The Handy Military History Answer Book. Samuel Willard Crompton

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      Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ruled over Italy, Germany, and the Spanish Empire, among other lands, at the time when the Spanish were first colonizing the New World.

      How did Francis ever persuade Charles V to release him?

      It was a rare thing for one Christian monarch to hold another captive. It was even stranger when we realize that the Ottoman Turks were practically knocking on the doors of Eastern Europe. Charles V held Francis I in captivity until the latter promised to be his good friend and ally, to pay for past transgressions, and to provide two of his sons as hostages. In a truly moving, even heartbreaking, event, Francis was released on the south bank of the river dividing France and Spain, while his two eldest sons were placed in captivity on the north bank. The two boats passed each other in midstream, and Francis was allowed a few minutes with his sons. The moment he reached French soil, he leaped on a horse, shouting, “Now I am king again!” For the rest of his life, Francis maintained that the oaths he had sworn had been taken under duress. He and Charles were soon at war again.

THE TERRIBLE TURK

      How frightening were the Ottoman Turks, so far as Christian Europeans were concerned?

      The Ottoman Turks played a role quite similar to the Russian Communists of the 1950s and 1960s; almost any time that someone needed a scapegoat, or to assign some blame, one said that “the terrible Turk” had done this or that.

      Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520–1566) was indeed a frightening character. Unlike his European counterparts, Suleiman was owner, as well as ruler, of all that he surveyed. The culture, law code, and language of the Turks was very different from anything known to the Europeans. If the Ottomans did conquer Europe, it would become yet another province of the domains of the Muslim faith, and Allah, rather than Jesus Christ, would be glorified.

      What was the closest that Suleiman, and the Turks, came to taking Europe?

      In the autumn of 1529, Suleiman brought roughly 80,000 men from Constantinople as well as a fleet that came up the Danube. Upon arriving outside Vienna, he demanded to know where “King Charles” (as opposed to Charles the Emperor) was because he perceived that Charles V was his greatest foe. On learning that a mere duke had been assigned the defense of Vienna, Suleiman settled down for what might have been a routine siege. His men were masters of siege craft, and they had by far the superior artillery.

      In Emperor Charles V’s absence, the Vienna garrison was capably led by Wilhelm von Roggendorf (1481–1541), the Hoffmeister of Austria. His men dumped endless barrels of water to flood the Ottoman Turks’ siege lines, and he sent out sorties at just the right time. On one occasion, nearly 2,000 Turks were killed under Suleiman’s eyes. By mid-October, the Turkish sultan had had enough. He headed back to Constantinople to announce what he called a major victory, but which almost everyone realized was his first real defeat. Suleiman had by no means given up, but he was blocked for the time being from invading the heart of Europe.

CATHOLIC VERSUS PROTESTANT

      When did the religious wars of the sixteenth century begin?

      Martin Luther and John Calvin laid down the doctrinal differences, and beliefs, between Catholic and Protestant, but the major battles and wars began in the 1540s. By that time, Emperor Charles V was the defender of Roman Catholic orthodoxy, while King Francis I was the heretic, who allowed Protestant reformers at his court and who even flirted with an alliance with Suleiman the Magnificent.

      Though Charles V and Francis I were the great foes, the biggest battles and the longest campaigns were fought within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. The Catholics won the larger number of battles, and after his victory at Muhlberg in 1547, Charles V seemed destined to rule over all. Charles knew how fragile his victory was, however. Spain was being bled dry of its best men, and his finances were in terrible shape. Even though he received enormous amounts of silver and gold from the New World, these were not sufficient to pay all his debts.

       Why is it so hard for men of great power to step away from it?

      Human psychology suggests that we become accustomed to whatever is presented, and he or she who possesses great political and military power often has difficult relinquishing it. We do have a handful of remarkable examples, however, the foremost of which is the abdication of Emperor Charles V. In 1556, he renounced his title as Holy Roman Emperor, as king of Spain, and as lord of the Dutch Netherlands. Charles stepped down in favor of his son King Philip II, who gained Spain and the Netherlands, and his younger brother Ferdinand, who became Holy Roman Emperor and leader of Austria. This established the difference between the Spanish and Austrian Hapsburgs.

      Charles V retired to Yuste, a Roman Catholic monastery in the Spanish countryside. He was weary of politics, of war, and of government, he said, and wished to live like a simple monk. No doubt, he enjoyed greater privilege and prestige than the average monk, but he did take that station and was there at the time of his death in 1558.

      Fortune seemed to smile on Charles V when both of his great enemies died in the same year. Henry VIII died in January 1547 and Francis I followed in March, leaving Charles very much the master of the European scene. He declined to exult in his victories, and a few years later he took the unprecedented step of abdicating his major titles.

      Might the Habsburgs have been wiser to keep all the leadership in one house and dynasty?

      It certainly seems so, from our modern perspective. But Emperor Charles V had attempted that very thing and found it too much. Given that some of his descendants were less conscientious about duty than him, it seems that he made the right choice.

THE RISE OF RUSSIA

      Is there a difference between “Russia” and “Muscovy”?

      The latter term was used for decades, even centuries before the first, but they both refer to the same political block: the region that straddles European Russia, СКАЧАТЬ