
being attended by a Fleet of 90 Ships He met with so great a Tempest on the Shoars of Gallicia that the Ship in which he went perished the King being hardly got out of her into a small Bark that waited upon him Thuanus saith He ascribed his Delivery to Heaven and said He was preserved by the singular Providence of God to extirpate Lutheranism And Meteren That this Tempest was an Omen of the great Calamities that attended him and his States a great part of the Fleet being Shipwrecked He soon fell to the Work he believed God had call'd him and began with the extirpation of Heresie some few had been put to Death before his arrival here and there but the greatest part were kept that he might have the joy of seeing them burnt at Vallidolid and Seville September 24. this pompous Shew was begun in the Person of John Ponce a Son of the Count de Baylen who was brought forth with great State and burnt as an Obstinate Lutheran and with him John Gonsalo a Preacher After these Isabella Venia Maria Viroesia Cornelia and Bohorquia which was a Spectacle of great Compassion and Envy the last of these being not above 21 Years old yet suffering with great Constancy After these followed Ferdinad de St. Jean and Julian Ferdinando John de Leone and Frances Chavesia a Nun Christopher Losada a Physician and Christopher de Arles a Monk and Garsia de Arras This last was the Man who had brought that Spark into Spain and by his constant and learned Preaching improved it so far that he had brought over to his Opinion the greatest Part of the Monks of S. Isiodore and of the Inhabitants of Seville yet afterwards he had deserted his Companions and disputed against them too before the Inquisitors but being at last convinced of the Wickedness of it he repented and being brought before the Inquisitors reproached them as fitter for Mule-Drivers than Judges of the true Faith of which they were brutishly Ignorant tho they impudently assumed that Title and Office. Giles and Constantio were reserved to bring up the Reere but they both died yet their Bodies were burnt This last was Confessor to Charles V in the last two Years of his Life and Retirement Soon after his Death he was imprisoned and died in durance His Body was carried about in a preaching Posture and the dreadful ghastly look it had brought Tears from some whilst others laughed at the theatrical Hypocrisie and Bloody Folly of the Monks From hence this Cruel Scene was removed to Vallidolid in October following where in the presence of Philip 28 of the Principal Nobility of that Country were bound to Stakes and most Catholickly and Charitably burnt Whether Thuanus were weary of the former Cruelties or wanted exact Informations of the Particulars of this last I cannot say but the last is most probable but however he gives none of their Names or Qualities and saith there was some Variation in the Time. Thus Spain was preserved from Heresie as they call it not by the Learning or Piety of the Clergy but the Bloody Zeal of King Philip. Pope Paul IV being worn out with Years and very much afflicted with a Dropsie July 29 sent for the Cardinals and told them He was going the way of all Flesh and having advised them to chose a good Successor recommended to them The most Holy Office of the Inquisition as he called it which was the only thing that could preserve that most Holy See. He after this pointed in another Discourse to King Philip whom he said God had raised up as the great Defender of the Catholick Faith and he added That he did not doubt but the Christian Religion would by his Counsels however now afflicted be restored to its Ancient State. He dyed August 18. aged 83 Years having sat Pope four Years two Months and twenty three Days Whilst he was yet dying the People broke open all the Prisons especially those of the Inquisition which they also set on Fire and they were hardly restrained from burning the Palace of Minerva where that Court Sits with the same Fury they beat down the Image of the Pope and broke off its Head and Right-hand and three Days it lay exposed in the Streets to the Contempt and Scorn of all Men after which it was thrown into the Tiber. After this the Arms of the Caraffa's were demolished all over the Town His Body was buried with little Pomp and a Guard of Soldiers drawn up to secure it from the Rage of the Populace It is observed That this Year was fatal to the Princes of Europe August 17 Lawrence Prioly Duke of Venice died and was succeeded by Jerome his own Brother his rare Virtues dispensing with the Venetian Laws of not suffering Honours to continue in the same Family lest they might seem Hereditary September 1 died Hercules di Este Duke of Ferrara he married Renata a Daughter of Lewis XII King of France and was happy in all his Government except his taking part with Henry II in that unjust War against King Philip as Thuanus calls it But he was happy in this That by his Prudence he extricated himself and came off with little or no Damage in his Treaty of Peace with that Potent and provoked Prince February 12. died Otho Henry Duke of Bavaria Count Palatine of the Rhine and was succeeded by Frederick III. April 29 died Francis Otho Duke of Lunenburg January 24 died William Prince of Henneberg so that within the space of one Year died Charles V two Kings of Denmark a King of France a Duke of Venice a Pope the Elector Palatine the Duke of Ferrara and three Queens Helionora of France Mary of Hungary and Bona Sfortia Queen of Poland The Conclave was very much divided in the Election of a new Pope between the French and Spanish Factions each Side labouring to have a Pope of their own Interest So that this Contest lasted three Months till at last the Embassadors of the other Princes began to remonstrate That this long Delay tended only to the improving the Differences in Religion and the increasing the Enemies of that See. At last after a Vacancy of four Months and seven Days John Angelo Medici was elected December 26. by the Suffrage of forty four Cardinals He was born at Milan of obscure Parents and took the Name of Pius IV He began his Reign with a Pardon of the Insolencies the People of Rome had committed upon the Arms and Statue of Pope Paul IV his Predecessor But he soon changed for he that till then had seemed the most Courteous Patient Good Grateful and Liberal of Men presently became quite another Man and took up other Manners He rescinded all the Acts of his Predecessor and presently acknowledged the Imperial Dignity to be lawfully invested in Ferdinand the Brother of Charles V and received his Embassadors with great Civility and Respect To return near Home
the Protestant Religion was already received in all Parts of Scotland especially in the Towns and Families of the Nobility and Gentry tho' in secret but Queen Elizabeth having entertained the Reformed Religion and setled it in England they thence presumed she would be a sure Friend to those of that Persuasion in Scotland And a Parliament being called to open May 10. 1559. at Sterling Alexander Cunigham Earl of Glencarn and Sir Hugh Cambel an eminent Knight and Sheriff of Aire appeared there in the behalf of the Ministers of the Reformed Religion who had been summoned to appear there by the Regent who was now resolved to dissemble no longer but to excert her Authority and shew her Zeal in their Ruine accordingly she threatned them severely and said She would banish all their Preachers who under pretence of Religion promoted a Rebellion The Deputies amazed with her great Words opposed Supplications remembring her of her Promises to which she samrtly replyed That the Promises of Princes were not to be expected to be fulfilled further than agreed with their Convenience A Mystery which she ought not to have revealed however if her Anger had not broken open the Recesses of her Heart At this the two Deputies replyed by Glencarne That if she would keep no Promise they would acknowledge her no more but renounce their Obedience to her the Mischief of which she ought seriously to consider The Boldness and Briskness of this Answer abated the Regents Anger and Courage and she seemed much calm'd and replyed I will consider of it The news of this being carried that Night to S. John's-Town the Inhabitants of it met that Night openly in their Churches and had Sermons The Queen Regent thereupon ordered all the Ministers who were come as far as that City but attended by vast Numbers of the Nobility Gentry and Commons in order to their appearing in the Parliament to return Home saying She would not proceed in the Citation yet afterward she declared them Rebels for not appearing This made many leave her and go over to the Protestants Whereupon she commanded one James Halyburton Mayor of Dundee to apprehend one Mefan a Preacher who thought to have lien hid in that Place and ordered the People to celebrate Easter-Sunday after the ancient manner When in this no body would obey her one Areskin of Dundee went over to them and assured them The Regent was so exasperated that there was nothing but Ruine to be hoped for at her Hands and that she had no regard to her Promise Thereupon they all resolved to dissembled no longer with her but to use Force against Force One John Knox a bold and violent Preacher further inflamed their over-heated Minds by a Seditious Sermon The Nobility going to Dinner from the Sermon a Quarrel arose in the Church and the Priest that interposed being severely treated the Rabble fell upon the Statues and Altars and destroy'd them in a moment after this they fell upon the Franciscan and Dominican Abbeys where they also destroy'd the Images and Altars The next that suffered was the Carthusian Abbey which they demolish'd so intirely in two days though very great that the Foot-steps of its Foundations were not easily to be discovered The Regent was by this time as much incensed as they and swore She would revenge this Villany with the Blood of the Inhabitants and the Ruin of the Town But in the interim the Example spread and the same things were reacted at Cupre in Fife The Regent having assembled some Forces under Hamilton Earl of Argile and the Earl of Athole marched easily towards St. John's-Town that the Can non might overtake them But the Inhabitants of that Place writing to their Friends what was doing he Earl of Glencarne came presently to their Assistance with Two thousand five hundred Horse and Foot. And shortly after they had Seven thousand Men in Arms against her so that she now saw that Force would not do upon which she sent the Lord James Steward Prior of St. Andrews and one Cambell who tho' Protestants continued in their Obedience to her to treat with the Earl of Glencarne and Areskin who agreed May 29 That all Forces being discharged the Town should be set open to the Regent that she might refresh her self a few days in it That no French should yet enter into it nor come near it by three Miles That all other Controversies should be determined in the next Parliament Whereupon she entred the Town and was honourably received But one of the Inhabitants being slain by an insolent Soldier and the Regent expressing not any Concern for it They from thence concluded the Treaty would not be long observed and accordingly about three days after she ordered the Town to be sack'd chang'd the Magistrates and restoring the mercenary Scots sworn to and paid by the French. Being hereupon urged with her Promise she answer'd That Promise was not to be kept with Hereticks and if she could make an honest Excuse after the Fact committed she would take upon her Conscience to kill and undo all that Sect concluding That Princes ought not to have their Promises so strictly urged upon them and then went back to Sterling The Convenience and Strength of the Place made her think it worth the breach of her Faith to them but the Lord James Steward the Prior of St. Andrew and the Earl of Argile were so offended with this Procedure that they left her and went over to the Protestants and gave them notice that she intended to Garrison Cupre and St. Andrews in Fife with Frenchmen Whereupon they destroyed the Franciscan and Dominican Abbies of the last City under the Archbishop's Eyes yet he durst not shew the least discontent at it but fled into Faulkland The Regent assembled all the French she had in the Kingdom which were two thousand and one thousand Scots and marchd for Cupre the Thirteenth of June The Earl of Argile on the other side brought in one thousand Protestants to the Relief of St. Andrews and Patrick Lermoth Bailiff of the Regality their Chief Officer levied five hundred more of the Inhabitants of St. Andrews and before Ten of the Clock the next Morning there were above three thousand Horse and Foot which being drawn up to the best Advantage upon the Banks of a small River by Mr. James Halleburton Provost of Dundee a Man of good Experience and Valour and therefore made General that day made so formidable an Appearance that the Regent durst not hazard a Battel against them By this time she saw to her Cost how necessary it was for Princes not to break their Faith. For when she would have gladly come to Peace there could no reliance be made upon her Promise and she had nothing else to engage And when they demanded the French might be sent away she said that she could not do it without order from the King of France So she was desired to withdraw the Garrison out of St. John's Town
and Queen which was refused and he severely treated for undertaking that Embassy by the Guises The Oppression of the Princes of the Blood in France by the House of Guise and of the Protestants by the Roman Catholicks caused a dreadful Conspiracy which drew in all the desperate People of that once most Fourishing Kingdom to the great hazard of its Ruine The concealed Head of this Conspiracy was Lewis Prince of Conde the apparent Godfrey de la Barre Sieur de Renaudie a Young Gentleman of an Ancient and Noble Family of Perigort who falling into a long and ruinous Suit for a Living which his Uncle had intercepted and detained from him in Angoumois had not only been overthrown by his Opposite but had also for some fraud in the management been severely Fin'd and Banish'd for some time he at Lausanne and Geneva had contracted a Friendship with some others of his Country who had fled thither on the account of Religion by whom he had been brought over to that Persuasion and after returning into France in disguise he had wandred over a great part of the Kingdom and made many Friends of that Religion and being a Stout Subtil Man and exasperated by the things he had suffered he undertook this dangerous Employment willingly as a means to revenge the Wrongs he had undergon The Conspirators met the First of February at Nantes in great numbers on diverse Preteces and there form'd the fatal Design of Blois for the Surprizing the King and the Court the Fifteenth of March and the bringing the Guises to a Tryal for all their Encroachments on the French Privileges and Abuses of the Royal Authority The whole Design is so well expressed in Davila his History of the Civil Wars of France that I shall rather refer the Reader thither for his Satisfaction in it than attempt to reduce it into a Dark and scarce perhaps Intelligible Compendium It was very extraordinary that before ever this Kingdom had in the least been shaken by any Commotion the Majesty of the King the Authority of the Governors and Magistrates being all in their former vigor that such great numbers of Men in all Parts of the Kingdom should enter into so unheard so dangerous a Design But such was the Hatred they bore to the House of Guise and the Detestation that all Men began to entertain of the bloody Practises against the Protestants that though so every many were engaged in it yet they all kept Faith each to other and conceal'd the Secret so that the Guises had notice of it from Italy Spain and Germany before any of their Spies in the Kingdom scented or suspected it At last one Pierre Avanelles an Advocate of the Parliament of Paris and a Protestant out of pure Conscience for the preventing so great a Scandal and Mischief discovered this Conspiracy to Stephen L' Allemont Sieur de Vouzay Secretary to the Cardinal of Lorain he having got knowledge of it from La Renaudie the Chief Agent in it who lodged in his House The King was then gone from Blois to Ambois which was a small and strong Town which had also a great and a very strong Castle and easily to be defended Here de Vouzay acquainted the King and the Council with it and was immediately Imprison'd to be produced as a Witness against the Conspirators if it proved to be true and to be treated as an Impostor if it happened otherwise The Guises were very desirous that Andelot and Coligni the Admiral should be invited to Court fearing or hoping rather that they too were in the Plot. And they accordingly came presently to the Queen-Regent and Coligni in a Discourse before Oliver the Chancellor inveighed sharply against the violent Proceedings in Matters of Religion which had exasperated a great part of the People against the Government and concluded That he believed the granting Liberty of Conscience and suspending the Severity of the Laws till the Controversies of Religion were composed by a Lawful and Free Council would very much appease and quiet them Oliver who desired a Reformation and hated the bloody Methods then in use was glad of this Proposition and recommended to the Guises the granting of a general Pardon and Liberty of Conscience till a Free Counsel could be had as an excellent Remedy of these Evils Which was presently granted excluding notwithstanding those who under pretence of Religion had conspired against the King his Mother Brothers or Ministers Which was published the Twelfth of March in the Parliament of Paris which yet never shock'd the Conspirators who were well resolv'd The same day Renuadie came to Carreliere in Vendosmois not far from Ambois and appointed the rest to meet him the Seventeenth of the same Month the King having changed his Abode they were forced to change the Day That day Deligneris another of the Conspirators and a Captain repenting the Undertaking discovered it to Queen Catherine The Guises had by this time got a good Body of the Nobility about the King and a Party of the Conspirators being met in Arms near Tours the Inhabitants of that City would not endeavour to take them but suffered them to escape to Saumur the Seventeenth of March was the day now appointed for this great Design and Renaudie who knew nothing of the Discovery marched boldly up to Ambois and though great part of his Foot were cut in pieces in the Woods as they came up in small Parties or taken Prisoners by the Horse who were sent out for that purpose many of which were presently hang'd on the Battlements of the Castle in their Boots and Spurs yet Renaudie their Chief Commander escaped and was not taken then The Duke of Guise obtained a Commission to constitute himself the King's Lieutenant General in France the Eighteenth of March and Oliver the Chancellor obtained before he would pass it a Pardon for all who should lay down their Arms within twenty four hours and return home with only two or three Companions giving them liberty to present what Petitions they pleased in a peaceable way to the King. The Nineteenth of March Renaudie met Pardaillan who was sent with a Party of Horse to take up such as he found in Arms. Pardaillan would have fired a Pistol against Renaudie but it missing Renaudie run him through but was slain in the same moment by Pardaillan's Servant himself His Body was brought to Ambois and hang'd on a Gibbet with this Inscription The Leader of the Rebels Two of his Servants were taken at the same time and some Papers in a private Character which proved to be a Petition on the besalf of the Protestants designed to be presented to the King in an Assembly of the States Begging a Remission of the Severity of the Laws against them and Protesting the utmost Duty and Obedience to him Many of those who were taken were examin'd against the King of Navar and the Prince of Conde Who said They
knew nothing of Navar but heard that Conde should have been their Captain Whence the Duke of Guise concluded That Coligni and Andelot were cetainly in it though Queen Catherine was of a contrary Opinion but however Conde who was then in the Castle with the King was commanded not to depart without leave which he wisely dissembled Some few were Tried for this Conspiracy but many more were Hang'd up by Night and many Merchants were Slain as they travelled about their business for their Mony but under Pretence they were in the Conspiracy so that there was nothing but Slaughter and Murthers to be seen About the same time Oliver the Chancellor of France died not so much of Old-age or Sickness as Discontent at the Cruelcy and Iniquity of the Times his Death was foretold by some of the Conspirators who reproached him for his unworthy Complyances And when the Cardinal of Lorain visited him in his last Sickness he express'd his Resentments against him and died weeping and sighin for what he had done Michel de l' Hospital a great and a good Man succeeded him by the procurement of Queen Catherine Though this Conspiracy was principally design'd against the Guises yet they desired the World should believe these Men had first made a Defection from God by Heresie and then had conspird against the King Queen Catherine and the King's Brothers The Thirty first of March the King wrote to all the Governors of the several Provinces to take great care that the Reliques of this Conspiracy did not imbroil their Provinces after which there was the like Account sent to the Elector Palatine and the rest of the Protestant Princes of Germany The Princes of Germany thereupon among other things desired the King to consider whether he had not yielded more than was fit to some about him meaning the Guises who out of an inbred Malice and Cruelty exercised great Cruelties on Men that were never convicted of any Crime There they beseech his Majesty that he would put a stop to the Sufferings of these Innocents and seeing they imbrace the same Religion with us we cannot but desire an end may be put to those cruel and hasty Executions This Germany has found say they to be the only Remedy and France has no other left to restore its Peace than by granting a Peace to the Minds and Consciences of Men. Coligni the Admiral leaving the Court Queen Catherine ordered him to go into Normandy and to enquire diligently into the Causes of the late Conspiracy He laid the blame of it on the boundless Ambition of the Guises and advised the Queen to observe inviolably the late Edict for Liberty of Conscience and to put a stop to the Persecution of the Innocent as she valued the safety of the King and the quiet of the Kingdom Some of the Captives who had escaped out of the Prisons at Blois wrote Letters to the Cardinal of Lorain telling him they knew the Escape of the Conspirators was very afflictive to his Eminence That therefore they were gone to seek them and hoped in a short time to return better attended This rallery was a great Mortification to that fearful Minister who feared new Commotions and persuaded the King to put out a General Pardon for all Roman Catholicks In May the King put out another Edict which was call'd the Edict of Romoraulin by which he took the Cognizance of Heresie from the Civil Magistrates and gave it solely to the Bishops which about five years before had been so vigorously opposed by the Parliament of Paris De l' Hospital the Chancellor is said to have consented to it only to prevent the violent Guises from introducing the Spanish Inquisition which they had recommended to Henry II and were now promoting with all their might in France From henceforward the Cardinal of Lorain became more placable to those of the Religion and to stop the Mouths of those who desired an Assembly of the three Estates persuaded Queen Catherine to call an Assembly of the Princes at Fountain-bleau to consult of the Publick Affairs About this time Conde left the Court and by a Letter gave his Brother the King of Navar an Account of the Ill-will the Guises bore towards him and that a Debate had been held in the King's Cabinet-Council for the taking him into Custody That therefore he had been forced to betake himself to him into Bearne This Letter was soon after discovered to the Guises who had entertained Spies in the Family of Conde who presently wrote a Letter to Conde full of sugared Expressions of Kindness and Affection which Conde presently sent to his Brother who very much approved his Resolution but advised him to return to Court and clear his Innocence which Conde did not think safe Perrenot the Brother of Cardinal Granvell in an Audience he had of Queen Catherine told her there was no way to restore the Peace of France but by Banishing the Guises some time from Court and Recalling the Princes of the Blood and Montmorancy to their former Stations The Twenty first of August the Assembly of the Princes and Notable Men of France was Opened at Founain-bleau The Chancellor in his Speech among other things complained That the Hearts of the People of France were incensed against the King and his Principal Ministers but the Cause of it was not known and therefore it was so difficult to find out and apply a fitted Remedy For That the greatest part of the Men of this Kingdom being weary of what is present fearful of what is to come divided by different Religions and desirous of Change are willing to imbroil the Kingdom And therefore their principal Business was to find out the cause of this Disease and apply a fitting Remedy to this Sickly Body Coligni the Admiral who was present the next day presented a Petition to the King which had been given him whilst he was in Normandy by a vast number of his Subjects desiring that the Severity of the Laws against them might be mitigated till their Cause had been duly considered and determined That they might have Publick Places assigned them for the Exercise of their Religion lest their Private Meetings should be suspected by the Government And they invoked God to bear Witness That they had never entertained any disloyal Thought against his Majesty nor would do so But on the contrary they offered up to God most devout Prayers for the Preservation and Peace of his Kingdom The Bishop of Valence a Learned Grave and Experienced Person confirmed this Opinion shewing the great Corruptions in the Church had given Birth and promoted these Divisions in the Minds of Men which were rather exasperated than extirpated by harsh means and bloody Persecutions Then he shewed the great Use of General Councils for the composing the Differences in the Church And therefore he said He wondred how the Pope could quiet his Conscience one Hour whilst he saw so
many thousand Souls perish which God without doubt would require at his Hands But if said he a General Council cannot be had the King ought to follow the Examples of Charles the Great and S. Lewis his Ancestors and call a National Council of France commanding the Teachers of the Sectaries to be present in it and to enter into Conference with the Divines concerning the Points in Controversie c. That the Sectaries were worthy of Blame for their Rebellion and the Roman Catholicks for having been too Bloody and Cruel in the Prosecution of them which had only served to irritate the Minds of Men and make them enquire more greedily into the Opinions of those they saw suffer so patiently That the ancient Fathers imployed no other Arms against the Arians Macedonians and Nestorians but the Word of God and the Princes then did only banish Hereticks The Archbishop of Vienne represented the great Difficulties that hindred the obtaining a General Council For said he there is none of us who doth not know what great pains Charles V took to procure a General Council and what Arts and Stratagems the Poples imployed to defeat that commendable hope this pious Prince had entertained The Disease is of too acute a Nature to attend long Delays which are very uncertain and therefore the best way was to call a National Council which the King had already promised and the urgent Necessities of the Church would not suffer him to delay any longer Having shewn how this had been constantly practised from the Times of Clovis to Charles the Great and so downward to the times of Charles VIII He concluded That the Necessity being Great they ought to delay no longer nor to regard the Oppositions the Pope would make against this Method For the appeasing the Civil Dissentions of France he advised the calling an Assembly of the three Estates The third day Coligni discoursed of the Petition he had presented and being asked why it was not subscribed He said There was above fifty thousand Men in the Nation ready to subscribe it Concluding That there was nothing more calamitous than for a Prince to fear his Subjects And they to be at the same time afraid of him That the House of God the Church was to be forthwith reformed the Army to be dishanded and an Assembly of the three Estates called as soon as might be The Cardinal of Lorrain was so inraged with Coligni's Speech that he made a sudden reply to it That the whole scope of ill Men was to deprive the King of his military Guards that they might the more easily oppress him That the late Conspiracy was against the King and not against his Ministers as was pretended That as to what concerned Religion he would submit to Learned Men But then he protested That no Councils should be of that Authority with him as to depart in any thing from the Customs of his Ancestors and especially in the most sacred Mystery of the Lord's Supper And as to an Assembly of the States he submitted that intirely to the King. He concluded The Sectaries were a Seditious Proud sort of Men and that the Gospel and Faith of Christ was made an occasion of Tumults and Seditions by them and therefore they were to be severely prosecuted Yet he was for mitigating the Severity of the Laws towards such as met peaceably without Arms who were to be reduced to their Duty by more gentle Methods more than by Force To which purpose he would freely spend his Life That the Bishops and Curates should by their presence redeem the Time they had lost and the Governours of the Provinces be forced to do their Duties But then since there was nothing under Debate but want of Discipline and Corruption of Manners it seemed very unnecessary that either a General or a National Council should be called The free Confession of this Cardinal is the Opinion of the whole Party and though the name of a General Council makes a great noise yet we very well know how they have treated the ancientest and best Councils when they have in any thing crossed their Humors or Interests and from thence may conclude They will never submit to any that shall not be conformable to their Wills. The twenty sixth of August a Decree was past that an Assembly of the three Estates should meet before the tenth of December in the City of Meaux And that if a General Council could not be had a National Council should be assembled And in the mean time all Severities in matters of Religion should be omitted Thus saith Thuanus my Author the Protestant Religion which before was so much hated began by degrees to grow up and get Strength with the tacit Consent of its greatest Enemies Thus ended the Assembly of the Princes and Notable Men of France About this time Ferrieres Maligni one of the Conspirators of Amboise escaping out of Prison had a Design to surprize Lyons and had formed so great a Party in the Town as might have done it but remitting the execution of his Project to a more convenient time by order of the King of Navarr the thing was discovered and many of his Partizans taken but yet such was the constancy of the Party that though many were tortured yet nothing could be found out to prove the King of Navarr or Prince of Conde concerned in this Attempt Yet were they invited to Court by the King to purge themselves of the Suspicion upon a Promise they should receive no Injury But this they wisely refused as not Reasonable This and several other such alarms procured an Edict That no Prince or other person of what condition soever should provide Money Soldiers Arms or Horses and if any Person did otherwise it should be taken for High-Treason The Cardinal of Bourbon was also imployed to bring the Princes of his Family to Court by passing his Faith to them That nothing should be done against them The three Estates in the interim meeting at Meaux were from thence adjourned to Orleans and the Marshal de Thermes was sent to Poictiers with two hundred Horse to watch the Motions of the King of Navar if he came to the Assembly The Protestants in France having obtained a little respite from the Pressures of the Persecution by the late Edicts encreased and there were great Assemblies of them in all Parts of the Kingdom especially in Dauphine At Valence which was an University much celebrated for the Study of the Law the fear of the Laws being now removed there succeeded in its stead a lawless Boldness and Petulance so that some of the Young Students forcibly seized the Franciscan's Church for the holding their Assemblies At Montelimard they had also their Publick Sermons and at Romans And which was yet more insufferable they met armed and were very injurious and rude to the Roman Catholick Which as to Valence was soon after revenged with equal Cruelty and perfidy by one Maugiron who
