A History of Germany from the Earliest Times to the Present Day

by Bayard Taylor

The meeting between the two Reformers finally took place in Marburg, in 1529. Melanchthon, Jonas, and many other distinguished men were present: both Luther and Zwingli fully and freely compared their doctrines, but, although they were united on all essential points, they differed in regard to the nature of the Eucharist, and Luther positively refused to give way, or even to make common cause with the Swiss Protestants. This was one of several instances, wherein the great Reformer injured his cause through his lack of wisdom and tolerance: in small things, as in great, he was inflexible.

So matters stood, in the beginning of 1530, when Charles V. returned to Germany, after an absence of nine years. He established his court at Innsbruck, and summoned a Diet to meet at Augsburg, in April, but it was not opened until the 20th of June. Melanchthon, with many other Protestant professors and clergymen, was present: Luther, being under the ban of the Empire, remained in Coburg, where he wrote his grand hymn, "Our Lord, He is a Tower of Strength." The Protestant princes and cities united in signing a Confession of Faith, which had been very carefully drawn up by Melanchthon, and the Emperor was obliged to consent that it should be read before the Diet. He ordered, however, that the reading should take place, not in the great hall where the sessions were held, but in the Bishop's chapel, and at a very early hour in the morning. The object of this arrangement was to prevent any but the members of the Diet from hearing the document.

But the weather was intensely warm, and it was necessary to open the windows; the Saxon Chancellor, Dr. Bayer, read the Confession in such a loud, clear voice, that a thousand or more persons, gathered on the outside of the Chapel, were able to hear every word. The principles asserted were:—That men are justified by faith alone; that an assembly of true believers constitutes the Church; that it is not necessary that forms and ceremonies should be everywhere the same; that preaching, the sacraments, and infant baptism, are necessary; that Christ is really present in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which should be administered to the congregation in both forms; that monastic vows, fasting, pilgrimages and the invocation of saints are useless, and that priests must be allowed to marry. After the Confession had been read, many persons were heard to exclaim: "It is reasonable that the abuses of the Church should be corrected: the Lutherans are right, for our spiritual lords have carried it with too high a hand." The general impression was favorable to the Protestants, and the princes who had signed the Confession determined that they would maintain it at all hazards. This "Augsburg Confession," as it was thenceforth called, was the foundation of the Lutheran Church throughout Germany.

1530.

The Emperor ordered a refutation of the Protestant doctrines to be prepared by the Catholic theologians who were present, but refused to furnish a copy to the Protestants and prohibited them from making any reply. He declared that the latter must instantly return to the Roman Church, the abuses of which would be corrected by himself and the Pope. Thus the breach was made permanent between Rome and more than half of Germany. Charles V. procured the election of his brother Ferdinand to the crown of Germany, although Bavaria united with the Protestant princes in voting against him.

The Imperial Courts in the ten districts were now composed entirely of Catholics, and they were ordered to enforce the suppression of Protestant worship. Thereupon the Protestant princes and delegates from the cities met at the little town of Schmalkalden, in Thuringia, and on the 29th of March, 1531, bound themselves to unite, for the space of six years, in resisting the Imperial decree. Even Luther, much as he dreaded a religious war, could not oppose this movement. The League of Schmalkalden, as it is called, represented so much military strength, that king Ferdinand became alarmed and advised a more conciliatory course towards the Protestants. Sultan Solyman of Turkey, who had conquered all Hungary, was marching upon Vienna with an immense army, and openly boasted that he would subdue Germany.

It thus became impossible for Charles V. either to suppress the Protestants at this time, or to repel the Turkish invasion without their help. He was compelled to call a new Diet, which met at Nuremberg, and in August, 1532, concluded a Religious Peace, both parties agreeing to refrain from all hostilities until a General Council of the Church should be called. Then the Protestants contributed their share of troops to the Imperial army, which soon amounted to 80,000 men, commanded by the famous general, Sebastian Schertlin, himself a Protestant. The Turks were defeated everywhere; the siege of Vienna was raised, and the whole of Hungary might have been reconquered, but for Ferdinand's unpopularity among the Catholic princes.

1539. THE LEAGUE OF SCHMALKALDEN.

Other cities and smaller principalities joined the League of Schmalkalden, the power of which increased from year to year. The Religious Peace of Nuremberg greatly favored the spread of the Reformation, although it was not very strictly observed by either side. In 1534 Würtemberg, which was then held by Ferdinand of Austria, was conquered by Philip of Hesse, who reinstated the exiled Duke, Ulric. The latter became a Protestant, and thus Würtemberg was added to the League. Charles V. would certainly have interfered in this case, but he had left Germany for another nine years' absence, and was just then engaged in a war with Tunis. The reigning princes of Brandenburg and Ducal Saxony (Thuringia), who had been enemies of the Reformation, died and were succeeded by Protestant sons: in 1537 the League of Schmalkalden was renewed for ten years more, and the so-called "holy alliances," which were attempted against it by Bavaria and the Archbishops of Mayence and Salzburg, were of no avail. The Protestant faith continued to spread, not only in Germany, but also in Denmark, Sweden, Holland and England. The first of these countries even became a member of the Schmalkalden League, in 1538.

Out of the "Freedom of the Gospel," which was the first watch-word of the Reformers, smaller sects continued to arise, notwithstanding they met with almost as much opposition from the Protestants as the Catholics. The Anabaptists obtained possession of the city of Münster in 1534, and held it for more than a year, under the government of a Dutch tailor, named John of Leyden, who had himself crowned king of Zion, introduced polygamy, and cut off the heads of all who resisted his decrees. When the Bishop of Münster finally took the city, John of Leyden and two of his associates were tortured to death, and their bodies suspended in iron cages over the door of the cathedral. About the same time Simon Menno, a native of Friesland, founded a quiet and peaceful sect which was named, after him, the Mennonites, and which still exists, both in Germany and the United States.