Martin Luther vs. Charles V

Last month, I noted that Martin Luther almost certainly did not say "Here I stand, I can do no other," at the end of the Diet of Worms, but likely ended with his "it's unsafe and unwise to go against conscience."

One of the links in that post notes that Charles V could just as well have said "to go against conscience is neither right nor safe." Good pious Catholic, he felt he had no choice but to eventually act against Luther. And, so he did on today's date 500 years ago, officially declaring Luther an imperial outlaw. 

That said, there appears to have been connivance between him and Duke Frederick. The bann was never officially promulgated inside Electoral Saxony. And Charles may have suspected early on that Luther's "kidnapping" was indeed just a ruse.

Charles remained a "good Catholic." BUT, after the Schmalkaldic War, he did NOT have Luther's grave desecrated. He also remained a good, dedicated Holy Roman Emperor wanting to keep the Empire unified without a degree of coercion that might crack it apart.

Since he likely knew nothing but royal schoolbook Latin, and in everyday languages, his knowledge of German trailed that of Flemish and Spanish, how much Luther's speech — and Luther's broader ideas — were translated for him is a big deal. Because, with translation would have come interpretation. If we're being charitable.

Could the two of them, with a pair of mutually accepted translators, or the two bringing their own sets of translators — plenty of German-Flemish/French dual speakers would have been available — gotten past Catholic hierarchical filters?

Possibly.

Even had Charles not been any more "sold" on Lutheranism, he might have had further degrees of toleration. After all, he waited five full weeks after Luther's speech, despite Eck being at Worms to lead the charge against Luther, before making his declaration.

But, likely?

Some part of me wants to think of Isaiah's "Come, let us reason together."

But, the facts of history point to Charles bringing the Inquisition to his native Netherlands in the early 1520s, where he could understand Calvinist and Lutheran claims without translation, at least in the Flemish regions. It points to him living out the last year-plus of his life in a monastery after abdicating his imperial and royal crowns. It points to him invoking his family tree when responding to Luther at Worms.

Facts of secular history also point to Charles having no qualms about maintaining the legend that his mother, Joanna, was "mad" so he could have control of the Spanish realms.

On the third hand, Charles, per the war issue, did not officially send a copy of the post-Worms Imperial bann to Elector Frederick, therefore it never had the force of law inside of Electoral Saxony. This, in turn, is why Luther went halfway to Augsburg in 1530. He went to the southern border of Electoral Saxon land.