'IVAN D•.) (In the death of his grandfather, Maximilian, in 15111. Charles conjointly with his younger brother, Ferdinand, succeeded to the pos session of the hereditary dominions of the house of Hapsburg (House of Austria). On •J 11110 28, 1511), he was raised to the imperial throne of Ily by the choice of the electors. the rival candidates being Francis 1. of France and Henry VIII. of England, and was crowned at Aix-hi Chapelle. October 23. 1520. Owing to the jeal of Ids Spanish connections, he was required to sign an election agreement ( Ilahlkapitulotion) guaranteeing certain rights to the German na tion. a practice followed by his successors in the imperial office. Charles was now by far the most. powerful sovereign in Christendom. In his earlier years he had been frivolous and dissolute, hut he now became mindful of the duties and dignity of his high position. lle ascended the imperial throne at a time when Germany Willa in a state of unprecedented agitation, because of the movement set on foot by Luther (q.v.). To. restore tranquillity, a great diet was held at Worms in 1521, before which Luther made the memorable defense of his doctrines. Just at this moment the great struggle between France and Spain broke out afresh, Francis 1. taking up arms against his rival, whose attention was drawn away from the internal affairs of Ger many. Thus, instead of vigorously assailing the Protestant movement when it might still have been in his power to quell it, Charles, who was not alive to its significance, permitted it to take deep root.
The war between Charles and Francis, in which the former had Henry V111. of England as an ally, and was strengthened by the defection of the powerful Charles of Bourbon (q.v.). proved disastrous to France. The French were swept out of Lombardy, and in an attempt to regain pos session of it, Francis was defeated before the walls of Pavia, February 24, 1525, and taken prisoner, lle was forced to sign a humiliating treaty at Madrid, January. 1526; but hardly had he been set at liberty, when he prepared to renew the struggle, with Henry VIII. now on his side and with the support of Pope ('lenient VIT., of the House of Medici, who, alarmed at the vic tories of Charles, was anxious to rid 'Italy of the Imperialists, and induced some of the Italian States to join him. The Empero•'s forces, under •rundsberg and Charles of Bourbon, took Rome itself by storm (1527), plundered it, and made the Pope a prisoner. Charles pretended great regret, went into mourning with all his Court, and caused prayers to be said for the Pope's liberation, while, by his own direction, the Pope was kept for seven months a captive. The Peace of Cambrai, between Charles and Francis, in 1529, deprived France of Lombardy, for the pos session of which she had fought so furiously. In 1530 Clement V11.. into whose scheme for the restoration of the Aledici in Florence Charles had entered, crowned the victorious monarch at Bo logna as King of Lombardy and Emperor of the llomans ((hue last coronation of a German Em peror by the Pope). Simultaneously with these events, a great drama was being enacted in the basin Of the Danube, which brought a still greater concentration of power in the hands of the Haps burg dynasty. In 1526 the ottoman Sultan, Soly man the Magnificent, laid low the power of Hun gamy in the battle of Molnies. The Hungarian monarch, Louis IL, who was also King of Bo hemia, did not survive the defeat. and Ferdinand of Hapsburg, his brother-in-law, N•:1'; chosen his suceessor in Bohemia, while some of the nobles in Hungary also conferred upon him the royal Crown, Thus were laid the foundations of the modern Ilapsburg monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Previous to this, in 1521-22, Charles had relin quished to Ferdinand the sole sovereignty over the principal portion of the old hereditary Austrian dominions. Having made peace with his formidable rival. Charles 110W thought to put au end to the religious differences in Ger many, and to repel the Turks, who had over run Hungary and laid siege to Vienna. But the diet at. Augsburg, in 1530, proved how vain was the hope of restoring the former state of things in Germany; and when the Emperor re fused to recognize the eonfession of the Protest ants (see Aucstsca( CoNvEssIoN), they refused to help him against the Turks. In 1531 the Protestant princes formed the League of S•hmal kald (q.v.), and allied themselves with France and England for their own proteetion. This,
