5l8 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. vi. Historical. — Charles V. (Charles I. of Spain) succeeded to all the possessions of the Houses of Castile, Aragon, Burgundy, and the Low Countries, and this marks the period of the German Renaissance. In 1516 he obtained the two Sicilies, and in 1519, on the death of Maximilian, he was elected to the Empire, becoming the most powerful emperor since Charlemagne. In 15 1 7 Luther nailed up his theses at Wittenberg, marking the commencement of the Reformation, which was aided largely by the revival of learning, and in 1520 he defied the Pope, by publicly burning the bull of excommunication put forth against him by Pope Leo X. The Diet of Spires, 1529, passed a decree against ail ecclesiastical changes, against which Luther and the princes who followed him protested, lience the name " Protestant." This led in 1530 to the Confession of Augsburg and the con- federation of Protestant princes and cities, for mutual defence, called the Smalcaldic League. The war of the Emperor Charles V. and the Catholics against the Protestant princes extended from 1546-1555, when the Peace of Augsburg was con- cluded, which left each state free to set up which religion it pleased, but made no provision for those people who might be of different religion to the government of each state. This resulted in persecutions, and finally in the great religious war, known as the "Thirty Years' War," commenced in 1618, and carried on in Germany between the Catholic and Protestant princes. Other princes, such as Christian IV. of Denmark and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, joined in these wars on the Protestant side, under the Elector Palatine Frederick, who had married a daughter of James I. of England. Hence many Englishmen and Scotchmen served in these wars, and France joined in for her own aggrandize- ment, under Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. The Peace of Westphalia, 1648, provided once more for religious equality and tolerance in each state. The war had, however, utterly ruined Germany, and caused France to become the leading nation in Europe. 2. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER. Refer to pages 439, 442. This style as in other countries may be roughly divided into three periods corresponding to the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Renaissance style in Germany is chiefly remarkable for picturesqueness and variety of grouping, and quaintness and grotesqueness ot ornament, due in a large measure to the traditions of the preceding style. It was introduced from France, about the middle of the six- teenth century, while the Henri IV. style was in vogue, which may I
