Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1507-1521.djvu/403

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lands 1506; in 1509 took charge of the education of Charles V, to whom he became a chief adviser after 15 16. He died at Worms.

Henry of Nassau ( 1483-September 14, 1538), an officer of Maxi- milian. In 1 5 16-7 he was in command of the siege of Amheim; is 1 52 1 fought against France. He was then made Governor of the Netherlands. He visited Spain in 1522 and 1534. He was at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. Allgemeine deutsche Biographie. The following anecdote of him is found in a contemporary publication, reprinted by P. Frcdericq: Corpus Inquisitionis Neerlandicae, iv. no. 37, "The Count of Nassau said to the preachers at the Hague: 'Go and preach the gospel simply like Luther, offending no one.' . . . Then the pro- fessors of Louvain complained to Margaret, sister of Charles V., who said: 'Who is Luther?' *An unlearned monk/ said they. "Then/ said she, 'all you learned men write against one unlearned, and the world will rather believe many learned than one unlearned.' "

We have received the letter of your Lordship on the af- fair of Martin Luther, the contents of which, and especially your Lordship's wishes, we carefully explained to his im- perial and Catholic Majesty. Your Lordship will leam more at large from his Majesty's letters what he has decided upon. It seemed to us at all events that your Lordship ought, for the sake of your piety and zeal for the orthodox faith, to bring Luther with you to the imperial Diet, so that the affair might be quieted and extinguished, for which we both promise our good offices with his imperial Majesty, especially as we art sure that your Lordship desires this. . . .

342. THE EMPEROR CHARLES V. TO ELECTOR FREDERIC

OF SAXONY.

Reichstagsakten, ii. 466. German. Oppenheim, November 28, 152a

Highborn, dear Uncle* and Elector. We have been fre- quently and urgently requested by the nuncio of the Pope's Holiness, to guard against farther damage from Dr. Martin Luther's books, as we did in our Lower Burgundian Hereditary Possessions, and we should like to have them burned here and everywhere in the Holy Empire. Now our highborn, dear uncle,* William of Chievres, and our dear and trusty Henry Count of Nassau, our viceroy in the Netherlands, have shown us that you desire that we should not touch Luther, nor do anything more against him before he is heard. And as

>This title is not to be taken literally.

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