What do you think?
The Emperor Charles V: The Growth and Destiny of a Man and of a World-Empire
"There are in history certain men whose productive energy is more than human. They create out of their own elemental strength and lay down the laws of thought and action for centuries to come. The Emperor Charles V was not one of these. Rather did he belong to that other group who must be called great because ancient historic forces were concentrated in their single being, because they moulded inherited ideas of power, belief and behaviour into new forms. Thereby they also resolved within themselves the eternal contradictions of humanity.
In this way he also was a builder.
Charles V carried the Hapsburg dynasty to the height of its greatness. He united and completed its possessions; mingling old Burgundian ideas of chivalry with the conscientious piety of the Netherlands, with Spanish self-restraint and the universal traditions of the Romano-German Empire, he created the attitude which was in future to be typical of his dynasty. At the same time, out of the mass of his inherited possessions he formed a new European and, in a sense, a new overseas imperialism -- a world Empire dependent for the first time in history not on conquest, still less on geographical interdependence, but on dynastic theory and unity of faith.
The Emperor gave his Empire not only new foundations but new ambitions, which found expression in the conflict in the Netherlands, and in the wars in Germany, Italy and Spain.
On the younger branch of the dynasty he bestowed the old rights over the Danube lands, with their important possibilities and no less important dangers, while he shifted the weight of his own power from Germany and Burgundy to the growing state of Spain. Thus he founded within his own family that predominance of the Spanish branch which lasted for a century and a half. Resting not on Germany, but on Spain, he was able to reassert his suzerainty over the old imperial lands of Milan, Tuscany, and even Naples; thereby he turned the axis of the Empire, which had run for so long from north to south, on to the line of Madrid and Rome, and sheltered Italy for many years to come from the attacks of France. Basing his imperial theory on Spain, he regained both for himself and his son that relationship with the Papacy as an Italian power within the framework of the European system, which had prevailed during the earlier days of the Empire. For reasons rooted deep in German history his relations with the Protestants were governed at least as much by political as by ecclesiastical considerations. In his world-struggle for the ancient Church, the Emperor was to experience the bitter mortification of being deserted by the Pope, and he was to be touched to the quick by the alliance of Catholic France with the Turk. For him, as for the Hohenstaufen, the spiritual office of the Pope proved to be sharply at odds with the political; because of the intensity of Charles's convictions, both religious and political, this contradiction gave rise to gigantic conflicts." --- from the Introduction
In this way he also was a builder.
Charles V carried the Hapsburg dynasty to the height of its greatness. He united and completed its possessions; mingling old Burgundian ideas of chivalry with the conscientious piety of the Netherlands, with Spanish self-restraint and the universal traditions of the Romano-German Empire, he created the attitude which was in future to be typical of his dynasty. At the same time, out of the mass of his inherited possessions he formed a new European and, in a sense, a new overseas imperialism -- a world Empire dependent for the first time in history not on conquest, still less on geographical interdependence, but on dynastic theory and unity of faith.
The Emperor gave his Empire not only new foundations but new ambitions, which found expression in the conflict in the Netherlands, and in the wars in Germany, Italy and Spain.
On the younger branch of the dynasty he bestowed the old rights over the Danube lands, with their important possibilities and no less important dangers, while he shifted the weight of his own power from Germany and Burgundy to the growing state of Spain. Thus he founded within his own family that predominance of the Spanish branch which lasted for a century and a half. Resting not on Germany, but on Spain, he was able to reassert his suzerainty over the old imperial lands of Milan, Tuscany, and even Naples; thereby he turned the axis of the Empire, which had run for so long from north to south, on to the line of Madrid and Rome, and sheltered Italy for many years to come from the attacks of France. Basing his imperial theory on Spain, he regained both for himself and his son that relationship with the Papacy as an Italian power within the framework of the European system, which had prevailed during the earlier days of the Empire. For reasons rooted deep in German history his relations with the Protestants were governed at least as much by political as by ecclesiastical considerations. In his world-struggle for the ancient Church, the Emperor was to experience the bitter mortification of being deserted by the Pope, and he was to be touched to the quick by the alliance of Catholic France with the Turk. For him, as for the Hohenstaufen, the spiritual office of the Pope proved to be sharply at odds with the political; because of the intensity of Charles's convictions, both religious and political, this contradiction gave rise to gigantic conflicts." --- from the Introduction
650 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1939
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 11, 2018
Non è un libro, è un monumento, con tutti i suoi pregi e difetti. La descrizione particolareggiata della biografia di Carlo, fatta soprattutto analizzando la sua voluminosa corrispondenza, è talmente minuziosa che a volte ci si perde nel mare di nomi, situazioni, accordi matrimoniali, trattati politici... Ne esce la figura di un imperatore grande, scrupoloso, severo in primo luogo con se stesso, conscio del suo ruolo e delle sue responsabilità. E' inoltre l'affresco di un'epoca travagliata da profondi mutamenti che minarono in primo luogo l'idea stessa di impero universale. E' straordinariamente interessante rendersi conto delle difficoltà (e ormai dell'impossibilità) di reggere un tale ordinamento politico leggendo le lettere di Carlo a suo fratello Ferdinando, quando scrive, in piena campagna militare contro la Lega protestante, che deve arrestarsi nel combattere una guerra che sta vincendo, perché... non ha più soldi per pagare le sue truppe! Povero Carlo, costretto ad elemosinare a destra e sinistra per combattere i Protestanti e poi i Turchi e i Francesi...E poi, i suoi più insidiosi nemici molto spesso erano i papi, con le loro trame politiche e le loro beghe italiane, che sembrava facessero di tutto per mettergli i bastoni tra le ruote, scompigliarli i piani, causargli problemi a non finire, lui che si ammazzava di fatica (e ci credeva sul serio in quel che faceva, l'adempimento coscienzioso di un dovere di fronte a Dio) per riportare all'unità la Chiesa cattolica.
L'incipit del libro, con la descrizione della corte e della civiltà borgognona, è assolutamente delizioso.
L'incipit del libro, con la descrizione della corte e della civiltà borgognona, è assolutamente delizioso.
July 13, 2012
Charles V wasn't just another king: he had the good and bad fortune to inherit a many-stranded dynasty that gave him monarchy over more of Europe than anyone else -- and forced him, as a devout Catholic, to confront the Protestant Reformation as it unfolded.
This masterpiece of historical biography isn't a popular book or a page-turner, but it offers a case study in the old school of German historical study. Clearly written and soberly considered, it is the product of many years of the most painstaking research.
If you're interested in Early Modern Europe -- or simply want to see how well this sort of study can be carried out -- read this book.
This masterpiece of historical biography isn't a popular book or a page-turner, but it offers a case study in the old school of German historical study. Clearly written and soberly considered, it is the product of many years of the most painstaking research.
If you're interested in Early Modern Europe -- or simply want to see how well this sort of study can be carried out -- read this book.
May 29, 2017
Ah, sober and thorough German scholarship...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews