CHAP. II.]

SURRENDER OF WITTENBERG.

47

the game. Wittenberg, however, was found to be strongly fortified and abundantly victualled; and the advice of the Duke of Alva and the Bishop of Arras, a son of Granvella's, ultimately prevailed, that the Elector's life should be spared on condition of his surrendering Wittenberg and his other fortresses. 12

The Bishop of Arras, who was appointed to treat with the Elector, found him absolutely intractable in all matters of conscience; he would neither acknowledge the authority of the Council of Trent, nor submit to the Emperor's ordinances respecting religion. In worldly matters he was more pliable, and agreed to subscribe to whatever might be arranged between the Emperor, his brother, and Duke Maurice. On May 19th was signed the Capitulation of Wittenberg, by which John Frederick the Elder of Saxony, as he was styled in it, gave up all his princely rights to the Emperor, surrendered Wittenberg and Gotha, relinquished his pretensions to Magdeburg, Halberstadt, and Halle, and promised obedience to the Imperial tribunal. His possessions were to be divided between King Ferdinand and Duke Maurice, the latter undertaking to pay an annual pension of 50,000 florins, valued at twenty-one groschen each, to the Elector's children; who were also to retain several towns, the chief of which were Eisenach, Weimar, and Jena; also Gotha, after the fortifications should have been rased, and the district of Saalfeld. There was no article about religion. John Frederick was to remain at the court of the Emperor, or of his son the Prince of Spain. 13

The day after this capitulation was executed, John Frederick directed Wittenberg to surrender, an order which was obeyed with great reluctance by the commandant; and the town was immediately occupied by a garrison of German Imperialists. On the following day, Sibylla, John Frederick's consort, visited the Imperial camp, to implore Charles's mercy towards her husband, and to beg that he might be permitted to live with her in Saxony; but though the Emperor treated her with great respect and kindness, this request was refused. Next day Charles, surrounded by his guards, entered Wittenberg to return Sibylla's visit. That town contains little to arrest the attention, except the memorials of

12 The story of Charles having frightened the Elector's wife, Sibylla, into a surrender of the city, by threatening to cut off her husband's head if she refused it, which is related by Robertson (Charles V. bk. ix.) and made the subject of a heavy charge against the Emperor's character, is totally devoid of foundation. Bugen

hagen, a Lutheran priest, who was in Wittenberg during the time of its investment by the Imperialists, and who has left a minute account of what happened, does not mention any such message from the Emperor (Hortleder, Th. ii. B. iii. c. 73).

is Hortleder, l. c. S. 582 ff.

43

CHARLES AT LUTHER'S GRAVE.

[BOOK III. Luther; yet Charles could not have passed its gates without emotion, when he reflected that he was now in the very citadel of Protestantism, whence the arch-reformer had shaken the Roman throne to its foundations, and for so many years rendered his own uneasy. After visiting the castle, Charles entered the castle church, and remained some time in earnest contemplation before the grave of Luther. How many events had been crowded into that quarter of a century since its now silent occupant had stood before him at Worms! When at last it seemed in his power to enforce the Edict then promulgated, the object of it had escaped from all earthly tribunals and put in an appeal to the Almighty. Such reflections cannot but chasten and improve the heart. When Alva and the Bishop of Arras suggested that the bones of the arch-heretic should be digged up and cast into the flames, "No," said Charles, "let him lie, he has his judge:" and he silenced their further importunities by observing, "I war with the living, not with the dead."

In Lower Saxony the Emperor was not so fortunate. An Imperial army of 29,000 men, under Christopher of Wrisberg and Duke Eric of Brunswick Calenberg, laid siege to Bremen. But that place, agreeably to the anticipations of John Frederick, made a vigorous defence; and in the beginning of April the towns of Magdeburg, Brunswick, Hamburg, and Bremen, having entered into a new alliance, Christopher of Oldenburg and Albert of Mansfeld at the head of the army of the League, which had also been joined by the troops detached into Bohemia by John Frederick, marched to Bremen, compelled Duke Eric to raise the siege, and on the 23rd of May completely defeated him near Drackenburg. Next day, however, Wrisberg captured the military chest of the allies; and the news of John Frederick's capitulation arriving soon after, the troops of the Lower Saxon League dispersed themselves, and the leaders submitted one after another to the Emperor. The council and guilds of Magdeburg, where the Protestant worship had been recently introduced, alone resolved to stand on their defence. They had refused to obey a summons, sent them by Duke Maurice, April 29th 1547, with the news of the Elector's capture, as well as another from the Emperor himself from his camp before Wittenberg. Charles, however, finding that most of Lower Saxony had submitted, thought it not prudent to waste his time at Magdeburg, but rather to proceed to Upper Germany, whither he was called by more important events, and especially by his relations with the Pope. But Magdeburg remained a thorn in his side.

