With the introduction of Martin Luther's ideas into the domains of the Holy Roman Empire, several princes and nobles began adopting Lutheranism. Following decades of uncertainty, the Schmalkaldic War saw some of these Lutheran princes go to war with the Holy Roman Emperor. Yet, the question remains: what were the Lutheran forces hoping to get out of a conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor himself? Let's find out!
Schmalkaldic War: Notable Characters and Alliances
Below is a table outlining the key individuals and their alliances on either side of the Schmalkaldic War.
| Person | Alliance | Title | Additional Information |
| Charles V | Charles V's Imperial Alliance | Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire | Alongside being Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V also was the King of Spain which he ruled as Charles I. |
| Ferdinand | Charles V's Imperial Alliance | King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, and Brother of Charles V | Ferdinand was the younger brother of Charles V. In 1556, he became Holy Roman Emperor as Ferdinand I. |
| Fernando Alvarez de Toledo | Charles V's Imperial Alliance | Duke of Alba and Chief of Charles V's Armies against the Schmalkaldic League | Toledo was also an adviser to Charles and, later, his son, Philip II of Spain. |
| Maurice | Charles V's Imperial Alliance | Duke of Saxony | Maurice was a cousin of John Frederick I and received the title Elector of Saxony after the Schmalkaldic War. |
| John Frederick I | The Schmalkaldic League | Prince-Elector of Saxony | An early convert to Protestantism, John Frederick I was a patron of Martin Luther and was instrumental in forming both the League of Torgau and the Schmalkaldic League. |
| Philipp I | The Schmalkaldic League | Landgrave of Hesse | One of the first converts to Protestantism, Philipp was instrumental in the spread of Protestantism in Germany. |
Schmalkaldic War Timeline
Below is a timeline outlining the key events surrounding the Schmalkaldic War and their effects.
| Date | Event | Effect |
| 1517 | Martin Luther published his 95 Theses. | Beginning of the Protestant Reformation. |
| 1521 | Edict of Worms. | Banned Luther's writings and branded him a heretic. |
| 1526 | Formation of the League of Torgau. | John Frederick I and Philipp of Hesse formed an alliance of German Protestant princes to oppose the terms of the Edict of Worms and gain religious autonomy. |
| 1531 | Formation of the Schmalkaldic League. | John Frederick I and Philipp of Hesse again formed a military alliance, pledging to defend each other's territories from Charles V. |
| 1544 | Charles V signed a truce treaty with France and the Ottoman Empire. | Charles V focused on the internal issues facing the Holy Roman Empire, mainly the rising Protestant threat. |
| 1546 | The Schmalkaldic War began. | The Schmalkaldic League launched a preemptive strike and occupied the southern German town of Füssen. |
| 1546 | Ferdinand and Maurice attacked Saxony. | John Frederick I returned to his principality to defend it. |
| 1547 | The Battle of Mühlberg. | Though there was some success in repelling the enemy forces, John Frederick I eventually lost and was captured. His defeat at the Battle of Mühlberg marked the end of the Schmalkaldic War. |
Schmalkaldic War Summary
Let's look at a summary of the causes of the Schmalkaldic War.
The Schmalkaldic League
The Holy Roman Empire's two most prominent Protestant princes, John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and Philipp I, Landgrave of Hesse, officially founded the Schmalkaldic League on 27 February 1531, in the town of Schmalkalden, Thuringia.
Fig. 1 - John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
It began as a defensive religious alliance, with the members pledging support to one another should Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, decide to launch a military campaign against them. The idea of such an alliance was not new, however.
Fig. 2 - Philipp I of Hesse
The Schmalkaldic League drew heavily from a previous alliance, the League of Torgau, an alliance also formed by John Frederick I and Philipp of Hesse in 1526. The drawback of the League of Torgau had been that it presented no real threat to the Emperor, and was merely a consortium of Lutheran princes who protested against the Edict of Worms. The Schmalkaldic League, however, would soon force Charles V to make truces with France and the Ottoman Empire during the Italian Wars (1542-1546) to deal with this rising Lutheran threat within his domain.
League of Torgau
Formed in 1526, the League of Torgau sought to oppose the terms presented by the Edict of Worms. The terms were: banning the promulgation of Lutheran ideals and philosophy and excommunicating and deeming Martin Luther a heretic. The Edict of Worms was the direct effect of Pope Leo X's Papal Bull "Exsurge Domine".
Schmalkaldic War Causes
In 1544, Charles V signed the Treaty of Crépy with France and with it, the Holy Roman Empire withdrew from the Italian War of 1542-1546. Upon his return, Charles V swiftly secured an Imperial alliance with Pope Paul III and Maurice of Saxony. Charles V wanted total control over his domains, and Pope Paul III was more than willing to pay for a campaign which would undermine the rising Lutheran threat.
Did you know? In addition, Maurice of Saxony, cousin of John Frederick I, wanted the status of Prince-Elector of Saxony, which prompted him to ally with the emperor against his cousin.
Meanwhile, the Schmalkaldic League had a plan of their own. With the return of Charles V to domestic affairs, the League launched a preemptive strike against the southern German Catholic town of Füssen. The stage was set, with the emperor also readying his armies; the Schmalkaldic War would soon erupt.