was by the late King's Order and would explain the Mystery no further About twelve Days after he went to the Castle of Hane in Picardy and there attended the Orders of the new King. Francis the Second was buried with small State and less Expence to the great hatred of the Guises who in the mean time were very busie to revive the Differences between Queen Catharine and the King of Navarr who wisely prevented their Design by offering the first Place to the Queen and reserving the second to himself as President of the Kingdom This passed into a Decree the twenty first of December The Protestant Religion which had got such footing in France that it seemed not possible to root it out without the Ruine of that Kingdom began this Year to shew it self more openly in Flanders and the Netherlands the Nobility espousing it in great numbers together with the rest of the States Nor could Margaret their Governess under King Philip obtain the continuance of the Taxes for the maintenance of the Spanish Forces Nor would they of Zealand acquiesce tho the Pay was sent from other Places till these Troops were sent into Spain Nor would they grant any Supplies to be disposed of by the Governess but reserved that to themselves that the Soldiers in the Frontier Towns might be certainly and regularly paid This was vigorously opposed by the new Bishops instituted by Paul IV as tending to the remitting the Reins of the Ecclesiastical Government as well as the Civil Bartholomeo Caranza Archbishop of Toledo in Spain was also suspected to incline to the Protestant Religion and on that account was imprisoned by the Inquisition and his Revenues were brought into the King's Treasure By an Appeal to Rome he saved his Life but was never able to recover his See again but died many Years after at Rome in a Private State. Thuanus saith He knew him and that his Learning Integrity and the Holiness of his Conversation was such as made him worthy of that Dignity The great Progress of the Protestant Religion in all Places made all Good Men saith Thuanus desire that the General Council which had been intermitted might be reassumed and carried on but Pope Pius IV had the same Fears of it his Predecessors had lest his own Power should be abated And therefore though he judged this the only means to root out Heresies and very necessary yet he delayed it and unless he were compelled by Force or some present Danger it was apparent he would never admit it But having resolved on the other side right or wrong by Force or Fraud to accomplish his own Desires and hoping to reap great Advantages from the Ruine of the Caraffa's though he had been much assisted by them in the obtaining of the Papacy he applied himself to this with great Application and Industry and under the Mask of Friendship And having laid his Plot he committed Charles Caraffa the Cardinal and his Kinsman the Cardinal of Naples to the Castle of S. Angelo But Anthony Marquess de Monte Bello being then not at Rome though cited also escaped the Danger and fled for his Life Though daily Accounts came to Rome of the Tumults and Disorders of France the Pope took no notice of them Though the Duke of Florence who was great with him for he pretended to be descended of that Family did very much urge his Holiness to consider the State of Affairs in France and Scotland And told him It was Uncharitable to see so many thousands of Souls Lost and Impolitick to necessitate Princes by the despair of a General Council to betake themselves to National Synods This was much inforced by the Noise the Speech of the Chancellor of France had made in the late Assembly which was then very hot in Italy He had among other things assured the French Clergy That if the Pope would not hold a General there should very speedily be a National Council assembled in France and had exhorted all the Bishops to prepare themselves for it To this the Pope answered with great anxiety seeking Pretences of Delay and pretending he was going to Ancona and that by the way he would speak with the Duke of Florence who was a wise Prince and his Kinsman and regulate that Affair by his Advice Cosâ—â—us Duke of Florence perceiving that this Journey of the Pope to Ancona was a Sham and being invited by the Pope to Rome resolved to go thither to promote this and some other Private Business he had with the Pope Before this King Philip having heard of the National Council designed in France had sent Anthony de Toledo to advise the King and Council in this and lay before them the inevitable Danger of a Schism which would follow upon it On the other side Ferdinand the Emperour insisted That seeing the Council was begun on the account of the Germans it should be renewed in Germany and all that was already determined should be re-debated anew Others thought it reasonable That seeing the French were now equally concerned with the Germans the Council should be assembled in some City in the Confines of France and the Empire as at Constance or if the Germans would agree to it at Besanzon The Pope was rather inclined to have it at Trent or rather to bring it deeper into Italy and had some Thoughts of Vercelli a City in the Borders of France though he could not yet resolve certainly to hold it any where for he good Man was more desirous that Geneva which had much infected France and Germany should be reduced by a War than that the Controversies of Religion should be committed to the peaceable Determination of a Council And to that end he had persuaded the Duke of Savoy to make a War upon the Vaudois his Subjects Whilst the Pope was in this incertainty in October the Duke of Florence came to Rome and persuaded the Pope by his Arguments to resolve on the calling of a Council the next Year that he might provide a General Remedy for a General Disease He shewed him That there was no Danger such a Council would pass any severe Sentence on the Manners and Abuses of the Court of Rome And that it was fit he should desire the Discipline and Corrupt Manners of the Church of Rome should be reformed That he ought sincerely to promote it and cause select Divines to be assembled out of all Christian Kingdoms and to hear them favourably that so the Peace of Christendom might be restored which was now torn in Pieces by Diversity of Opinions About the same time the Death of Francis II the Advancement of the King of Navarr and the great Kindness Queen Catharine on his account shewed to the Protestants very much terrified the Pope and compelled him to entertain the Thoughts of a Council in good earnest which till then had been talked of with no great sincerity The Pope thereupon sent Lawrence Lenzi Bishop of Firmo
to King Philip John Manriquez to the Duke of Florence and Angelo Guiccjardin to the Queen of France who was to condole the Death of her Son to comfort her and to entreat her to undertake the Protection of the Religion she was brought up in and that she would not open a Door to the growing Schism nor seek any Remedy for the Disorders of France from any but the Church of Rome And to assure her That in a short time all their Desires should be gratified by the Calling of a General Council and therefore they prayed her to take Care That the flourishing Kingdom of France might not make a Defection from the Ancient Religion during her Government nor any Prejudices be raised against the Remedies which might justly be expected from it The Pope at the same time appointed Hercules Gonzaga Hierome Seripand and Stanislaws Hosio three of his Cardinals to be his Legates in the Council and sent Zachary Delfino Bishop of Zant and Francis Commendone into Germany to invite the Protestant Princes to it Canobbio was sent into Poland on the same Errant and had Orders to go on into Russia to exhort that Prince who was of the Greek Communion to send his Bishops and Divines to the Council but there being a War between the Russ and Poles at this time this Journey was prevented The Twenty ninth of September this Year died Gustavus King of Sweden which was the Founder of the Line which now reigns in that Kingdom he was succeed by Eriek his eldest Son. This Prince reigned Thirty eight Years with great Prudence and Commendation being only noted for a little too great Severity in his Taxes which was necessary in a Prince that was to Found a Family but he was otherwise a Prince of great Vertues and the Reformer of the Church of Sweden The same Year died Philip Duke of the hither Pomerania and Albert Count of Mansfeild a great Favourer of the Reformation he died the Fifth of March in the Seventieth year of his Age and Sixtieth of his Government The same Year died the Cardinal du Bellay the Great Patron of John Sleidan a Person of great Merit and employed by Francis I in many Embassies He was a great and hearty Desirer of the Reformation of the Church and without all doubt shew'd our Author the right way to it though he miss'd it himself The Nineteenth of April died also Philip Melancthon at Wittemberg He was born at Brett a Town in the Palatinate of the Rhine and was the great Companion and Friend of Martin Luther but was more moderate and a great hater of Contentions and Disputes and a lover of Peace By which Vertues he won the Love and Respects of both Parties in those troublesom days on which account he was sent for into France by Francis I. The Celebration of the States of France was inter â—â—â—tted by the sudden Death of Fracis II. But there being great Discontents at the numerous Assemblies of the Protestants in many Places which were now openly held the finding out a Remedy for this hastned the opening that Convention The Thirteenth of December was appointed for that Purpose and the Chancellor began the Affair with an Elegant and Pious Discourse In which having shewn the Use of these Assemblies and exhorted all degrees to Peace and Concord and shewn 'em the common Causes of Sedition and Rebellion he tells them That in their times a new Cause that of Religion had been added to all the former As if saith he Religion could or ought to be the cause of a Civil War which is the greatest Mifchief that can befall a Kingdom and contains all others in it But then God is not the Author of Dissention but of Peace and other Religions because false may be founded and preserved by Force and Fraud but the Christian Religion which is the only true is only to be established by Patience Justice Prayers and Tears The ancient Christians accordingly chose rather to be Kill'd than to Kill and Signed the Truth of their Religion with their Bloods And yet it cannot be denied but that a false Religion is a very powerful Exciter of the Minds of Men and surmounts all other Passions and unites Men more strongly than any other thing so that we must confess that Kingdoms are divided in effect more by their Religions than by their Bounds and therefore it daily happens that those that are possess'd by an Opinion of Religion have little regard to their Prince their Country Wives and Children and from hence springs Rebellions Dissentions and Revolts And in the same House if they are divided in Religion the Husband cannot agree with the Wife and Children nor one Brother with another That therefore a Remedy might be had for so great a Calamity it had been decreed at Fountain-bleau That there was need of a Council and the Pope having since declared there should suddenly be one that Men ought not in the mean time to hammer out for themselves new Religions Rites and Ceremonies according to their own Fancies For this would not only endanger the publick Peace but the Salvation of their Souls too That if the Pope and the Council fail'd the King would take the same Care his Ancestors had and provide for the Peace and Welfare of his Kingdom That it was to be hoped the Bishops would for the future exercise their Functions with greater Care and Diligence That the Cure might come from that Fountain which had caused the Distemper That they ought to arm themselves with Vertues Good Manners and the Word of God which are the Arms of Supplicants and then go out to War against our Enemies and not imitate unskilful Captains who disfurnish their Walls to make an Irruption The Discourse of one that lives well is very persuasive but the Sword has no other power over the Soal than to destroy it with the Body Our Ancestors overcame their Sectaries with their Piety and we ought to imitate them if we would not be thought rather to hate the Men than their Vices Let us therefore said he pray daily for them that they may be reduced from their Errors and discharging the hateful Names of Lutherans Huguenots and Papists which were introduced by the Enemy of Mankind and are too like the ancient Factions of Guelfs and Gibellins let us only retain the Ancient Appellation of Christians But then because there are many who only pretend Religion but are in Truth led by Ambition Avarice and Novelty it is fit to suppress these Men in the very beginning These are the Men that ought to be kept under by the Force of Arms. When the States came to debate the Clergy and the Commons were of Opinion That their Powers were determined by the Death of the late King and that they ought to return Home Which was over-ruled by the King of Navar and the Council And they were ordered to proceed because by the Law of France the King never dies but
the Lawful Succession is transmitted without any interruption The Cardinal of Lorraine had design'd in the former Reign to make a Speech in the Name of the three Estates which was then not opposed but now the Commons would not suffer it because contrary to the Ancient Usage And for that they had some things to object against the Cardinal himself Jean l' Ange an Advocate of the Parliament of Bourdeaux spoke for the Commons and remarked three great Faults in the Clergy Ignorance Covetousness and Excessive Luxury which had given Being to the new Errors and Scandal to the People That the Preaching of the Word of God which was the chief cause of the instituting Bishops was totally neglected and they thought it a shameful thing and beneath their Dignity And by their Example the Curates had learned to neglect their Duty too and had ordered the Mass to be sung by Illiterate and Unworthy Stipendaries That the excessive Pomp and Avarice of the Clergy who pretended by it to promote the Glory of God had raised an Envy and an hatred of them in the Minds of the People And therefore he desired that a Council might be assembled by the order of the King to remedy these Mischiefs After him James de Silty Comte de Roquefort made a Bold and an Elegant Oration in the Name of the Nobility and taxed the Clergy for invading the Rights and oppressing the People under Pretence of the Jurisdictions granted them by the Ancient Kings of France That therefore the King ought in the first place to take care to reform the Clergy and assign good Pensions to those that Preached the Word of God as had been done by many of his Ancestors which he named Jean Quintin le Bourguinon made a long tedious Speech in the behalf of the Clergy to shew I. That the Assembly of the three Estates were instituted for the providing for the Sacred Discipline II. That the King might understand the Complaints of his People and provide for the Necessities of his Kingdom by their Advice and not for the Reformation of the Church Which could not Err and which neither hath nor ever shall have the least Spot or Wrinkle but shall ever be Beautiful But then he ingenuously confest That the Sacred Discipline was very much declined from its Ancient Simplicity That therefore the Revivers of the the Ancient Heresies were not to be heard and all that had Meetings separate from the Catholicks were to be esteemed Favourers of Sectaries and to be punished Therefore he desired the King to compel all his Subjects within his Dominions to Live and Believe according to the Form prescribed by the Church That the Insolence of the Sectaries was no longer to be endured who despising the Authority of the Ancients and the Doctrine received by the Church would be thought alone to understand and imbrace the Gospel That this was the next step to a Rebellion and that they would shortly shake off the Yoak of the Civil Magistrate and with the same Boldness fight against their Prince that they now imployed against the Church if Care were not speedily taken He desired that all Commerce between them and the Catholicks might be forbidden and that they might be treated like Enemies and that those who were gone out of the Kingdom on the account of Religion might be banished That it was the King's Duty to draw the Civil Sword and put all those to Death who were infected with Heresie to defend the Clergy and restore the Elections of Bishops to the Chapters the want of which had caused great Damages to the Church That it had been observed That the very Year the Pope granted the King the Nomination of Bishops this Schism began and has ever since spread it self for in the 1517 Luther Zuinglius and Oecolampadius set up and Calvin followed them This Speech incensed the whole Assembly against him and especially the Protestants who published so many Libels and Satyrs against him that he soon after died of Shame and Grief He was no ill Man but was a better Decretalist than a Divine and had never well thought whether a Reformation were needfull or no But then it ought also to have been considered that he did not speak his own Single judgment but had his matter prescribed him by the Clergy for whom he spoke After some days the King Signified to the Bishops that they should prepare themselves for the Council which was now recall'd at Trent and the Judges and Prefects were commanded to discharge all that were Imprison'd for Religion only and leave all that were suspected the free injoyment of their Estates and Goods And it was made Capital to reproach or injure one the other on the Account of Religion After which the Assemly was Prorogued to the Month of May of the next Year There was in Piedmont a Valley called by the Name of Perosia and St. Martin Inhabited by about 15000 Souls whose Ancestors about 400 Years since had upon the Preaching of Waldus Speronus and Arnaldus made a defection from the Church of Rome and had at times been severely treated for it by the French under whom they had been but by the last Treaty were assigned to the Duke of Savoy This People about the Year 1555 had imbraced the Reformation and had suffered it to be publickly preached tho it was forbidden by the Council at Turin which the Year following sent one of its own Members to inquire after the Offenders and to punish them to whom the Inhabitants of this Valley delivered the Confesson of their Faith Declaring that they profess'd the Doctrin contained in the Old and New Testament and comprehended in the Apostles Creed and admitted the Sacraments Instituted by Christ the IV first Councils viz. those of Nice Constantinople Ephesus and Chalcedon and the Ten Commandments c. That they believed the Supreme civil Magistrates were Instituted by God and they were to be obeyed and that who soever resisted them fought against God. They said they had received this Doctrin from their Ancestors and that if they were in any error they were ready to receive instruction from the Word of God and would presently renounce any heretical or erroneous Doctrin which should be so shewen to them Thereupon a Solemn Dispute was in shew appointed concerning the Sacrifice of the Mass Auricular Confession Tradition Prayers and Oblations for the Dead and the Ceremonies of the Church and her Censures all which were rejected by them they alledging that they were humane Inventions and contrary to the Word of God. This Confession was sent by the Duke of Savoy to the King of France who about a year after return'd Answer That he had caused it to be Examin'd by his learned Divines who had all condemn'd it as Erroneous and contrary to true Religion and therefore the King commanded them to reject this Confession and to Submit to the Holy Church of Rome and if they did not do so their
her Heart she had a kindness for the Protestant Party and that underhand she and Navarre had one and the same design And thereupon he deserted her and joyned with the Guises his till then Mortal Enemies the Duchess de Valentois procuring the Reconciliation Magdalen of Savoy Wife to Montmorency was also an implacable enemy to the Reformation and hated Coligni the Admiral for that and other causes and therefore she perpetually stimulated him against the Protestants Francis Montmorency Son of the Constable was a person of great Prudence and he wisely advised his Father not to lose the least of his friends in so necessary a time for he foresaw a Tempest would arise in France of what Religion soever they were that it did not become a wise Man to endeavour to gain new friends with the loss of his old ones and to prefer the uncertain friendship of reconciled enemies before the tried affections of his old Acquaintances That if he rejected Conde Coligni and Rochefoucault on the Account of Religion he would deprive his Family of the assistance of three great Men and perhaps the Queen would think never the better of him therefore his advice to his Father was to sit still and let Coligni and the Guises fight it out without taking part on either side and in all probability Guise would be worsted and he would become the Arbitrator of the two contending Religions And in the mean time it was most certain there were many great Errors by length of time crept into the Church which he ought not to defend because they were injurious to the Majesty of God. The good old Gentleman was much moved at this Advice from his Son but made no other answer to it than That he certainly knew that if the Religion were changed the Civil Government would be changed too That he cared not what became of him if his little Masters did well and the Actions of Henry II. might not be called in question who was a wise Prince and his good Master So he perished in his first resolves believing he was obliged to defend the Cause of Religion against his best and most ancient and tried friends The Pope seeing his Jurisdiction and Authority decline so fast in Germany England and France greedily embraced a pretended Overture made by one Abraham a Syrian Impostor who pretended he was sent by the Cophthites an Eastern Sect of Christians to make a submission to the Holy See whereupon he sent Christopher Roderick and John Baptista Elianus two Jesuits to them who gained nothing by this Mission but an exact Account of the Opinions of these Cophthites and a certainty of the Frauds of this pretended Ambassador Abraham who had feign'd this Mission to the Pope for his own Ends. This Mortification was soon after attended by another not less afflictive to his Holiness for Gothard Ketler Master of the Teutonick Order in Libonia intirely submitted to Sigismond King of Poland which put an end to that Order when it had flourished there 357 years He was thereupon made Duke of Gurland and Semigallen and Governor of Livonia and Marrying a Wise withdrew himself and his Subjects from the See of Rome The Archbishoprick of Riga was also about the same time changed into a Dukedom John Kothewick the last Archbishop of that See embracing the Augustane Confession put himself under the Protection of the Crown of Poland and was by Sigismond made Duke of Lithuania This Archbishoprick was founded in the year 1215 by the procurement of the Knights of the Teutonick Order the City being then and a long time after the Seat of the Master of it who divided the Sovereignty and Administration of Justice with the Archbishop After this short Digression which the Reader is desired to Pardon I shall now return to the prosecution of the French Affairs The new Friendship between Montmorency and the Guises was a very frightful thing to the Queen Regent who sought all the way she could possible to divide their Affections for the preserving her own Authority and therefore she was very Anxioâ—sly inquisitive to find whether this new Kindness between two such Ancient Enemies tended The Prince of Conde in the mean time was declared Innocent by the Parliament of Paris the Thirteenth of June and his Discharge Recorded The Differences in Religion not only disquieted the Court but the Provinces also the two Parties reproaching each other with the Names Papist and Huguenot There were frequent Tumults raised also by the Roman Cabolicks to shew that Coligni was out when he said The Protestant Religion might be divulged throughout all the Provinces without any Disturbance And at Amiens and Pont-Oise things came to a Sedition the Catholick Artificers beginning the Quarrel and falling upon some of the Houses of some of the Protestants and they slew one Hadrian Fourre a Priest because he was reported to savour the Reformation and afterwards burnt his Body publickly for which only two were hanged This necessitated the Council to forbid all Reviling Expressions and all Tumults on the Accounts of Religion And by it all that had been banished for Religion in the Reign of Francis II. were invited to return and promised they should enjoy their Goods and Estates if they would live like good Catholicks for the future or otherwise might sell them and retire elsewhere which was after opposed by the Parliament at Paris but yet many returned on that account and many that were in Prison were discharged so that the Protestant Party appeared numerous The Cardinal of Lorrain was Alarm'd at this and represented to the King and Queen That the whole Kingdom was fill'd with Conventicles That the meaner sort ran to the Sermons out of curiosity and were easily corrupted That the Ancient Ceremonies were little frequented or regarded and that they were already derided and scorn'd by many That great numbers every day forsook the Church and went over to the Protestants So he would needs have had a new Edict forthwith published to prevent these Inconveniences This being Debated in the Council in the Month of July there was another Edict published That all should live peaceably and without any furry each to other or reproaching one the other That there be no Listing or Inrolling Men on either side That the Preachers should use no Seditious or Turbulent Expressions upon pain of Death and the Presidents of the Provâ—ces should determine of these Affairs and execute the Ediâ—t That no Sermons should be frequented by Men Armed or Unarmed in publick or in private nor any Sacraments Administred but according to the Rites of the Church of Rome And That if any Man was Convicted of Heresie and delivered to the Secular Power he should only be Banished and this was to stand till a General or a National Council should determine otherwise This was called the Edict of July The Cardinal of Lorrain had so good an opinion of his own Abilities that he was
fondly perswaded he could confute all the Doctrines of the Protestants out of the Fathers and thereby acquire a great Reputation to himself if he could procure à Conference with their Pastors It was therefore resolved that there should be a Meeting for that purpose at Poissy near St. Germain the Tenth of August and that Pasports should be granted to their Ministers which were to come thither on that account All of both sides being invited thither at the same time The Queen Regent was very much for this Disputation but the greatest part of the Roman Catholicks were against it as thinking it a dangerous thing to suffer the Doctrine which had hitherto been received to be brought under debate and the Religion of their Ancestors to be disputed In the Interim Mary Queen of the Scots left France and return'd into Scotland the Cardinal of Lorrain attending her as far as Calais There was also a Theatrical Reconciliation between the Prince of Conde and the Duke of Guise by the Order of the King the later protesting That he had no hand in the Imprisonment of the Prince and the Prince telling Guise That the Adviser and Procurer of his Commitment was a Wicked Man and a Villain To which Guise Answered That he believed so too but was not concern'd in it After which by the King's Command they embraced each other as Kinsmen and Friends and promised a firm and sincere Friendship each to other and there was great Rejoycing in the Court. The Assembly of the States was Prorogued last year till May of this and then was on the account of the great Affairs prorogued to August and Appointed to be opened at Pont-Oyse In this Assembly the Agreement between the Queen Regent and the King of Navar was Confirm'd by the three Estates which was very difficultly obtain'd by the later This Assembly was opened at St. Germain where James Breâ—agne d Autum who spoke for the Commons declaiming sharply against the Ignorance of the Priests and the Corrupt Manners and Depraved Discipline of the Clergy so that they were unfit to Lead or Instruct the People but rather disgusted and displeased them doing all things for Hire and nothing as their Duty enslaving themselves to Pleasures and wallowing in Luxury and Idleness To this he assigned the Calamities which at present oppress'd France He therefore moved the King to take away all their Jurisdiction that he should employ their over-great Riches to Pious Uses and call a National Council which was the only present and certain Cure of those Evils That free Pasports should be given to all that would come to it and that the King or some of the Princes of the Blood should preside in it whilst Business of Religion was debated That the late Decree against Conventicles should be no prejudice to those of the Reformed Religion who rejected the Ceremonies of the Church of Rome nor any Presription as to length of time which could not make what in it self was false true and the Business of Religion was to be quietly and friendly debated according to the Word of God and not with the Sword and Reproaches He that spoke for the Nobility excused the Clergy and desired the King to preserve their Priviledges and Dignities But then he moved to have the greatest part of the Church Lands sold to pay the Debts of the Crown pretending that a third part of the Purchase Money put out to Use would be as good to them as the whole Land. That the Edict of July might be recall'd and only multiplicity of Sects and ill Language under the pretence of Liberty prohibited That a National Council might be call'd in which the King should preside That all Jurisdictions should be taken from the Church and annexed to the Crown There were also many other things demanded in this Assembly which tended to the Ruine of the Clergy the Papal Authority growing into Contempt and the greatest part either out of a desire to promote Piety or of Love to Novelty favouring the Protestant Party and daily increasing their numbers by joyning with them The Clergy to prevent this Storm wisely gave the King four Tenths for six years which very much appeased the King and the Principal Courtiers towards them The Queen by the Advice of Monluc Bishop of Valence wrote about this time a long Letter to the Pope dated the 5th of August In which stating the dangers which attended the differences in Religion she exhorted him to provide speedy Remedies because they were become so numerous that they could no longer be suppressed by the Sword that many of the Principal Nobility and Magistrates embraced that way and had drawn over such Numbers and so united them that they were become sormidable to the State yet by the Rare Blessing of Heaven they had no Anabaptists Libertines c. none that denied the Apostles Creed or the Interpretation of it received in the Seven General Councils That therefore most were of opinion that notwithstanding these differences they ought to be received into the Communion of the Church which would end in the Peace of the Church That the use of Images which was forbidden by God and as to Adoration disproved by St. Gregory ought to be taken away That Exorcisms and some of the Prayers used in Baptism might be omitted The Lords Supper Administred to all the Laity in both Kinds and the Decree of the Council of Constance ought not to be preferred before the Command of God That the Prayers might be used in the Vulgar Tongue and all that would Communicate might do so the first Sunday of every Month That the Psalms might be sung in the French Tongue A Publick Confession of Sins Prayers for the Prince the Magistrates Clergy Good Weather Fruitful Seasons and all Affliction might be in the same Tongue That the late invented Feast of the Holy Sacrament might be abolished it being unnecessary and the cause of great Scandal and Offence and that this Mystery was Instituted for a Spiritual Worship and not for Shew and Pomp That the use of the Latine Tongue which was foreign and unknown was a great fault the Prayers of the Church belonging not only to the Clergy but to all but as now it stands Who can say Amen to a Prayer in a Language he knows not That if yet the Latine must be used it were fit an Interpretation should be made of the Prayers in the Vulgar Tongue That the Receiving of the Priest in the Sacrifice of the Mass the People only looking Idely on is contrary to the Institution That the Psalms ought to be in the Vulgar Tongue and also the Private Prayers of the People That these things might be granted without derogating from the Papal Authority The Pope was infinitely offended with this Letter and the more because of the same of a National Council shortly to be holden in France but then he dissembled his Resentment and became the more sincere in the Assembling a General
Though the Edict of July had forbidden all Meetings of the Protestants yet their Number daily increasing and with it their Confidence not only Sermons were openly made but the Priests were in many places forcibly expell'd and the Churches seized for the use of the Ministers which gave being to the Edict of the 3d of November for the Restitution of those Churches upon pain of Death which by the Perswasion of the Ministers themselves was obeyed throughout the Kingdom But when notwithstanding Men seem'd rather enraged than appeased by the Edict of July and the Conference of Poissy was broken up without any effect there being every day news brought of new Commotions they began to think of some more effectual Remedy which that it might meet with the greater approbation and by consequence be the more universally executed the Presidents and some chosen Members of all the Parliaments of France were summon'd before the King to St. Germain by whose Advice it was to be drawn and Moddel'd Upon which the Cardinal of Lorrain and the Duke of Guise left the Court conceiving the thing would do it self now Montmorancy and the King of Navar had espoused that Interest About the same time there was a dreadful Tumult at Dijon whil'st the Protestants were assembled at their Sermon the Rabble thought fit to make themselves the Executioners of the Edict of July and having procured a Drum to beat before them they marched against the Huguenots but the Meeters made use of their Weapons and repell'd Force with Force The Rabble thereupon turn'd their fury against the Private Families and plundered several Houses There were also some Tumults at Paris on the same score and towards the end of the year all things tended to a general Revolution Having thus represented the State of Religion in all the rest of Christendom as shortly and as well as I can I return now to Scotland The Messengers they had sent into France to procure the Royal Consent to the Acts they had made in their last Parliament were no sooner return'd with a positive denial and a dreadful Reprimand which frighted and exasperated the Nation both at once but they had the Joyful News of the Death of King Francis II. to their great satisfaction and the no less affliction of the French Faction in that Kingdom On the other side the Nobility who had lent their Assistance to the Expulsion of the French immediately met at Edinburg and after a Consultation sent the Lord James to their Queen to perswade her to return into Scotland Lesley however prevented them and got to her some days before the Lord James She was then at Vitrie in Campaigne whither she was retired to lament her Loss His business was to bespeak her favour to the Catholick Party and return into Scotland The first she readily promised and as for the other she ordered him to Attend till she had resolved what to do It was soon after resolved that she should leave France so that the Lord James found her fixed to return when he came into France yet his Assuring her of the great desires the Nobility of Scotland had to see her there again much confirm'd her So she sent him back with Orders to see that nothing should be attempted contrary to the Treaty of Leith in her absence In March following M. Giles Noailles a Senator of Bourdeaux arrived at Leith with three Demands from the new King of France 1. That the old League between France and Scotland should be renewed 2. That the late Confederacy with England should be dissâ—lved 3. That the Church-men should be restored to all they had been deprived of But the Council replied That it did not befit them to treat of things of that Consequence before the Assembly of the States which was to be held the 21st of May when the Lord James made answer That the French and not the Scots had broke the old League by endeavouring to enslave them 2. That they could not violate the Treaty made with England and as to the third That they did not acknowledge those he interceded for to be Church men and that Scotland having renounced the Pope would no longer maintain his Priests and Vassals About the same time the Earls of Morton and Glencarn returned from England whither they had been sent with Assurances That the Queen would assist them in the Defence of the Liberties of the Kingdom if at any time they stood in need of her Help which was heard with much Joy. As the Lord James returned into Scotland he waited upon Queen Elizabeth and advised her to stop Queen Mary if she came by England as he expected she would 'till he had secured the State of Religion in Scotland for tho' she had promised She would continue all things in the State she found them ye he would not intirely rely upon her Promise having so often heard the old Maxim from the late Regent To make sure work therefore he procured an Act to be passed in this Convention for the Demolishing all the Cloysters and Abby Churches which were yet left standing in that Kingdom the Execution whereof as to the Western Parts was committed to the Earls of Arran Argile and Glencarn as to the North to the Lord James and as to the Inland Counties to some Barons that were thought the most Zealous Whereupon ensued a most deplorable Devastation of Churches and Church-buildings saith Spotiswood throughout all the Kingdom for every one made bold to put to their Hands the meaner sort imitating the Example of the greater and those who were in Authority No difference was made but all the Churches were either defaced or pulled down to the ground The Church Place and what ever Men could make Money of as Timber Lead and Bells were put to sale and the Monuments of the Dead the Registers of the Churches and Libraries were burn'd or destroyed and what escaped the Fury of the first Tumults now perished in a common Shipwrack and that under the colour of publick Authority John Knox is said to have very much promoted this Calamity by a Maxim he published That the sure way tâ— drive away the Rooks was to pull down their Nests which in probability he meant only of the Monks but now their Hands were in was extended to all the Church Buildings Noailles was then in Scotland and carried the News of this dreadful Reformation to the Queen into France She was much enraged at it and said to some of her Confidents that she would imitate Mary Queen of England but however she had wit enough to dissemble her Resentment for the present In order to her return she left Vitri and went to Paris and having waited upon the King and Queen-Regent to take her leave of them she took her Journy towards Calais Queen Elizabeth had sent the Earl of Bedford to condole the Death of Francis her late Husband and to desire her Ratification of the Treaty of
