On the Nuremberg Holy League or Liga sancta opposed to the Schmalkaldic League.
1248 The Nuremberg Catholic Counter-Covenant, established by the Roman Imperial and Royal Majesty, as well as other princes and rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, for the protection of the old Catholic religion and what is dependent on it, contrary to the Schmalkaldic Covenant, the 10th day of June, 1538.
This and the next following writing is from Hortleder, von den Ursachen des deutschen Krieges, tont. I, lib. VIII, eup. 14. 15, S. 1343.
We Carl the Fifth, by the Grace of God Roman Emperor, at all times Major of the Empire, in Germania, Hispania, both Sicily, Jerusalem, Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia 2c. King, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, of Brabant, Count of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol 2c..,
for us and our descendants in the Empire. And we Ferdinand, by the same graces Roman King, at all times Major of the Empire, in Germania, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia 2c. King; Infante in Hispania, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Styria, Carinthia, Crain and Würtemberg, Count of Tyrol 2c. And we Albrecht, by the same graces of the Holy Roman Church of the title Sancti Petri ad vinculu Priest-Cardinal and Legatus natus, Archbishop of Magdeburg and Mainz, Primus of the Holy Roman Empire through Germania, Archchancellor and Elector, Administrator of the Abbey of Halberstadt, Margrave of Brandenburg, of Stettin, of Pomerania, Duke of the Cassnben and Wenden, Burgrave of Nuremberg and Prince of Rügen, on account of our Archabbishoprics and Abbeys of Magdeburg and Halberstadt. And we Matthew, also by the grace of God of the Holy Roman Church of the title Sancti Angeli Car-.
dinal and Archbishop of Salzburg, Legate of the See of Rome. And we Wilhelm, and we Ludwig, by the grace of God Palgraves on the Rhine, Dukes in Upper and Lower Bavaria 2c., brothers. And we George, by the same Grace Duke of Saxony, Landgrave in Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen 2c. And we Erich the Elder and Heinrich the Younger, cousins, 1) Dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg 2c., confess for ourselves and our descendants and heirs, and declare manly:
1. When we, Emperor Carl, came [in] past years from our hereditary kingdoms to the German nation, and found some highly important things, errors and discord, and especially the misunderstanding in our holy Christian faith, which had taken place for some time in the same German nation, not with little trouble to our imperial mind, from which much Christian blood has been shed, and the hereditary enemy of the Christian name and faith, the tyrannical Turk, and others repugnant to us and to the Holy Roman Empire have taken cause, and in such discord have been able to afflict and offend Christendom, and especially the German nation, more than ever before: we have in our imperial mind at that time completely resolved to put an end to such discord and confusion, as much as possible, in kindness and to bring it to rectification and equality, and for this reason we have also for and for been in action and exercise, and for this reason we have held two imperial and assembly days shortly after each other at Augsburg and Regensburg, and, in addition to other resolutions made and approved, as the imperial agreements clearly show, also permitted, approved and adopted a peaceful agreement in religious matters with some of our and the empire's princes and others of the then protesting estates at Nuremberg until a general Christian council; In addition, we have issued serious mandates in matters of religion, and have announced to them and commanded all our members and those of the Holy Roman Empire to observe them; which peace we hereby wish to have repeated and repeated from word to word.
2) And although our earnest will, opinion and command has always been and still is that the above-mentioned state of peace should be held by men in a straightforward manner, that it should be lived up to, and that each one should have allowed himself to be satisfied with it, we nevertheless find that over the above-mentioned state of peace, by some of the above-mentioned protesting states, it is necessary to
1) In the old edition: "Gevattern".
Schmalkalden, alliances had been established, and all kinds of practices had taken place, from which in the future more confusion, indignation and upheaval might arise in the Holy Roman Empire, which would be burdensome to us, as Roman Emperor, in many ways, and we especially did not want to see the German nation led among itself into further unrest, displeasure and ruin.
3. And therefore, for the handling of peace and justice, and so that the above-mentioned state of peace, as well as the agreements we have made, are kept firm, we and our friendly dear brother, the Roman King, and other our obedient princes, rulers and estates of this subsequent Christian union, also those who will still come to us in this understanding, and all their subjects, ecclesiastical and secular, or those who have come to us or to them hereditarily or for life in our principalities, who are yet to come to us in this understanding, and all of the same subjects, ecclesiastical and secular, or those who are entitled to promise to us or to them hereditarily, or throughout their lives in our principalities and territories, by our true Christian religion, customs, orders, statutes and ceremonies, and thus one part next to the other, We, as Roman Emperor, by imperial power, and especially on the Christian promise which we have made to our dear brother, King Ferdinand, and also to our obedient princes, princes and estates, and the same again to us at Augsburg and Regensburg, remembered our dear brother, princes, princes and estates such of their promise, also required, enabled and procured that they with us this Christian covenant, understanding and agreement defensively and solely for the defense established, accepted, and firmly promised to keep.
First, we Emperor Carl 2c., we, King Ferdinand, and we, the other Princes, Princes and Estates, hereby declare that we mean to each other true, right and entire loyalty during the time of the agreement made with our associated lands and subjects, also with those who are entitled to promise us hereditary or lifelong rights in our lands and territories, 2) neither to do anything unfriendly or offensive towards or against each other, nor to allow ours to do so, but rather to let each remain with the other in the peace of the land and in his rights, his old customs, liberties and justices, and likewise not to let any of them keep his wronged rights.
