GERMANY. 
488 
liimfelf as a candidate for the imperial throne, and (as 
his partifans obferved) his hereditary claim to the ex- 
tenfive territories of tlie houfe of Auftria, the rich lb. 
vereignty of Franche Compte and the Netherlands, and 
the entire polTellion of Spain and Sicily, all united to 
hold him up to the firfl: dignity among Chriftian princes. 
But Francis I. of France declared himfelf a competitor, 
and with no lefs confidence of fuccefs than Charles, 
He trufted to his fuperior years and experience ; and, 
urged, as a peculiar recommendation, that the French 
cavalry when united to the German infantry would not 
only form an irrefiftible barrier againft invafion, but 
might allb prove fufficient to crufh the augmenting 
power of the Turks. 
Both tltefe claims were certainly plaufible, yet both 
were reje< 5 ted ; and the eledtors made a tender of the 
imperial diadem to Frederic, furnamed the Wife, duke 
of Saxony. But Ire was fo far from being dazzled by 
its Iplendour, that he rejedled it with noble firmnefs, 
and infilled on the expediency of raifing Charles to the 
fupreme dignity. “ In times of tranquillity, (faid the 
magnanimous duke,) we wifli for an emperor who has 
no power to curtail our liberties; times of danger de¬ 
mand one who is able to maintain our fafety. The Ot¬ 
toman forces, led by a martial and victorious prince, 
are now alTembling, and are ready to pour in upon our 
empire with a violence unknown in former ages. New 
conjunctures call for frefh expedients. The imperial 
I'ceptre mult be placed in fome hand more powerful 
than mine, or that of any other German prince. We 
pollefs neitlier dominions, revenues, nor authority, fuf¬ 
ficient to enco\inter fo formidable an enemy. Recourfe 
mult, therefore, be had to one of the royal competitors. 
Kacli of them can certainly raife forces for our defence : 
but as the king, of Spain is of Gerrrian extraction, as 
he is a prince of the empire by tlie territories which de- 
Icend to him from his grandfather, and as his dominions 
llretch along that frontier which lies molt expofed to 
the enemy, his claim, in my opinion, is preferable to 
that of Francis, who, notwithllanding his extenlive 
power, is a llranger to our language, our ciiltoms, and 
our country.” This well-timed fpeech made a deep 
imprellion on the minds of the eleCtors, and Charles 
was invefied with the imperial crown at Aix-la-Cha- 
pellc, in the year 1521. 
The firlt act of Charles’s adminillration was to ap¬ 
point an imperial diet to be held at Worms, in order to 
concert meafures for checking the progrefs of Luther’s 
opinions, and the reformation, which were reprefented 
as inimical to tlie peace of Germany, and fubverlive of 
tlie catholic l eligion. Luther appeared at that all’em- 
bly; and, being alked whether he would retratt or de¬ 
fend the doctrines he had recently promulgated, he in- 
filled upon the trutii of what he had advanced, and re¬ 
filled, witli equal firmnefs, the perfuafions and remon- 
flrances of thole who had tampered with him in private. 
Some of the members of the diet were highly incenfed 
at his.perfeverance, and urged the emperor to violate 
the fate conduCt w'hich he had granted; but Charles 
rejeCled this advice with noble difdain, and reminded 
them, “ that if good faitii were banillied from all the 
red oi the world, it ought to find an afylum in the pa¬ 
laces of princes.” Luther was, therefore, permitted 
to retire in fafety, though he was, at the fame time, 
condemned and proferibed, by public ediCl, as an im¬ 
pious heretic, v/ho had broached the molt pernicious 
doClrines. 
