[Footnote 27]: The herring fishery and the brewing industry gave a great importance to the coopers' guild, which was moreover protected against foreign competition by ancient enactments.--Translator.
[Footnote 28]: Gaspard von Schwenkfeld, born in 1490 at the castle of Offing, in Silesia, died at Ulm in 1561. Entered into holy orders, he reproached Luther with restoring the reign of literal interpretation and with neglecting the spirit. Banished from Silesia as a fanatic, he made his way to Southern Germany, and stayed at Strasburg, Augsburg, Spires and Ulm. For some time he seemed to incline towards the Anabaptists, but soon parted from them to found a particular sect. He taught that God reveals Himself in direct communication to every man, and that regeneration is accomplished by the spiritual life and not by outward means of grace. His profound conviction and great piety gained him many adherents, notably in Swabia and Silesia. A colony of his persecuted disciples settled in Philadelphia, U.S.--Translator.
[Footnote 29]: At the head of the bands recruited by the Duke of Cleves and the King of Denmark, Martin van Rosse, or von Rossheim, acting in concert with the French troops, had ravaged Brabant. Not only did the Duke of Cleves retain Guelderland, on which Charles V pretended to have claims, but he continued his intrigues with France and Denmark. To put an end to these, Charles, in 1543, got together 35,000 men, Spaniards, Italians and Germans, and proceeded down the Rhine. The fortified place of Düren having been carried by assault, the Duke considered himself lucky to be able to conclude a peace which only cost him Guelderland, and Martin van Rosse took service once more with the Emperor.--Translator.
[Footnote 30]: Sastrow has the whole of the grant of poet laureate, with the full description of the arms conferred. In reality it was not a patent of nobility in the proper significance of the term.--Translator.
[Footnote 31]: Les especes enlevées, il renferma la bourse et le fou de s'écrier: "Monseigneur, appelez votre coquin de prêtre (il ne le calumnioit point) qu'on le taille à son tour. Votre Grace sait qu'il a engrossé une fille de Butzbach." On suspendit derrière le poêle les angelots cousus dans un sachet.
[Footnote 32]: Duke Henry of Brunswick endeavoured to hold his own against the Protestant princes, but in 1545, abandoned by the mercenaries, he was compelled to surrender to the Landgrave Philip of Hesse.--Translator.
[Footnote 33]: On the subject of the child Simeon, the following may be read with interest in the martyrology of the Israelites, entitled Emek Habakha, or The Valley of Tears (published by Julian Sée, 1881): "At that period (1475), a scoundrel named Enzo, of Trent, in Italy, killed a child of two years old with the name of Simeon and flung it secretly into a pond, not far from the house of the Jew Samuel without any one having seen the deed. Immediately, as usual, the Jews were accused of it. At the order of the bishop their houses were entered into; the child, of course, was not found, and everybody went back to his home. The body was found afterwards. The bishop, after having had it examined on the spot itself, ordered the arrest of all the Jews, who were harassed and tortured to such a degree as to confess to a thing which had never entered their mind. Only one among them, a very old man, named Moses, refused to avow this signal falsehood and died under his torture. May the Lord reward him according to his piety."
Two Christians, learned and versed in the law came from Padua to judge for themselves. The wrath of the inhabitants of Trent was kindled against them and they were nearly killed. The bishop condemned the Jews, heaped bitterness upon them, tortured them with red-hot pincers, finally burned them, and their guiltless souls ascended to heaven. He subsequently took possession of all their property as he had intended, and filled his cellars with spoil. The child was already reported as admitted among the saints, and was supposed to perform miracles. The bishop disseminated the announcement of it throughout all the provinces, crowds rushed to see, and they did not come empty-handed. All the people of that country began to show great hatred to the Jews in the spots where they resided, and ceased to speak peacefully to them. Meanwhile, the bishop having asked the pope to canonize the child, considering that it was among the saints, the pope sent one of his cardinals with the title of legate to examine the affair more closely, and the latter did not fail before long to discover that it was nothing but an imposture and fancy. He also wished to see the corpse; the corpse was embalmed. Thereupon the cardinal began to jeer; he declared in the presence of the people that it was nothing but sheer deception. The people, however, became furious against him; he was obliged to flee and to take refuge in a neighbouring town. When there he sent for all the documents relating to the avowals of the unfortunate Jews and the measures taken against them, had the servant of the scoundrel who killed the child arrested, and the latter declared that the crime had been committed by order of the bishop in order to ruin the Jews. The cardinal took the servant with him to Rome, gave an account of his mission to the pope, who refused to canonize the child as the bishop kept asking him. The child was only "beatified," but up to the present (1540) it has not been "canonized." Still, it was canonized in 1588, and its "day" is celebrated with great pomp at Trent on March 24.--Translator.
[Footnote 34]: Ascagne, Count of St. Florian and Cardinal, was the son of Constance Farnese, daughter of Pope Paul III.--Translator.
[Footnote 35]: Duke Octavius was the son of Peter-Aloys Farnése.--Translator.