Everything about Protestation At Speyer totally explained
On
April 19,
1529 six
Fürsten (princes) and 14
Imperial Free Cities, representing the Protestant minority, petitioned the Reichstag at
Speyer against the
Reichsacht (Imperial Ban) against
Martin Luther, as well as the proscription of his works and teachings, and called for the unhindered spread of evangelical belief.
The "Protestants"
- Elector John the Steadfast,
- Margrave George of Brandenburg
- Duke Ernst of Braunschweig-Lüneburg,
- Landgrave Philip of Hesse
- Franz, Duke of Braunschweig und Lüneburg
- Prince Wolfgang of Anhalt
- Strassburg
- Augsburg
- Ulm
- Konstanz
- Lindau
- Memmingen
- Kempten
- Nördlingen
- Heilbronn
- Reutlingen
- Isny
- St. Gallen
- Weissenburg
- Windsheim
Cause
Eight years earlier Martin Luther had been banned from the Holy Roman Empire at the
Diet of Worms of 1521.
Emperor Charles V had wanted to end the religious unrest between the
Catholic majority and the
evangelical minority at the
Second Diet of Speyer. The "Lutheran Heresy" and the resulting religious strife didn't figure in his political plans.
The
Edict of Worms had been suspended in 1526, when the
First Diet of Speyer decided that every prince should hold whichever religious beliefs he could justify before his King and God.
Barely three years after the Reichstag of 1526, on the
1st March 1529 Charles V. announced a new Reichstag. He again let himself be represented by his brother
Ferdinand, as he couldn't personally appear due to the war with France.
In his opening address Ferdinand gave the decision of the Emperor: the annulment of the Reichstag's decision in 1526, recognition of "great mistakes and misunderstanding" and the threat of Imperial Ban against "seduction by false beliefs". Until clarification from another
council all further new developments would remain forbidden. He also made further declarations:
"Those that until now have followed the Edict of Worms should continue to do so. In the areas where this has been deviated from, there shall be no further new developments and no-one shall be refused Mass. Finally, the sects which contradict the sacrament of the true body and blood, shall absolutely not be tolerated, no more than the Anabaptists."
On
19 April the majority of representatives accepted the revocation of the 1526 edict. The evangelicals were told that they should yield "to the fair and proper decisions" of the majority. At this point the evangelical princes left the hall. When they returned somewhat later, Ferdinand wanted to leave the hall and refused to listen to them. So their objection was read out: they protested against the decision of the majority, to undo the decision of the 1526 Reichstag. Ferdinand demanded that they "accepted and obeyed the decision".
The Protestant delegates refused to be bound by secular authority in matters of faith. On
20 April they presented the "Letter of Protestation", which Ferdinand refused to accept. Therefore it didn't come to be read out, but was printed and made public.
The "Letter of Protestation" was signed by Johann, Elector of Saxony, Georg, Margrave of Brandenburg, Ernst, Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse, and Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt.
At the final sitting of the Reichstag on
24 April the "decision of the Reichstag" was once more read out, but no word was said of the protest by the evangelical princes. In response the councils of the evangelical princes and the agents of the Free Cities met on
25 April and drew up a
Instrumentum Appelationis, in which complaints against the decision of the Reichstag were once more summarised. This text was brought to the Holy Roman Emperor by an embassy. Since this Reichstag the adherents of the reform movement became known as "
Protestants", and thus the protestation of the Princes and Free Cities has been seen as the birth of
Protestantism.
The decision of the Reichstag was protested by:
Elector John of Saxony,
Gregor Brück (Pontanus), Chancellor of Elector John
Philipp Melanchthon, companion of Elector John
Simon Grynaeus, companion of Philipp Melanchthon
Johann Agricola, chaplain of Elector John
Landgrave Phillip of Hesse
Erhard Schnepf, chaplain of Philip of Hesse
Margrave George of Brandenburg-Anhalt
Duke Ernst of Braunschweig-Lüneburg
Duke Franz of Braunschweig-Lüneburg
Johann Förster, Chancellor of Dukes Franz and Ernst of Braunschweig-Lüneburg
Prince Wolfgang of Anhalt
Count William of Fürstenberg
Bürgermeister Christoph Tetzel, representative of Nürnberg
Bürgermeister Christoph Kreß, representative of Nürnberg
Bürgermeister Bernhard Buamgärtner, representative of Nürnberg
Councillor Jakob Sturm, representative of Straßburg
Guildmaster Matthias, clergyman, representative of Straßburg
Bürgermeister Bernhard Besserer, representative of Ulm
Bürgermeister Sebastian Hagelstein, representative of Windsheim
Bürgermeister Josef Weiß, representative of Reutlingen
The decision of the Reichstag was voted for by:
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V,
Ferdinand, imperial commissioner and representative of Charles V
Grand Chancellor Bernhard Cles, Bishop of Trent, imperial commissioner
Freiherr Georg Truchsess von Waldburg, vice-regent of King Ferdinand
Dr. Johann Faber, canon of Konstanz and Basel
Probst Balthasar von Waldkirch, imperial commissioner
Frederick II, Elector Palatine, imperial commissioner
William IV, Duke of Bavaria, imperial commissioner
Leonhard von Eck, chancellor of Duke Wilhelm IV. of Bavaria
Louis X, Duke of Bavaria
Herzog Erich der Ältere of Braunschweig, imperial commissionerFurther Information
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