The principle of the peace of Augsburg seems logical to me, why did it cause conflict among the HRE princes? Why couldn't it simply be extended to Calvinists?
#PART 1/2
##Contents
##1 Preface
Before explaining the treaty and its context, I want to clear some misconceptions first. Contrary to popular belief, the term “Cuius regio, eius religio” was not written in the Peace of Augsburg, but was coined later in 1586. The phrase refers to a somewhat vaguely written article which protected the religious rights of Lutheran princes. It is unclear whether it gives rulers the right to change religion at will.
Further, I argue that although it contained some vague and controversial points, Augsburg was a successful compromise which prevented a major confessional war in the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) until 1618, in an era where other parts of Europe suffered from tremendous confessional wars. For example, consider the French Wars of Religion (yes, plural!) and the outbreak of Beeldenstorm in the Low Countries which ushered brutal suppression by Spanish soldiers. The 1555 Peace of Augsburg brought the two confessions in the legal framework of the HRE, and therefore it serves as the basis for the internal HRE settlement of the Peace of Westphalia.
##2 Timeline of events between 1531 and 1555
The Peace of Augsburg is the result of complex events starting from the formation of the Schmalkaldic League in 1531. Therefore, in order to analyze its principles and causes, a brief review of this 24-year period is essential.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1531 | Schmalkaldic League forms (Hesse and Saxony) |
| 1535 | New members: Anhalt, Wurttemberg, Pomerania, Augsburg, Frankfurt, Kempten |
| 1539 | New member: Brandenburg |
| 1545 | New member: Electoral Palatinate |
| 1545 | Council of Trent begins (first 8 sessions between 1545-1547) |
| 1546 | Schmalkaldic War begins |
| 1547 | Imperial victory at Mühlberg: Johann Frederick I (Elector of Saxony) is taken prisoner. |
| 1547 | Capitulation of Wittenberg: The League is dissolved. |
| 1548 | Augsburg Interim: Forced peace under Charles V’s terms. Protestants have to return to Catholic practices, only clerical marriage and communion under both kinds are allowed. |
| 1552 | Treaty of Chambord: Electorate of Saxony switched sides. Henry II of France and Maurice of Saxony made an alliance. |
| 1552 | Peace of Passau: Maurice successfully revolts, made deal with Ferdinand. Suspension of the Interim, release of Johann Frederick. Charles is forced to accept it. |
| 1555 | Diet of Augsburg: Pope not invited, Emperor feigned illness |
As you can see, there are many wars and many truces in this period. This was partly due to the insistence of Charles V to mend the schism and reunite the confessions, and partly due to intervention (or the possibility of intervention) by foreign powers such as France, Denmark and the Ottomans. Catholic France intervened on behalf of HRE Protestants, in order to weaken the authority of their rival Austria, and to get some direct benefits for themselves as well. In the 1531-1555 period France acquired the Three Bishoprics: Metz, Toul and Verdun.
From here on, it is important to analyze the content of this settlement together with the context in which it was negotiated.
##3 Content of the treaty and its analysis
Original text of the Peace of Augsburg [1] has 30 articles. Here I will quote and analyse the important ones. Note: I couldn’t find the English translations for articles 1-13, so for those articles I will have to rely on Google Translate and my rusty German. The rest of them have a good translation here [2].
Article 3 [The Impossibility of the Personal Presence of the Emperor]
And although your loving and imperial Majesty [Charles V] had the firm intention to take part in this Reichstag [...], some circumstances are so inopportune that for now they cannot go on such a long, hard journey over land, so that they are thereby prevented against their will, from appearing on this Reichstag.
Article 4 [Representation of the Emperor by the King]
[...] so your loving and imperial Majesty has kindly and brotherly requested from us as Roman King [Ferdinand], that in your Majesty’s absence we represent your loving and imperial Majesty and take part in this Reichstag [...]
Articles 3 and 4 state the absence of Charles and that he was represented by his brother Ferdinand. Charles was suffering from depression which was exacerbated after the unsuccessful Siege of Metz in 1552, his last campaign.
Maltby has a very good explanation in his book The Reign of Charles V:
After the agreement at Passau, Charles left Germany knowing that the upcoming Diet of Augsburg in 1555 would resolve the problems of Germany with a compromise. The knowledge that this agreement would effectively recognize the Lutherans and invalidate most of the policies he had pursued over more than 30 years contributed greatly to his depression. Charles was at this point physically and emotionally incapable of dealing with the princes. Wounded in pride and conscience, he simply could not bring himself to attend the Diet, and would have preferred to abdicate his imperial title rather than do so. [3]
We continue analyzing the articles.
Article 14 [General Mandate for Law and Order]
from henceforth no one [...] shall engage in feuds, or make war upon, rob, seize, invest, or besiege another.
This is the article which asserts the military peace.
Article 15 [Protection of the Adherents of the Confession of Augsburg]
And in order that such peace is respected and maintained despite the religious chasm, as is necessary in the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation and between his Roman Imperial Majesty and Us, on the one hand, and the electors, princes, and estates of the Holy Empire of the German nation, on the other, therefore His Imperial Majesty, and We, and the electors, princes, and estates of the Holy Empire will not make war upon any estate of the empire on account of the Augsburg Confession and the doctrine, religion, and faith of the same, nor injure nor do violence to those estates that hold it, nor force them, against their conscience, knowledge, and will, to abandon the religion, faith, church usages, ordinances, and ceremonies of the Augsburg Confession, where these have been established, or may hereafter be established, in their principalities, lands, and dominions. Nor shall We, through mandate or in any other way, trouble or disparage them, but shall let them quietly and peacefully enjoy their religion, faith, church usages, ordinances, and ceremonies, as well as their possessions, real and personal property, lands, people, dominions, governments, honors, and rights. Further, a complete peace within the disputed Christian religion shall be attained only by Christian, friendly, and peaceful means through his Imperial and Royal Majesties, the honorable princes, and by threat of punishment for breach of the Public Peace.
This is one of the most important articles in the entire text, therefore I am quoting it in full without omitting any part. Article 15 is the main article people refer to when they say the peace has established the principle of “cuius regio, eius religio”. However, as you can see, the phrase itself or an equivalent is absent from the original text. It was coined much later by Joachim Stephan in 1586 [4].
This article states that a Lutheran prince cannot be forced to abandon his religion, even if he were to convert after the signing of the peace. However, it is vague on the point of whether princes can change their religion to Lutheranism at will with the snap of a finger. Additionally, some words such as "religious belief" and "reformation" are not defined in the text, and hence are points were there might be differences in understanding. This vagueness was deliberately put in, in order to make both sides agree to the agreement and to be able to finally make a definitive peace after nearly 30 years of confessional conflict [5].
Regarding this article, the Peace of Augsburg was successful because some rights of Lutherans were finally accepted legally in the Empire along with their legal recognition, and this contributed to the peaceful (especially in comparison to its neighbors) 1555-1618 period in the Empire.
However, the peace was also unsuccessful, because the intentional vagueness resulted in stark differences in interpretation of the text. Lutherans interpreted the article as ius reformandi, i.e. right of reformation, but Catholics contested this, which will create disagreement and many heated Reichstag discussions in the future [6]. This is one of the reasons why the Peace couldn't “simply be extended to Calvinists”.