Schmalkaldic War Definition
Let's now define and outline the course of the Schmalkaldic War.
The year was 1546. By the time Charles V gathered an army of over 50,000 men, the Schmalkaldic League had already begun their campaign to take the town of Füssen, where they did not meet significant resistance.
Did you know? Despite their success, in retrospect, it would soon become apparent that taking the town of Füssen would be one of only two major achievements on the battlefield.
It has been estimated that the Schmalkaldic army was greater in number than that of the Imperial force. However, what we know for certain is that the Schmalkaldic armies were plagued with subpar leadership. This would ultimately prove to be the cause of their eventual downfall. While the dust of taking Füssen was settling, Maurice and Charles V's younger brother, and future emperor, Ferdinand (at the time the King of Bohemia), had joined forces and had begun occupying Saxon territories. This forced John Fredrick I and his army to turn around and fight his cousin Maurice.
Fig. 3 - The document bringing into force the Schmalkaldic League
John Frederick I eventually managed to expel the imperial forces from Saxon lands and with it, the Schmalkaldic army achieved its second and final victory over the Empire. However, subpar leadership showed its head once more. This time it was none other than John Frederick I himself, who, proud of his achievement of having dispelled the imperial forces with his own might, overstretched himself.
John Frederick I decided to gather allies by "encouraging" them to fight against their Imperial overlord and dispatched a large portion of his own army to Bohemia to do so. This was a mistake as Bohemian Lutherans refused to become involved with the Schmalkaldic League.
Did you know? We do not know exactly why the Bohemians refused to join the Schmalkaldic League's effort to fight the Imperial forces, but we can deduce that it was mainly due to the fact that Bohemia had frequently been under strict Imperial surveillance. In fact, this strict surveillance was one of the reasons why the Thirty Years' War began in Bohemia.
Blinded by pride, John Frederick I deemed it impossible for Imperial forces to want to challenge him again and did not make adequate preparations. Due to such incompetence, in March 1547, Frederick I found himself alone, challenged by the might of the Imperial force led by Emperor Charles V, Ferdinand, the Duke of Alba (chief of Charles V's army), and Maurice of Saxony.
John Fredrick I gathered his army to face the Imperial might, but it proved futile. At the Battle of Mühlberg (24 April 1547), due to inadequate preparation and poor leadership, the imperial forces defeated the Saxons. John Frederick I was captured and imprisoned by Charles V, and the Schmalkaldic League collapsed.
Vine... vi... y venció Dios
(I came... I saw... and God was victorious)
- Emperor Charles V upon the conclusion of the Battle of Mühlberg.
Fig. 4 - Emperor Charles V during the Battle of Mühlberg
Schmalkaldic War Significance
As the leaders of the Schmalkaldic League, John Frederick I of Saxony and Philipp of Hesse were the ones to be punished. John Frederick was imprisoned and lost his title of Prince-Elector to his cousin Maurice. As for Philipp of Hesse, Philipp went to the Emperor and begged for his forgiveness, but this act of humility did not work. He too was imprisoned.
Ironic as it may sound, the Schmalkaldic War did not end there. In 1552, the Second Schmalkaldic War began, this time the war saw the Emperor pitted against his old ally Maurice, who had partnered with Charles' rival, King Henry II of France.
Schmalkaldic War - Key takeaways
- The Schmalkaldic League was not the first Lutheran league as it was the improved version of the League of Torgau.
- Charles V rushed a truce with the French to focus on the growing Lutheran threat in the Holy Roman Empire.
- The Schmalkaldic War began in 1546 with John Frederick of Saxony taking Füssen. As John Frederick was in Füssen, his cousin Maurice, with Ferdinand, began occupying Saxon Lands. However, John Frederick managed to return in time and expel the Imperial Forces.
- The Schmalkaldic Army was mainly in the hands of John Frederick.
- John Fredrick was blinded by his early success and thought that the Imperial forces would no longer challenge him. In his prideful blindness, the Imperial forces combined and defeated his ill-prepared army at the Battle of Mühlberg in April 1547.
- John Frederick and Philipp of Hesse were both imprisoned. With the defeat at the Battle of Mühlberg, the Schmalkaldic League was dissolved.
References
- Henry Smith, The Age of the Reformation (1920)
- Geoffrey Parker, Emperor: A New Life of Charles V (2019)
- Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation: A History (2005)
- Fig. 1: John Frederick I (1503–1554), Elector of Saxony MET LC-29 158 753-004 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Frederick_I_(1503%E2%80%931554),_Elector_of_Saxony_MET_LC-29_158_753-004.jpg), by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, licenced as CC0 1.0
- Fig. 2: Philippe-1er-de-hesse (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philippe-1er-de-hesse.jpg). Author unknown, licenced as public domain
- Fig. 4: Schmalkaldic 1536 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schmalkaldic_1536.jpg). Author unknown, licenced as public domain
- Fig. 4: Carlos V en la Batalla de Mühlberg, por Tiziano (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carlos_V_en_la_Batalla_de_M%C3%BChlberg,_por_Tiziano.jpg), by Museo Del Prado, licenced as public domain
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