Leith but this she said she could not do 'till she had consulted with the Nobility of Scotland and when the Ambassador replied They could not but approve of what they had made she replied They did but not all and when I come amongst them it will appear what mind they are of The Duke of Guise and the rest of the great Men of that Family attended her to Calais and the Marquess of Elboeuf and Francis Grand Prior of France went with her She took Ship the 14th of August and arrived at Leith in Scotland the 20th She was much concerned for fear Queen Elizabeth might intercept her in her way home and therefore sent again for the English Ambassador but when he still insisted to have the Treaty of Leith ratisied she delayed it Her Uncle the Cardinal of Lorrain advised her to leave her Jewels and Treasures in France 'till she were safe in Scotland but she said It was folly to be more concerned for her Jewels than for her Person which she must hazard The truth is her Fear was well grounded for Queen Elizabeth sent a Fleet to way-lay her but the two Navies passed by one another in a dark foggy day unperceived and she safely arrived at Leith the 21th of August The beginning of her Government was very gracious and she condescended to grant That no Change or Alteration should be made in the present State of Religion only she said she would use her own Religion apart and have a Mass in private which was and by many was thought very reasonable she having been Educated in the Roman Church and being a Sovereign Princess Yet the Preachers in their Sermons publickly condemned that Toleration of their Queen as unlawful and the Earl of Arran being exasperated by his Imprisonment on the account of Religion in France by the Order of the Guises from whence he made his Escape replied That he did neither agree to Publick nor Private Mass which highly displeased the Queen And Archimbald Douglas Provost of Edinburg put out an Order commanding all Papists to be gone for which the Queen committed him to the Castle of Edinburg And one of the common sort of Men broke the Tapers in the Court which were prepared for her Chapel and a Tumult had ensued to the Ruine of the other Preparatives for her Chapel if some wiser Men had not interposed amongst whom the Lord James was one of the greatest and forwardest to suppress this insolent Disorder On the other side the Marquess of Elboeuf was much offended to see the Protestant Religion exercised openly in Scotland and the Earl of Huntley a vain Man proffer'd the Queen his Service to reduce all the North Parts of Scotland to the Popish Religion which was wisely rejected In the middle of September the Duke of Aumarl and the rest of the French which had come home with the Queen went back to France but the Marquess of Elboeuf who stayed with her all the Winter She sent William Lord Maitland to Queen Elizabeth with Letters full of kind and friendly Expressions and desiring the like Returns from her And amongst other things that she would declare her the lawful Heir to the Crown of England in case she Queen Elizabeth should dye without Issue which Queen Elizabeth denied but said She would never wrong her nor her Cause if it be just in the least point and that she knew not any whom she would prefer before her or who if the Title should fall to be controverted might exclude her The Queen of Scots caused a new Provost of Edinburg to be Elected changed the Common Council and put out a Proclamation That all her good and faithful Subjects should repair to and remain within the Birgh at their pleasure for doing their lawful Business which was in opposition to the Provost's Order She kept her Masses too more publickly and with greater pomp of all which the Ministers complain'd in vain in their Sermons The Nobility had divided the Church Lands amongst them and had now another Game to persue and were striving who should be most in the Queen's Favour The Queen's Expences being soon found too great for the poor Revenues of the Crown of Scotland to maintain The Remainder of the Church Lands was divided into three parts one was assigned to the Queen one to the Ministers and the third was left to the Bishops and Parsons of the Romish Communion which they were forced to yield to to prevent the loss of all they now subsisting merely by the Queen's Favour The Earl of Huntley to be made Lord Chancellor turned Roman Catholick again which encouraged one Winyet a Priest to write a Book against the Reformation for which he was censured and forced to leave Scotland Not long after which she created the Lord James her Brother first Earl of Marr and then of Murray the Lord Ereskin claiming and at last obtaining the Earldom of Marr which much offended Huntley which had enjoyed both these Titles ever since the death of James the Fifth This made Huntley enter into many base and unworthy Designs to murder Murray which were all by one means or other discovered and at last ended in the Death of Huntley and the Executiou of John Gordon his eldest Son a hopeful young Gentleman in the Year following The beginning of the Year 1562 was very unquiet in France The King had called an Assembly of the Delegates of all the Parliaments of France in the end of the last year which was to meet at St. Germain the 17th of January of this year to consider of the means of appeasing these Broils and preserving the Peace of France The King opened this Assembly with a short Speech which was seconded by a larger made by the Chancellor who having given a short account of the several Edicts that had been made before in the business of Religion and shewn how they had all by one means or other been defeated He added That Laws were of no use if they were not Religiously observed But then said he if the Question is put Why are not the Laws executed Must not you that are the Judges bear the blame For if they excuse themselves and say That it was not in their power to execute them I will accept the Answer upon condition they will ingenuously confess That neither was it in the King's power And that this Affair of Religion by a secret Judgment of God for the Castisement of our Luxury Indevotion and Neglect of his Glory is so disposed that we may by the severity of the Punishment be brought to Repentance In the year 1518 when these Commotions first began there is no Man but knows how corrupt the Manners and how loose or rather profligate the Discipline of the Church was throughout the World For to omit the Court of Rome in which there was nothing right and sound we had here in France a young King brought up in Pleasures tho' he afterwards was
much improved but he was then very dissolute nor was Henry of England any better And after all the Judgments God has sent from Heaven upon us we have not repented or amended and therefore there is no wonder that this sad difference of Religion cannot be composed and the Peace of the Church restored No on the contrary it is now apparent that our Enemies are become so numerous that they are almost able to oppress us As to those who pretend that we have encreased them by our Connivance I can answer That during the minority of the King they are bolder and I would have them consider too that for our Sins God has set a Child over us There are some who would have the King arm one part of his Subjects against the other which I think is neither Christian nor Human. After very much to the same purpose he told them the Thing proposed by the King to their Consideration was Whether it was the best way for the King to Suppress the Meetings or to Tolerate them Thereupon followed a very great Debate between these Deputies of the several Parliaments of France but at last they came to a Resolution to remit something of the Severity of the Edict of July and to allow the Protestants the liberty of Publick Sermons and accordingly a new Edict was made which was called The Edict of January the principal Heads of which were these That the Protestants should restore the Ecclesiasticks to their Churches Houses Lands Tithes and other goods whatsoever which they had taken from them forthwith and suffer them peaceably to enjoy their Images Crosses and Statues without any molestation or endeavouring to destroy them or doing any other thing that may disturb the publick Peace upon pain of Death without any hope of Mercy That the Protestants should have no publick Meetings Sermons and Prayers or administer any Sacraments publickly or privately by Night or by Day within any City in any manner whatsoever Yet in the mean time till the Controversies of Religon shall be composed by a General Council or the King shall otherwise order it Those who shall go to or frequent their Sermons shall not be molested provided they be had without the Cities And the Magistrates were accordingly commanded not to disquiet but to protect and preserve them from all Injury That all Seditious Persons of what Religion soever they were should be severely punished and all should be bound to discover and deliver them up to Justice a thousand Crowns being imposed upon any person who should receive abet or conceal such Riotous Offender and the Offender to be whipp'd if not able to pay the Penalty That the said Meetings should be without Arms and that no person should Reproach another on the account of Religion or use any Factious Names That the Protestants Ministers should admit none into their Number till they had diligently examined their Lives Conversations and Doctrines That the Magistrates might freely go to their Meetings to see what was done or to apprehend any Criminal who should be treated according to their Dignity and obeyed That the Protestants should hold no Synods Conferences or Consistories but in the presence of a Magistrate That they should create no new Magistrates or make any Laws or Statutes And if they desire any thing by way of Discipline it should be referred to their Authority or if need be be confirmed by them There shall be no Levies of Men or Monies made by them nor any Leagues entered into for their private Defence And as to Alms they shall only take them of such as are willing to give The Civil Laws especially those concerning Holy Days and the Degrees of Consanguinity and Affinity in Marriages shall be observed That their Pastors shall give Security to the Magistrates for the Observing this Edict and promise That they will not preach any Doctrine contrary to the Nicence or Apostles Creeds or the Books of the Old or New Testament nor use any Reproaches against the Catholicks in their Sermons And the same is injoyned the Catholicks in relation to the Protestants No man shall publish any Libels to desame another or sell or cause them to be sold Lastly the Magistrates are hereby commanded to be very diligent in case any Sedition happens to search out the Offenders and punish them without any Appeal to be allowed to such Offenders A Debate being made concerning the Worship of Images these Propositions were published by the Queen by the Advice of the Bishops of Valence and Seez and Monsieur Bouthillier d' Espence and Picherel That seeing Errors are according to St. Augustin rather to be rooted out of the Mind of Men than out of Churches and other places the Bishops should take order with the Curates to have the People well Instructed and diligently Admonished concerning the right use of them that all Offence or Scandal might be prevented both by the Royal Authority and that of the Church and that if any opposed this he should be treated as a Violater of the Royal Edicts and of the publick Peace That all Figures of the Holy Trinity should be immediately removed out of all Churches and all other publick and private Places as being forbidden by the Holy Scriptures the Councils and Testimonies of the Fathers and only Dissembled or Tolerated by the Sloth of the Bishops and Pastors That the Picutres of all prophane Persons and others who were not to be found in the Authentick Martyrologies of the Church all lascivious and dishonest Pictures and those of Brutes shall be abolished That no Crowns Garlands or Vestments shall be put upon any Images nor Incense nor Candles burnt before them nor shall they be carried in Processions nor any Prayers or Oblations be made to them nor shall they be worshipped with bended Knees because all these things are parts of Worship That all Images but that of the Venerable Holy Cross shall be taken from the Altars and either placed on the Valves or Walls of the Churches so that from henceforth they may neither be saluted kissed prayed to or presented with Gifts That all Images which were wont to be carried on the Shoulders of Men in the Churches and Streets should according to the late Canon of Sens be for ever abolished Beza opposed the retention of the Cross as brought into use by Constantine the Great and one N. Mallard Dean of the Sorbonne in Paris tho' he confessed some ill things had crept into the Church yet he was of opinion that all this Worship of Images ought stoutly to be defended and retained and put out a Book to that purpose so the Thing fell This Order was made the 14th of February The same Month but some few days before it the King of Navar wrote a Letter to the Elector Palatine in which he testified his great desire to promote a Reformation and that he hoped to have found a way to reconcile Differences by the Conference of
and seemed unwilling to do it the meaner part of his Attendants ran thither and began to call the Protestants who were there assembled Dogs and Rebels to God and the King. The Protestants also return'd their reproaches upon them and so at last they fell from words to flinging stones after which those that were on Horseback lighted and broke into the place where the Meeting was which was a Granary and was for some time defended by those within but they at last prevailing drew their Swords and began to stab and wound the Protestants A great Cry arising Guise was forced to go thither to put a stop to the Massacre but he by Accident receiving a small Wound this so inraged his Retinue that he could not restrain them in this Tumult about 60 persons were kill'd and 200 wounded amongst which last was Morell who was sent Prisoner to Disâ—er Though this Tumult happened against his will and contrary to his expectation yet the Duke of Guise to excuse himself and his Servants sent for the chief of the Protestants who were taken and severely chid them for having by this unlawful Meeting given occasion to this Tumult and blamed the Queen of Scots Bailiff for to her the Place belonged for suffering such Conventicles to be held there And caused several Depositions to be made that the Tumult was begun by the Protestants though it was in truth begun by his own Servants Fame encreased the Fact and made it appear worse in all the Circumstances than in truth it was and every one judged of it as he stood affected the Protestants blaming it and the Catholicks defending it as necessary to put a stop to the Insolence of a few ill Men to prevent worse But Wise men saw it would not stop here but that Seditious Men would take the same Methods throughout the Kingdom The Duke of Guise went to Reims and from thence to Nantueil the King being then at Monceaux in the Diocess of Meax whither Conde came and made a great Complaint of the Massacre of Vassy aggravating it above the Truth adding That it was a thing of ill Example and ought to be severely Punished The Queen on the other side was very much troubled and wrote to the King of Navar to take care of this Affair who was then at Paris and advised the Duke of Guise not to go to Paris till he had been with the King to which he made no other Answer than That he was so taken up with entertaining his Friends that he was not at leisure to wait upon the King. And his next care was to excuse it to the Duke of Wirtemburg to whom he sent a Letter to that purpose laying the fault on the Insolence of the Rabble which trusting in their number had begun to fling Stones at his Servants The King of Navar went to Monceaux in the mean time where he met with severe Complaints against this Tumult and stisly averr'd that the Protestants had been the beginners of the fray excusing the Duke of Guise and entertaining those that complain'd of it with very great roughness Beza who was there replied That if it were so the Duke of Guise ought to have complained to the King and not to have permitted his Servants to have become their own Judges and turning to the King of Navar he said He was sent by the Church to complain of this wrong which has ever been readier to suffer than to act Injuries and that yet he ought to rememeber that Anvil had broke many Hammers in the mean time the Duke of Guise went to Paris without taking any notice of the King where he was entertain'd with greater Ceremony and Respect and had a greater Attendance than became a Subject the Queen began to fear the King of Navar Guise and Montmorancy would under the Pretence of Religion set up a Triumvirate which would bring her and the King under their Power so that she had no other remedy but to put her self and her Son under the Protection of the Prince of Conde and by her Letter to desire him to stand by them But then she did this very privately and by her Emissaries that she might not alienate the hearts of the People and of a great part of the Nobility from her by seeming to promote the new Religion and by the Envy of that be excluded from having any share in the Government In the mean time that she might consult her own safety she went with the King of Navar to Melun whither M. de Marle and Claude Martel one of the Officers of Paris who was in great esteem amongst the People came to her and represented the great Danger Paris was exposed to by the Forces of the Prince of Conde and said it was necessary She and the King should come thither forthwith and he having many armed Men about him he desired the Citizens might have their Arms restored to them which had been taken away by Montmorancy which last she rather delayed than denied because she saw they would have them whether she would or no. From thence she went to Fontain-bleau to gain time to consider what was to be done and was in suspence whether she should go for Orleans whither Conde was going or trust to the Regal Authority and go to Paris Navar went in the mean time from Mâ—lâ—n to Paris and Lodged with Mommorancy where there was a Council held every day without the Prince of Conde And the Government of the City was taken from young Montmorancy by the Advice of his Father and given to the Cardinal of Bourbon Every thing now tended to an open rupture and rumours were spread abroad that the Catholicks in all Parts of the Nation were ill used by the Protestants which Reports were true or false set on foot by the Cardinal of Lorrain The Populace was exasperated and having regain'd their Arms were the more enraged for the having had them taken away and therefore could no longer be kept in order The Prince of Conde seeing his Danger that he might not seem to expose his own Party to the sury of their Enemies proposed to the Cardinal that he would leave the City if Guise and the other Confederates would do so too at the same time that it might not be endangered by an intestine Sedition which was accepted and the Duke of Guise went to Fontainbleau with a great Retinue to the King and Queen and the Prince of Conde went to Meaux and la Ferte Aucoulph upon the Marne As soon as they were thus gone M. de Marle took into the City MD men for its Security which Montmorancy the younger had refused to do whilest the City was under his Care The Duke of Guise when he went to Fontain-bleau carried with him many Armed men that he might fright the Queen from her Cabals with the Prince of Conde and so draw her by a secret Fear to joyn with him and the Stratagem took She
Triumvirate were resolved not to leave the Court and that they only pretended the Danger of laying down their Arms before him without taking any Notice of the Hostages he had offered for their Security in that case suspected there was fraud in the bottom and would not comply neither alledging That the King's Presence was their security whereas he had nothing but the Equity of his Cause to Plead After this the Triumvirate put in a Petition to the King Desiring that an Edict might be made 1. That no Religion but the Roman Catholick should be Admitted in the Kingdom 2. That all the King 's Domesticks Captains Governours and Magistrates should be of that Religion and whoever did not publickly profess it should be deprived of all Honour and Publick Employments saving to them their Estates 3. That all Bishops and Clergymen should profess the same or be deprived of their Revenues which should be brought into the Exchequer 4. That all the Churches which were destroyed spoil'd or defaced should be restored and those that were guilty of these Sacriledges punished 5. That all should lay down their Arms upon what pretence soever they had been Listed or by whom soever And they that had no Commission from the King should be treated as Traitors That the King of Navar only should have the Right of Levying Men till these Troubles were ended by a Treaty or a Victory and they to be paid out of the Treasury And on these Terms they were willing not only to leave the Court but the Nation and to go into Exile And till this was done they could not leave the Court. This was Answered at large by another Paper Printed the 20th of May with great sharpness The 26th and 27th of May the King of Navar commanded all the Protestants to depart from Paris ordering that no injury should be done to them or their Goods in their retreat or absence on pain of Death And perceiving that nothing could be effected by Treatise the Triumvirate drew their Forces out of Paris consisting in Four thousand Foot and Three thousand Armed Horse about which time the Queen invited the Prince of Conde to a Conference and they met in the beginning of June at Thoury a Village in la Beausse with all the Cautions usual in such Cases But that Treaty proving ineffectual the Prince of Conde drew his Army out too which was then Four thousand Foot and Two thousand Horse The Prince of Conde had more of the Nobility of France in his Army than the other fide either out of Love to the Religion or hatred to the Guises or by the secret Orders of the Queen Besides his Army had a severe Discipline and Publick Prayers were said Morning and Evening at the head of each Company There were no Oaths no Quarrels heard of but the Psalms were devoutly Sung in the Camp there was no Dice no Tables no Rapines all was Modesty and the least Faults were severely punished so that the Country Man or Merchant might live or travel by the Army in perfect security and their great desire was that they might be led against Paris The 21th of May the Army marched from Orleans and there was another Treaty for a Peace and another Conference with the Queen who thanked him and all the Great Men that camâ— with him for the good Service they had done her and the King in a time of such great need saying they were worthy of the highest Rewards and Honours and praying them to persevere in it and to Consult the good of the Kingdom She excused what she had done in the mean time for the other Party by saying They were more in number who embraced the Roman Catholick Religion and therefore it was necessary there should be no other Religion suffered in France than that At this Conde replied he could not submit to so hard a Condition For if the Peace of Religion were taken away a War would follow which would be very difficult and lasting This proving ineffectual too the Prince of Conde marched to La Ferte Alez and took and sack'd Boigency a Town upon the Loire The Triumvirats Army marched right to Blois which the Protestants had taken not long before and Garison'd but the Place being weak they retreated to Orleans and left it to the Catholicks who Exercised unheard of Cruelties and put most of the Protestants to the Sword or drown'd them in the River though they recovered the Town without one blow striking From thence they marched to Tours which had but a little before been surprized and reformed by the Protestants contrary to the will of the Wiser People who foresaw the ill consequence of it The Country in the mean time was exposed to Rapine under pretence of Extirpating Hereticks the great Men conniving at it or being well pleased And a War was Proclaimed against the Protestants and all Men were commanded to treat them as the Enemies of Mankind on the account of the Sacriledges committed in the Churches because the Church Plate was taken to be Minted for Money to pay the Army and the Images and Altars were generally beaten down where the Protestants prevail'd Whereupon the Peasants left their Work and fell to Rob and Plunder their Neighbours and to exercise unheard of Cruelties and Barbarities they thinking the Protestants were to be treated like Mad Dogs This forced the Gentry in a short time to Arm against them and they treated the Monks and Priests in their own Kind and Hang'd up those Catholick Peasants The Protestants took Anger 's the 5th of April almost without any opposition and both Parties lived peaceably to the 21th when they pulled down the Images in the Churches which so incensed the Roman Catholicks that the 5th of May they let in Succours in the Night whereupon followed a Fight in which the Protestants were worsted and the Roman Catholicks prevailed The other Party were plunder'd whereupon some Women were ravished and others slain to the Number of about eleven Tours being retaken all the Protestants were by one means or another made away the President of the City not escaping their Cruelty because he was suspected to be a Protestant tho' he had never declared himself such so that the Governours were forced to erect Gallows to put a stop to the bloody Barbarity which they themselves had raised in the People The Protestants of Mans were much affrighted when they heard of the Massacre of those of Tours because they also had broken down the Images and pulled up and defaced some of their Tombs Whereupon the 12th of July they left the City in the Evening to the number of 800 and went to Alenzon The Bishop upon this put in 500 Roman Catholicks for a Garison who reacted all the Cruelties upon the Protestants and suborned Men to swear against such as they supposed had defaced the Images or prophaned the Churches whereupon they were severely punished for others Faults The
Bishop had a great hand in this and was turned a Soldier and treated all such as he suspected of the Clergy very hardly nor did he spare the Churches Treasures more than the Protestants had done but took them to pay his Soldiers raising besides great Contributions on the People for that purpose There were in the Cathedral Church the Images of the twelve Apostles of Silver of great Weight and adorned with many Jewels and the Bishop had carried them to his Castle de Trouvoy in Maine for their greater Security but that being taken afterwards they were lost and the Bishop was suspected of having converted them to his own use and going after this to the Council of Trent it was said He must needs have the Holy Ghost because he carried the twelve Apostles with him The 13th of May the Protestants were forbidden their Meetings at Amiens their Books sought out and burnt and amongst them all the Bibles they found in French and the Pulpit with them and some few of them were flain in the Tumult At Abbeville there was a greater Tumult raised by the Roman Catholicks and many of the Soldiers in the Castle and of the Inhabitants of the Town were murdered upon a pretence they favoured the Prince of Conde's Interest and the Governour of the Town was assassinated in his House and his naked Body was dragged about the Town and another Gentleman most barbarously murdered At Senlis many of the Protestants were assassinated and some were put to death by the Decree of the Parliament of Paris on other pretences I have transcribed only a very few of the horrid and insufferable Villanies committed by the Roman Catholicks of France in this War from Thuanus For so madly did they dote upon their Images and Altars that when ever they got any of the Protestants into their hands they treated them with unheard-of Cruelty and Rage whereas all their Fury spent it self on the Statues Pictures Altars and Relicks of their Churches or in some places on their Tombs and if some few Slaughters happened in was in the Surprize or taking of Places before they were masters of them but the Roman Catholicks raged most where the Protestants were least able to resist them The Prince of Condé hearing that his Party was worsted in Normandy sent Lewis de Lanoy with three hundred Horse who with some difficulty arrived at Roan the 11th of June and recitified the Disorders he found in that place the Protestants would have expell'd the Roman Catholicks out of the City but he persuaded them only to disarm them and swear them to live peaceably Roan in a short time after this was besieged from the 29th of June to the 11th of July by the Roman Catholicks but then they were forced to withdraw and the City remained in the Protestants hands In the interim a Treaty was carried on by the Vidame de Chartres with Queen Elizabeth for Succours which displeased many tho' the Roman Catholicks in the mean time had called in German and Swiss Auxiliary Forces to support their Quarrel The Roman Catholick Army in the mean time took Poictiers after a sharp Siege which yet might have holden out longer where they plundered the Protestants and put many of them to the Sword And after that Bourges being besieged by the Duke of Guise was at last surrendered by the Cowardize or Treachery of Mr. de Yvoy the chief Commander when the Roman Catholicks had almost spent all their Ammunition and the Admiral had taken that which was sent to supply them from Paris The taking this place so far discouraged the Protestants that a great many places yielded upon the first Summons The Duke of Guise and his Party after they had taken Bourges were divided in their Opinion some advising the Army should march to the Siege of Orleans as the Capital of the adverse Party and others that they ought first to take in Roan as more easy to be reduced and of no less advantage because preventing the English from powering great numbers of Men into France So at last this Party prevailed and that Siege was undertaken Montgomery who by misfortune slew Henry the Second was by the Prince of Condé appointed to command here in Chief who entered the place the 18th of September with 300 Horse and having added some new Works to St. Catherins he built a new Fort at St. Michaels which he called by his own Name About the same time a League was concluded between the English and the Protestants at Hampton-Court by which the Queen was to send 6000 men into France 3000 of which were to keep Haure de Grace in the King's Name for a place of Safety for those of the Religion and the rest were to be employed in the Defence of Diep and Roan and she was to supply 140000 Crowns for the Charge of the War the Forces were immediately sent from Portsmouth and landed at Haure de Grace under the Command of the Earl of Warwick The 28th of September the Forces of the Triumvirate came before Roan being then 16000 Foot and 2000 Horse Montgomery had besides the English and the Townsmen 800 Veterane Soldiers for the Defence of the City The Besiegers would have stopped the passage of the River by sinking Ships in it but the violence of the Tide cleared the Chanel so that the Frigates came from Haure de Grace with Canon Ammunition and Victual notwithstanding The 6th of October St. Catherins Fort was taken by Storm and Surprize and 300 Townsmen beaten back who came to relieve it The 9th of October 500 English under the Lord Gray entered the Town The 13th of October the Besiegers stormed the City from 10 'till 6 at Night the English and Scotch sustaining the brunt and at last repelling them the next day they stormed it 6 hours more to the loss of 600 men The 15th of October the King of Navar was shot in the left Shoulder with a Musket Bullet in the Trenches The 25th of October there was a sharp Fight at St. Hillary's Gate three Mines being sprung to small purpose The next day the City was taken by Storm the greatest part of the brave Men having been slain or wearied out in the continual labours of the Siege Montgomery and the greatest part of the English and Scotch shipped themselves in a Galley and breaking the Chain which the Besiegers had drawn cross the River they escaped to Haure de Grace There were slain in this Siege about 4000 Men on both sides The 17th of November the King of Navar died of his Wounds having received the Sacrament according to the Custom of the Church of Rome but blaming his own wavering and unconstant temper in the matters of Religion and saying If he recovered he would embrace the Augustane Confession and live and dye in it He was a person of great Beauty of a generous and liberal Disposition a good Soldier just and fit for business but too
much addicted to Pleasures which at last fatal to him and drew him into this War. The Queen had entered a Treaty with the Inhabitants of Diep for the recovery of that place before Roan was taken and they were amazed with the Dangers that City was in and the depredations the German and French Horse made upon them that so soon as they heard Roan was taken they sent a Petition to the King who granted them all that they desired but the publick Exercise of their Religion Whereupon part of them went away with the English and the rest retired to Antwerp and other places in the Low-Countries So the Town was delivered up to the young Montmorancy the second of November who obtained leave from the Queen for them to meet privately for the Exercise of their Religion The same Conditions were granted to them of Caen. The next Care was to clear Haure de Grace of the English whither the Earl of Warwick came two days after the surrender of Roan The 20th of December the Protestants surprized Diep again without any considerable opposition the Inhabitants no way consenting to it and excusing it to the Queen as done without their aid knowledge or consent and thereupon great numbers of them went into the Low-Countries fearing they should be treated with the same Curelty as they of Roan had been when that City was taken for which they were ill used by Montgomery who was the procurer of this Surprize The News of the loss of Roan was brought to the Prince of Condé when he was in great pain for Andelott sent by him into Germany to bring him some Protestant Forces This ill News came attended with the defeat of Monsieur de Burie in which 2000 were slain in the Field and many more lost in the Retreat the 9th of October The same day this Victory was won at La Ver in Guienne Monsieur de Bazourdan attempted to surprize Montauban in the night which proved ineffectual and he lost 200 of his Men in this design From thence they marched to Thelose which was then also in the hands of the Protestants and reduced to great Extremities but the Inhabitants being supported by the frequent Sermons of their Pastors were encouraged to hold out and on the contrary the Sieur de Terride thought it a great disparagement to be baffled here too and grew stubborn in his Resolves to carry this place because his Forces had miscarried at Montauban and so the Siege was continued till the Pacification in April following In this Siege Sazourdan was slain the 22th of October by a Shot from the Town The Sieur d'Andelott who was sent into Germany to obtain Succours met with great Difficulties the Court of France having sent one Envoy after another to break his Measures and render the Protestant Princes averse to War And when the Emperour had called a Diet to meet in November for the choosing Maximilian his Son King of the Romans the Prince of Condé sent one Jaques Spifame heretofore Bishop of Nevers an eloquent and brisk Man who gave in the Confession of Faith published by the French Protestants in the Assembly of the States for the vindicating them from the aspersions of those monstrous Opinions which their Enemies had raised from them He also made three elegant Speeches one to the Emperour one to Maximilian in his Bed-Chamber and one to the three Estates to purge the by the Order of the Queen and for the delivery of the King out of Restraint The Landtgrave of Hess in the mean time the 10th of October had assembled at Bucarat 3000 Horse and 4000 Foot to which the Prince de Porcean brought in 100 of the French Nobility on Horse-back as far as Strasburg D' Andelott was then afflicted with a Tertian Ague yet he travelled with that Industry that he arrived at Orleans the 6th of November bringing up with him besides 300 Horse and 1500 Foot which had escaped from the Rout at Ver. And very welcom they were the taking of Roan and the defeat of Ver having reduced their Reputation Forces and Hopes to a very low ebb The Prince of Condé hereupon marching out of Orleans the first of November with the whole Army and a Train of Artillery consisting of 8 Pieces the 11th of November he took Pluviers in the Forrest of Orleans a populous Town by Surrender and because they had presumed to defend it with 4 Foot Companies he hanged two of the Captains and all the Priests he found in it and disarm'd the Common Soldiers and made them take an Oath that they should not hereafter bear Arms against him In this place he found great quantities of Provisions part of which he sent to Orleans and reserved the rest for the use of his Army The Terror of this prevailed so far upon the Garison of Baugy that they durst not stay for a Summons but retired to Chasteaudun Montmorancy and the Duke of Guise were by this time returned form Roan to Paris and the Mareschal de St. Andre having in vain endeavoured to stop the passage of Monsieur d' Andelott was come back to Sens a City he suspected from whence he went to Estampes but hearing the Prince of Condé was near he left two Companies to defend that place who soon surrendered it and retired towards Paris Here also the Prince found great quantities of Provisions which were of great use to his Army Here the Prince of Conde entered into a Consultation whether they should march away for Paris and take and rifle the Suburbs of that great City But the King Queen and a numerous Army being there they concluded the City could not be taken and consequently that this Ravage would turn to their damage and disgrace and make a Peace difficult if not impossible when so many innocent People had been ruin'd and undone To all this Francis Lanoy added that there was an apparent danger whilst the Soldiers were dispersed and eager upon the Prey that the Army might make a Sally out of Paris and cut them in pieces with little or no resistance Having therefore taken La Ferte Aucoulph upon the Marke Dourdan and Mont-Leberi he sate down before Corbeil which was under the Government of Monsieur Pavan with the Regiment of Picardy and some Companies of that of Champagne The taking of which place and cutting off the Provisions would have very much incommoded the City of Paris The 17th of November the Prince of Condé summoned the place the being denied it a small Skirmish ensued and the next day S. Andre entered it with Succours from Paris About the same time the News of the death of the King of Navar was brought into the Protestant Camp and the Queen's Emissaries began to give out Speeches that the Prince of Conde should succeed in his Post And the Queen her self sent to invite him to a Conference which was rejected The 22th there was another Conference desired which served for
Coligni sent the same day a Letter to the Queen to intreat her to keep Poltrot that the truth of his innocence might be made out from him before he were Executed The Duke of Guise in the mean time dead the 24th of February having purged himself of the Massacre of Vassay and Advised the Queen to make a Peace as soon as was possible He was a Great Man in the Opinion of his Enemies a good Soldier and both fortunate and prudent in his Actions but falling into a divided Factious State he was by his Brother Charles a violent Man misled though he often detested his Advises Though he had no Command in the Battel of Dreux yet he alone procured the Victory this made him the sole General and being terrible to the Protestants it hastened his Ruine but then it had ill Consequences though at first it occasioned a speedy Peace in after times The Children of the Duke growing up in the Civil Wars which followed inherited the popularity of their Father and under the Pretences of Religion and the Sloath of the Kings of France endeavoured first to Revenge their Fathers Death on the Protestants and at last turned their Arms against the Royal Family to the great hazard of its Ruine and their own too Soon after the Duke of Guise was wounded the Queen sent Henry de Cloet and the Bishop of Limoges to the Princess of Conde and Andelot to treat of a Peace several times And when he was dead she yet more earnestly desired it fearing Conde and Montmorancy the Heads of the two Parties Or as Davila saith being desirous to drive out the Foreign Forces before they could settle themselves aud above all the English out of Havre de Grace Besides she wanted a General to Head the Kings Forces Montmorency being then a Prisoner and none of the rest being equal to the Prince of Conde Coligni or Andelot besides the Royal Revenues were by the War reduced to so low an Ebb that they were forced to borrow of their Neighbours to support the War. In the mean time Francis de Briqueville Baron de Columbiers was employed by Coligni to take Bayeux before which he came the 12th of February and though at first repulsed yet upon the bringing four Cannon from Caen he took the City the Fourth of March the Garison helping him to plunder it and many of the Inhabitants especially of the Clergy were slain because they were thought to have occasion'd the resistance which was made Soon after St. Lo was deserted and fell into the hands of the Protestants and after it Auranches Vire had expell'd the Protestants and pretended to defend it self but was taken by Storm towards Night which increased the Calamities of the Inhabitants Honfleur was taken by De Mouy the Fourteenth of March. About this time Coligni having made Montgomery Governor of Normandy went from Caen with a gallant Army towards Lisieux where he was excluded by the Garison and from thence to Bernay which presuming to do so too he took the Town and made a great slaughter of the Inhabitants destroying all their Images and Altars and handling their Priests very severely The 7th of March the Prince of Conde and Montmoraney were brought to the Island Boaria near Orleans under strong Guards and a Treaty of Peace was opened And Montmorancy declaring he would never consent to the Edict of January other Conditions were proposed to the great dissatisfaction of the Protestants Conde upon his promise had leave given him to enter Orleans where he treated with the Protestant Ministers but finding them resolved to stand to the Edict of January the 12th of March he came to an Agreement with the Queen which was subscribed by the King the 19th of the same Month. The Terms of which were That 1. All the Nobility should permit what Religion they pleased who had Sovereign Authority in their Jurisdictions That all Noblemen should have the free Exercise of Religion in their Families if they did not live in Corporate Towns. That in every Generalite or Prefecture one City should be assigned for those of the Religion And that wherever they had at this day a Liberty they should still enjoy it All Offences were remitted and the Royal Moneys spent in the War and Conde was acknowledged the Kings faithful and Loyal Kinsman and the Nobility Captains and all others who had assisted him were pronounced to have done all things for the Kings Service and with a good Intention Coligni was kept in Normandy by the Flattering Prosperity of his Arms and though he was by many Letters from the Prince of Conde pressed to hasten his Journey to Orleans yet he did not arrive there before the 23 of March. The next day he could not dissemble his discontent at the Terms of the Treaty of Peace telling the Prince publickly That he wondered how they could be prevailed upon to clap up a Peace upon such disadvantageous Conditions when the Affairs of the Protestants were in so flourishing a state That they ought to have remembred that in the beginning of the War the Triumvirate had consented that the Edict of January should be restored and that now two of them the King of Navar and the Duke of Guise were slain and Montmorancy was their Prisoner and consequently a Security for the Prince of Conde Why should not they have had the same Terms That the restraint of the Profession of the Protestant Religion to one place in a Province was to give up that by a dash of the Pen which their Sword could never have obtained That what was granted to the Nobility could not be denied and they would soon see it was safer to serve God in the Suburbs of great Cities than in their Private Families and that it was uncertain whether their Children would be at all like them But however nothing could rescind an Agreement made by common consent Thus ended the first Civil War of France I have transcribed this whole Account of the first Civil War of France from the great Thuanus abridging it as much as was possible and pursuing the Actions only of the great Armies because if I had taken in all he relates of the various Actions between the two Parties in the several great Cities and Provinces it would have swell'd infinitely beyond the design of this Work or otherwise have been so dark as not to be easily intelligible And if the Reader compare this short Account with that given by Davila he will soon see how little the sincerity of that Historian is to be relied on and how small the Reason is for him to treat the Huguenots as Rebels in all the Course of this War. When the War first began the Protestants acted purely on the defensive but after several local Massacres they began to pull down Images and Altars in Revenge for the blood-shed of the other Party and finding to their cost this did but enrage the Roman Catholicks against them and made
the Council had contentions and differences amongst themselves which were unworthy of that moderation which they ought to have and tended very much to the detriment of that concord which was hoped for from them and yet these contests frequently broke out to the great satisfaction of their Adversaries That there was a report That the Pope intended to dissolve or suspend the Council and he advised him not to do it because nothing could be more shameful or damageable and which besides would certainly cause a great defection from the Church and bring a great hatred on the Papacy and from thence cause an equal contempt of all the Clergy That this dissolution or suspension would certainly procure the Assembling of National Councils which the Popes have ever opposed as contrary to the Unity of the Church and which those Princes which were well affected to the See of Rome had hitherto hindred in their Dominions but after this they could find no pretence to deny or delay them any longer Therefore he desired the Pope to lay aside that thought and to apply himself seriously to the celebration of the Council allowing the Ancient Liberty to all in its full extent that all things might be dispatched rightly lawfully and in order and thereby the mouths of their Adversaries who sought an opportuntity to calumniate might be stopp'd That it would become his Holiness to attend the Council in person if his health would permit it and he earnestly desired he would That he the Emperor if the Pope thought fit would also come thither that they both by their presence might promote the Publick business That the Pope might compose and decide many difficulties which had arisen from his absence The Emperor sent a Copy of this Letter to the Cardinal of Lorrain also and desired he would promote those things which tended to the Glory of God and the good of Christendom The 21th of May the Count de Luna Ambassador for the King of Spain was received in a Congregation and there was a Speech made in the behalf of that Prince in the Assembly by one Pedro Fontidonio de Segovia a Divine who extoll'd above measure the care of his Master in the Affairs of Religion and especially his severity shewn towards Sectaries he said this Prince Married Mary of England only to the end he might restore the Catholick Religion in that flourishing Kingdom He Reproached the French and German Nations for thinking that much was to be indulged to the Hereticks that being won by these Concessions they might be reduced into the bosom of the Church At last he said That they ought so to consult the Salvation of Hereticks and the Majesty of the Church that all things might be done for the promoting the latter rather than for gratifying the former And he exhorted all Princes to imitate the severity of his Master in bridling Hereticks that the Church might be delivered from so many Miseries and the Fathers of Trent from the care of celebrating Councils A little before this time the news of the Peace made with the Protestants of France came first in Generals and soon after the particular Articles This was blamed by the greater part of the Fathers in that Council who said it was to prefer the things of the world before the things of God yea to ruin both the one and the other For the Foundation of a State which is Religion being removed it is necessary that the Temporal should come to desolation whereof the Edict made before was an example which did not cause Peace and Tranquility as was hoped but a greater War than before The truth is these men would have all the world fight out their quarrel to the last man and then if their Catholicks perish they are as unconcerned as for the Hereticks and accordingly ever since that time they have made it their business first to hinder all Treaties of Peace wherein any liberty was granted to the Protestants and when they could not gain that point to make them be broken as soon as was possible tho this too has for the most part turn'd in the end to their great loss and shame The French Court perceiving how the Fathers of Trent took the Peace Ordered the Cardinal of Lorrain to shew the great Dangers which from the Civil War threatned that Kingdom and to assure the Council that it was the intention of the King to dissipate the Factions of France by a Peace that he might be at leisure to attend seriously the restitution of the Peace of the Church But when this would not be allowed neither the Queen sent Renate de Birague President of Dauphine to assure the Fathers That their Intentions were not to settle a New Religion in France nor to suffer it to grow up and encrease but that having disarmed their Subjects and quieted the Tumults they might with the less trouble return to the Methods used by their Ancestors for the reducing their people into the way and the Unity of the same Catholick Religion That this could never be done but by the Authority of a lawful and free either General or National Council that a General Council seemed the safer way but then it was necessary that a liberty and security should be given to all that would to come That tho' this had been done by the Pope and the Fathers yet the place was such and so situate that being rather in Italy than Germany the Protestants could not think themselves sufficiently secure For they desired a Council in Germany and thought they were not safe if it were any where else That not only they of Germany but the English Scotch Danes and Swedes were of the same mind and it was very unjust to condemn so many Nations unheard and besides it was unprofitable too for whereas all good men hoped that this Council would procure an Unity on the contrary it would cause a greater opposition and enmity when these Nations saw themselves neglected and by the inconvenience of the place as it were excluded out of the Council For it was fit for none but weak and credulous men to think they would ever submit to the Decrees of a Council in which they had never been admitted nor heard but it was to be feared on the other side that their minds being exasperated their patience would turn to fury and they would traduce to Posterity the Decrees of the Council and in the present age treat them with a virulent sharpness in their Writings Therefore Birague was Ordered to desire the Council might by the consent of the Fathers and Pope be transferr'd into Germany to Worms Spire Basil or Constance This Discourse would not edifie at Trent and he was sent on the same Errand to Inspruck to the Emperor and to Vienna to his Son Maximilian There were two others sent at the same time one into Spain and another to Rome but this latter found the Pope enraged to the utmost with the Peace so that
her And what can be more contrary to Natural Equity than to condemn unheard It is forbidden by the Canons and Decrees of Councils and there is a noble example of this in Ammianus Marcellinus where Pope Liberius being urged by Constantius to condemn Athanasius chose rather to be banished than to sentence him without hearing And in the Judgment against Sixtus the Third who was accused of Incest Valentinian the Emperor observed the same method and made him appear and answer in a Synod before Fifty Bishops For the same reason the Sentence of Nicholas the First against Lotharius the Son of St. Lewis for having two Wives was thought void and null Nor was this Sentence against the Queen of Navarr of better force because she was absent and unheard That the Popes have always shewn that respect to Crown'd heads as to admonish them by their Legates before they decreed ought against them So Alexander the Third sent two Cardinals to Henry the Second into England when he was accused of the Death of Thomas a Becket A. B. of Canterbury That he might purge himself before them of this crime So of late Clement the Seventh did the like in the case of Henry the Eighth to whom he sent Cardinal Campeius And if it were granted that the Judgment were rightly passed how could the Dominions of the Queen be exposed for a prey and given to the first Invader they belonging to the King as Lord of the Fee Therefore the King believes that the Pope is deceived by false reports and instigated by the craft of his Ministers who not regarding the publick peace have drawn him from his natural goodness to Counsels which are dishonourable to his Holiness and destructive to his Authority and to that of the See of Rome tending to the alienating of the hearts of his friends from him and the disturbing of the Peace of Christendom And his Majesty is the more perswaded of the truth of this because his Holiness so earnestly espoused the Interest of Anthony the Husband of this Queen in his life-time and endeavoured to perswade King Philip to restore to him the Kingdom of Navarr or at least to give him the Island of Sardinia as an Equivalent But then there is nothing more offends the King than the considering that whereas so many Kings Princes and Free States above Forty years since have defected from the See of Rome and committed the offence charged upon the Queen and so by the rule of Justice ought to be first punished as first offending yet the Pope has not proceeded in the same way or with equal severity against any of them so that from hence it is clear that an occasion is sought by her enemies to oppress and ruin her by surprize whilest she is a Widow her Children Orphans the King of France who ought to protect her being a Minor and disturbed by Civil Wars and for this reason the King is the more obliged to defend her from injury and himself from contempt seeing without acquainting him with it they have begun this Process against a Queen so nearly related to him That if this Accusation had been made on the account of Religion and for the Glory of God the Pope ought in the first place to have shewn his care of her soul and from the Word of God to have administred fitting Remedies and not to have proscribed her Kingdoms and Dominions and given them for a prey to the first Invader The Pope has a Supremacy given him That he may consult the Salvation of Souls and the repose of Christendom and not that he may deprive Princes of their Kingdoms and dispose of their possessions at his pleasure which the former Popes have never been able to do in Germany and other places without bringing great reproach and dishonour on the Church and disturbances upon the World. That therefore the King desired with the greatest humility that he could or ought that the Sentence against the Q. of Navarr should be revok'd and all the Pope's Ministers should be inhibited from proceeding in this cause by a publick Act and if this were not done the King should be forced against his will to make use of the same remedies his Ancestors had imployed in the like cases according to the Laws and Rights of his Kingdom But before all things he protested he should do this unwillingly and therefore they only should bear the blame who by their rashness had forced him to use the power God had given him in so just a cause and to implore the assistance of his friends against them There was at the same time distinct Memorials and larger Instructions sent to the French Ambassador for the Defence of the Bishops and D'Oysel who was an active Minister prevail'd upon the Pope to have the Proceedings against the Bishops stopt and the Sentence against the Queen of Navarr revok'd and abolished So that at this day it is not to be found amongst the Constitutions of Pope Pius the Fourth The 18th of May there having been no consideration had of the XXXIII Articles put into the Council the 4th of January the Queen wrote to Lanssac her Ambassador complaining very bitterly of the delays and shifts which had been made in this business and said that the hope good men had hitherto had of the success of this Council and the opinion of their sincerity who met in it would both vanish without any fruit and their dissimulation and connivance would more and more inflame the wrath of God against us who had now made it manifest unto all men that the affairs of the Church needed a Reformation and a severe correction and to that purpose had invited and brought together from all parts of the Earth so many men famous for their Piety and Learning to this Council and if after all this he shall see us still stubbornly resist his will he will be necessitated to punish those men who have hindred so good a work and so necessary to the peace of the Church That therefore the King had wrote to the Cardinal of Lorrain to assemble a Congregation of the French Clergy and after a mature deliberation had amongst themselves to demand earnestly of the Fathers of the Council that these things might be considered and determin'd as soon as was possible But the Cardinal was by this time won over to the Pope's side and was willing to sacrifice the safety of France and the King's Will to the Interest of the former In order to this he delayed the Execution of his Orders from day to day and at last that he might totally disappoint them asked leave of the King to go to Rome believing the Kings Ambassadors would do nothing in his absence And not long after Lanssac obtained leave to return into France The Cardinal of Lorrain went from Trent towards Rome the 18th of September and with him five of the French Bishops But the other French Ambassadors did nevertheless insist stoutly
to have the Articles considered by the Council who that they might elude this pursuit made some Decrees which had some respect to those things the French had desired but which aimed at the granting a Liberty and Immunity to the Clergy against all the Laws Privileges Liberties and Jurisdictions and Lawful Authorities of all Kingdoms States and Princes which being seen by La Ferriere and Du Faur the King's Ambassadors at Trent they by their Master's Order opposed the said Decrees The 27th of September the King by a Letter having commanded his Ambassadors to insist upon their first Demands and to assure the Council that as none of the Christian Princes should exceed him in the fervor of true Piety and a desire to promote the Affairs of the Council so if they still went on to cure the desperate wounds of the Church with a light hand or rather to plaster them over and conceal than cure them whilest they omitted the proper and most necessary remedies and instead of considering the Reformation of the Church turn'd the edge of their Authority against the Power of Princes and the Decrees of Councils he would not have the Presence of his Ambassadors add Authority to such unjust Decrees to the great prejudice of his Royal Dignity and to the Damage of the Liberties of his Kingdom He said also that he had been informed that the Council had entertain'd a design to declare the Marriage of Anthony de Bourbon King of Navarr and Joan his Queen unlawful and to declare Henry his Son a Bastard and he commanded them not to be present at any such Act. Lastly he commanded them to repeat their former demands and if the Fathers of the Council would not grant them then to leave Trent and go to Venice and stay there till they had further Orders from him He told them also that his principal desire was by a serious Reformation of Church-affairs and manners the corruptions in which had caused so many to make defection from the Church of Rome by the Authority of a General Council to unite the divided minds of men in the matters of Religion That his Ambassadors and Proctors had often treated with the Pope and the Fathers of the Council about this and to that end had exhibited the said XXXIV Articles to which no satisfactory return had been made but on the contrary they having lightly touched the business of Reformation had exercised an Authority which belonged not to them against the Rights Liberties and Power of Soveraign Princes That they neither could nor ought to inquire into the Civil Administration which was not subject to their Court nor to derogate from those Constitutions and Customs which had been long enjoyed by Princes nor to Anathematize Kings all which things tended to Sedition and the interruption of the publick Peace That he would not suffer that Authority which he had received from his Ancestors to be weakned by their unjust censures Yea he commanded them to tell the Fathers That if they presumed any more to undermine the Authority of Kings and the Prerogatives of their Betters that they should then also protest against their proceeding and leave Trent Advising the Bishops and Divines of France who were in the Council to promote the Reformation of Religion as much as was possible for the good of his divided Kingdom and to that end to stay still at Trent But then the King did trust to their wisdom and conscience that they would not approve of by their presence or consent to any thing which was prejudicial to the Royal Authority Prerogative or Dignity of the King or Kingdom of France But however the Council still persisting in their former Methods La Ferriere came into the Council and made a sharp Oration against the Pope and the Council Polano in his History of the Council of Trent has the sum of this Oration and Thuanus saith it was pronounced the 22d of September But however I will not trouble the Reader with it here because of its great length this Oration pleased none of the Fathers the French themselves not excepted because he set Princes as the Ministers of God above the Anathema's of the Clergy and made both their persons and revenues subject to the Laws and Authority of Kings telling them too plainly of their great prevarications obstinacy and unwillingness to reform or be reformed But however all the Fathers could do was to bring the Faith of the Ambassadors in question which they soon discuss'd by producing their Instructions This failing they cavell'd at the parts of the Oration and end eavoured to pervert the sense and meaning of it so that Ferriere was forced to publish an Apology for it And soon after this they mended the matter by a sharper Oration in which amongst other things they told the Council plainly That Hadrian the Sixth was in the right when he told the world That what care soever was taken of the lower members of the Church that body could not be restored to its health if the Head also the Pope were not reformed Towards the end they said They protested only against Pius the Fourth They Venerated the Apostolick See the great Pontiff the Holy Church of Rome for the increase of whose Dignity their Ancestors had so often shed their blood and of late had fought in France but it was against the Soveraignty of Pius the Fourth that they protested all whose Decrees and Sentences they refused and despised and seeing there was nothing done at Trent but all was dispatched at Rome and what was here published was rather the Dictates of Pius the Fourth than the Decrees of a General Council they denounced and testified That whatever was decreed in that Convention or should hereafter be decreed or published they being only the Decrees moved by Pius the Fourth they should not be approved by the Most Christian King nor the French nor be taken for the Acts of a General Council And then commanded all their Archbishops Bishops Abbots and Divines to return into France till God should restore to the Catholick Church the ancient form and liberty belonging of right to General Councils and to the Most Christian King his just Rights Thuanus saith he can hardly believe this Oration was made tho' he finds it Printed in the Commentaries of Jacques de Bourdin Secretary of State. But however it shews the sense great men had of the Council of Trent at that time when it was best understood A little before this time the Emperor being about leaving Inspruck discovered that they consulted at Rome and Trent about proceeding against Queen Elizabeth of England and he wrote to the Pope and the Legates that if the Council would not yield that fruit which was desired that they might see an Union of Catholicks to reform the Church yet at least they should not give occasion to Hereticks to unite themselves more which they would do in case they proceeded against the Queen of England
all the Priests were hunted away and in Cherie and Cuni places belonging to the Duke of Savoy and in many other Cities near unto them many were of the same opinions with the Hugonots and many even in the Duke's Court also did profess them and more were discovered every day And however the Duke had set forth a Proclamation a Month before That all that followed those opinions should within eight days depart out of the Country and some did thereupon depart yet afterwards he commanded there should be no proceedings against them and pardon'd many who were condemn'd by the Inquisition and made their Process void as also those who were in the Inquisition and not condemn'd and gave leave to some that were departed to return About the same time there hapned a great tumult and popular commotion in Bavaria because the Cup was not allowed nor Married men suffered to preach which disorder proceeded so far that to appease them the Duke promised in the Diet That if in all the Month of June a resolution were not made in the Council of Trent or by the Pope to give them satisfaction he himself would grant both the one and the other The news of this coming to the Council the Legates dispatched Nicholas Ormonet to perswade the Luke not to make that Grant. To whom the Duke replied That to shew his obedience to the Apostolick See he would use all means to entertain his people as long as he could expecting and hoping that the Council would resolve that which they saw to be necessary notwithstanding the Resolution made before by it But the Council had good reason to deny this last because say they it is plain that Married Priests will turn their affections and love to their Wives and Children and by consequence to their House and Country and so that strict dependance which the Clergy hath on the Apostolick See would cease and to grant Marriage to Priest would destroy the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy and make the Pope to be a Bishop of Rome only And in another place they tell us that having House Wife and Children they the Clergy will not depend on the Pope but on their Prince and their love to their Children will make them yield to any prejudice of the Church and they will seek to make the Benefices Hereditary and so in a short space the Authority of the Apostolick See will be coâ—fined within Rome Before Single Life was instituted the See of Rome received no profit from other Nations and Cities and by it is made Patron of many Benefices of which the Marriage of the Clergy would quickly deprive her And that all would become Hereticks if the Cup were granted to the Laity and so a gap would be opened to demand the Abrogation of all positive Ecclesiastical Constitutions by which only the Prerogative given by Christ to the Church of Rome is preserved for by those which are of Divine appointment no profit doth arise but that which is spiritual So that the Princes who expected any redress from them were in a fine case Camden in his History of Queen Elizabeth assures us the true reason why the Prince of Conde clapt up this Peace upon such easie and disadvantageous terms was because he had been deluded by the Queen with the vain hopes of succeeding his Brother the King of Navarr as General of all the Forces of France and that he should marry the Queen of Scotland too which he afterwards refused The English were then possess'd of Havre de Grace and had a Garrison in it and now both the Protestants and the Roman Catholicks united their Forces to deprive them of it without repaying any of the Money the Queen had expended in the War or considering what need they might after have of that Princess's protection and assistance Both parties on the contrary protest That if the English do not forthwith restore that place they should forfeit their Right to Calais which was reserved to them by the Treaty of Cambray and when this would not do they proclaimed a War against the English in France the 7th of July which was return'd them by the English till they should restore Calais The Earl of Warwick who was then Governour of Havre de Grace finding the French well disposed to betray the English in that Town into the hands of their Country-men and that they had entered into a Conspiracy to that purpose with the Rhinegrave who lay not far off with some German Forces He thereupon turn'd all the French both Protestants and Papists out of the Town without any difference and seized upon all their Ships The French thereupon without ever reflecting on their own Conspiracy against the English began a loud complaint That the English came not to protect the French in their distresses but to get the possession of the Town dealing with them not as with Brethren but as Foreigners And hereupon the French resolved to take this place upon any terms from the English and the King sent a Trumpet to the Governour to demand the Town who returned for an Answer That if the King of Spain would pass his word that Calais should be restored according to the Treaty of Cambray at the time by it appointed and that the King of France the Queen-Mother and the Princes of the Blood Royal would confirm the same by their Oaths and Register it in all the Parliaments of France and then give them Hostages of the Prime Nobility of France he would then deliver up the Town This being rejected the 22d of July Montmorency the Constable took the field all things being by that time prepared to reduce it by force The next day they summon'd the Town again Warwick replied he would suffer death rather than deliver up the place without the Queen's knowledge His Messenger whom he sent with this Answer happened to meet one Monie a Protestant French Captain with whom he had been familiarly acquainted in the Siege of Roan to whom he said He much wondred to see the Protestants of France who were of the same Religion with the English and for whose relief they came into France in the Camp against them Le Monie replied As you fight for your Queen so we for our King the contest is now for our Country and Religion is no way concern'd The business of Religion is now determin'd and setled by the King's Edict once for all and therefore you Sir are not to wonder if of Friends we are suddenly become your Enemies and resolved to destroy you if you do not deliver up the place to the King. When the Earl of Warwick heard this he sent presently into England for Supplies There was then a Plague in the Town which discouraged the English more than all their Enemies without There came some Ships with Relief from England but the Plague continuing the Queen to preserve so many brave men gave order to the Earl of Warwick to surrender the place upon
