Thus the pope himself became but one of the dependents of
Charles V., and all the corruptions of the Church were sustained by the
imperial arm. He then, through the submissive pope, summoned a council
of Catholic divines to meet at Trent. He had arranged in his own mind
the decrees which they were to issue, and had entered into a treaty with
the new King of France, Henry II., by which the French monarch agreed,
with all the military force of his kingdom, to maintain the decrees of
the council of Trent, whatever they might be.
The emperor had now apparently attained all his ends. He had crushed the
Protestant league, vanquished the Protestant princes, subjected the pope
to his will, arranged religious matters according to his views, and had
now assembled a subservient council to ratify and confirm all he had
done. But with this success he had become arrogant, implacable and
cruel. His friends had become alienated and his enemies exasperated.
Even the most rigorous Catholics were alarmed at his assumptions, and
the pope was humiliated by his haughty bearing.
Charles assembled a diet of the States of the empire at Augsburg, the
26th of July, 1550. He entered the city with the pomp and the pride of a
conqueror, and with such an array of military force as to awe the States
into compliance with his wishes.
Pages:
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203