There was one affair, however, which he could not overlook,

CHAP. II.]

AFFAIR OF THE LANDGRAVE PHILIP.

49

completed during his march southwards. On the 10th of June he entered Halle in great state, which town had submitted to Duke Maurice immediately after the battle of Mühlberg. In Charles's train was the captive Elector, who only a few months before had himself entered Halle with almost Imperial pomp by the opposite gate. The citizens did not forget him in his adversity; but together with the presents which they made to the Emperor and his nobles, sent him three and a half casks of Rhenish wine and a barrel of Torgau beer.

At Halle the Emperor declared null and void the transfer of the dioceses of Magdeburg and Halberstadt to Saxony, and bestowed the coadjutorship of both on Frederick, second son of the Elector of Brandenburg, in reward for the latter's faithful services. Since this time these bishoprics have remained almost uninterruptedly under princes of the House of Brandenburg, and have become at last part of their possessions.

It was here on the 19th of June that the Emperor received the submission of the Landgrave Philip. The manner in which it was brought about is not altogether plain, and has been the subject of some mistakes. Philip seems to have been the victim of the blundering but well intended mediation of the Elector of Brandenburg, and of his own son-in-law Maurice. Their proposals to the Emperor show plainly that the two Electors were at first contented with a stipulation that the Landgrave should suffer neither corporal punishment nor perpetual imprisonment. This, however, they appear to have overlooked or forgotten, and in their subsequent communications with the Landgrave, they assured him that he might come and go unmolested, and sent him the draft of a capitulation analogous to that granted to the Duke of Würtemberg. Philip was to submit himself unconditionally to the Emperor; to beg pardon on his knees, and promise future obedience; to pay a fine of 150,000 florins; to demolish all his fortresses, except either Ziegenhain or Cassel; to deliver up his artillery, and to dismiss Duke Henry of Brunswick and his son, as well as the other prisoners whom he had taken. The Landgrave's children, nobles, and subjects were to ratify these articles, which were guaranteed by his two sons-in law, Maurice and the Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken, and by the Elector of Brandenburg. 15

50

THE LANDGRAVE BEFORE THE EMPEROR. [BOOK III.

Assuming that the Landgrave was to enjoy his freedom, the articles seemed moderate enough, especially as the integrity of his dominions was assured to him. In some further correspondence, Philip expressed his belief that he should not be detained more than five or six days at Halle, on which the Bishop of Arras made no remark. Maurice and the Elector of Brandenburg seem, however, to have had some misgivings. On setting out for Naumburg to meet the Landgrave, and escort him to Halle, they inquired of the Emperor whether he has resolved not to molest Philip beyond the terms agreed upon ? To which Charles answered that it was not his custom to depart from his word. It is evident, however, that he was aware of the unaccountable mistake into which the negociators had fallen; for in a letter to his brother, on the 15th of June, he expressed his determination to hold the Landgrave prisoner; and as he adds, that the Electors Joachim and Maurice could not take it ill, since it broke no assurance which he had given to them, it is plain that he knew they did not expect such a proceeding. 16