aiid the continued assaults of the Turks, com pelled the Emperor to yield in some measure to the demands of the Protestants, and to conclude the Peace of Nuremberg (1532). In 1535 Charles undertook an expedition from Spain against the pirate Barbarossa, who had established himself in Tunis, and whose vessels did great injury to the commerce of Spain and Italy. In this expe dition be was completely suecessful, and set free no fewer than 22,000 Christians, \ vho had been held as shaves. War again broke out with France. An armistice for ten years was con cluded at Nice in 153S. which left the bulk of the dominions of the despoiled Duke of Savoy in the hands of Francis. Charles visited Paris. where lie was magnificently entertained. In 1540 the proud city of Ghent, the birthplace of the Em peror, received a terrible chastisement at his bands for daring to resist his mandates. In 1511 Charles undertook an expedition against Algiers, but returned discomfited. In 1542-44 Charles was engaged in a fresh war with France, Henry VIII. being once more his ally. It was terminated by the Treaty of Crespy, advantageous to the Em peror. The suspension of the struggle with France left the Emperor at liberty to turn his arms against the Protestants of Germany. at whose head were Philip the Magnanimous, Land grave of Hesse, and John Frederick. Elector of Saxony. Charles received the support of the am bitions Protestant prince. Maurice, Duke of Sax ony (of the Albertine line). The victory of Miffilberg, April 24, 1547. placed the Protestants at the mercy of Charles, who deprived John Fred erick of his territories. in 154S the Augsburg Interim was published, fixing the degree of re ligious toleration to he accorded in Germany pending the decision of the Council of Trent, which had been opened in 1545. In 1551 Magde burg. a great stronghold of Protestantism, suc cumbed to the arms of Maurice of Saxony. But this prince himself now became thoroughly alarmed at the arbitrary manner in which the Emperor was proceeding to carry out his political aims. and suddenly turned his arms against him, allying himself with Henry II. of France. Charles was compelled to flee before the arms of the Pro testants, and in 1552. through his brother Ferdi nand. lie concluded with them the Peace of Pas sau, by which the Lutheran States were allowed the exercise of their religion. A more definite settlement was made, in the Peace of Augsburg. in 1555. In the meanwhile Henry II. seized the three of Toni, Metz. and Verdun 1552), and an attempt of the Emperor to re conquer Metz failed miserably.
Weary of the constant st niggles and heavy responsibilities of his ill-assorted realms, Charles now declared his resolution to seek repose and devote the remainder of his days to God. In 1555-5(i he resigned the Netiu•rlands and Spain to his son Philip, and abdicated the imperial crown in favor of his brother Ferdinand, and retired to the Monastery of Yuste, in Estremadnra. At Viiste Charles spent two years, partly in me eh:ode:Li pursuits, partly in religions exercises, whirl are said to have assumed a character of the most rigid asceticism, and partly in active irarticipation in politics, lie died September 21, 155ti. By his wife, Isabella, daughter of King Emmanuel of Portugal, lie had one son, his suecess(ir, Philip II. of Spain, and two daugh ters. Charles V. was a prince of remarkable executhe powers. Ile showed a shrewd and times statesmanlike ability in meeting the diffi cult problems of his reign: but this gave way more and more to the religious temperament in herited from the Spanish side of his house. While he spared his Protestant subjects in Germany for political reasons, he persecuted heresy unspar ingly in Spain. where policy imposed upon hint no restraint. As a general he ranks high. In temperament and disposition lie was cold, phleg matic. stoical, and devoid of chivalry.
Consult: IV. Robertson, History of the Reign of Charles F.. with an account of the Emperor's life after his abdication by Prescott (Phila delphia, 1S64-67) : Baumgarten, M'schichte Karls C. (qtuttgart, 1SS5-92) : Lanz, Korresponthnz des Kaisers Karl 1'. (Leipzig, 1844-46) : Sando val, Ilistoria (le In rib y heehos del Emperador Carlos 1'. (Valladolid. 1604) : S(•1111(141:1. De Rebus (Testis Caroli V. (Madrid, 1780) Ranke, Deutsche Gesehichte iin Zeitaltcr der Reforma tion (Leipzig, IS94).