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Maximilian will also arrange a
double wedding between his house
and the rulers of Poland and Hun–
gary. By these two sets of marriages,
the ties involving Habsburgs will
stretch across the entire breadth of
continental Europe.
Maximilian contínually refiects
on his lifelong dream of possessíng
the crown of the now defunct
Eastern Roman Empire at Con–
stantínople. He sketches out battle
campaigns against the Turks.
Enter France
But Maximilian must cope with
war on two fronts. He faces the
Turks in the East and the Frencb in
the West. In this paradoxical situ–
ation, Christian France is allied with
the lslamic Turks.
We must remember that after the
days of Charlemagne, France was
lost from the empíre. But in the
tenth century during the days of
Otto the Great, the German empire
had become so overwhelmingly
strong and France so weak that no
statesman could foresee that France
would one day bury the empire. The
five hundred years from 800 to 1300
was Germany's míllennium. But by
1300, Germany was dísunited politi–
cally, and France had emerged as a
continental power never to be ig–
nored.
The emperors of the House of
Habsburg
will
be obliged to contin–
ually fight and war against the
Christian nation of France. As thei r
empire becomes progressively
weaker, the French natíon will be–
come progressively stronger. By
1806, Napoleonic France will con–
quer the Continent. As history will
demonstrate, France and Germany
are to be the keys to a powerful,
united Europe.
One of the greatest statesmen of
the twentieth century, Winston
ChurchiJI, will be led to say, "The
first step
in
the re-creation of tbe
European family must be a partner–
s hip between France and Ger–
many .... There can be no reviva!
of Europe without a spirítually great
PLAIN TRUTH June· l uly 1974
France and a spirítually great Ger–
many."
Bu t throughout hundreds of
years, France is found missing from
the empire. And not only missing,
she ís one of the most aggressive
antagonists of the German empire,
frustrating its goals and diverting its
energy.
Year 1517: The Beginniog of the
Refonnatioo. The Habsburgs are
faced by a pugilistic política! power
in France; the papacy, wíth a very
antagonistic Protestant movement
in Germany. 8oth protagonists di–
vide the empire and nearly drag it
to the graveyard.
On Halloween, October 31, 1517,
the famous Martín Luther is en–
gaged in a simple act. He
is
nailing
his Ninety-five Theses on the door
of the court church at Wittenberg.
Luther's object of criticísm is the
sale of índulgences. A controversy
arises. Luther refuses to recant and
in 1519 buros the papal bull against
41 articles in his wríting.
The Reformatíon is now in full
swing. Ulrich Zwingli has begun his
reformatory movement in Switzer–
land. The Catholic church has al–
ready been weakened by the
Wycliffites and Hussites. The Baby–
lonian Captívíty and the Great
Schism have shattered its prestige.
Rome is in trouble.
The Protestant Reformation de–
stroys the meaning and value of the
office of emperor. To Protestants, he
is merely the titular national leader;
to Catholics, he ís duty bound to
destroy his Protestant subjects. 1n–
stead of being the leader of the en–
tire empire, the emperor
is
now
merely the chief of one party, the
Catholics, within the system.
Years 1519-1556: The Rule of
Charles the Fifth. Maximilian dies
on January 12, 1519. "Many Ger–
mans," historian Friedrich Heer will
one day write, "look on him as the
last emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire." To Maximilian, the ero–
pire was to be the empire of Charle–
magne , Ott o the Great and
Frederick 11. Though he was unable
to achieve his dreams, his grandson
Charles now has the opportunity of
making this visíon a reality.
Charles V ís the epítome of a Eu–
ropean emperor. During bis thirty–
eight year reign. he will make thirty–
one state visits: nine to the empire.
seven to Spain. seven to ltaly, four
to France, two to England and two
to North Africa.
His royal and princely titles come
to over sixty. Among others, he is
Kíng in Germany, Archduke of
Austria, Duke of Burgundy. King of
Castile and Aragon. Kíng of Hun–
gary. On the other hand, bis polítí–
cal weakness is evident. He must
pay out 850,000 ducats in bribes to
be elected emperor over the chal–
lenge of Francis 1 of France.
At age níneteen. Charles V be–
comes the ruler over an empire that
includes Germany. Burgundy. ltaly
and Spain, with her extensive over–
seas possessions. This conglomer–
ation of power is unparalleled since
the days of Charlemagne. Emperor
Charles V can state in all truthful–
ness that "in my realm the sun
never sets." Charles is far stronger
than Maximilian or any other em–
peror for the past three centuries.
Charles is emperor of both Ger–
many and the Holy Roman Empire.
He is crowned at Aachen on Octo–
ber 23, 1520. The ceremony takes
place in Charlemagne's octagonal
church, lit by the chandelier of
Frederick Barbarossa. The Elector
of Cologne asks the traditional
questions of Charles V: "Wilt thou
hold and guard by a ll proper means
the sacred faith as handed down to
Catholic men? Wilt thou be the
faithful shield and protector of Holy
Church and her servants? Wi lt thou
uphold and recover those rights of
the realm and possessions of the
empire which have been unlawfully
usurped? Wilt thou protect the poor,
the fatherless and the widowed?
Wilt thou pay due submission to the
Roman pontiff and the Holy Roman
Church?" Charles answers
voto,
" l
will," to each of these questions.
Now the sword of Charlemagne ís
presented to him by the Electors.
With all ceremony, the crown is
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