Philip, as we have said, appeared before the Emperor on the 19th of June, at the palace at Halle. Charles was seated on a splendid throne, covered with cloth of gold, and placed under a canopy; before it a large carpet was spread. About four o'clock in the afternoon, Philip and the two Electors dismounted in the courtyard, and were immediately introduced into the Imperial presence. The Landgrave wore a doublet of black satin crossed with a red sash, the Austrian colours. He conversed cheerfully with his conductors, and as he knelt down on the floor before the carpet, he was observed to smile; on which Charles is said to have exclaimed, "Good, I'll teach you to laugh" (Wel, ik zal u leeren lachgen).17 The Landgrave's chancellor, Günterrode, who knelt by his side, then read his master's petition. It was answered by the Imperial chancellor, whose words expressly intimated that the Landgrave should not be subjected to perpetual imprisonment; yet amid the noise which prevailed in the apartment, the expression appears to have passed unnoticed.18 After Günterrode had returned thanks, the Landgrave, thinking that the matter was concluded, rose from his knees, although the Emperor had

10 "Me délibérant de quand il se viendra rendre, le faire retenir prisonnier: dont les dits Electeurs ne se pourront resentir, puisque je ne contreviendray à l'asseurance que j'ai donné, parlant de prison avec l'addition de perpétuelle."-Bucholtz, Th. ix. S. 427.

17 Castrow, Lebensbeschreibung, Th. ii.

Buch i. c. 8.

1866

Desgleichen auch dass S. F. G. weder mit ewigem Gefängniss, noch mit Confiscation oder Entsetzung derselben Güter mehreres oder weiteres, dann die Artikel der Abrede inne halten möchte beschwert werden." - Hortleder, Th. ii. B. iii. K. 76.

CHAP. II.]

CAPTIVITY OF PHILIP.

51

delayed to give the signal, and stretched out his hand to Charles, which the latter refused to take. This circumstance, however, seems to have excited no suspicion; and Philip and the two Electors accepted Alva's invitation to sup with him in the castle. When the party was about to separate for the night, Alva, to the dismay and astonishment of the Landgrave and the Electors, intimated that the former must remain in the castle. Remonstrance was in vain; it was too late to appeal to the Emperor, who had retired to rest; and all that the disconsolate Maurice could obtain by his intreaties, was permission to remain with his father-in-law. Next day a stormy explanation ensued between the Electors and the Imperial councillors; the latter produced the articles by which they justified the step taken by the Emperor; the Electors were unable to dispute the authenticity of the document; and Philip, like John Frederick, was compelled to follow the Imperial Court, a prisoner under Spanish guard. It was not calculated to console him that, to his question how long his imprisonment, since it was not to be perpetual, might be expected to last? Alva replied; "If the Emperor should detain you fourteen or fifteen years, he would not act contrary either to his conscience or his word."

In estimating the Emperor's conduct on this occasion, it does not appear that he can be charged with any breach of literal honesty.19 In a declaration which the Electors made at a Diet held at Augsburg a few months later, they attributed the matter to a misunderstanding in the negociations with the Emperor's councillors, arising from insufficient acquaintance with the language in which they were conducted 20; nor did Maurice

19 The story of einig in the original draft of the treaty having been converted into ewig by a forgery, so that it read "nicht mit ewigem Gefängniss" not with perpetual imprisonment) instead of "nicht mit einigem Gefängniss" (not with any imprisonment), on the truth of which Robertson avowed himself incompetent to pronounce (Charles V. bk. ix. vol. iii. p. 423 note), is now pretty universally rejected. The story seems to have owed its currency principally to the French historian, Thuanus, who charges the Bishop of Arras with the forgery ("Quod improbitati Atrebatensis præcipue tributum est, hominis callidi, qui literulæ unius inversa forma intercessores ipsumque adeo Hessum deceperit."-Lib. iii.). It is also countenanced by a letter of William

Prince of Orange, in 1574 (Archives et Correspondance de la Maison d'OrangeNassau, t. v. p. 63, 1ère sér.), who, however, was not over-particular about the charges which he made; and is adopted by the learned editor of that work, Groen van Prinsterer, as well as by Mr. Motley, Rise of the Dutch Republic, vol. i. pp. 120 and 437. But in fact the words ewiges Gefängniss do not occur either in the draft of the capitulation submitted to the Landgrave or in the document itself. In Hortleder, Th. ii. Buch iii. S. 579. See Menzel, Neuere Gesch. der Deutschen, B. ii. S. 94: Von Raumer, Gesch. Eur. B. i. S. 548.

20 Declaration in Hortleder, Th. ii. B. iii. K. 84, S. 923 ff.