as Honourable Terms as he could get The 28th of July the Articles were Signed the next day there came sixty Ships and 1800 men to the Relief of the place but it was too late so the English that remain'd were sent on Board the Fleet who had the misfortune to carry this Plague with them into England and within one year there died in London only 21530 persons of this Disease There was so much joy in France for the recovery of this small place that the Chancellor of France said openly That now the most malicious must needs confess That the granting Liberty of Conscience had at once delivered France from a most destructive Civil War united the Princes of the Blood Royal and enabled them to recover too what had been seized by their Enemies during the War and that chiefly by the help of the Protestants who before were so dreadful to them whilest they fought for their Religion The Queen to cut off all pretences to the Guardianship of the King by the advice of the Chancellor resolved to have him declared out of his Minority by the Parliament of Roan pursuant to a Constitution of Charles the Fifth King of France made in the year 1373 tho' he had then entered only into the Fourteenth year of his age which was accordingly done the 19th of August when he declared again That he was resolved not to suffer his Edicts to be disputed by his Subjects as had been done during his Minority and especially the last for the peace of Religion which he was resolved to make all his Subjects obey till it was otherwise setled by a Council This Decree met with some opposition from the Parliament of Paris which pretends to be the Supreme Court of that Kingdom and said they ought to have had the honour of declaring the King of Age and no other which was soon over-rul'd The desire I had to prosecute the Affairs of France and the Story of the Council of Trent has kept me from mentioning Scotland and its Affairs so that I am behind hand with that Kingdom two years In the beginning of the year 1562 Mary Queen of the Scots took her Progress towards the North At Sterling she was Petition'd by certain Commissioners of the Church for the Abolishing of the Mass and other Superstitious Rites of the Roman Religion the punishing Blasphemy the contempt of the Word of God the Profanation of the Sacraments the Violation of the Sabbath Adultery Fornication and other like Vices condemn'd by the Word of God but not punishable by the Laws of Scotland That all Suits for Divorce should be remitted to the Judgment of the Church or at least trusted to men of good knowledge and conversation and that Popish Church-men might be excluded from places in the Session and Council This Petition being read by the Queen she replied That she would do nothing to the prejudice of the Religion she professed and that she hoped before a year was expired to have the Mass and Catholick Profession restored through the whole Kingdom And so in a rage turn'd her back and left them In January 1563. John Hamilton Archbishop of St. Andrews was committed to the Castle of Edinburgh for saying and hearing Mass the Abbot also of Corsragnal and Prior of Withern had the same treatment and divers Priests and Monks were censured for the same cause The Scots thought by these Severities to terrifie the Queen into a compliance with their Religion And it is certain that in a Parliament held at Edinburgh in May this year she passed many Acts in favour of the Reformation However certain it is some of the Protestants made her an ill requital For in August following certain of the Queens Family remaining in the Palace of Edinburgh call'd Holy-Rood House and having a Priest to attend them and perform the Romish Service in the Chapel divers of the Inhabitants of Edinburgh out of curiosity or devotion resorting thither great offence was taken at it and the Preacher began to complain of it as a disorder Whereupon some of the Citizens went thither to see if it were so these being denied Admittance they forced the Gates of the Queens Palace took several of those who were there assembled and carried them to prison the Priest and some few others escaping by a Postern or Back-door This Uproar was very great and yet it was related to the best advantage to the Queen who was then out of Town she was very much incensed as she had good reason against these Zealots and swore she would shortly make them Examples of her Royal Indignation The Earls of Murray and Glencarne however wisely interposed and appeased her anger for the present Soon after John Knox was call'd before the Council and charged as the only Author of this Insolent Sedition and likewise for stirring up the people by his Circular Letters to Tumults whenever he thought fit He answered That he was never a Preacher of Rebellion nor loved to stir up Tumults contrariwise he always taught the People to obey their Magistrates and Princes in God. As to the Convocation of the Subjects he had received from the Church a Command to advertise his Brethren when he saw a necessity of their Meeting especially if he saw Religion to be in peril And had often desired to be discharged of that burthen but stil was refused Then speaking to the Queen with wonderful boldness He charged her in the name of Almighty God as she desired to escape his heavy wrath and indignation to forsake that Idolatrous Religion which she profess'd and by her power maintain'd against all the Statues of the Realm He was going on when the Earl of Morton then Chancellor of Scotland fearing the Queen might be yet more exasperated against all the Protestants of her Kingdom by his indiscreet zeal commanded him to hold his peace and go away After this things were carried more peaceably between the Queen and the Church the Earl of Murray making it his business to propound their Petitions to her and to return her Answers to them FINIS A TABLE OF THE Principal Matters Contained in this HISTORY A. ADiaphorists who Pag. 478 481. Adolph Count Schawenburg is made Archbishop of Cologne by the Pope 417. Enters upon the Resignation of the Archbishop 418. His first Mass 457. Makes his publick Entry into Cologne 499. He leaves Trent 543. He makes a League with the House of Burgundy 560. Adrian succeeds Leo X. 50. Sends a Legate to the Diet of Nuremberg 54. And a Breve to Frederick Ibid. Writes a long Letter to the States assembled at Nuremberg 55. And to Private Persons against Luther 56. As also to the Senate of Strasburg Ibid. An account of his Life Ibid. He is chosen Pope 57. Writes to the College of Cardinals Ibid. And to the People of Rome Ibid. Goes to Rome Ibid. His Instructions to the Diet at Nuremberg 58. Desires an Answer to them 60. Dies
66. Agricola vide Islebius Aix Parliament of Aix make a Cruel Decree against the Waldenses 343. Albert of Brandenburg Bishop of Mentz and Magdeburg 2. Luther writes to him Vide Luther Is made Cardinal 4. His Speech to the Electors at Frankfort 14. He Proclaims Charles the Fifth's Election 18. Answers Luther's Letter kindly 31. Makes a Speech to Charles the Fifth 37. Is concerned in the Ban by which Luther was Proscribed 49. Sends Ambassadors to the Protestants at Smalcald 153. Dies 354. Albert of Brandenburg Grand Master of the Teutonick Order wars with Sigismund King of Poland 99. Demands Succours from Germany Ibid. Swears Allegiance to Sigismund Ibid. Marries and is made Duke of Prussia Ibid. What he did is rescinded by the Emperor 139. He is Proscribed 161. He assists Osiander and Banishes those Ministers who refuse his Doctrine 511. Albert Marquis of Brandenburg assists Duke Maurice 417. He keeps Rochlitz 420. Is taken Prisoner by the Duke of Saxony Ibid. Set at liberty 428. Goes into France to mediate a League between the French King and Duke Maurice 549. His Declaration of War against the Emperor 551. He joins D. Maurice and the Landgrave's Son 555. He wasts the Country about Ulm 556. He is very cruel to the Norembergers 561. Fines the Bishops of Bamberg and Wurtzburg 562. Makes Peace with the Norembergers Ibid. He writes to the City of Ulm to yield to him 563. He deserts the Confederates and wars in his own Name 567. Breaks in upon the Bishops of Mentz and Triers Ibid. Demands his chief Castle of the Bishop of Triers Ibid. He falls upon the Bishops upon the Rhine 571. His Demands of the Strasburgers Ibid. He besieges Frankfort 572. Makes War against the Bishops of Mentz and Spire Ibid. And robs the Churches of those Bishopricks 573. Is receiv'd at Triers Ibid. Marches into Luxemburg 574. Makes a Peace with the Emperor 575. Beats the French at Pont a Mousson Ibid. Complains to the Franconian Bishops 577. Refuses an Accommodation at Heidelberg and declares War against the Bishops of Franconia 578. Takes Bamberg and spoils the Country Ibid. Makes War upon Duke Maurice 581. War is declared against him Ib. His Answer to their Declaration 584. His Territories are invaded Ibid. He is routed by D. Maurice 585. Writes a Letter to D. Maurice's Subjects 586. Renews the War against the D. of Brunswick 591. Is routed by him Ibid. He retires towards France 592. He is Proscribed 594. Sues in vain to have it taken off 595. He Remonstrates to the Diet of Ausburg against the Norembergers 599. By continuing the War he is at last Outed of all 601. Goes into France 604. Writes to the Diet at Frankfort Ibid. Albert Count Mansfield goes against Muncer's Rabble 84. He routs them Ibid. Albert of Brunswick killed 404. Albertus Magnus vide Aquinas Aleander Hieronymus sent against Luther to Frederick by the Pope 38. Made a Cardinal 39. Alexander de Medicis recovers Florence 132. is killed by his Kinsman Lorenzo Medicis 209. Alaski sent by Ferdinand Ambassador to Solyman 270. Imprisoned by him 271. Aloisia Mother to Francis I. writes to Pope Clement during his Captivity 98. Makes a League with Henry the VIII 102. Amstorfius vide John Frederick Elector of Saxony Anabaptists their Original 110. Their Doctrines at Munster 190. Their Book called the Restitution 196. Their Supper Ibid. their 28 Apostles Ibid. Who were all Executed 197. They write to the Landgrave 198. Their Hellish Doctrines Ibid. Their Book of the Mysteries of Christ 199. Angelical Doctor vide Aquinas Anne Boleyne Wise to Hen. VIII Beheaded 208. Anthony D. of Lorrain forbids his Subjects to read Luther's Books 75. Defeats the Boors in his Country 81. Kills 18000 of them Ibid. Of which many after Promise of Life was granted Ibid. He negotiates a Peace between the Emperor and French King in vain 320. Dies 327. Antinomians their Original 244. Apparition of Ghosts frequent in the times of Popery 172. Aquinas Tho. chiefly quoted to prove Indulgences 3. Studied at Cologne and Paris 4. Scholar to Albertus Magnus Ibid. Sainted by Pope John XXII Ibid. Dies An. 1274. Ibid. Called Angelical Doctor Ibid. Arbitrators Elector of Mentz and Prince Palatine chosen to mediate between the Protestant Princes and the Emperor 154. Their Answer to the Prince's Propositions 158. Aristotle better used by the Lovain Doctors than Luther 29. Arnstadt a Town in Thuringia a Convention of Protestants there 251. Arras vide Anthony Perenot Granvell D'Avalos Ferd. Marquess of Pescara heartens the Imperialists to Fight at Pavia 79. Accuses the French King 295. Augsburg a Diet there 4. The Diet at Ausburg removed to Spire 97. They embrace the Protestant Religion 109. Commissioners to frame a Decree there 135. The Tenor of it Ibid. The Decree of that Diet 139. They publish a Book against the Ecclesiasticks 212. They promise to lend no more money to the Emperor 389. They capitulate with the Emperor 418. A Diet called to Ausburg 435. It is an Armed Diet 437. It is opened Ibid. A Decree there about a free Council 467. Another Armed Diet at Augsburg 499. The Decree of the Diet about a Council 512. Their Divines examined of a sudden by Granvell and sent out of Germany 516. Is surrendred to D. Maurice and the Confederate Princes 555. Great Contests about Religion in the Diet 621. The Allegations of the Papists against the Protestants 622. The Decree of the Diet 626. Augsburg Cardinal of vindicates himself 633. Augustane Confession read to Charles the Fifth 129. Oppugned by the Popish Divines 130. Augustine Monks at Wittemberg forbear saying Mass 49. Two Augustine Friars examined at Brussels 63. Burnt 64. Augustus suceeds his Brother Maurice in the Electorate of Saxony 587. Calls a Convention of his States what 's their Answer to his Proposals Ibid. Refuses to appear at the Diet of Ausburg 612. Austrian Nobility Petition Ferdinand for Liberty of Conscience 285. They renew their Instances 287. They Address again 628. Their Reply to Ferdinand's Answer 630. Ferdinand's Answer to their Reply 632. B BAden a Disputation there of both Parties of Switzers 105. The Points disputed of Ibid. Bamberg Wigand Bishop of Quarrels with the Elector of Brandenburg 152. Barbarossa the Turkish Admiral takes Castlenovo 251. Lies with his Fleet at Thoulon 314. He Besieges the Castle of Nizza Ibid. When he could not take it he retires to Thoulon 316. As he retires from Thoulon makes sad ravages in Italy 326. Barnes Rich. Burnt at London 269. Basil-Council asserted the Superiority of Councils to a Pope 10. Oecolampadius Preaches there 76. Great Dissentions about Religion 116. Images broken down and burnt upon Ash-Wednesday 117 Mass abolished there Ibid. The Form of the safe Conduct which was granted at the Council of Basil 539. Bavaria the Dukes oppose the Election of Ferdinand King of the Romans 158. The D. of Bavaria intercedes for the D. of Brunswick 307. Beaton David Cardinal Arch-Bishop of St. Andrews killed 382. Becken Otho gives the
a Holy League amongst the Popish Princes 245. Loses his Interest in the Emperor's Court 255. Elector vide Albert 14. The Elector's Answer to the Emperor at Ratisbon 281. The Electors of the Rhine meet about the Elector of Cologne 356. The Electors separate their Councils at the Diet of Ratisbon 375. Ecclesiastical Electors severe for the Interim 477. And hold Synods wherein the Trinkets of Popery are restored 481. They complain of the Soldiers who came from Magdebourg 535. Emperor how chosen 19. Now subject to the Pope in his Election 38. Empire vide Princes English refuse to pay First-fruits for Benefices of small value 63. English Bibles Printed at Paris 241. Enthusiasts begin to Preach in Germany 52. Erard Bishop of Liege dies 240. Erasmus writes to Frederick in Luther's behalf 21. And to Luther encouraging him to go on but calmly ibid. And to Rome in favour of Reuchlin 31. Writes about Free-will 75. VVrites against the Reformers under the Title of Gospel-teachers 122. VVrites to Campegio to promote Vnity in Germany 133. His Jest upon Eckius and Faber 139. Quarrels with Luther again about Free-will 170. Dies 209. His Colloquies forbidden by the Delegate Cardinals 236. Erixon Gustavus wrests Sweden from Christiren King of Denmark 62. Marries Steno Stura's Daughter ibid. Ernest D. of Brunswick taken Prisoner by the Emperor 427. Is set at liberty 428. Exorcisms with the Ceremonies 481. Eysenach a Town in Thuringia a Convention of the Protestants there 244. F. FAber John Deputy to the Bishop of Constance at Zurick 57. Faber Jacobus Stapulensis persecuted by the Sorbonists 98. The King of France writes on his behalf out of Spain ibid. Farel William Preaches at Metz 290. Farnese Cardinal his Speech to the Emperor against the Protestants 264. Retires from the Emperors Court 266. Goes to the Diet of Wormes with the Emperor 348. Goes from thence to Rome 349. Farnese Octavio General of the Pope's Troops which help'd the Emperor against the Protestants 394. His Parma secur'd to him by P. Julius the III 492. Puts a French Garrison into Parma 513. Is Cited to Rome ibid. Pursues the Business of Parma 514. Being supported by the French King it occasions a VVar ibid. Ferdinand Arch-Duke of Austria Marries 50. Executes the Ban severely against the Lutherans 54. Claims the Kingdom of Hungary after K. Lewis's death 105. Is made K. of Bohemia 110. His claim to Hungary what 114. Made K. of the Romans 144. The Terms upon which the Protestant Princes promise to acknowledge him 157. Makes a Treaty of Peace with the D. of Saxony 173. Allows Ulric to be D. of Wirtemberg ibid. Inhibits the Prosecutions of the Imperial Chamber 184. Suspends them till the Meeting of the next Diet 185. Sends an Embassie to the Switzers not to aid the French against the Emperor 207. Is routed by the Turks 231. Goes to the Diet at Haguenaw 267. His Proposals to the Protestants there 268. His Answer there about the Procedings of the Imperial Chamber 269. Prepares to invade Hungary 270. Sends Alaski his Ambassador to Solyman ibid. Is overthrown at Buda 284. His Answer to the Austrian Nobility 287. His Speech to the Diet at Spire 288. Opens the Diet at Nurenberg 298. Makes an unsuccessful War in Hungary 304. Opens the Diet at Nurenberg 305. His Answer to the Protestants Petition 307. Is acknowledged King of the Romans by the D. of Saxony 325. His Daughter is Betrothed to the D. of Saxony's Son ibid. Opens the Diet at Wormes 343. Answers the Deputes of the Protestants 345. Goes to the Diet at Ratisbon 374. Denounces War against the Saxons 409. His Answer to the Bohemians 417. His Demands to the Bohemians 420. His Letters to the Bohemians 423. He Answers their Letters 424. He writes to them again 425. His Commissioners to the Convention of States in Bohemia 426. His Army ibid. Writes again to the Bohemians 428. Writes to them again from Leutmeritz 431. Goes to Prague and forces the Bohemians to submit 434. Obtains vast Sums of Money from the Free Towns 436. Raises Money of the States at teh Diet 460. Receives Constance and imposes strict Conditions upon them 474. Complains at the Diet of Augsbourg of the Irruptions of the Turks 511. Aid is granted him by the Princes at Norimberg 512. Treats with D. Maurice about Peace at Lintz 556. Goes to Passaw to Mediate a Peace 563. Presses D. Maurice to stay a while for the Emperor's Answer 568. Goes again to the Emperor to Villach ibid. Brings the Emperor's Answer back to Passaw 569. He there answers the French Ambassador in the Emperor's Name 570. Opens the Diet of Augsbourg 598. Publishes an Edict about Religion 602. Which is answered by the States of his Country ibid. He comes to Augsbourg 607. Opens the Diet with a Speech ibid. What effect it had upon the Diet 610. Banishes two hundred Protestant Ministers out of Bohemia ibid. Invites the Princes to the Augsbourg Diet 612. Mediates between Papists and Protestants at Augsbourg 624. Answers those Papers that were dispersed in the Diâ—t 625. His Answer to the Protestants Reply 626. Sollicites the Princes of Germany against the Turk 628. Answers the Address of the Austrian Nobility 630. Replies to the Austrians Answer 631. Is Sollicited by the Bavarians for Liberty of Conscience 633. He goes into Bohemia ibid. Fevre d'Estaples vide Faber Stapulensis Fisher Bishop of Rochester Beheaded for not acknowledging King Henry Supream Head of the Church 180. Made Cardinal in Prison ib. Flisted Peter burnt at Cologne for his Religion 121. Florentines aid the French against Charles 131. Send Ambassadors to him with Submissions 132. They yield to him after a years Siege ibid. Fox Edw. Bishop of Hereford his Speech to the Protestants at Smalcald 188. Desires a Private Conference 189. Which is allowed ib. France a Persecution of the Lutherans there 175. Francis King of France Competitor for the Empire 13. Is troubled that Charles V. is preferr'd 19. Makes a League with the Switzers 48. Takes Milan 76. Besieges Parma ibid. Is taken Prisoner there 79 Writes into France in Favour of Faber Stapulensis 98. Falls sick in Prison 102. Treats a Peace with Char. V. ibid. Leaves two Sons Hostages in Spain 103. But makes a League with the Pope and Venetians against the Emperor 105. VVrites to the Princes of the Empire 108. Publishes an Apology for engaging in VVar with Char. V. ibid. Sends Letters of Defiance to Char. V. 112. Makes a league with Henry VIII ibid. Challenges Char. V. to a Duel 112. Concludes a Peace with him at Cambray 121. The Articles of it ibid. His Letter to the Protestant Princes 149. Marries Catharine de Medicis to his Eldest Son Henry 168. He goes in Procession to St. Genevieve 178. He writes to the German Princes to take off Misunderstandings 179. Sends Bellay to Smalcald to the Protestants 182. His Opinion about the Points of Controversie in Germany 186. He offers to enter into a Leage with the Protestants 187.
Makes VVar upon Savoy 203. Defeats Charles's Armies in Provence and Picardy 208. VVrites to the Princes of Germany inveighing against the Emperor ibid. Marries his Eldest Daughter Magdalen to James V. of Scotland 209. Complains of the Emperor in the Parliament of Paris 210. His Answer to the Protestants Letter 230. Chides the D. of Wirtemberg by his Ambassador at Francfort 249. Gives private Assistance to the D. of Cleve to whom he proposes a Marriage with his Niece 266. He is displeased with the Emperor ibid. Sends an Ambassador to Haguenaw 267. Persecutes the Lutherans ibid. Commands Supplications for Peace to be made throughout his Kingdom 269. Sends Ambassadors to the Diet at Spire 289. Their Harangue there ibid. Prepares for a War against the Emperor 292. Purges himself of Pescara's Accusations 296. Appoints Prayers for success to his Army ibid. Declares War ibid. Sends Longueville and Van Rossem into Flanders ibid. Attaques Charles in five places ibid. With not much Success ibid. He demands aid of the Turk ibid. His Speech to the Rochellers 305. His Answer to the Emperor's Letter to the Pope 307. Takes Luxembourg 316. His men retire from Landrecy 317. He sends an Embassie to Spire 319. His Herald is ill receiv'd at Spire ibid. He beats the Emperor at Carignan 323. The Speech of his Ambassadors who should have gone to Spire 324. Concludes a Peace with the Emperor at Soissons 327. His Answer to the Switzers about the Waldenses 347. He makes a Peace with King Henry VIII 382. He refuses to assist the Protestants 403. He suffered the Protestants to be Persecuted and 14 Burnt 411. He dies 424. Was a great Patron of Learning and Learned himself ibid. Gave 100000 Crowns apiece to the Landgrave and the Saxon ere he died 425. Is Buried 429. Francis the Dauphin dies suspected of Poison 208. Francfort upon the Oder a City in the Electorate of Brandenbourg 2. Francfort upon the Mayn a City in Franconia 13. A Diet held there 247. Where things are accommodated with the Protestants 248. Reconciled to the Emperor and Fined 414. A Diet held there 604. Their Answer to the French King's Letter 605. Franciscan Friars at Orleans their Imposture about the Provost's Wife 170. A Franciscan Preaches a Bloody Sermon before the Emperor at Wormes 349. Franco Jerome the Popes Legate Sollicites the Switzers against the Protestants 390. Franconian Bishops commanded by the Emperor to submit to Marq. Albert 575. They appeal to the Imperial Chamber 577. Cannot conclude with him at Heidelberg 578. Are invaded by him ibid. Frederick K. of Denmark publishes a Declaration against Christian II. 62. Is called to the Danish Crown from the Dutchy of Holstein ibid. Frederick Prince Palatine goes Ambassador to Char. V. upon his Election 18. Desires the Emperor to go into Germany ibid. Represents him at the Diet at Nuremberg 63. Writes to the Senate at Strasbourg to desist from Innovations 76. Restrains the Solderis from Cruelty to the Boors at Wormes 81. Succeeds his Brother Lewis in the Electorate 321. Establishes the Protestant Religion in the Electorate 356. Goes to Spire with the Landgrave to meet the Emperor 368. Treats with Granvell 372. Demands to know the Reasons of the War against the Protestants 383. Endeavours a Reconciliation amongst all sides 384. Reconciled to the Emperor 413. Receives the Interim 461. Helps the Confederate Princes against his will 569. Frederick D. of Saxony Connives at Luther 2. Intercedes with Cajetan for him at Augsboug 7. Answers Cajetan's Letter 11. Sends Cajetan's Letter to Luther ibid. Reads none of Luther's Books nor bears his Sermons for some time 12. Gives his Vote for Charles K. of Spain to be Emperor 18. Refused it when offer'd ibid. Would take no Money of the K. of Spain's Ministers ibid. Falls sick 25. His Suit at the Court of Rome 33. His Answer to Ditlebius ibid. His Answer to Aleander and Caracciolus 39. Conveys Luther away privately 49. Writes to the Vniversity of Wittemberg to act calmly in taking away the Mass 50. Dies 84. Frederick of Brandenbourg made Arch-Bishop of Magdebourg 526. Frederick Son to John Frederick of Saxony Marries Duke Maurice's Widow the Landgrave's Daughter 616. His Wife dies 628. Fregoso and Rink Ambassadors from Francis to Solyman killed upon the Way 284. Frisius John Answers Popish Questions at Wurtzburg 603. Friars Great Men desire to be buried in Friars habits 251. G GEneva Popery abolished there 112. Disturbances there upon Calvin's Expulsion 616. Genovefe or Genevieve the Patroness Saint of Paris 178. Six Lutherans burnt on a Procession day to her Ibid. Genoa vide Doria. George Duke of Saxony writes to Henry the VIII against Luther 65. His discourse with Muncer 86. Returns a Spiteful answer to Luther's Letter 101. Disowns any Confederacy against the Reformed Religion 114. His Tricks against the Lutherans 167. He complains of Luther to the Elector of Saxony 168. Quarrels with John Frederick Elector of Saxony 206. Dies and leaves his Dutchy to his Brother Henry 249. George Duke of Mecklenbourg makes War against the Magdebourgers 500. Defeats them Ibid. Is taken Prisoner by them 505. Is killed with a great Shot after he had joined Duke Maurice 569. Germany a Plague in Germany 285. German Bishops write to the Pope about the Council of Trent 439. Gerson what he was 10. Ghendt a City in Flanders an Insurrection there 251. They are Punished for it 262. Gonzaga Frederick made first Duke of Mantua by Charles the V. 127. Gonzaga Ferdinand siezes upon Piacenza upon Petro Aloisio's death 439. Reduces it to the Emperors Obedience Ibid. Granvel outs Eldo from his Interest in Charles's Court 255. He sends Ambassadors to the Protestant convention at Smalcald 255. Goes to Wormes 270. His Speech at the Diet Ibid. Presents a Book to the Diet at Ratisbon of the heads of the Conference 276. His Speech at Norimberg in the Emperors Name 306. Answers the Landgrave's Letter about the War intended against the Protestants 357. Treats with the Landgrave and the Elector Palatine at Spirâ— 370 372. Treats with the Deputies of the Protestant Cities at Ratisbon 377. He urges the Strasburghers to receive the Interim 464. and insists upon it 465. Dies 499. Granvel Anth. Perenot Bishop of Arras succedes his Father in the Ministry 499. Grey Jane Married to Guilford Dudley 580. And proclaimed Queen of England pursuant to King Edward's will 588. Grignian Francis Amb. his Speech at Wormes 350. Gritti Lewis Councellor to Solyman 175. His Son Andrew made Bishop of Five-Churches Ibid. He is beheaded Ibid. Gropper John and Phlugius vindicate themselves from Eckius's Aspersion 282. Invites Bucer to Cologne 288. Falls off from the Bishop and Writes the Anti-Didagma as it was thought 311. Is very insolent in the Council of Trent 535. Guelderlanders rebel 232. Custavns King of Sweden alters Religion 391. Guteling's Balthasar Speech to his Soldiers 381. H HAguenaw a Diet there 267. The Acts of the Assembly there Ibid. The decree at Haguenaw 266. Heideck takes
several Towns for the Protestants 388. Routed by Duke Maurice 504. Taken into the service of Duke Maurice Assists the Magdeburghers 514. Henry the VII Emperor refuses to pay Allegiance to the Pope 38. Henry the VIII Writes against Luther 50. Is called defender of the Faith Ibid. Is Pensioner to Charles the V. 51. His Daughter Mary is Betrothed to Charles Ibid. Writes to the Princes of the House of Saxony against Luther 65. Receives a Golden Rose from the Pope 75. Writes a Scornful answer to Luther's Letter 101. Makes a League with France in the absence of King Francis 102. Makes a League with Francis against Charles 112. His answer to the Protestant Princes of Germany 150. Is dissatisfied about his Marriage with Catharine 169. Sues to be Divorced Ibid. They are Dilatory at Rome Ibid. He Marries Anne Boleyn 170. Is declared in Parliament head of the Church Ibid. Revokes Peter Pence Ibid. Sends Fox Bishop of Hereford Ambassador to the Protestants at Smalcald 188. His Ambassadors winter at Wittemberg 205. His Letter to the Protestants Ibid. He beheads Anne Boleyn 206. Quells a rising in England 209. His Reasons against the Council of Mantua 231. His Reasons against the Council at Vicenza 250. He enacts in Parliament several things about Religion 251. Marries Anne of Cleve Ibid. His Answer to the Elector of Saxony's Ambassador 255. Beheads romwel Earl of Essex 267. Is divorced from Anne of Cleve Ibid. Marries Catharine Howard Ibid. Burns Papists and Protestants for Religion 269. Beheads Catharine Howard for Adultery 289. Marries Catharine Parr Ibid. Makes a successful War in Scotland 324. He makes an Expedition into France 327. Takes Bologne Ibid. Makes a Treaty of Peace with France 355. Forewarns the Protestants in Germany of their danger 356. Dies 418. Henry of Zutphen suffers for Religion in Germany 75. Henry Duke of Saxony refuses to change his Religion to gain the Dutchy 249. But gains it by George's Death 250. Henry Dauphin of France has a Daughter 382. Henry the II. of France succeeds to Francis the I. 424. Is Crowned 435. The Ceremony of it Ibid. Persecutes the Lutherans severely in France 456. Enters Paris in State 484. Crowns his Queen Ibid. Persecutes the Lutherans Ibid. Makes a League with the Switzers Ibid. Regains several Places from England 485. Publishes another Edict against the Lutherans 492. Sends a Letter to the Pope about his assisting Octavio Farnese 514. He declares War against the Emperor with his reasons 517. Justifies himself from Leagues with the Turk 518. Sends the Abbot of Bellozane to Trent with a Letter to the Council Ibid. He Publishes an Edict against the Pope 521. And another against the Lutherans Ibid. Answers the Emperors Declaration 522. Hinders the Switzers from sending Ambassadors to the Council of Trent 528. He sends Ambassadors to Duke Maurice 529. Makes Peace with the Pope 548. He declares War against the Emperor 553. Calls himself Protector of the Liberties of Germany 554. He takes Toul Verdun Metz 555. Takes an Oath of Allegiance from the People of Metz Ibid. His Treaty with the Strasburghers 557. His answer to the Princes Ambassadors 558. The reasons of his leaving Germany 559. His answer to the Switzers Ibid. He Wastes Luxembourg 563. His Ambassadors Speech at the Treaty of Passaw 564. He Sollicites again by Letters from Aichstadt 567. He brings his Men from Luxembourg back into Artois 571. Is offended with the Pacification at Passaw 572. Writes to the Emperor 576. Sends a Declartion to the States of the Empire 577. Carries on the War in the Low Countries 603. But is beaten in Tuscany in the Sienese War 604. His Letter to the Diet at Francfort Ibid. Takes Casal 613. Carries on the War into Montferrat 617. Hereford vide Fox Herman vide Cologne Hesse vide Philip Landgrave Hildesheym a City in the Dutchy of Brunswick embraces the Protestant Religion 300. they are accused by their Bishop to the Emperor 313. Hogostratus James a Dominican writes against Luther 4. Commissioned by Maximilian to Examine Jewish Books 30. Writes against Reuchlin Ibid. Is cast by the Bishop of Spire Ibid. Appeals to Rome Ibid. Leaves his Cause Ibid. Examines two Augustine Friars at Brussels 63. Holland an Inundation there 137. Hooper John Bishop of Glocester burnt for his Religion 607. Huberine Caspar an Interimist Preaches at Augsbourg 535. Hugh Capet makes himself King of France 150. Huglie John a Protestant burnt for Religion by the Bishop of Constance 105. Hungarians beg for assistance at the Diet of Spire 324. Their Horse join Duke Maurice 409. Husse John Preaches Wiclef's Doctrine 46. Appeals from the Pope to Christ Ibid. Went to the Council of Constance with safe Conduct 47. There burnt Ibid. Hutton Ulricus a Noble Man of Franconia 65. Favours Luther and dies Ibid. I JAmes the V. of Scotland Marries King Francis's Daughter 209. His Queen dies 230. Makes a War with England unsuccessfully 304. Dies Ibid. Jerome Bishop of Brandenbourg 2. Jerome of Prague burnt at the Council of Constance 47. Jerome Bishop of Ascoli summons Luther by P. Leo's Order to appear at Rome 5. Jews compared with Roman Clergy 29. Illyricus Matthias Flaccius Writes against the Adiaphorists 498. Imperial Chamber Vide Protestants is set up again in the Diet at Augsbourg 466. The Judges fly from Spire for fear of the Confederate Princes 557. They answer Marquess Albert's Deputation about the Franconian Bishops 577. They decree in Favour of the Bishops 578. Indulgences Preacht up in Germany 1 2. Confirmed by Pope Clement's Decree in the Extravagants 9. Why granted 273. Indult vide P. Paul the III. P. Innocent the III. Decreed to the Electoral Princes a right of chusing the Emperor 21. His decree de Majoritate Obedientia 107. Inquisition its Original 434. Inquisitors about the Emperor's Edict of Religion in the Netherlands how they proceed 498. Interim drawn up at Augsbourg 454. The heads of it 458. Often Revised and Corrected 459. Sent to Rome ibid. The Electors differ in their Opinion about it ibid. Those who draw it up are rewarded 468. It is disliked on both sides Ibid. Confuted by the Saxon Divines 481. Joachim Elector of Brandenbourg sends an Embassie to the Elector of Saxony 242. Sends Agents to Eysenach 244. Made Geneali ssimo against the Turks 292. He Strikes in with the Papists in the War against the Smalcaldick League 375. Interposes for a Peace 418. With the Landgrave Ibid. Intereedes for Saxony 427. And his Life was spared at his Intercession 428. Intercedes for the Landgrave 429. Remonstrates to the Emperor for him at Hall 433. Calls Bucer to Augsbourg 454. Angry with him for not subscribing the Interim 457. Receives the Interim 461. Acts with Duke Maurice in the Magdeburgick War 505 506. He sends Ambassadors to the Conncil of Trent 526. His Ambassadors with those of D. Maurice Sollicite the Emperor about the Landgrave 531. John XXII P. vide Aquinas John King of Denmark overthrows the Swedes 62. Dying leaves his Son
days ibid. Marot Clement an account of him 310. Mary Q. of Hungary made Governess of the Netherlands 149. Goes to Augsbourg to Mediate for the mitigation of the Emperors Edict 501. Holds a Convention of the States of the Netherlands at Aix la Chapelle 560. She stops the Landgrave at Mastricht 573. Mary Q. of Scots Troubles in her Minority 316. Affianced to Prince Edward of England ibid. Is carried into France 477. Mary Daughter to Henry VIII Proclaims her self Queen of England upon K. Edward's death 589. Enters London ibid. Makes Gardiner Chancellor ibid. Beheads the D. of Northumberland ibid. She Establishes the Popish Religion again in England 591. Orders a publick Disputation at London 593. Dissolves K. Edward's Laws about Religion in Parliament 595. Marries Pr. Philip of Spain ibid. Breaks Wiat's Conspiracy 596. Beheads Jane Grey and the Duke of the Suffolk ibid. Banishes Foreign Protestants out of England 597. Publishes a Book of Articles about Religion ibid. Commits the Princess Ellizabeth to the Tower 598. Her Marriage with K. Philip is solemnized with great splendor 604. Calls a Parliament wherein England is again subjected to Rome 605 606. Dissolves that Parliament 607. Burns several for Religion ibid. She mediates a Peace between the Emperor and King of France 616. It was reported that she was with Child ibid. She encreases the Persecution in England ibid. Her Ambassadors return home from Rome 618. She calls a Parliament where she proposes the Restitution of the Church-Lands in vain 627. Martyr Peter comes into England and professes Divinity at Oxon 443. Disputes there about the Lord's Supper 483. Is in trouble upon Edward's Death 590. Applies himself to Cranmer ibid. Gets leave to be gone Ibid. Goes to Zurich 637. Matthews John a great Prophet among the Anabaptists commands a Community of Goods 194. Runs Truteling through with a Pike by Inspiration ibid. Is run through himself by a Soldier ibid. Maurice D. of Saxony Marries the Landgrave's Daughter 272. Quarrels with the Elector of Saxony 292. Is wounded in Hungary 304. Refuses to enter into the Protestant League after his Father's death ibid. Makes Laws for the Government of the Country 311. Endeavours an accommodation between the D. of Brunswick and the Landgrave 353. Perswades the D. of Brunswick to surrender 354. Purges himself of Treachery ibid. Holds a Secret Conference with the Emperor at Ratisbon 380. Has a Conference with K. Ferdinand 391. Calls a Convention of the States at Chemnitz 405. Consults against the Protestants ibid. His Friends write to the Protestants 406. He writes to the Landgrave ibid. Writes to the Elector 409. And to his Son ibid. Takes most of the Electors Towns ibid. Is ill spoken of and Lampoon'd by the Protestants 410. Publishes a Manifesto to clear himself ibid. Joins Ferdinand to go towards Bohemia 423. Intercedes for the Landgrave 429. Writes to the Landgrave to comply 430. Receives Wittemberg with the rest of the Electorate from the Emperor 431. Exacts an Oath of Allegiance of John Frederick's Subjects ibid. Promises the Landgrave to interceed with the Emperor at Hall 433. And Remonstrates about it ibid. Receives the Wittemberg Divines Graciously 435. He is invested in the Electorate Solemnly at Augsbourg 457. Calls a Convention at Meissen who draw up a Form of Religion for Saxony 478. Intercedes with Prince Philip for the Landgrave ibid. Writes to the States to clear himself from the imputation of Popery 484. His Deputies at Augsbourg protest against the Council of Trent 499. He engages in the Expedition against the Magdebourghers 502. He is made Generalissimo of that War 503. He attacks the Magdebourghers 504. Defeats Heideck and Mansfeldt ibid. He promises the Landgrave Aid secretly 505. Routed in a Sally by the Magdebourghers ibid. Proposes Conditions of Peace to the Town 515. Commands his Divines to draw up a Confession of their Faith ibid. Demands a safe Conduct for his Divines to go to the Council of Trent 516. Sends the Proposals to the Magdebourghers by Heideck 521. He holds a Convention about the business of Magdebourg 525. He takes an Oath of Fidelity from the men of atzenelbogen 526. He concludes a Peace with the City of Magdebourg 528. Complains of the Preachers ibid. Hatches a War against the Emperor 529. Sends Ambassadors to the Emperor about the Landgrave 531. He holds a Conference with Prince William the Landgrave's Son 534. His Ambassadors come to Trent and declare their Instructions 537. They join with the Agents of Wirtemberg and Strasburg to sollicite for the hearing of the Protestants in the Council ibid. The Saxon Divines are upon their way to come to the Council 541. The Ambassadors complain against Perlargus ibid. Maurice sends Letters to his Ambassadors 542. They leave Trent secretly ibid. His care for the release of the Landgrave 549. He declares War against the Emperor 550. Takes the Field and joins with Marq. Albert 555. He goes with the other Princes and besieges Ulm 556. Treats with Ferdinand of Conditions of Peace ibid. Writes to the French King 558. His Army Skirmishes with the Imperialists 559. A Mutiny in his Camp for want of Pay ibid. His Soldiers make the Emperor fly from Inspruck 560. Which is Plundered ibid. They Publish a Declaration ibid. He restores the Outed Ministers ibid. His Grievances at the Treaty of Passaw 563. His Proposals at the Treaty 566. He is impatient of delay and hastens Ferdinand 568. He returns to the Confederates 569. Besieges Francfort ibid. At last he accepts a Peace 571. Sends his Forces into Hungary 573. Sends Commissioners to treat with John Frederick's Commissioners to no purpose 577. Went to Heidelberg to mediate between Albert and the Bishops 578. Makes a League with the D. of Brunswick ibid. Declares War against Marq. Albert 581. He overcomes Albert and is killed in the Fight 586. His Death foretold by Prodigies ibid. Maximilian Emperor holds a Diet at Augsbourg 4. Writes in August 1518. to Pope Leo to correct Luther and to put an end to his growing Heresies 5. Dies Jan. 12. 1519. 13. Sends Ambassadors to the Council of Pisa 26. Goes off to Pope Julius 27. Sends Langus to the Lateran Council ibid. Commissions Hogostrate and Reuchlin to examine Jewish Books 30. Wars with the Switzers 469. Maximilian Son to Ferdinand comes into Germany out of Spain 505. Is well beloved ibid. He returns home from Spain 529. Is honourably received at Trent 535. Goes to Brussels 637. Mecklenbourg vide George D. of Mecklenbourg Mechlin almost consumed by Lightning 392. Medices the rise of that Family to Greatness 169. Meinier President of the Parliament of Aix persecutes the Waldenses 345. Vses the Inhabitants of Merindol and Cabriers barbarously 345 346. Meissen John Bishop of Meissen Opposes Luther about Communion in both kinds 25. Melancthon Philip comes to Wittemberg 21. Goes to Leipzick ib. Answers the Parisian Censure of Luther's Books 47. Comes to the Diet at Augsbourg 127. One of the Protestant Deputies there to mediate an
Accommodation 132. Very much disconsolate 140. Comforted by Luther ibid. Comes to Cologne 310. Defends Bucer 311. His Opinion about Indifferent Things 481. He draws up a Confession of Faith for the Saxon Divines 515. Congratulates John Frederick's safe Return home 574. Sends Letters of Comfort to the Banished Bohemian Preachers 613. Mendoza sent by the Emperor to the Council of Trent 360. Ambassador to Strasbourg 419. His Speech to the Pope about the Council from the Emperor 443. Sends the Pope's Answer to the Emperor 445. Mentz the Seat of the Elector four German miles from Francfort 13. Elector of Mentz vide Albert. The Elector approves the Interim craftily in the Diet 460. Sends the Pope's Indult into the Landgraviate 483. Denies to Register Maurice's Protestation against a Council 499. He leaves Trent 543. He flies from Albert of Brandenbourg 567. He dies 614. Mersburgh Bishops Answer to Luther 33. Milan the Council removed thither from Pisa 27. Miltitz Charles Bedchamber man to Pope Leo vide Wittemberg Miltitz sent by Leo to Frederick against Luther 12. Treats with Luther 23. And the Augustine Friars concerning him ibid. Minden proscribed by the Imperial Chamber 245. Mirandula Joannes Picus his Books Censured 28. Monte Cardinal de the Pope's Legate at Bononia His Answer to the Pope's Letter 444. His Insolent Vsage of Vargas the Emperor's Ambassador at Bononia 446 447. made Pope and called Julius III. 492. Montmorency Anne made Constable of France 239. Is in disgrace 277. Gains Favour with Henry II. King of France Takes Metz for the French King 555. His Treaty with the Deputies of Strasbourg 557. More Sir Thomas Chancellor of England 180. Beheaded for not denying the Pope's Supremacy Ibid. Morin John under-Provost of Paris prosecutes the Protestants severely 175. Morone John Legate to P. Paul III. at Spire 291. Muleasses K. of Tunis outed of his Country comes to Augsbourg 457. Muncer Thomas begins to Preach in Franconia 52. An account of his Enthusiasm 83. Settles at Mulhansen 84. Turns out by the Rabbles help all the Magistrates ibid. Joyns with the Boors of Swabia and Franconia Ibid. Is routed by Count Mansfield Ibid. Retires with his Gang to Franck-hausen Ibid. His Speech to the Rabble 85. His men frighted 86. Routed by the Princes Army Ibid. 5000. of them taken Ibid. Muncer taken at Franck-hausen Ibid. Racked to confess his accomplices Ibid. Beheaded Ibid. Munster a City in Westphalia possessed by the Anabaptists 174. The Senate Estabilsh the Reformed Religion there 191. They make a treaty with the Bishop 192. Banish the Anabaptists Ibid. They are Tumultuous there 193. It is besieged by its Bishop Ibid. Who is assisted by the Neighbouring Princes 194. A great Famine in the City 198. The Princes threaten to send the Force of the Empire upon them 197. Murner Thomas a Franciscan Friar complains to Campegio against the Senate of Strasbourg 73. Musculus Wolfgangus flies from Augsbourg to Bern for not subscribing the Interim 461. N. NAples a sedition there because of the Inquisition 434. Nassaw Count of desires the Elector of Saxony to come to the Diet at Spire 152. Henry of Nassaw Charles V's General in Picardy 208. Unsuccessful there Ibid. William Son to Count Nassaw succeeds the Prince of Orange 327. Naves discourses with Count Solmes about the War designed against the Protestants 357. Speaks to the Landgrave at Spire in the Emperors name 368. Dies 419. Naumbourg the Chapter choose Phlugius for their Bishop 288. Netherlands Reformation gets footing there 341. Northumberland John D. of Marries his Son Guilford Dudley to the Lady Jane Gray 580. Is siezed on at Cambridge 589. And beheaded by Q. Mary Ibid. Nuremberg a Diet convened thither 51. Their Ministers accused to the Popes Legate 62. The Acts of the Diet Published 63. The treaty of Pacification removed hither from Schurnfurt 160. A Peace is there concluded Ibid. A Holy League there drawn up amongst the Popish Princes 245. Another Diet there 298. The decree of that Diet 299. The Netherlands Ambassadors accuse theâ—â— of Cleve in the Diet 306. The Decree of the Diet 307. Their quarrels with Albert of Brandenbourg 561. Vide Albert their Answer to Albert's Remonstrance 599. O OBersteyn Ulrick Count made General of the Army against the Munster mad Men 197. His Soldiers are tumultuous for want of Pay 200. He carries the Town at last 201. Ockham William Condemned by the University of Paris 28. What his Doctrine 29. Oecolampadius John Preaches at Basil 76. He embraces the Doctrine of Zuinglius 97. Disputes at Bern 111. Meets Luther at Marpurg 121. Dies 156. Orleans vide Franciscan Friars D. of Orleans dies 352. Osiander comes to Marpurg to the Conference betwixt Luther and Zuinglius 121. Sets up a new Sect about Justification in Prussia 511. Rails against Melancthon and the Saxon Divines 512. Dies at Coningsberg 575. His Sect in Prussia promise to submit to the Augustane Confession 632. Otho Prince Palatine Embraces the Protestant Religion 300. Recovers his Country and Joyns with the Confederate Princes 556. Oxford a dispute there concerning the Lord's Supper 483. Oxline John a Minister carried by force from his House by the Governour of Turegie 76. This Occasions the Canton of Zurich to remonstrate 77. P. PAlatine George vide Spires Palatine Prince vide Lewis vide Otho Palaeologus John Emperor of Constantinople comes to the Council of Ferrara 10. Pall the excessive charge of it 273. The Ceremony of its consecration 274. Passaw a Treaty there 563. The Princes Mediators there answer Maurice's Grievances 564. And they answer the French Ambassadors Speech 565. They exhort the Emperor to a Peace by Letters 566. They answer the Emperors Letters 568. The heads of the Pacification 572. Paris Doctors of that University appealed against P. Leo for Abrogating the Pragmatick Sanction 10. Censure the Books of Reuchlin 30. And condemn Luther's Books 47. An Account of the Faculty of Divinity at Paris 48. A Young Gentleman of Thoulouse burnt there for Religion 239. They are severe upon the Lutherans 296. The manner of Proceedings upon him 297. Their Divines at Melun draw up Articles against the Reformation 342. The Parliament answers the K. of France's Edict 619. Paul III. Farnese chosen Pope 174. Instructs Vergerius how to stave off a Council 175. Issues out Bulls to call a Council 206. And others to reform the Vices of Rome 209. Prorogues the Council called at Mantua 230. Is Sollicitous to reconcile the Emperor and the King of France 232. Appoints a Committe of Cardinals to Examine the Corruptions of the Church of Rome 233. Nominates Vicenza for the Session of the Council 238. Returns to Rome 241. Prorogues the Council without Limitation 250. Sends his Legate to the Emperor 264. Makes War upon Perugia 266. The Speech of his Legate at the Diet of Spire 291. Allows a Council to be held at Trent 292. Sends Cardinals to mediate between the French K. and the Emperor 303. Commends the Chapter of Cologne in a Letter to
Council of the Empire 76. The Senates Answer 79. Their Ministers draw up an Apology ibid. Quarrels there about the Mass 115. They stience the Popish Ministers ibid. The Bishop complains to the Diet at Spire 116. Mass abolished there ibid. Their Deputies protest upon their being denied to sit in the Diet 118. Their Divines answer Erasmus 122. Makes a League with the Evangelick Cantons of Switzerland 126. Which is resented by the Council of the Empire ibid. They with some other Consederate Cities exhibit a Confession at Augsbourg to the Emperor 130. They debate the matter further against the Emperor 138. They are oppugned by Popish Divines ibid. They set up a School 241. Their Letter to the Emperor to disswade him from the War 378. They make their Peace and are fined 423. They refuse the Interim 464. And stand to it to Granvell 465. They send their Judgment of the Interim to the Emperor in a Letter 471. In a Consultation they resolve to accept of the Interim 472. They send Deputies with another Letter to the Emperor 473. Their Bishop writes to them about yielding ib. They are commanded to agree with their Bishop 474. They write to the Emperor of the Bishops unreasonable demands 478. The Bishop says Mass again 479. Quarrels between him and the Senate about the publick Professors 480. The Senate and the Bishop agree 485. Mass first said in the Cathedral 491. Derided by the People ibid. Whence the Priests fly ibid. The Bishop complains to the Emperor 496. But the Breach is made up ibid. The Bishop complains against the Preachers 513. The Senate sends Sleidan their Deputy to the Council of Trent 529. vid. Sleidan They answer the Demands of Marq. Albert 571. Stroza Peter a Florentine gulls the Protestants with Promises of Money 404. Stupitz John General of the Augustine Friars 2. Stura Steno vide Christiern Sturmius James dies 594. Sweden vide Gustavus Switzers oppose the Election of Francis I. to the Empire 14. An account of their Commonwealth 48. Had a Custom that Priests should publickly keep Concubines 51. They complain against Zuinglius in a Convention of Estates 66. They assemble at Lucern and make Edicts against the New Religion 67. They Remonstrate against those of Zurick 69. They join with Zuinglius in the Doctrine of the Eucharist 97. They meet 12 Cantons to Dispute at Baden 105. The Popish Cantons make a League with Ferdinand 118. Seeds of Civil Wars arise amongst themselves 120. Which are taken up ibid. They make a League for six years with the Landgrave of Helse 141. Do not refuse to join in the League of Smalcald if Comprehension be allow'd them 148. Not admitted into the League 151. The Popish Cantons League against the Zurichers 155. They overcome the Zurichers 156. They overcome them again ibid. They conclude a Peace ibid. The Protestant Cantons interceed with the French King to remit his Severities towards the Protestants 210. They answer the Letter which was sent to them by the States of the Empire 323. Interceed to the French King for the Waldenses 347. They give an answer to the Protestants Embassy 392. They answer the Emperors Letter 398. The Protestant Cantons differ in their Answer about the War from the Popish ones 399. Their Answer to the Protestants demands 404. Two Protestant Cantons refuse a League with Henry II. King of France 484. Sylvius Aeneas vide P. Pius T. TEcelius John Tetzel a Dominican writes against Luther's ninety five Theses 2. Teutonick order its institution 99. They subdue Prussia ibid. Thomas of Becket Arch-Bishop of Canterbury 241. Killed by some of King Henry II's Court ibid. His rich Shrine ibid. Canonized 242. Toledo Don Francisco de Ambassador from the Emperor at the Council of Trent 374. Treats vigorously with the Protestant Ambassadors there 539. Transylvania Vaivod claims the Kingdom of Hungary against Ferdinand 112. Writes about it to the Princes of the Empire ibid. Invites Solyman into Germany 121. Is made King of Hungary by Solyman ibid. Dies 269. His Son is delivered up to Solyman 285. Made Vaivod of Transylvania ibid. Transylvania revolts from Ferdinand 633. Tregerus Conradus disputes with the Preachers of the Reformed Religion at Bern 111. Trent nominated by the Pope to hold a Council 292. Allowed by the Catholick Princes of Germany ibid. Protested against by the Protestants ibid. The Council called 296. It is opened 361. The first Session ibid. The decrees of it 362. The second Session ibid. The third Session 373. The fourth Session with its decrees 377. The French Ambassadors Speech in the Council ibid. It is put off 391. What number of Bishops were there ibid. Decrees made there about Justification 416. The seventh Session 422. The Council is divided and some go to Bononia 425. The Emperors Deputies commanded not to stir thence ibid. The Councilis divided 439. Cardinal of Trent speaks to the Pope about removing the Council 443. The Council meets once more at Trent 513. Sits formally 518. Receives the French King's Letter ibid. The Ceremony of their Sessions 520. The way of making Articles and Canons 521. They decree the business of the Lords Supper 525. They leave some things to be disputed when the Protestants should come to the Council 526. The form of their safe conduct ibid. They answer the French Kings Letter 527. They make decrees about Pennance and Extream Vnction 530. Long debates about a Safe Conduct at Trent 539. They are wonderfully divided 546. Fly from Trent in haste 547. And they prorogue the Council for two Years 548. Treves vide Triers Triers Elector makes a Speech for Francis I. 16. Perswades Luther to yield 46. Very courteously ibid. Richard the Elector makes War with Francis Sicking 56. Not for Religion ibid. Kills several Boors at Wormes 81. After they had thrown down their Arms ibid. Dies 149. The Elector of Triers leaves the Council of Trent 542. Truchses George Head of the Schwabian League 80. Routs the Boors in Schwaben ibid. And at Winsberg 81. Burns the Town ibid. Routs others in Franconia ibid. Makes a Speech to the Protestant Princes in the Emperors Name 134. Turegie vide Oxline Turks vide Solyman their Original 295. They invade Hungary 314. They take Tripoly 518. Their Fleet takes Corsica 591. Their Fleet scours the Coasts of Italy 617. V. VAiod vide Transylvania Valla Laurentius his book censured 28. Vargas Francisco de and Martino Velasco the Emperors Ambassadors protest against the Council at Bononia 446. Venetians make a League with the Emperor against Francis 204. They conclude a Peace with the Turk 252. They publish a Proclamation about Religion against the reformed 468. Venize Gabriel Provincial of the Augustans in Germany vide Leo. Vergerius Peter Paul the Popes Legate at Augsbourg 127. Had orders to manage the business of a Council cautiously 166. Is recalled into Italy by P. Paul III. 147. And sent back with the old Instructions 175. Consults with the Duke of Saxony at Prague 180. Sent to Naples to
the Emperor 204. Appointed of the Committee to draw up a Bull for the calling of a Council ibid. His Speech at Wormes 272. Talks with Spira at Padua 475. Turns Protestant 476. Perswades his Diocess of Justinople to joyn with him ibid. Being Persecuted settles in the Valteline 477. And thence removes to Tubing ibid. Writes a Book to disswad the Switzers from sending to the Council of Trent 528. Vey a Lawyer of Baden speaks to Luther from the Commissioners at Wormes 45. Exhorts him to submit his Books to the Emperor and Princes 46. Vienna vide Solyman Visconti Dukes of Milan their Pedigree 203. Ulm receives the Protestant Religion and a Church is constituted there 149. Is reconciled to the Emperor and fined 413. A Diet called thither 428. What was done at it 431. Adjourned to Augsbourg 432. The Government changed by the Emperor 472. Their Divines refuse with great Courage to acknowledge the Doctrine of the Interim ibid. Their Ministers are released 479. Their answer to Albert's Proposals 563. Ulric Duke of Wirtemberg claims his Country 79. Is repulsed by the Schwabian Confederates 80. Is restored into it by the Landgrave of Hesse 173. Engages to be Feudatary to Ferdinand ibid. And recovers his Country entirely 174. He acknowledges himself Feudatary to Ferdinand 180. Is admitted into the Protestant League 206. Excuses himself by Letter to King Francis 249. He with Vpper Germany first takes Arms 380. Writes Supplicatory Letters to the Emperor 413. Is received upon hard Conditions 415. He makes his Submission to the Emperor in Person at Ulm 421. Receives the Interim 462. Dies 502. Vogelsberg Sebastian raises Men in Germany for Henry King of France 434. Is beheaded at Augsbourg for it 456. W. WAradin George Martinhausen Bishop of made a Cardinal 528. Is killed for Commotions in Transylvania 535. Waldenses Persecuted 345. Barbarously Massacred at Merindol 346. Their Opinions 347. Wenceslaus Emperor intercedes for Husse 46. Wiat Sir Thomas rises in Kent upon Queen Mary's Marrying King Philip 594. Is suppressed 596. Executed 598. Wiclef John Preached against the Pope in England 46. His Bones ordered to be Burnt by the Council of Constance 47. William vide Bavaria Winchester Stephen Gardiner Bishop of he writes a Reproachful Book against Bucer 340. Is Imprisoned for Obstinacy 511. Made Lord Chancellor by Queen Mary 589. An account of his Proceedings in the Divorce of Henry VIII ibid. He dies of a Dropsie 627. Wirtemberg vide Ulric and Christopher Wittemberg a City of Saxony upon the Elbe and an Vniversity 2. Connives at Luther ibid. They write to Pope Leo in his behalf 6. And to Miltitz that he might be tried in Germany ibid. And to Frederick in excuse of Luther's proceedings against Cajetan 12. The Vniversity abett the Augustines in not saying Mass 49. Their Reply to Frederick about that Matter 50. Wolfgang made Grand Master of Prussia 324. His Plea at the Diet of Augsbourg about the Teutonic Order 447. Is driven out of his Country 571. Wolfgang D. of Deux-Ponts absolutely refuses the Interim 480. Yet promises to obey the Emperor as far as he could 481. Wolsey dies for Discontent 170. Wormes a Diet called thither 38. It is opened 41. Luther Proscribed by an Edict there 48. A Diet called to punish the Anabaptists 200. Another Diet called there 201. A Convention cited thither 268. The Heads of the Conference at Wormes 271. A Diet there 343. Z. ZIsca John raises a War in Bohemia against Sigismund in revenge of Husse's death 47. Zuinglius Ulricus comes to Zurick 22. Opposes Friar Samson about Indulgences ibid. Disswades the Switzers from serving abroad in the Wars 48. Defends himself against the Bishop of Constance 51. Writes to the Switzers to allow Marriage among their Priests ibid. Disputes with John Faber in the Assembly at Zurick 57. Acquits himself of the Accusation of the States 66. Preaches up the abrogation of Images ibid. Differs with Luther about the Sacrament 97. Would not go to the Conference at Baden 105. Disputes at Bern 111. Disputes with Luther at Marpurg 121. Is killed 156. Zurick vide Zuinglius They refuse to serve abroad at Zuinglius's desire 48. They est ablish the Reformation 57. They Answer the Remonstrance of the other Cantons 70. And the Bishop of Constance's Book abort Images 72. They remove Images 76. They Expostulate with the other Cantens about the seizing of their Ministers 77. The Mass abolished there 82. They stop Provisions from the other Cantons 155. They are routed in Battle 156. And so a second time ibid. And at last conclude a Peace ibid. The Ministers of Zurick answer Gardiner's Book 340. A TABLE TO THE CONTINUATION A. ALbert Marquess of Brandenburg dies 13. Alva's War on the Pope 9. He goes to Rome 11. The Emperor's Ambassadors to the Electoral Princes to carry his Resignation 6. Dr. Woton English Ambassador in France 14. Between France and King Philip at Peronne 19. At Cambray 22. In France 27. To the Diet of Germany 28. The Popes Ambassadors to the Christian Princes and to the Council 49 62. Admitted by the Princes of Germany of the Augustane confession 63. Refused by Queen Elizabeth 64. His Legates to Trent French Ambassadors to the Council of Trent 87. The Ambassador of Spain received 91. Lansac Ambassador for France at Rome 94. The French Ambassadors protest against the Council 95. And go to Venice 96. Andelot Marshal of France loseth the favour of his Prince 19. Suspected to be in the conspiracy of Bloys 43. Sent for Succours into Germany 78. Is in the battle of Dreux 80. Defends Orleans 82. The Archbishop of Toledo suspected of Heresie 48. An Assembly of the great Men of France at Fountainbleau 44. Of the three Estates decreed 46. Opened at Orleans 51. Prorogued 52. Reassembled at Pont Oyse 58. An Assembly of the Delegates of France 68. B BAbotz a Town in Hungary besieged 5. The battle of St. Quintin 15. Of Graveling 20. Of Dreux 80. The Bavarians demand the Cup and the Marriage of their Clergy in a Tumult 97. Bellay Jean Cardinal Dies 50. The Bible sufficient alone to determine the controversies of Religion 60. Books prohibited and why 86. Bona Sfortia Queen of Poland dies Du Bourg Anna a member of the Parliament of Paris offends the King 31. Is Prosecuted 32. Condemned and Executed 34. C CAlais its Form and Strength 17. Siege and taking from the English 18. Profered to the Queen 41. Catharine de Medicis Queen Dowager of France made Regent 33. She preserves Conde and Navar 47. She shews great favour to the Protestants but yet underhand opposed them 56. Suspecteâ—h the Nobility 57. Excuseth the conference of Poissy 60. Dissembles the Rudeness of Laines 61. Solicited to begin a Persecution by the Spaniards 65. She prohibits the worship of Images 69. She puts her self and her Son under the Protection of the Prince of Conde 72. Yet out of fear joyns with the Catholick Lords 72. And betrays Conde 73. She pretends she is at
with those of Zurich about Religion The Answer of the Senate of Zurich The Bishop of Constance's Book to those of Zurich Their Answer to it Images abolished at Zurich The Recess or Decree of the Dyet of Norimberg The Bishop Strasburg's Complaint to Cardinal Campegius The Senate's Justification Campegius's Plea with the Deputies of Strasburg The Resolution of some Catholicks at Ratisbone The Regulations for Reformation of the Clergy Luther's Admonition to the Princes of Germany The Pope sends a Golden Rose to the King of England Erasmus his Book of Free-will Henry of Zutphen suffers The Duke of Bourbonne Besieges Marseilles An Insurrection of the Boors Complaints of the Popish Clergy against the Senate of Strasburg 1525. Oecolampadius preaches at Basil A Tumult at Zurich The Zurichers expostulate with the rest of the Cantons The Senate of Strasburg gives an Answer to the Council of the Empire The Apology of the Ministers of Strasburg The French King made Prisoner Vlrick Duke of Wertemberg in vain attempts to recover his Country The Boors take the Field The Boors worsted The Boors Army in Algow dispersed The Cruelty of some Boors at Winsperg An Insurrection of the Boors also in Lorrain And 18000 of them are slain Another Slaughter of the Boors at Wormes Geismeier the General of the Boors assassinated A Sedition in Cologn The number of those that were killed The Princes and Cities ingaged in the Schwabian League Mass abolished at Zurich Muncer a great Sectarian Muncer preaching at Mulhausen got new Magistrates created and the Monks ejected whose Monasteries he and others took possession of Phifer Muncer's Companion and his enthusiastick Pretences Frederick Elector of Saxony dies The Princes Forces against the Boors Muncer's seditious Speech A Consternation in Muncer's Camp. The Speech of the Langrave of Hesse to his Soldiers The Princes Army overcome the Muncerianâ— Muncer taken His Discourse to the Princes His unseasonable laughing upon the Rack Luther advises to have a care of Muncer He published a Book dehorting the Boors from Sedition The Boors Demands Luther's Answer to the Grievances of the Boors Luther's Monitory to the Princes and Nobility Luther's common Epistle to the Nobles and Boors Luther sends an Allarm against the Boors The Emperour's Letters for calling the Dyet of Auâ—burg Carolostadius his Exposition of This is my Body Luther marries a Nun. Zuinglius differs from Luther about the Lord's Supper Pope Clement's Letters to the Parliament of Paris The Sorbonists persecute James Fevre The French King writes in his behalf A Change in Prusia The Original of the Teutonick Order The Master of Prusia deserts the Empire Is made Duke and imbraces the Reformed Religion Luther writes to the King of England Luther writes also to George Duke of Saxony The King of England's sharp Answer to Luther A League betwixt France and England Luther's Complaint of the King of England The French King sick in Prison 1526. The Treaty of Peace at Madrid betwixt the Emperor and French King. The French King leaving his two Sons Hostages is set at liberty The Dyet of Spire The Emperour's Letter to the States of the Empire about observing the Decree of Wormes The Turks invade Hungary The Judgment of some Cities in the Dyet of Worraes A Complaint of some Cities of Germany against Mendicant Fryers Against the Immunities of the Clergy Against Holydays A Dissention among the States at Spire about Religion The decree of Spire concerning Religion The beginning of a League among those of the reformed Religion Lewis King of Hungary slain The Marriage of Charles V. A Disputation at Baden The Points disputed The Issue of the Disputation John Huglie a Priest burnt for Religion The League of the Pope French and Veretians against the Emperour The Pope's expostulatory Letter to the Emperor The Emperour's Answer to the Pope The Emperour's Letter to the Colledge of Cardinals The French King's Letters to the Princes of Germany The Emperour's Letter to the Princes of Germany The Princes Letter to the Emperour The Demands of the Pope Venetians and French who were Confederates 1527. The Emperour's Answer unto them The Elector John Frederick marries the Daughter of the Duke of Cleve Rome taken and plundered by the Duke of Bourbonne The 〈◊〉 of the Diet of Ratisbonne The sect of the Anabaptists The French King renews a War in Italy Alexandria and Pavia taken by the French. Leonard Cesar Burnt for Religion Ferdinand made King of Bohemia A Dispute at Berne 1528. Popery abolished in the Canton of Berne Ambrose Blancer at Constance There Mass Images and Ceremonies are abolished As also at Geneva The Kings of England and France send Ambassadours to the Emperour The French King challenges the Emperour to a Duel A War betwixt Ferdinand and the Vaivode The Vaivod's Complaint to the Princes of Germany King Ferdinand's Title to Hungary The Elector of Saxony and Landgrave prepare for War. The Emperour's Answer to the French King's Challenge A Dyet appointed at Spire Naples besieged by the French. A Contention at Strasburg about the Mass The Popish Preachers silenced by the Senate there 1529. Mass by common Consent abolished at Strasburg A Dissention about Religion at Basil Mass abolished at Basil And Images burnt The Dyet of Spire Five Cantons of Switzerland make a League with King Ferdinand The Deputy of Strasburg not admitted to sit in the Council of the Empire The Decree of the Dyet of Spire The Protestation of the Princes against the Decree of Spire Some Cities joyn in this Protestation The Original of the Name of Protestants The Protestants appeal to the Emperour A Civil War among the Switzers Peace betwixt the Emperour and French concluded at Cambray Solyman besieges Vienna But is forced to raise the Siege The Vaivode made King at Buda A New Disease in Germany Two Learned Men burnt at Cologne for Religion A Conference at Marpurg betwixt Luther and Zuinglius Erasmus writes a Book against the Reformers Which is answered Sforza recovers the Dutchy of Milan The Protestant Ambassadours with the Emperour The Ambassadors appeal from the Emperour's Answer and are confined to their Lodgings Caden presents a Book about Religion to the Emperour in name of the Landgrave For which being stopt and in danger he makes his escape and returns home The Assembly of the Protestants at Smalcalde The League betwixt the City of Strasburg and the Switzers 1530. The French King's Sons return to France with his Queen The Emperour makes his entry into Ausburg The Emperour's Speech in the Dyet of Ausburg Campegius's Speech to the Princes The Protestants Confession of Faith presented at Ausburg The Popish Divines confute the Augustane Confession The Duke of Saxony's general Answer to the Confutation of the Popish Divines The Landgrave departed from the Dyet The Florentine War. Commissioners for reconciling Religion The Pope gives King Ferdinand leave to make use of the Ornaments and Goods of the Church The Emperour's Speech to the Protestants The Protestants Answer Truchses his Speech
