Growing Rebellion

In my absence, there were many religious issues going on in Europe. I heard news of a man named Martin Luther who went against the Catholic Church and posted a document called the Ninety-Five Theses on the church door of Wittenburg. I was appalled to hear that not only him, but many other people were rebelling against our beliefs and it greatly troubled me in my time away from home. Later, I heard that this man they call Luther, was excommunicated from the church for heresy and the refusal of recanting his critical statements towards the church. Even though this all happened in Germany, news still spread all over the continent of this movement called the Reformation. Although Spain remained faithfully Catholic, many northern countries were converting into this new religion called Lutheranism. Emperor Charles V attempted to fight against Germany, but became very distracted by neighboring countries. Charles V had many enemies like the Habsburg emperor, the Valois king of France, and Pope Clement VII. His attempt to overcome them made him grow tired and Lutheranism continued to spread in Germany. The people of Germany were supposed to have loyalty toward the emperor, but they ignored their duty. Charles also tried to settle the problem in Augsburg but this made their forces grow stronger and fight more defensively. They formed an alliance called the Schmalkaldic League and this was a threat to the emperor. Emperor Charles V grew tired of trying to maintain religious orthodoxy and gave up his position of Holy Roman Emperor.

Source: Spielvogel