Titian – Portrait of Charles V Seated. Photo unattributed – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor


 

During the 16th century, Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor and held several other positions, including the Spanish Emperor. Explore Charles V’s early life, accomplishments, facts, and quotes to understand his rise to power and legacy.

1. Charles V was a European ruler of the 16th century

Greater Coat of Arms of Coat of arms of Charles I of Spain (Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor), (1530-1556). Photo by Heralder – Wikimedia Commons

In medieval times, it was very common for European royals to marry other European royals. Marriage was a political tool, so the continent was full of entangled family trees. Eventually, it seemed that all of these bloodlines would result in one person having a legitimate claim to practically everything.

Well, that person was Charles V.

Charles V was a European ruler of the 16th century, and he would hold numerous titles in his life. Most notable among them were the Spanish Emperor and Holy Roman Emperor. A man of faith, conviction, and war, Charles V brought Europe into a new age of empires.

2. Charles V is the heir to three royal dynasties

Emperor Charles V. Photo by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz – Wikimedia Commons

Charles V was born on February 24, 1500, the heir to three royal dynasties: the Valois-Burgundy dynasty of the Netherlands, the Hapsburgs of Austria, and the Trastámara of Spain. He was raised in comfort and was well educated, becoming particularly adept at languages.

Charles was famously reported to have once said, ”I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse.” While this may be apocryphal, he did have a love of language as he is also quoted as once saying, ”As many languages as you know, so many separate individuals are you worth.”

3. He was the product of numerous Catholic kingdoms

Charles V (1500–1558), Holy Roman Emperor MET. Photo unattributed – Wikimedia Commons

It’s also important to note the role of religion in Charles’ early years. He was the product of numerous Catholic kingdoms and was raised to be a perfect Catholic king. While he was raised in Northern Europe, we can’t ignore his Spanish heritage.

 Spain had been fighting a Catholic holy war against Muslim invaders in the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. This conflict was finally won by his grandparents, Isabella and Ferdinand, in 1492 (just eight years before his birth).

4. Charles V assumed rule over the Netherlands and other parts of Northern Europe in 1515

Portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (r. 1519 – 1556. Photo by Michiel Cnobbaert – Wikimedia Commons

As Charles V came of age, his legal claims to various thrones started taking effect. In 1515 Charles came of age and assumed rule over the Netherlands and other parts of Northern Europe.

 The next year, Charles’ grandfather Ferdinand died, leaving the young king the united Spanish kingdoms of Aragon, Navarre, Granada, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia. He also became king of the Spanish city of Castile, which he was to rule jointly with his mother, who was too ill to take her reign.

5. His grandparents had unified Spain, Isabella, and Ferdinand but lived in separate capitals

A portrait of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1530-1558), King of Italy (r. 1530-1558), German King (r. 1519-1530), King of Naples (r. 1516-1554), and the King of Aragon, Majorca, Valencia, and Sicily (r. 1516-1556). Photo unattributed – Wikimedia Commons

 While his grandparents had unified Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand lived in separate capitals. Charles was the first to technically rule both Aragon and Castile simultaneously and thus is often considered the first true king of Spain.

Along with this, Charles inherited Spain’s burgeoning empire. By this point, the Spanish Empire had conquered several previously unknown islands in the Caribbean, and agricultural wealth from these islands was just starting to pour in. In 1521, the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés ventured inland and conquered the Aztec Empire in Charles’ name.

6. Charles gained Central America’s largest empire

Montserrat, Atrium, a tribute to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Montserrat devotee. Photo by Montesita – Wikimedia Commons

Charles thus gained Central America’s largest empire as well, and Spain instantly became one of the wealthiest empires in the world. This was compounded years later when the Spanish defeated the Inca Empire in South America.

7. Charles V would begin to envision a unified European empire

Portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558), attributed to Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen. Photo by Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen – Wikimedia Commons

As ruler of Europe’s most powerful international empire, and with several European territories already under his control, Charles V would begin to envision a unified European empire. A big step in this direction came in 1519 when Charles’s grandfather Maximilian I died and left him the Hapsburg monarchy in Austria.

This was a big deal. The German monarch was, at the time, traditionally crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor.

On 22 October 1520, an impressive procession of noblemen rode into the city of Aachen. The parade was so elaborate it took almost five hours for every aristocrat to arrive in the city.

The procession included the regent of the Netherlands Margaret of Austria as well as a whole slew of bishops, princes, dukes, and counts, e.g. the Prince of Orange, the Counts of Egmont and Horn, and various Spanish lords. All of them accompanied Charles of Habsburg, who, the following day, would be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by three bishops in the Aachen Cathedral.

8. The Holy Roman Empire was a political union of both secular and ecclesiastical territories

Emperor Charles V – Jakob Seisenegger. Photo by KingJamesofScotland – Wikimedia Commons

The Holy Roman Empire was a political union of both secular and ecclesiastical territories connected to the Roman-German Emperor. This title wasn’t hereditary – rather, the Emperor would be elected by seven prince-electors.

To truly become Emperor, one had to be crowned by the pope. The Holy Roman Empire was called ‘Roman’ as it was considered the successor of the Roman Empire, and ‘Holy’ due to its links with the church. In reality, the Empire lacked true unity; it was simply too divided, politically, culturally, and even religiously.

9. Maximilian of Austria, Charles’ grandfather, died on 12th January 1519

Charles V as Count of Flanders in Flandria Illustrata. Photo by Antonius Sanderus – Wikimedia Commons

On 12th January 1519, Maximilian of Austria, Charles’ grandfather, died. Maximilian had already been preparing his grandson to succeed him as Emperor for a while. However, a few competitors had also set their sights on the crown.

Henry VIII of England was quick to abandon his dream, but Francis I, king of France, stubbornly continued to pursue the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

10. Charles was accordingly crowned king of Germany in Aachen

Portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (by Lucas Cranach the Elder). Photo by
Lucas Cranach the Elder – Wikimedia Commons

In October 1520 Charles was accordingly crowned king of Germany in Aachen, assuming at the same time the title of Roman emperor-elect. In the spring of 1521 the imperial Diet, before which Martin Luther had to defend his theses, assembled at Worms.

The reformer’s appearance represented the first challenge to Charles, beginning with a sweeping invocation of his Roman Catholic ancestors, read out to the Diet. After Luther refused to recant the substance of his writings and left the Diet, Charles drew up the Edict of Worms. With it, he rejected Luther’s doctrines and essentially declared war on Protestantism.