Emperor Charles V: One of the Most Important Ruling Personalities in European History
Emperor Charles V was one of the most important rulingpersonalities in European history. The lottery of birth placed Charles atthe center of a genealogical network that covered half Europe. Hisfather, Philip, was Duke of Burgundy. His grandfather was EmperorMaximilian of Austria. His mother, Joanna, was daughter of Isabella andFerdinand, Spain's Catholic monarchs. The reign of Charles V coincideswith the beginning of the Modern Age and is marked by the Renaissance, bythe spread of printed material, the discovery of the Americas, and by theReformation started by Martin Luther. Through his mother, he would inherit Spain and the bloodstainedkingdom of Naples as well. Charles, archduke of Austria and King of Spainbecomes Emperor Charles V, the most powerful ruler in Europe. As the Kingof Spain, Naples and Sicily, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, ruler ofFlanders, the Netherlands and large areas of Central and South America, thesun virtually never set on Charles empire. For the first time, Europebecame the center of a world empire. However, Charles failed to achieve Charles V greatness was not entirely of his own making. It was
His brother, Ferdinand I, is made Emperor. In a book review by Jonathan Brown, Brown reports that Charles Vwas interested in beauty as well as diplomacy. The so-called compromise was seen by most Protestants as an attempt tolead the "free" German church back into Catholic and Papal servitude(Rein, 45). From the very outset of his reign, he was faced by the situationcreated by Martin Luther's agitations in Germany against the CatholicChurch. " Eric Gritsch explains that the Holy RomanEmpire, which was in effect a symbiotic relationship between spiritualand temporal rulers, namely the Pope and the Emperor, was beingthreatened by a massive invasion of Muslims led by Turkish sultans. In July of 1533, the Sultan sued for peace anda treaty was signed with Ferdinand of Spain. His attempts to close that rift werestrenuous and honest, but largely ineffective. The Emperor had one reason for siding with the reformers in theopposition of the Pope to his election. At first, Charles was a puppet in the hands of hisministers and advisors. In 1555, he turned over the Netherlands to Philip. By this time, Charles V had resolved many ofthe internal controversies as was in a strong military position to opposethe Turk invaders. Summary: Douglas Hilt suggests that nature abhors a vacuum and inthe absence of a powerful legitimate ruler, someone or something willfill the void. Slowly, he began to assert himself and takecontrol.
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