to the Protestants in the Name of the Emperour Their Answer Commissioners chosen for framing a Decree The Tenor of that Decree What the Protestants find fault with in the Decree The Protestants depart from the Dyet A great Inundation at Rome The like in Holland The Draught of the Decree read to the Deputies of the Cities but a Copy of it denied to them Some Cities urge a Council Faber and Eckius well rewarded which occasioned a merry Saying of Erasmus The Agreement of the King of Poland and Marquess Albert of Brandenburg made null The Decree of Ausburg Luther's Book to the Bishops and Prelates Luther comforts dejected Melanchthon Bucer Essaies a Reconciliation betwixt Luther and Zuinglius c. The Landgrave makes a League with Zurich Basil and Strasburg upon account of Religion The Elector of Saxony cited by the Archbishop of Mentz for chusing a King of the Romans The Smalcaldick League among the Protestants The Pope's Complaint to the King of Poland The Protestants Letter to the Emperour about the Election of a King of the Romans The Reasons of creating a King of the Romans 1531. Ferdinand declared King of the Romans The Protestants Letters to the Kings of England and France The Protestants Confession at Anspurg The Protestants Appeal to a free Council Calumny against the Protestants A Convention of the Protestants at Smalcalde News of the Turks Incursions The death of the Archbishop of Trierâ— The Queen of Hungary is made Governess of the Netherlands The Emperor is made Umpire between the Pope and the Duke of Ferrara The King of France his Answer to the Protestants How the French and Germans come to be akin How Charles the Great was saluted Emperor Lewis the Fifth the last of Charle's Race Hugh Capet Invades the Kingdom The King of England's Answer to the Protestants The Opinions of the Cities concerning a King of the Romans The reason why the Switzers are not admitted into the League The Controversie between the Bishop of Bamburg and the Duke of Brandenburg The Elector of Brandenburg's Appeal to a Council A Diet appointed at Spiers Arbitrators for a Peace apply themselves to the Duke of Saxony Upon what Conditions the Duke of Saxony will come to the next Diet. The Elector of Mentz and the Prince Palatine send Embassadors to the Protestants The Duke of Saxony and the Lantgrave's Letters to the Arbitrators The Diet appointed to be held at Ratisbon A quarrel among the Switzers Articles of Peace propounded The five Cantons are hindred from Provisions The War breaks out between them Those of Zurich are vanquish'd Zuinglius is slain Those of Zurich again defeated OEcolampadius dies 1532. Conditions of a Pacification laid down by the Arbitrators Or the Law of Charles the Fourth The condition of creating a King of the Romans The form of the Oath which is taken by the Electors according to the Caroline Law. The Princes of Bavaria oppose the Election of King Ferdinand The Arbitrators Answer to the Protestants The Prince of Saxony's Answer to the Arbitrators The Tricks of the Popish Party The Agreement between the Zuinglians and the Lutherans The Protestants lay down their conditions of a Pacification The Emperor upon necessity confirms a Peace to all Germany The number of the Protestants Delegates appointed to reform the Imperial Chamber The King of Denmark taken Prisoner Albert Duke of Prussia proscrib'd An Irruption of the Turks into Austria The Turkish Horse destroy'd The Emperor goes for Italy 1533. The Popes Embassador's Oration to the Duke of Saxony The Emperor 's Embassador's Speech to the Duke The Duke's answer to the Embassador A full and large Answer of the Protestants to the Pope and the Emperor George Duke of Saxony makes Search after the Lutherans Luther publishes a Book to justifie himself An account of the Family of the Medices Clement creates four French Men Cardinals The Lantgrave endeavours the Restitution of Ulrick Duke of Wirtemburg 1534. A great Revolution in England Woolsey dieth with discontent Peter-pence forbidden A Pique between Luther and Erasmus The Imposture of the Franciscaâ—s at Orleans Apparitions frequent in the times of Popery The Lantgrave his Expedition A Pacification between Ferdinand and the Elector of Saxony A Treaty between Ferdinand and the Duke of Wirtemburg Vlrick Duke of Wirtemburg recovereth his Country Christopher Ulrick Duke of Wirtemburg his Son. The Lantgrave his Letter to the Emperor Francis Sforza marrieth Clement the Seventh dies Paul the Third chosen Pope Andrew Grittus Doge of Vinice Lewis Andrew his Son. A Persecution in France 1535. St. Genevefe the Protectress of Paris The French King writes to the Germans The Lantgrave goes to Ferdinand in order to a Reconciliation The Emperor sails into Africk Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More are beheaded The death of Francis Sforza Vergerius meets the Lantgrave at Prague Vergerius gives the Lantgrave a Copy of his Speech The Protestants Answer to Vergerius The French Embassador's Speech at Smalcalde The Judges of the Chamber are troublesome to the Protestants The Protestants disown the Jurisdiction of the Chamber The Elector of Saxony treats with King Ferdinand The Protestants Answer to the French Embassador The French King's opinion concerning the Points in Controversie The English Embassador his Speech to the Protestants The Protestants Answer to the English Embassador The League of Smalcalde renewed Ausburgh receives the reformed Religion Munster a City in Westphalia The Anabaptists and their Doctrin Rotman a Preacher of the reformed Religion The Papists are commanded to prove their Doctrin by the Holy Scriptures They confess their Ignorance John of Leyden a Botcher and Anabaptist Herman Stapred an Anabaptist The Anabaptists are expell'd Munster A Civil War in Munster Petrus Wirtemius John Mathew an Anabaptist orders that all Mens Goods should be common The Prophesies of the Anabaptists John of Leydon proclaimed King of the Anabaptists The Anabaptists Book concerning the Restitution The Anabaptists Supper The Apostles of the Anabaptists A meeting of the Princes at Coblentz The Doctrin of the Anabaptists and their wickedness The Anabaptists Book concerning the Mysteries of the Scripture The King executes one of the Queens himself Luther's opinion concerning the people of Munster A Diet held at Wormes Another Diet at Wormes The King of Munster is carried about for a sight 1536. The King of the Anabaptists is executed War between Denmark and Lubeck A War between the Duke of Savoy and Geneva The French King makes War upon the Duke of Savoy The Family of the Visconti of Millain The Emperor makes a Speech against the French King. The Venetinns make a League with the Emperor Vergerius is sent away to the Emperor The Articles of the League between the King of England and the Protestants The English Embassadors Winter at Wittemburgh The King of England's Letter to the Protestants The Protestants meet at Frankford Anne of Bullein Queen of England is beheaded A Bull of Paul the Third for the Convocation of a Council Ferdinand sends
The States of the Empire treat with Cleve about the Restitution of Guelderland to the Emperor The Supplication of the Nobility of Austria to King Ferdinand for obtaining free Exercise of Religion King Ferdinand's Answer The Austrians renew their Supplications A Quarrel betwixt the Elector of Saxony and Canons of Naumburg about the Bishop 1542. Luther writes against the Bishop A Diet at Spire King Ferdinand's Speech in the Diet. Gropper recommends Bucer to the Arch-bishop of Cologne Who thereupon comes to Cologne The Lady Catharine Howard Queen of England Beheaded King Henry's Sixth Wife The French Ambassador's Speech at Spire The Speech of the Pope's Legate in the Diet of Spire The Catholick Princes and States consent to the Council offered by the Pope at Trent But the Protestants protest against it The French King prepares for War. An Expedition against the Turk under the Conduct of the Elector of Brandenburg A Quarrel betwixt the Elector and Duke Maurice of Saxony Luther's Camp-Sermon His Position condemned by the Pope The Explication of that Position Luther's other Military-Sermon Luther's Prayer against the Fury of the Turks Of the Original of the Turks and of their Kings The Marquess of Pescara accuses the French King. The King purges himself Prayers appointed at Paris for the Success of the War. The calling of the Council of Trent The French King declares War And Longueville and Rossem invade Brabant The French King demands Aid from the Turk against the Emperor The Form of inquiring who are Lutherans Francis de Landre a Preacher at Paris The Articles of Doctrine proposed to him His Answer Two Dominicans Preach the Gospel at Metz And so did William Farell But the Emperor wrote to the Senate to suffer no Change in Religion Locusts in Germany and Italy The Duke of Saxony and Lantgrave make a successful War against the Duke of Brunswick Their Declaration of the Reasons of it The Diet of Nurimberg The Message of the States of the Empire to the Duke of Saxony and Lantgrave Their Answer The Decree of the Diet of Nurimberg Contarini accused of Miscarriages Contarini and Fregoso Cardinals die The Chancellor of France cast into Prison Otho Prince Palatine and the people of Heildesseim embrace the Reformed Religion The Emperours Letter to the Pope about the Council Cardinals Pacificators sent from the Pope to the Emperor and French King. The Emperor's Answer to the Cardinal Pacificators The Country of Juliers wasted by the Imperialists and Duren taken A war betwixt the English and Scots The King of Scots dies The Protestants decline the Imperial Chamber The Duke of Cleve retakes Duren A Sedition at Rochell The French King's Speech to the Seditious Rochellers 1543. The Diet of Nurimberg The Ambassadors of the Netherlands accuse the Duke of Cleve at Nurimberg Granvell's Speech in the Emperor's name at Nurimberg The Protestants Petition The Decree of the Diet of Nurimberg The Protestants oppose this Decree Pacification attempted betwixt the Emperor and the Duke of Cleve A Battle at Zittard The Dukes of Bavaria intercede for the Duke of Brunswick The Bisop of Ausburg dies The French Kings Answer to the Emperor's Letter The Death of Bellay of Langey and his Encomium Landre makes a publick Recantation of all that he had taught and confessed his Error And so does de Pensier Clement Marot The Archbishop of Cologne's Reformation of the Church Bucer Preaches at Bonn. Melancthon Pistorius come to Cologne The Clergy of Cologne oppose the Reformation The Antididagma of the Clergy of Cologne The Divines of Cologne oppose Bucer who is defended by Melancthon The Laws of Duke Maurice of Saxony He founds three publick Schools A Law against those who deflower Virgins Against Adulterers The Emperor's Letters to the Protestants An Interview betwixt the Pope and Emperor Petro Aloisio obtained the Possession of Parma and Piacenza which the Emperor refused to confirm The Emperor delivers up to Cosmo of Medicis the Castles of Florence and Legborn The Marriage of Philip King of Spain The Marriage of the King of Poland An Assembly of the Protestants at Smalcald A League betwixt the Emperor King of England The Protestant Ambassadors to the Emperor at Spire The Emperor's Answer to the Protestant Ambassadors The Electors of Cologne and Saxony mediate for the Duke of Cleve but in vain The Heildesheimers accused to the Emperor The Emperor's threatening Letter to those of Heildesheim His Letter to the Senate of Cologne The Pope's Letter to them also The Turkish Fleet in Provence The Castle of Nizza Besieged The Turks Invade Hungary Calvin's Antidote and Book of Relicks The Emperor comes to Bonne where Bucer and Hedie preached The Emperors Expedition against Cleve and his Victory A vain report of the Emperor's being drowned The Emperor takes Liege and Ruremund by Surrender The Duke of Cleve upon Submission is Reconciled to the Emperor The Conditions of his Peace The French King takes Luxenburg again Landrecy Besieged The Emperors Envoy to the City of Metz. Divisions in Scotland The Queen of Scots betroth'd to Prince Edward of England The Danes make War against the Imperialists The Duke of Cleve renounces his League with France and demands his Wife The French Flight at Landrecy The Protestants assemble at Franckfort The Elector of Saxony and Lantgrave write to the Emperor His Answer to them 1544. Extraordinary Eclipses of the Sun Moon Alexander Farnese sent Legate to the Emperor The Diet at Spire very full The Emperor's Speech at the opening of it The Protestants Plea about the Affair of Brunswick Brunswick's Accusation of the Protestants A French Ambassy to the Diet of Spire The French Herald ill received at Spire The Letter of some Princes to the Pope The Pope's Answer Ludovick Elector Palatine dies his Brother Frederick succeeds The Letter of the States of the Empire to the Swisse The Protestants Accuse the Duke of Brunswick A pleasant Story of the Duke of Brunswick and his Miss Eve Trottine The French Victory at Carignan The Proceedings of the Duke of Saxony and the Confederates with the Duke of Brunswick The Duke of Savoy's Accusation of the French King. The Switzers Answer to the Letter of the States of the Empire An English Expedition against Scotland and Edinborough taken Wolfgang made Master of Prussia The complaint and desire of the Ambassadors of Hungary The Speech of the French Ambassadors that was not heard in the Diet. An Accommodation betwixt the Emperor Ferdinand and the Duke of Saxony Ferdinand is acknowledged for King of the Romans Eleanor the Daughter of King Ferdinand betrothed to the Duke of Saxony's Son. The King of Denmark's Accommodation with the Emperor The Decree of the States for a Subsidy against the French and other Matters The Decree of Spire displeases the Catholicks The Cities and two Princes refused to give Aid against the French. The Dutchy of Brunswick Sequestrated into the Emperor's Hands The Emperors Expedition into France Count Bichling was condemned to die but saved by
Maximilian Barbarossa's Incursions Anthony Duke of Lorrain dying his Son Francis succeeds to him The English make an Expedition into France Boloigne besieged Sandizier taken upon Surrender Renate Prince of Orange killed The Consternation of the Parisians Boloigne taken by the English The Peace betwixt the Emperor and French King at Soissons and the Conditions of it The Pope's Letters to the Emperour written at the instigation and upon the confidence of the French King. The Bishop of Winchester's Book against Bucer Cardinals created to gratifie Princes The Council is again called The Controversie about the Lords Supper is renewed The Plea of the Clergy of Cologne with the Archbish The Clergy of Cologne appeal to the Pope and Emperour George of Brunswick President The writing of the Archb against the Conspiracy of his Clergy The Clergy of Cologne subscribe the Appeal The Emperour's Embassie to the King of England The Netherlanders loveâ— of the Reformed Religion Peter Bruley burnt The Intercession of Strasbourg and the Protestants for Bruley The Emperour 's severe Edicts against the Lutherans Bruiey's Answer to the Monks Interrogatories Of the Body and Bloud of Christ Of the Mass Of the Adoration of the Bread. Of Purgatory Of Masses and Prayers for the Dead How the Saints are truly worshipp'd Of Free-will Of Faith. Of Traditions that enslave Minds Of Images Of Baptism Of Vows Of Confession Of the Virginity of the Blessed Mary The Assembly of the Divines of Paris at Melun Luther's Positions contrary to those of the Divines of Louvaine An Imperial Diet at Wormes The first Session The Protestants make answer to Ferdinand The deliberation of the Popish States King Ferdinand and the Emperor's Deputies Answer to the Protestants The Protestants Petition Grignian the the French Embassador to the States The Persecution of the Waldenses at Merindole A cruel Sentence of the Parliament of Aix against the Waldenses Meinier President of the Parliament of Aix Philip Cortine Forces raised by Meinier against the Waldenses A Soldier gives the Fugitives forewarning Merindole is burnt Cabriere surprised by craft Is demolished A honourable piece of Cruelty of Meinier The number of the slain Coste is taken and the Inhabitants most barbarously used The Intercession of the Swizers for the Merindâ—lanes The King's Answer to the Swiss The Heads of the Waldensian Doctrine The Spaniards marched through Germany into Austria The Death of Louis Duke of Bavaria The Emperour and Cardinal Farnese come to Wormes The Emperour's Embassie to the King of Poland The King of Poland's Answer to the Emperour The Pope very greedy of Lutheran blood A bloody Sermon of a Franciscan Fryer Cardinal Farnese parts from Wormes for Rome Luther's Book against the Papacy of Rome A Picture set before the Book Luther's Theses of the three Hierarchies The Emperour's Treaty with the Protestants The Plea of Grignian the French Embassadour Francis Duke of Lorrain dies King Ferdinand's Daughter dies The Birth of Charles the Son of Philip King of Spain The Emperour's Daughter-in-law dies Piscara comes to Wormes The Duke of Brunswick chouses the French King of Money The Emperour makes a Truce with the Turk The Senate of Metz inquire after Protestants The Archbishop of Cologne is cited by the Emperour and Pope The Emperour takes the Clergy and Colledge of Cologne into his protection The Archbishop of Cologne is cited The Pope's prejudice against the Archbishop An Assembly and Conference appointed at Ratisbonne Conferours are appointed for the pacification of Religion The Papists refuse the Conference The Dutchy of Brunswick adjudged to the Emperour The stubbornness of the Duke of Brunswick The Elector of Cologne sends a Proctor to the Emperour War betwixt the French and English at Bologne The Death of the Duke of Orleans The Duke of Brunswick takes the field He takes Stembruck The Landgrave's Expedition against the Duke of Brunswick Maurice interceeds for Peace The Conditions of Peace proposed A Truce granted Duke Henry breaks the Truce A Fight betwixt Brunswick and the Landgrave The Duke of Brunswick surrenders himself with his Son to the Landgrave The Death of Albert of Mentz Maurice purges himself of the suspicion of betrying Brunswick Luther's Book against the setting the Duke of Brunswick at liberty William of Furstenberg is set at liberty The Duke of Saxony and Landgrave's Letters to the Emperour about the taking of the D. of Branswick The Landgrave's Letter to the Emperour The Emperour's Answer to the Landgrave by an Embassadour The Landgrave's Answer A Treaty of Peace betwixt the Kings of France and England 1546. The King of England forewarns the Protestants of their danger A Meeting of the Protestants at Franckfurt The Elector Palatine appoints Preachers of the Gospel A Meeting of the Electors of the Rhine for the Archbishop of Cologne A Report of a War against the Protestants The Landgrave's Letter to Granvell Granvell answers the Landgrave A Meeting of some Princes at Franckfurt Sebastian Scherteline Deputies from the Protestants are sent to the Emperour and Clergy of Cologne The Protestants accused of a Conspiracy The Conference of Naves and Renard Count of Solmes The Landgrave's Letters to Naves The Conference of learned Men at Ratisbonne Presidents Colloqutors and Witnesses of the Conference The Conference begins The Heads of Doctrine to be chiefly handled The Conditions of the Conference Malvenda treats of the Point of Justification Bucer answers Malvenda as to the Article of Justification Billick the Carmelite Malvenda answers Bucer The Emperour's Letter to the Doctors Pflugg admitted amongst the Presidents The Conference is broken up The Protestant Embassadours with the Emperour in favour of the Elector of Cologne The Emperour's Answer to them The Pope's Legates sent to Trent Mendoza's Speech to the Fathers in Name of the Emperour The Cardinals answer Mendoza Preaching Monks acted the first part in the Council A Bull of Indulgences The commencement of the Council The first Session The Decree of the first Session The second Session of the Council of Trent Luther chosen Umpire betwixt the Counts of Mansfield Whether we shall know one another in the life to come Luther's Prayer before his death Luther's death His dead Body is carried to Wittemberg The Birth and Life of Luther He was sent to Rome Luther's Eloquence in the German Language His Constancy and Courage The Authors of the Decree of Ausbourg John Diazi went to the Conference at Ratisbonne John Diazi's Conference with Malvenda Malvenda's Letter to the Emperour's Confessour Diazi goes to Newbourg Alfonso Diazi's Brother comes into Germany The Cain-like and traitorous Mind of Alfonso John Diazi is killed by his Brother's means What was done with the Ruffians at Inspruck The Emperour comes to Spire on his Journey to Ratisbonne He visits the D. of Deuxpont's Lady Daughter to the Landgrave The Landgrave comes to the Emperour The Landgrave's Speech to the Emperour The Emperour's Answer to the Landgrave The Landgrave's words to the Emperour Monks the disturbers of the Peace The Emperour's Answer to the
Landgrave The Landgrave again speaks to the Emperour The ignorance of the Archbishop of Cologne observed by the Emperour The Emperour to the Landgrave The Conferences of some Princes Granvell speaks The Landgrave answers Granvell's words Divines are awkward and obstinate The Landgrave's words The Opinion of Paphnutius about the Lord's Supper and marriage of Priests Granvell speaks after the Landgrave The Landgrav's Answer The Elector Palatine's Opinion in this Conference Granvell's Answer The Landgrav's Speech The Landgrave Arbitrator betwixt the Dukes of Saxony The Emperour advises the Landgrave to come to the Diet. The Emperour thanks the Landgrave The Landgrave's Answer to the Emperour The Emperour to the Landgrave The Landgrave to the Emperour The Emperour to the Landgrave The Landgrave's Answer Spede's soppishness The Landgrave takes leave of the Emperour An Assembly of the Protestant Deputies at Wormes They of Ravensbourg enter into the Protestant League The third Session of the Council of Trent and the Acts of it The Speech of Don Francisco de Toledo in the Council The Pope's Letters to the Bishops of Switzerland The Switzers highly commended The Archbishop of Cologne excommunicated by the Pope The Emperour 's coming to Ratisbonne Diazi's murder unrevenged The Emperour's Speech at Ratisbonne Truce with the Turk by the mediation of the French King. A Division amongst the Electors The Protestants opinion of the Council of Trent A constant report of a War against the Protestants The Cardinal of Trent is sent to Rome to sollicit the promised assistance The Preparations of War. Albert and John of Brandenbourg take charge under the Emperour The Landgrave's Segacity The Protestants ask the Emperour the warlike preparations The Emperour answers the Protestants The Emperour's Letter to the Protestant Cities The Emperour writes to the Duke of Wirtemberg Granvell and Naves discourse the Deputies of the Protestants Cities A Decree of the Council of Trent The Office of Pastors Decrees concerning Original Sin. The Decree of Sixtus IV. concerning the Virgin Mary The Speech of the French Embassador He means the King of England The Demands of the French King. The Answer of those of Strasbourg to the Emperour Duke Maurice had a private Conference with the Emperour The Protestant Deputies return home The Emperour's Embassie to the Suizers The Duke of Wirtemberg and the Towns of Vpper Germany rise in Arms. The first of the Protestant Commanders Balthazar Gutling's Speech to the Soldiers A Meeting of the Protestant Deputies at Vlme Their Letters to the Venetians the Nobility of Germany the Grisons and those of Tyrol The Emperour's League with the Pope against the Reformed The Church Revenues in Spain given for maintaining a War against the Lutherans Peace betwixt France and England Henry the Dauphin of France has a Daughter The Cardinal of Scotland killed The Pope's Letter to the Suizers The Embassadours of the Protestants to the Suizzers Wolffembottel is demolished The Prince Palatine enquires after the cause of the War. The Elector Palatine desires to reconcile the Protestants to the Emperour Saxony and the Landgrave arm The Protestants Letters to the Emperour The Authors of the War against the Protestants The Emperour's Letter to the Archbishop of Cologne The Protestants send Ambassadors to the Kings of England and France Saxony and Landgrave publish a Declaration concerning the War. The Bishop of Ausbourg a great Incendiary The Protestants Letters to the Marquess of Brandenbourg Brandenbourgs Answer A Manifesto against Brandenbourg The Forces of the Landgrave The Landgrave sends his Son to Strasbourg The Duke of Brunswick offers to betray the Papists Councels against the Protestants The first Exploit of the Protestants Fiessen taken Erenberg is taken by Scherteline Francis Castlealto Dilinghen and Donawert taken by the Protestants These of Ausbourg furnish the Emperour with Money The Emperour's Forces at Ratisbonne The Duke of Saxony and the Landgrave Outlawed by the Emperour The Marriages of Bavaria and Cleves amidst the noise of War. The Session of the Council is put off The number of the Fathers of the Council of Trent Titular Archbishops Olaus Magnus of Vpsale and Venant a Scot. The King of Sweden reforms Religion The Archbishop reduced to poverty dies Duke Maurice his Progress to King Ferdinand The Emperour's Letters to Duke Maurice and to his Brother Augustus wherein he desires them to take possession of the Inheritances of the Duke of Saxony and Landgrave and so prevent others The Protestants Letters to the Duke of Bavaria A great Misfortune occasioned by Lightning at Mechelin The Suitzers Answer to the Protestants The Protestants Demand of the Suitzers The Protestants declare War against the Emperour The Emperour refuses to receive the Protestants Letters The Emperour's Answer to the Protestants Messenger A Dispute about what Title should be given to the Emperour The Protestants march to Ratisbonne The Pope's Forces come to the Emperour The Officers of the Pope's Army The Horse of the Duke of Florence and Ferrara A bloody Saying of Farnese The Commanders of the Emperour's Army German Princes in the Emperour's Camp. The Princes in the Protestants Camp. The Emperour marches to Ratisbonne A Skirmish betwixt the Landgrave's Men and the Spanish Garrison The Spaniards break into the Protestants Camp. The Count of Buren marches with his Forces to joyn the Emperour The Landgrave's bold and good Advice The oversight of the Protestants in not laying hold on their oppertunity was the beginning of their miscarriage in the War. The Emperour 's great Courage The Answer of the Suitzers to the Emperour The Pope and Emperour pretended not the same Cause for the War of Germany The Emperour's Letter to the Protestant Suitzers The Protestant Cantons Answer to the Emperour The Protestants Address to the Bohemians The Protestants Declaration concerning Incendiaries and Poysoners sent out by the Pope The Protestants Answer to the Instrument of Proscription The Emperour's Expression about the subduing of Germany * Who had refused the Empire when it was offered unto him The Protestants raise their Camp. The Count of Buren joyns the Emperor The French King refused to send the Protestants Assistance The Protestants grosly deceived by Stroza an Italian The Protestants write to the Reformed Suitzers The Suitzers Answer The Catholick and Protestant Camps near one another The River Egra Albert of Brunswick dies of his wounds Donawert surrendered to the Emperor The Duke of Alva insults over the Landgrave A change of affairs in Saxony Duke Maurice consults against the Protestants The Letters of Duke Maurice's Friends to the Protestants Duke Maurice writes to the Landgrave to the same purpose The Embassie of John William of Saxony to Duke Maurice Scherteline leaves the Protestant Camp. The Emperor Master of the Danube The Protestants lose an opportunity of taking the Emperour A Stratagem A Skirmish betwixt the Landgrave and Prince of Sulmona Another Stratagem used by the Emperor The Plague in the Emperors Camp. Farnese with some Troops returns home The Landgrave's Answer to the Mauricians The Landgrave's
mouth of his Chancellor The Landgrave rises from off his knees unbidden The Landgrave's Captivity The Remonstrance of Duke Maurice and Brandenburg's Counsellors to the Emperour The number of great Guns taken from the Protestants Ebleben dies for grief The City of Magdeburg alone did not satisfie the Emperour Sebastian Vogelsberg raising Men in Germany King Ferdinand calls before him the Citizens of Prague in the Castle of Prague and there severely expostulates with them The Bohemians subdued and fined by King Ferdinand Caspar Pflug condemned of High-treason A Sedition at Naples because of the Spanish Inquisition The Reason of the first Institution of the Spanish Inquisition The Pope's Legat in France grants many things Charles of Guise made Cardinal The Pope and King of France make a Match between their Bastards A Diet at Ausburg Some Towns of Saxony are reconciled to the Emperor The Emperour publishes his Pacification with the Landgrave Duke Maurice graciously receives the Divines of Wittemberg The manner of the French King's Coronation Twelve Peers of France The Emperour squeezes Money from the States of the Empire The Sum of Money which the Emperour got Counts whom the Emperour would not pardon Magdenburg proscribed King Ferdinand and the Cardinal of Ausburg obtain vast Sums of Money from the Free Towns. The Emperour sollicits the Suitzers into a League An Armed Diet at Ausburg A Truce between the Emperour and Turk The Expiation of Churches Michael Sidonius a Champion for the Mass The Opening of the Diet at Ausburg Pietro Aloisio the Pope's Son is assassinated at Piacenza Jerome Palavicini turned out of House and Lands Pope Paul III. an Astrologer and Necromancer Those of Piacenza submit to the Emperour The detestable wickedness of Aloisio the Pope's Bastard The Council of Trent divided The German Bishops Letter to the Pope A Victory of the English over the Scots The Opinions of the Catholicks and Protestants differ about the Council of Trent The Protestants are sollicited to submit to the Council Some Protestants drawn in or over-awed assent to the Council The Free Towns scrupulous to assent to the Council The Emperour's Answer to the Speech of the low Towns. The Emperour's Embassie to the Pope for the continuation of the Council Letters to the States in behalf of the Landgrave The Emperour's Excuse to the States concerning the Captivity of the Landgrave The States acquaint Maurice and Brandenburg with the Emperour's Relation The Emperour is not wrought upon by Intercessions De Lire sent to the Landgrave desires up all Obligatory Letters that he had Peter Martyr goes into England The Reformation of the Church in England The Cardinal of Trent's Speech to the Pope in the Consistory of Cardinals The Speech of the Emperour's Embassador to the Pope The Cardinal of Lorrain's Harangue to the Pope The French King hunts after a fit occasion The Pope's Answer to the Cardinal of Trent and Mendoza The Pope's Letter to his Legate in the Council The Legat's Answer to the Pope The Pope's Answer to the Emperour's Embassadour Mendoza sends the Pope's Answer to the Emperour 1548. The Pope's Answer to the Bishops of Germany The Emperour's Embassadours sent to Bolonia The Pope's Legate to the Emperour's Embassadour De Vargas the Emperour's Embassadour his Speech to the Fathers The sawciness of the Cardinal de Monte. The form of the Protestation against the Council The King of Polands Embassy in behalf of Albert of Brandenburg The Harangue of the Polish Ambassador in the Diet of Ausburg The Institution of the Teutonick Order Casimire King of Poland subdues the Teutonicks Albert of Brandenburg refuses to do Homage to the King of Poland Albert makes Peace with the King of Poland The Master of Prussia's Answer to the Speech of the Polish Ambassador The Original of the Tuetenick Order Conrade Duke of Muscovy afflicted by the Prussians Prussia converted to the Christian Religion A Pacification betwixt the King of Poland and Matter of Prussia The King of Poland takes 70 Towns from the Master of Prussia The Articles of the Peace betwixt Casimire King of Poland and the Master of Prussia How long Prussia continued under the Empire The death of Sigismund King of Poland The Popes haughty Speech to the Emperours Ambassador The Pope taxes Mendoza as having transgressed his Commission The Popes Expressions concerning his perpetual resolution of calling a Council His comparing himself with the Emperour The singular purpose of the Pope The Emperour's Report to the States The Interim is made Bucer being sent for by the Elector of Brandenburg comes to Ausburg The English Declaration to the Scots Sebastian Vogelsberg is condemned to die and two Captains with him A Persecution in France The Ceâ—emony of Investing Duke Mâ—â—rice into the Electorship Bucer rejects the Interim Brandenburg angry with Bucer The Archbiship of Cologne's first Mass The King of Tâ—nis comes to Ausburg The Heads of the Book called the Interim The Interim often reviewed and corrected before it could pass The Interim sent to Rome The Popes Animadversions upon it The Elector's opinions about the Interim vary The Archbishop of Mentzs his craft in approving the Interim and giving thanks to the Empeâ—â—â— The Emperour desires Money to be raised and put into a publick Treasury King Ferdinand craves Money from the States Maximilian marries his own Cousin german The Naapolitan Horse are a great burden to the people about Strasburg Marquess John of Brandenburg approves not the Interim The Electors of Brandenburg and Palatine receive the Interim The constancy of the Duke of Deux-Ponts Musculus went from Ausburg to Bern. The labours and dangers of Brentius Brentius his Judgment of the Interim The ingratitude of the People of Hall who banish Brentius and his Family The Duke of Wirtemberg secretly received Brentius The Preachers are forced to fly Wirtemberg receives the Interim The constancy of Saxony the Prisoner Severity towards captive Saxony Letters spread abroad in the Landgrave's Name Whil'st the Mass triumphs in Germany it is run down in England The Bishop of Winchester is committed to Prison The Emperours Ecclesiastical Reformation The Bishops approve this Regulation Those of Strasburg are urged to receive the Interim The Answer of those of Strasburg Granvell's Speech to the Strasburghers The Strasburghâ—â—s Answer to Granvell Granvell's Reply The Strasburghers insist The other Cities are also urged The Emperours Answer to the States about the disbanding of the Soldiers The States consent to the Constitution of the Imperial Chamber A Decree of the Dyet of Ausburg concerning a free Council The Composers of the Interim are bountifully rewarded The Emperours Letters to the Princes about the receiving of the Interim The Veneratians Proclamation The Popes Legats in the Courts of Princes The prudence of the Venetians in the business of Religion The Venetian Inquisition against Sorcerers and those that have commerce with the Devil French Auxiliaries sent to the Scots They who served in the Protestant Arms Proscribed by the Emperour The Duke of Vendâ—smâ—s Marriage The
II of France slain The various Characters of Henry II of France Francis II a Lad of sixteen Years of Age succeeds him And the Persecution goes on Slaunders against the Protestants Other Slanders spread against the poor persecuted Protestants Du Bourg condemned to Death Minart a Persecutor slain Du Bourg led to Execution His Character The rest of the Members of Parliament were restored Images erected in the Streets to be Worshiped King Philip prepares for Spain He takes Ship at Flushing He raiseth a great Persecution in Spain Constantio the Confessor of Charles V burnt after he was dead Twenty eight Nobles burnt at Vallidolid The Death of Pope Paul IV. The People of Rome express their Hatred of him and the Inquisition The Deaths of several Princes Pius IV elected He changeth his Manners to the Worse Scotâ—h Affairs Linlithgow The English Affairs relating to Scotland Fradcis II of France claims England in the Right of Mary his Wife The French Provocations against the English The Scotch Complaints against the French. Queen Elizabeth holds off at first but at last is forced to unite with the Protestants of Scotland Reasons assigned for the driving the French out of Scotland The War resolved The War begun Four Divines and two thousand Men sent from France to Convert the Scots The Lords of Scotland Arm against them and depose the Regent She prevails over them 1560. The Scotch Lords go on with their Reformation The English Forces enter Scotland and besiege Leith The French proffer to restore Calais to the English The Death and Character of Mary Queen-Regent of Scotland The French forced to leave Scotland A Parliament in Scotland A Conspiracy in France The Conspiracy of Blois formed at Nantes Thuanus his Reflection on this Conspiracy The discovery of the Conspiracy Andelot and Coligny come to Court on an Invitation Oliver the Chancellor of France hated the Persecution and desired a Reformation Renaudie slain The King of Navar Conde Coligni and Andelot suspected Oliver the Chancellor dies Coligni sent into Normandy by the Queen The Clergy labour to bring the Inquisition into France Conde leaves the Court. An Assembly of the Princes of France Coligni delivers a Petition from the Protestants to the King. The Bishop of Valence seconds it And adviseth the King to call a National Council The Cardinal of Lorrain replies to Coligni A Decree passed for an Assembly of the three Estates and the suspension of the Laws against Hereticks A design upon Lyons The Protestants of France increase wonderfully during the Peace In some places they grow insolent The King of Navarr and Prince of Conde promise to come to the Assembly of the States The Archbishop of Vienne dies The States meet at Orleans Navarr and Conde secured Francis II dies Charles IX succeeds The Prince of Conde fre'd The Protestant Religion breaks out in the Netherlands The Archbishop of Toledo suspected to be a Lutheran A General Council desired by many and opposed by the Pope But prosecutes the Caraffa's to ruine The Duke of Florence come to Rome His Arguments for a General Council With other concurrent Accidents at last prevail'd The Pope's Ambassadors to thee Christian Princes Gustavus King of Sweden dies A Difficulty proposed The Deputy of the Commons speaks against the Clergy And is seconded by the Deputy of the Nobility The Clergy apologize for themselves The Persecution in Piedmont which Occasioneth a War. 1561. A Persecution in the Low-Countries The French Affair Queen Catharine favoureth the Protestants The younger Montmorency's Advice to his Father The pretended Submission of the Cophthites Livonia falls off from the See of Rome The Queen suspects the designs of the Nobility The Differences of Religion occasion Tumults An Edict to restrain them The Edict of July The Cardinal of Lorrain procures the Conference of Pâ—issy Mary Queen of Scotland leaves France The Three Estates of France Assembled at Pont-Oyse The Clergy of France give the King Taxes to save their Revenues and Jurisdictions The Conference oâ— Poissy The Protestant Ministers Their demands The Conference began The Chancellor's Speech Beza speaks Tournon replies with rage The Queens Answer The Points debated Claud d' Espence opposeth Beza The Ordination of the Protestant Ministers Question'd Beza Replieâ— Laines General of the Jesuits his Rudeness in the Conference * In the History of the Council of Trent call'd Jaques de Montbrun A Popish Position gives great Offence in France The Council of Trent recall'd The Pope's Bull. Vergerius opposeth the Council Ambassadors sent to the Protestant Princes to invite them to the Council Their Answer to the Emperor The Pope's Legates Admitted Their Answer to the Legates The occasions of the meeting at Naumburg The English reject the Council Erick King of Sweden Crown'd The Cardinal of Caraffa Hanged A National Council desired in France The King of Navar drawn over to the Popish Party by the King of Spain's Arts. A new invented Convention for the Reguâ—lating matters of Religion in France A Tumult aâ— Dijon Scotch Affairs Queen Mary resolves to return into Scotland The Protestant Religion setled in Scotland The Queen angry with the Proceedings Queen Mary goes into Scotland Her beginning very gracious to the Protestants The Preachers would not Tolerate the Queen See Spotiswood pag. 182. Great kindness in shew between Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Queen Mary begins to favour the Romish Party Yet she augments her Revenues out of the Church Lands 1562. The French Affairs A Debate concerning Toleration The Edict of January which granted Liberty of Conscience to the Protestants Injunctions published by the Queen's Order concerning Images Images of the Trinity forbidden The King of Navar pretends still to promote the Reformation The Edict of January opposed by the Guises and others The Duke of Guise called to Court by the King of Navar The Massacre of Vassy happen'd accidentally in that â—ourny The Duke of Guise uses ill Arts to secure his Servants who began the Tumult The Prince of Conde complains of it to the King. The Duke of Guise entereth Paris The Queen upon this puts her self and the King into the Protection of the Prince of Conde * Aedilit All things in France tend to a Civil War. The Queen out of Fear joyns with the Catholick Lords commonly call'd the Triumvirate Conde comes up towards Fontain-bleau The Triumvirate seize the King. Montmorancy appears very zealous against the Protestants at Paris The Prince of Conde betrayed by the Queen into a disadvantageous War. Orleans surprized by the Prince of Conde Conde Justifies the War. The Catholicks begin the War to deprive the Protestants of the Liberty granted them by the Edict of January The Prince of Conde and the Ministers write to the Princes of Germany The King and Queen affirm they were at Liberty in their Declaration The Massacre of Sens. The Princes of Germany much divided about the true cause of this French War. Roan taken very easily by the Protestants And after that Pont del
