In 1519 the old Emperor Maximilian died, and each of these three kings stood forward to contest the Empire.
The eldest of them was Henry of England, eighth of the name. He was twenty-eight years of age, handsome, tall, blond, and ruddy. "His features," says Ludovico Falier, "are not merely beautiful—they are angelic." Robust in figure, he did not yet show signs of the extravagant corpulence of his middle age. He was vigorous and active in all sports, vain, jealous, arrogant, but as yet the arrogance seemed only a bluff English sort of dignity. Handsome, rich, and valiant as he was, Henry had not much chance for the empire. His kingdom was not a large enough state. "No one was on the side of the King of England," says Fleurange.
The real rival of Francis was Charles of Austria, King of Spain. These two were rivals, not only for the empire, but for Burgundy, for Milan, for Navarre, and for the Netherlands. They were nearly equal in power, for, while the domain of Charles was the vaster, that of Francis was more homogeneous and more compact. In temperament as different as in interests, each was born to be the antagonist of the other.
Charles was the youngest of the three. Born in 1500, he was nineteen years old at the time of the death of his grandfather. In the previous year, on the decease of his mother's father, Ferdinand, he had succeeded to the crown of Spain, for, though his mother was recognised as Queen, she was unfit to govern. She was that poor mad Queen of Arragon, who mourned so tragically the brutal Austrian husband who ill-used her. Charles was brought up far from the fantastic neighbourhood of his mother. He and