Previoufiy to the decifion of the eleCtors refpeCting 
an emperor, Charles and Francis had conducted their 
rivallliip without enmity, and had even mingled in their 
competition many exprellions of fraternal regard. But 
a fpirit of jealoufy was afterwards kindled between 
thole two great princes, which involved them in fre- 
<5uent hollilities, and kept their whole lives in difquie- 
tude. The Sp.^iards alfb, chagrined at the departure 
of their fovereign, and exafperated by the avarice of 
the I'lemings, who had lately prefided at the helm of 
government, entered into an afibciation, whicli they 
called the SanBa JunEla ; and the Lvord was appealed 
to as a means ot redrefs. Francis confidered this as a 
favourable conjunClure for reinllating the family of 
John d’Albert in the fovereigiity of Navarre ; and a 
F'rench army was immediately fent out under the com. 
mand of Andrew de Foix, whofe exertions were, at 
firll, crowned with viClory; but on his raflily penetrat¬ 
ing into Callile, he was defeated and taken prifoner ; 
and Navarre was recovered in a fiiorter time than he had 
fpent in reducing it. 
Boon after this event, Francis encouraged the duke of 
Bouillon to make war upon the emperor, and to invade 
Luxemberg; but this infult was foon chaflil'ed by the 
imperial forces: and the French king, who had broken 
into the Low-countries, loll an opportunity of gaining 
a complete viCdory. During thefe operations a congcel's 
was held at Calais, under the mediation of Henry VJII. 
king ol England; but this proved entirely unfuccel's- 
fiil: and a league was foon afterward concluded be¬ 
tween the pope, the emperor, and tlie Englifli monarcli, 
againll France. In the mean time, the Milanefe, weary 
of the exactions of marefchal de Lautrec, refolved to 
expel the French troops, and put thenifelves under the 
protection of Francis Sforza, brother to Maximilian 
their late duke. This delign was approved by Jiis lio- 
linefs the pope, who fulminated an excommunication 
againft Lautrec, and took into his pay a numerous 
body of Swifs. The papal army, commanded by Prof- 
per Colonna, received a powerful reinforcement from 
Germany ; the city of Milan was betrayed to the con. 
federates; Parma and Placentia were united to the ec- 
clefiallical Hate ; and of all their conquelts in Lom¬ 
bardy, only the callle of Milan, the town of Cremona, 
and fome inconfiderable forts, remained in tlie hands of 
the French. 
Pope Leo X. received the news of this brilliant fuc¬ 
cefs with fuch immoderate tranfport, as brought on a 
fever and occafioned his death. By this accident the fpi¬ 
rit ot the confederacy was broken, and its operations 
fufpended. Tlie Swifs v/ere immediately recalled ; 
lome other mercenaries dilbanded for want of pay ; and 
only the Spaniards and a few Germans remained to de¬ 
fend the Milanefe. Lautrec, who had taken refuge in 
tlie territories of Venice, was anxious to improve fo fa¬ 
vourable an opportunity; but all his eft'orts were fruf- 
trated by the vigilance and ability of Colonna. During 
thefe tranfa£lions, much difcoid prevailed at Rome re- 
fpeiting the eledlionof afuccelFor to Leo X. Cardinal 
Wolfey had long relied on the emperor’s interefl; and 
Julio de Medici, Leo’s nephew, thought himfelf fure 
of the tiara ; but both thefe candidates were fet afide, and 
cardinal Adrian, who at that time governed in the em¬ 
peror’s name, was iinaninioufiy raifed to the papal 
chair, to the great difgull of the Italians, and the aflo- 
nilhnieiit of all Europe. 
Rouled by the augmented power of his rival, Francis 
now deterniined to make a vigorous exertion for the re¬ 
covery of Lombardy ; and, accordingly. Cent a rein¬ 
forcement of ten thoufand Swifs to Lautrec. The 
Frencli commander was alfo in a condition to aft offen- 
fively, and aclually advanced within a few miles of the 
city of Milan : but his nev/ auxiliaries growing muti¬ 
nous, he was obliged to attack the Imperialifts at Bioc- 
ca, where he was defeated with prodigious (laughter. 
He was confequently obliged to retire info France j 
while Colonna eftefted the reduflion of Genoa, and ef- 
feftually re-ellablilhed the imperial authority. 
Whilll an Engiilh army, under the earl of Surrey, 
made an unfuccelsful defeent on tlie coaft of France, • 
and the emperor was fully employed in tranquillizing 
tiie 