was miserable enough before should now be afflicted by him who chiefly ought to protect the same It had been easie for me at that time to have repelled his Hostilities but I was not willing rashly to venture what remained of this Kingdom after so many Shipwracks I only made my Complaint to Pope Clement VII Francis King of France Henry King of England and Sigismund King of Poland And indeed Sigismund unknown to me dealt with Ferdinand by Ambassadours That he would not at so unseasonable a time by promoting Civil Discord open a way for the Enemy which afterwards neither he nor any other could be able to stop up again But that he would live in Peace with me and joyn his Forces to mine against the common Enemy And when Ferdinand affirmed that he had done nothing contrary to Right and Justice it was agreed upon that some fit Men should meet at a certain Day to attempt an Accommodation of the Controversie I imbraced the Condition and at the same time by my Ambassadours whom I sent to make submission in my Name to your Arbitrement I begged of you that you would not assist my Adversary But when they arrived in Ferdinand's Country they were apprehended and made Prisoners contrary to the Law of Nations so that they could not discharge their Commission for they were to go forward from you to the Emperour Though this indeed was a heinous Injury yet at the Day appointed by Sigismund I sent some Men who were both of their own Inclination and by my Orders too very desirous of Peace But Ferdinand's Commissioners making most unreasonable Propositions they broke up without concluding any thing Whilst these things were on foot some of the Nobility tampered with by the Artifices of Ferdinand have violated their Allegiance to me Now seeing I have no free Passage left either to come or send to you I resolved at last to acquaint you by Letters how unjust a War he carries on that he may recover perhaps the Honour which in the Age past his Ancestors the Emperours Frederick and Maximilian lost here for my Uncle drove the one of them out of all the Country and baulked him of Hungary when triumphantly he was about to make himself King of it And my Father Stephen Sepsy so mauled them both in the Reign of King Matthias as that he joyned Vienna to Hungary Nay and I my self too though then but a Youth put a stop to Maximilian in his Progress against us and would have done the same against the present Enemy if he had not acted more by Cunning and Treachery than by Valour and Force of Arms. I have indeed hitherto born with that Injury as patiently and as well as I could But consider with your selves most Noble Princes How grievous a thing it is to be cast down from Supreme Dignity to the state of a Private Man. Hardly I think is there any Man to be found so tame and patient as having received so many Injuries would not look about him for assistance wherever he could have it Seeing then I have at no time since I entred into the Government refused to hearken to any reasonable Conditions nor do at present reject them but would do any thing rather than cause a Civil War and that my Enemy goes on obstinately I make Protestation That it ought not to be imputed to me as a Fault if I take any sort of course for my own Defence and Protection And that if any Prejudice redound from thence to Christendom that is not to be attributed to me who have essayed all ways of Peace but to my Enemy who with highest Injustice invades the Kingdom of another He is careful indeed to stop all the Wayes that no News may be brought to you but yet I suppose you have heard how he deserted his Brother-in-law King Lewis for though he had been often and with very earnest Entreaty sollicited yet he neither sent him Men Artillery nor any other Aid against his Powerful Enemy And why because his Heart and Eye were already upon the Crown after his Death Besides he sent the Publick Aids of the Empire designed for Hungary to his Brother to plague Italy with whilst I sent and paid about three thousand Men of my own Forces under the command of my Brother to the Assistance of King Lewis designing to have been present in person at the Battle had not the King commanded me to continue in Transilvania but my Brother dyed bravely in the Fight Ferdinand also took a solemn Oath That before he had recovered Belgrade and some other Castles he would not take upon him the Government But he forfeited his Promise herein for the Turks made an Incursion far up into the Country and having wasted the Land and taken the strong Castle of Jaitza in Bosnia returned home loaded with Spoils This Castle was heretofore taken from the Turks by King Matthias with a great loss of his Men my Uncle Emerick also held out a long Siege therein and defended it against them and our Kings likewise were at vast Charges in fortifying it But this General of ours who made such glorious Promises as an Essay of his Valour fairly suffered it to be lost and being now destitute of all things implores I suppose your Aid and Assistance as if he were in Danger for the sake of Germany But his Designs tend a quite different way for it is not against the Turk that he is preparing Arms to whom by Ambassadours lately sent he offers a yearly Tribute But his Aim is That with your Men and Money he may assist his Brother in Italy and by undoing of me enslave Hungary Which being so I most earnestly beseech you to take Care That this private Wrong which is now done to me may not turn to the Prejudice of all Christendom Not long after he wrote also to the Emperour much to the same purpose praying him to divert his Brother and these things he published in his own Defence But King Ferdinand insisted upon the Compact which in the Year 1491 the Emperour Maximilian made with the Hungarians and King Ladislaus wherein it was stipulated That if Ladislaus dyed without Heirs Male that then the Kingdom should fall to Maximilian and the Heirs of his Body Since therefore King Lewis Son to Ladislaus was dead without Issue as we said before Ferdinand who was Grand-Son to Maximilian and Archduke of Austria and besides was married to the Sister of King Lewis pretended that the Kingdom of right belonged unto him At the very same time Philip Landgrave of Hesse and the Elector of Saxony having raised Forces prepared for War And the Reason of it was this A certain Lawyer Otho Becken a Man of Noble Extraction and one of the chief Counsellours of George Duke of Saxony being occasionally in Discourse with the Landgrave admonished him to look to himself for that lately King Ferdinand the Elector of Brandenburg George Duke of Saxony William and Lewis Dukes
are forced to burn Wax Lights Now the Chambers we mentioned are fourteen foot wide sixteen foot long and twelve foot high not of Brick Stone or Timber but of Green or Purple Cloth. And because some of them are more commodious than others they cast Lots for them to avoid Competition and Envy In each Hall there are two rows of Chambers and within that space and bounds the Cardinals must confine themselves with their Families and Furniture Every Cardinal has four Servants allowed him that lie within and always wait on him whil'st the rest make the Beds and do the other necessary Duties There are besides twelve Men appointed for the whole commonly called the Sweepers who make clean the Conclave and carry out all the filth and ordure to a place appointed for it They who are within must continue there unless they be sick and if once they go out they are not admitted again except they be Cardinals When they enter the Conclave in order to an Election they presently chuse three or four Cardinals to provide all things necessary and to give Answer to the Ambassadours of Kings and Princes These have one Key of that Gate we spake of the Roman Nobility have a second the Bishops a third and the Masters of the Ceremonies a fourth This Gate is never unlocked after once the Conclave is shut up but when new Cardinals come In it there is a little Wicket whereof the Masters of the Ceremonies keep the Key and it is never opened but at Dinner and Supper time For then the Victuals which are dressed in Kitchins abroad are let in by that Wicket and there are some Bishops there chosen for that purpose to view the Dishes carefully and see that no Letters be hid in them The Masters of the Ceremonies receiving the Dishes from them deliver them to the Cardinal's Servants through that Wicket for no body else is suffered to approach it The Meat is served in Earthen Dishes and the Wine in Glass Bottles and daily they have new ones For it is an ancient Custom That the Vessels which are once brought in are the Fees of the Masters of the Ceremonies who are very careful in gathering them together they being exquisitely fine both for Matter and Workmanship and to sell them at dear Rates At that time five hundred Italian Foot under the Command of the Count of Petugliano lay without and kept guard near the Palace Gate next to them the Suisse Guards of Paul III. and the Horse Guards then the Roman Nobility after them the Ambassadours of Kings and Princes and last and next the Gate the Bishops who as we said were Supervisors of the Victuals Four thousand Foot were posted for the Guard of the City under the Command of Horatio Farnese there being Armed Men likewise in the Private Houses and Palaces of the Cardinals and Nobles Let us now speak of the Election Though it was the custom of old to go into the Conclave the tenth day after the death of the Pope yet now after the decease of Paul III. it was the nineteenth which happened to be the Nine and twentieth day of November as was shewed you before The Cardinals going into the Conclave that day towards the evening took an Oath of the Roman Nobility and of the Officers and Captains that were appointed to guard the Town to be true to them and afterwards they went with their Families to their several Lodging Rooms all others being commanded out of the Conclave Some Cardinals are Bishops some Priests and some Deacons Before they came to Voting some Rules are read over which they make to themselves for the time These concern the Priviledges and Immunities of the Cardinals The first thing then they do is severally to take an Oath That if it be their turn to be chosen Pope they shall observe all things exactly and then that they will chuse him whom they shall think most useful both for Church and State. After this they fall to Business it was the second day of December Then the Master of the Ceremonies about Nine of the Clock in Morning rings a Bell throughout the Conclave to call them to Mass that being over there is a Desk brought to every Cardinal and in it a Paper containing a List of all the Cardinals Names after that there is a Table with a Scarlet Carpet placed before the Altar of the Chapel upon which stands a Chalice and Silver Bell and about the Table six Foot-Stools Now every Cardinal writes down his Voice in a Billet or bit of Paper and so folds and makes it up that nothing is to be seen but the Name of him that is chosen Then they rise severally in their Order and having upon their Knees prayed at the Altar drop the Billet into the Chalice and so return to their place again That being done two Bishops as many Priests and as many Deacons take their places upon these six Stools The first Bishop takes all the Billets in order out of the Chalice and delivers them to the first Deacon he unfolds them and with an Audible Voice reads the Name of the Elected but not of the Elector With that the Cardinals who as we told you have every one Papers containing all their Names note down the number of Voices under every ones Names as they are drawn out and read The Votes being thus collected the first Priest who hath also a Paper with the Names of the Cardinals tells how many Voices every one hath If the number be not competent the Billets are cast into the Chalice again then one of the Deacons rings a little Bell and presently enters the Masters of the Ceremonies who waits without and in a Pan of Coals that he brings in with him burns all these Billets Every Cardinal may at the same time give his Voice for four different Persons but that seldom happens And this is the manner of Election now let us return to our purpose The Cardinals being thus shut up set to work as we told you on the second of December but they made but slow progress because the French Cardinals were said to be coming Most People thought they should see a new Pope in Rome before Christmass-day but their expectation was frustrated The College of Cardinals was divided into three Factions the Imperial the French and the Faction of the Farneses The French were for Trani Salviato Rudolpho Lorrain or Theatine but the Imperialists for Pool Bourghese Carpo Sancta Croce Morono or Sfondrato There was a great talk about Town of Pool and Salviato for though they laboured to keep all things very secret as I said yet because now and then several came out of the Conclave for sickness real or counterfit it could not be concealed and as it was said the Emperour and French King had an account of all they did That Pool was not chosen it 's said was through the means of Cardinal Theatine who had said that he smelt of
Lutheranism for many both in Italy and others also affirmed that his Judgment was right as to the true Religion as was said in the Tenth Book There were at that time many Pilgrims in Rome who were come thither from several Places and Countries that in the beginning of the new year which was then the year of Jubily as they call it they might obtain the Pardon and Remission of their Sins A great number of People were got together on Christmass-Eve in the Porch of St. Peters hoping that the Gate which is called the Golden-Gate would be opened by the new Pope And though it troubled them much to wait longer yet they did not think fit to depart before the Election was past The matter is thus Pope Boniface VIII was the first that instituted a Year of Jubily in the year 1295. and commanded it to be kept once every hundred years promising to those who then came to Rome and performed their Devotions at the Shrines of St. Peter and St. Paul full Pardon and Remission of all their Sins After his death when the term of an hundred years seemed to be too long Clement VI. reduced them to fifty There is also a Bull of his extant wherein he commands the Angels to convey the Souls of those that died in this Pilgrimage into the Kingdom of Heaven But Sixtus IV. decreed That every Twenty five years Mankind should participate of this Benefit When therefore the year 1550 approached Paul III. soem months before had published a Bull earnestly exhorting Men that they would not let slip so fair an occasion of disburdening them of their Sins and of Meriting the Kingdom of Heaven He was also mightily overjoyed that he had lived to that time saying That it would be a most delightful day to him wherein he should deserve so well of Mankind But it was but a false Joy to him for as we have said he died some weeks before that day came which he so earnestly desired to see Paulus Fagius who went with Bucer into England about the end of November died of a Quartan Ague at Cambridge We told you before how the Controversie betwixt the Bishop and Senate of Strasburg was taken up by Arbitrators Now the Bishop had resolved to begin the Office in his Churches on Christmass day and had prescribed a Method to be followed by the Clergy But because they were not then in a sufficient readiness he put it off till the first of February And then the Priests said Vespers in those three Churches that the Senate had granted the Bishop by composition and next day Mass which had not been seen there for twenty years before Great was the concourse of People that flocked thither especially of the Youth For to them it was a strange kind of sight to see a great many Men with shaven Crowns in a new sort of Habit singing all together what no body understood Tapers and Lights burning at Noon-day Incense streaming up and smoaking out of Censers the Priest with his subservient Ministers standing before the Altar speaking all in a strange Language using various kneeling and gestures bowing down with Hands joyn'd one while stretching forth his Arms and by and by again contracting them Now and then turning about to the People raising his voice high at some times and at other times again muttering to himself very softly now casting up his Eyes and by and by looking down on the ground shuffling from place to place Now on the right and now on the left side of the Altar playing tricks with his Fingers breathing into a Chalice then lifting it up on high and afterwards setting it down again naming in certain places now the Dead now the Living breaking the Wafer and putting it into the Chalice knocking his Breast with his First sighing shutting his Eyes as if he were asleep and then awaking again eating one part of the Wafer and swallowing down the other whole with the Wine washing his Hands that the least drop may not remain turning his back to the People and with an out-stretched Arm shewing them a gilt Patten clapping it to his Forehead and Breast and kissing sometimes the Altar and sometimes a little Image inclosed in Wood or Metal These I say and the like the young People could not behold without wonder and amazement nor indeed without laughter And could hardly be restrained After noon a Priest who came thither from another place preached in the Cathedral Church where he had no great Auditory though some out of curiosity went to hear him In time of Sermon a Youth making I know not what noise an Officer chid him and made as if he would lay hold on him at that all the young People came running about and as it is usual on the like occasions there arose a bustling noise and din in the Church whilst every one moved to and again enquiring what the matter was But the Preacher in the mean time who thought all was in an uproar being apprehensive of danger and in a panick fear made all the haste he could down out of the Pulpit and fled to the Chancel where by his Companions he was received within Iron Grates For most of all the Priests belonging to that Church were there and some dignitaries also of Noble Families who being in a higher place to hear withdrew with all speed not knowing what might come on 't This was presently carried to the Counsul and Mayor who with the rest of the Senate were at Sermon in other Churches They presently hasten thither to keep all things quiet but the Hubbub was already over for besides some young Lads no body had stirred Wherefore the Senate sent James Sturmey and others to those of the dignified Clergy we mentioned to acquaint them that the Senate was heartily sorry for the Tumult and to tell them the occasion of it That no Citizen was concerned therein and that since it had fallen out contrary to their knowledge to pray them not to take it ill promising to make it their business that no such thing should happen for the future However this did not satisfie them nor would they as they said expose their lives any more to so great danger Wherefore they departed next day in anger leaving their Work unfinished and repairing to their Bishop at Saverne they made a heavy complaint of their sad Fortune so that for some Months after they officiated no more In the mean time a complaint of this was made to the Emperour as will appear hereafter Many were of opinion that inwardly they rejoyced that so good a pretext of discontinuing had been offered them For all the while that Mass had been abolished by Decree of the Senate they lived with all freedom and received their full Rents yearly without any trouble But that now they were again astricted to Duty though the labour indeed was not great it was thought that an
and be under an honest Discipline the Glory of God and the Consciences of men being in Safety That of late years a National Council of Germany had been often propos'd as extreamly accommodated to the present state of things but forasmuch as the Name Mode and Form of it was not in his opinion so well known and by use established he therefore would not at present determine any thing concerning it The third way by Conferences and Disputes had been often tried and though hitherto no good fruit had proceeded from thence yet many things might by this means have been discovered and the principal Differences might have been determined if they had been managed with a truly pious Affection and if there had not on both sides been too great an Attachment to their private Interest which Affirmation he nevertheless desired might not be extended to the injury of any man. That therefore this way was to be further considered And although the faithful Council and Design of the Emperor was some years since misunderstood and so became ungrateful to both the Parties yet if they thought so fit he did still think that way might be useful if the contending Parties would act sincerely and if they would lay aside their Passions and discharge all Obstinacy and seek nothing but the Glory of God and the Salvation of Men that then he would assist them in it with fidelity and industry That for the present he could not bethink him of any other convenient and useful Way But that if they could find out any one that was more fit and easie they should have his good leave to produce it The next Thing to be considered of as he said was the Peace of the Empire That the Emperor and they too thought That the Measures they had then taken for the preservation of the Publick Peace had been such as would certainly have had a good effect but then since the Event has shewed them all that they were mistaken in this because they had agreed that Rebels and Seditious Persons should not be condemned or outlawed till they had first been cited and convicted according to the Forms of Justice which in the interim gave them time and opportunity of ruining many innocent men It was also then Agreed That if any Force were employ'd against any man his Neighbors should assist and defend him But then you are now abundantly convinc'd what variety of Impediments may intervene to hinder this That therefore they should deliberate and seriously consider how these two Heads of the Laws may be amended That unquiet men might be kept in Aw and that those who were faithful to the Empire might be well assured that they should not fail of Assistance in time of need That this might now be dispatched with so much the greater ease because the Foundations of such a Regulation had been laid by the late Conventions at Worms and Franckfurt and they should do well to prosecute the Consultation which had been begun there and bring it to a good end He desired also that they would consider of the constituting the Publick Justice of the Publick Contributions of the Money and all other things relating to the Government That they should direct all their Thoughts to the finding out ways for the total abolishing their intestine Evils Contentions Riots Seditions and unjust Force and Violence That in all these Deliberations they should in the first place consider the State of the Empire and reflect upon the great Danger which now threatned Germany not only from the devouring Turk but also from some nearer Enemies who sought the Ruine of the Empire as much as the Turks did That therefore they should deeply consider what great Advantages their Enemies took of these Offences and Civil Broyls which they craftily stirr'd up and nourished that in this division of the States they in the Interim might do their Wills and when time served they might with great Forces fall upon the Empire and enslave it to them That the Neighbour-Nations which had been thus conquered and circumvented by them ought to be a Caution to Germany and excite in it a mighty care to pursue those Counsels by which the Tempest and Ruine which now hung over her Head and threatned her might be averted That the Authority and Strength of the Empire might be preserved and that all external Force might be no less valiantly resisted now than heretofore That whatever Help or Counsel the Emperor or He were able to contribute they should not fail of doing it with all willingness and in such manner too that all men should from thence understand how greatly they loved their Country and of this he desired they would rest certainly assured When this Speech of King Ferdinand's came once to be spred over Germany it was attended with a Report That he had banished about 200 Ministers out of Bohemia and it was also said That the Cardinal of Moron would be sent from Rome to this Diet who was to try if he could not make Germany follow the Example of England and do what Pool had already done for that the Pope and all his Patry was thought to have been so exalted by the reduction of England that they had thereupon entertain'd vast but deluding Hopes For because the Thing went as they desired therefore they concluded That God was now appeased and was become the Defender of their most just Cause and that their Church could not be convinced of any Error for thus at this time they boasted more than they were wont And when they send any Legates into Germany at any time they do it not to confess any Offence they have committed but as they pretend that they may heal the Infirmities of men About the End of February Albert Duke of Mecklenburg whom we have mentioned above as an Ally to Maurice Duke of Saxony and whom Henry Duke of Brunswick the last year whilst he carried the War into Saxony very much afflicted married the Daughter of Albert Duke of Prussia About this time also I received an Account out of England That Bradford whom I have mentioned above to be condemned was kept a Prisoner anâ— that the Minds of many were much astonished and stupified with the Constancy of those who had Sacrificed their Lives Bradford was burnt in July following The End of the Twenty Fifth Book THE HISTORY OF THE Reformation of the Church BOOK XXVI The CONTENTS England submits to the Church of Rome The Castle of Blaffeburg taken and levelled with the Earth Augustus Elector of Saxony excuseth his not coming to the Diet. The Prince of Saxony writes to the Emperor Cardinal Pool endeavours to make a Peace between the Emperor and the King of France The Emperor writes to the States of the Empire The Turk besiegeth Piombino a Town in Italy The Town of Vulpiano destroyed by the French. The Parliament of Paris answereth the King's Edict against the Lutherans A Controversy about the County of Catzenellobogen Charles
to the Swisses The Skirmishes the Princes had with the Imperialists Erenberg again taken A Mutiny in the Camp of Duke Maurice The Emperor flies in the Night time And escapes to Villach The Duke of Saxony set at Liberty A Convention of the States of the Low-Countries about making a League The Bishops of Cologne and Liege make League with the House of Burgundy The Emperor's House Plundered The Declaration of the Princes for restoring the outed Ministers The Princes restore the Ministers Devastations made by Marquess Albert. Albert's Letter to those of Norimberg The treaty of the Norimbergers with Duke Maurice Their Complaint to the Princes The Answer of the Princes The Norimbergers Answer to Albert's Letter Albert's cruelty towards the Norimbergers The Bishops of Bamberg and Wurtzburg severely fined by Albert. The Cities of Schuabia Mediators betwixt the Norimbergers and Marquess Albert The Norimbergers make Peace with Marquess Albert The Siege of Norimberg removed Albert's Letter to the City of Ulm. The City of Ulm's Answer to Albert. The French King wastes the Country of Luxembourg And sacks Danvilliers and Ivey The Treaty of Passaw Duke Maurice's Grievances The Opinion of the Princes Moderators concerning the Grievances proposed by Duke Maurice The French Ambassador's Speech The Princes answer to the Speech of the French Ambassador Of the Family of Luxembourg Albert of Austria Duke Maurice insists chiefly on two Points The Mediators by Letters exhort the Emperor to Peace Albert of Brandenburg deserting the Confederates makes War in his own Name Albert falls foul of the Electors of Mentz and Treves The Elector of Mentz flies for it Albert demands of the Elector of Treves his chief Castle Duke Maurice impatient of Delay His Speech in the Assembly of the Princes The Emperor's Letter to the Princes Mediators The Mediators Letter to the Emperor Duke Maurice returns to the Confederates Duke Maurice besieges Francfurt George Duke of Meckleburg killed with a great Shot The Elector Palatine unwillingly supplies the Princes with Cannon Conditions of Peace proposed by the Emperor The Emperor's Answer to the Mediators Letter The Emperor's Answer to the French Ambassadors Letter Duke Maurice accepts the Peace The French King reduces his Army The Duchess of Lorain commanded to leave France Wolffgang Master of Prussia driven out of his Countrey Albert persecutes the Bishops on the Rhine The Bishop of Spire dies Albert's Demands to the Senate of Strasburg The Answer of the Senate Albert besieges Franckfurt The Heads of the Pacification at Passaw The French King offended at the Pacification of Passaw Rifeberg joyns with Albert. Who slighting the Peace makes war against the Bishops of Mentz and Spire The Arch-Bishop of Mentz comes to Ausburg The Sienese revolt from the Emperor Marquess Albert robs she Churches of Mentz Spire The Death of Herman Archbishop of Cologne The Landgrave set at liberty is stopt again Duke Maurice sends his Forces into Hungary Those of Treves refuse a Garison And receive Albert. The Emperor again changes the Senate of Ausburg and restores the Ministers of the Church The Duke of Saxony and Landgrave return home Melanchthon congratulates the return of the Duke of Saxony Marquess Albert's March into the Country of Luxembourg The Emperor charges the Franconians to recover what Albert had taken from them The Emperor marches with his Army to Lorrain The Deputies of Strasburg desires of the Emperor His Answer The Emperor makes his Entry into Strasburg Where the Senate makes him a Present Foreign Ambassadors with the Emperor Richard Morison from England and Marco Antonio Amulio from Venice The Rapine of the Soldiers Which the Duke of Alva did not or could not repress The outlawed Persons slight the Peace and stay in France Hedio and Osiander Dye The Emperor besieges Metz. Marquess Albert makes his Peace with the Emperor Rifeberg goes over to the French King. A Fight betwixt Albert and the French at Pont à Mousson The Bishop of Bayonne escapes and D'Aumale is taken George Lichtemberg The Imperialists take Hesdin The French King writes to the Emperor The Siege of Metz. The Duke of Brunswick again driven out of his Country by Count Mansfield The Master of the Teutonick Order takes Elwang The Duke of Wirtemberg regains Elwang The People of Ulm demolish Helfestein The Emperor raises the Siege of Metz. 1553. Lutheran Books burnt by the Hangman at Metz. The Imperial Chamber order War to be made against Marquess Albert The French Declaration to the States of the Empire Marquess Albert's Complaint of the Franconian Bishops His Deputation also to the Imperial Chamber The Chambers Answer The Emperor writes to Marquess Albert. The Commissioners of the Dukes of Saxony John Frederick and Maurice meet to make them Friends The Ambition of Cardinal Lenoncourt Marsey garrisoned by French. Princes meet at Heidelberg to make Peace betwixt Marquess Albert and the Bishops of Franconia Marquess Albert slighting Peace betakes himself to Arms and publishes a Declaration The Duke of Wirtemberg and the Master of the Teutonick Order are reconciled The Decree of the Imperial Chamber against Marquess Albert and who were enjoyned to put it in Execution Duke Maurice makes a League with the Duke of Brunswick Albert Burns and Plunders He takes Bamberg The Norimbergers raise Bohemian Horse The Duke of Brunswick plagues his Neighbours Cleve and Cologne made Friends A convention of the Princes at Franckfurt The Emperor's Answer to his Ambassadors Letters The Counts of Oetingen force a good Father into Banishment Terovanne besieged and taken English Affairs The War in Germany The Declaration against Alcert Albert's Answer Albert's Territories Invaded Sigismond King of Poland Edward VI. Dies A Battel in which Maurice Elector of Saxony is Slain Maurice Duke of Saxony dies Prodigies which seemed to foretel his Death Hesdin taken The Emperor's Advice to the Princes of Germany Augustus Brother of Maurice succeeds The Diet of Saxony Nine Persons burnt at Lyons in France English Affairs †Sleidan has Norfolk Queen Mary entreth London The Story of Gardiner Northumberland beheaded Peter Martyr One Thornton Suffragan at Dover †Four or five †This Manifesto is extant at large in Dr. Burnet's History of the Reformation The Bishop imprisoned The Religion changed in England German Affairs Albert defated again Hoffe taken Corsica taken By the French and Turks The Waa in France Cambray besieged Several Princes of Germany meet †The Duchess de Valentois Albert retires into France Brunswick sieged †He was Prolocutor of the lower House of Convocation and Dean of Westminster but the Dispute began the twenty third of October tho' it was proposed the eighteenth in the Convocation Servetus a Spaniard burnt Sturmius dies Cardinal Pool detained in Germany The War against Albert Prosecuted English Affairs †Outlawed †Outlawed A Parliament in England †This was not done till March of the next Year 1554. †In this our Author seems to be â—isinformed for he said nothing of Religion in Publick The Lady Jane