2) "Thätliches" put by us instead of: "thätiges".
those 1) or reveal, renounced enemies do not keep, houses, farms, nor accept the same.
5. We have also unanimously agreed with each other that none of these Christian allies of ours shall be subject to attack or injure any of the previously reported protesting estates or their subjects against the established peace at Nuremberg, nor to attack or injure anyone protesting in his country or territories against the now reported peace at Nuremberg, The same peace as established and commanded to be maintained by us, the Roman Emperor and the protesting estates concerned beforehand, shall be kept firmly and unbreakably in all ways, and everyone shall be satisfied against males according to the law, as is due in accordance with the established imperial order and the peace of the land.
6 And this understanding of ours should be primarily about religion, and what has happened because of it, or what might be attached to religion, should also be understood as defensive and counter-defensive alone, and one should be obliged to help the other, as we have promised each other.
(7) In the same way, all ecclesiastical endowments, estates, annuities, fees or interest, such as are now in our and our dear brother King Ferdinand's and our electors', princes' and estates' lands and principalities, shall have protection, peace and right, as is due and provided for in all rights, which we also want to preserve and protect and handle against harmful confiscation and violence by virtue of the rights and the Holy Roman Empire's order.
8. Whether anyone, whoever he may be, should subject us or ours, or those who are entitled to promise us hereditarily or throughout their lives in our principality or territory, be they spiritual or secular, to penetrate, to override, secretly or publicly, in whatever way such may happen, our true religion, ceremonies and customs, statutes and ordinances, either by force or by violence, or in any other way to disturb our religion and what should follow it by right, or to make ours rebellious against us or with the same practices, or in other ways, in the religion and what should by right adhere to and follow the same, or also to make ours rebellious against us, or to make practices with the same, and thus would not or would not allow to be satisfied the common ordinary right, the peace of the land and the recently issued imperial treaties, mandates and state of peace, against the same we want to defend ourselves altogether.
1) "referred" will probably be as much as: proven.
and defend us with all their might, and protect, shield and handle us in our true religion, as is often reported, according to justice and equity.
9. And whether the protesting, Schmalkaldic League related estates, or also those who would be drawn to them after the granted state of peace, or would still accept them, not for the sake of religion, but also in another appearance, as secular and other things, as this would be done, to defraud or deceive us, ours, or so us, 2) war, or to cause some of them or others to grieve or overreach us, and to do the same settlement or help, or to make our subjects rebellious secretly or publicly; or if the same subjects would disobey and disobey their authorities: Against the same, as if it happened without any means on account of religion, we shall and will owe each other and by virtue of this agreement to render assistance. Whether it should happen that we, or someone from among us, should be dishonorably attacked with openly defamatory writings, poems, paintings, or in other ways, as has hitherto happened with many against the written rights and all respectability, and has been tolerated without shame and is to be seen: He who has been or would be harassed from among us may complain of such dishonor to the head of his province, whereupon the same head, together with the councilors, shall deliberate and undertake the fairness, and how such things may be stopped in the most beneficial way, and how the offended party may be relieved, and defended and handled against it.
10. And if it should happen otherwise that the protesters, Estates related to the Schmalkaldic League, have or gain a dispute and confusion with one or more of the Princes and Estates related to this union, in which they refrain from action and violent intervention: In which our princes and councils shall have power to appoint days and to take amicable actions, in which we also want to let ourselves be instructed among each other of what is fair, and thus hold that our confederates shall have no one to accuse with justification of some unfairness; and who then in such amicable action hold too hard, and do not grant fair, honest and equitable ways, or also hold themselves to equal and proper rights.
2) Commercial - advertising of troops.
We are not obliged to help those who do not want to be satiated by the right, or who want to raise war and unrest or revolt for themselves.
11. And because this Christian understanding of ours concerns the honor of the Almighty, and the handling of our holy faith, old traditional Christian customs and ceremonies, and from us alone that we may remain with such Christian faith and ceremonies, peace of the land and proper rights, and not be forced from them, and therefore standing on the natural defense and defensive, it is necessary to make some exception in this respect, but in other worldly matters, outside of religion and defension, as aforesaid, all of our covenants and treaties, with whom we have and are obliged to make them, shall remain unaffected.
12. And this unification of ours shall begin on St. John the Baptist's Day in the near future and last for eleven years, the next successive years, and shall not be drawn into foreign kingdoms of ours and outside the German nation and language, nor into our, Emperor Carl's, Dutch lands. If, however, we, Emperor Carl, require, induce, or want the same Dutch territories, or other princes, counts, prelates, knighthoods, cities, or special persons to come to us in this agreement, they and each of them shall then be free to do so. 1)
13. Even if it should happen that we, the relatives of this agreement, should have quarrels and disputes with and among each other, no matter what the matter may be, the governors and councillors of each province shall act amicably between us, and we shall not refuse to be on good terms with each other. 2) If, however, the good will between us should not be raised, we shall neither do anything offensive nor push anything towards each other; But if the amicability between us should not be raised, we shall not do anything against and with each other, nor shall we push anything towards each other; but each of us shall keep and be satisfied with the ordinary rights, inheritance and other agreements and contracts against the other.
(14) And if, as a result of the discord in religion, many a grievance has hitherto arisen in the holy kingdom, and if such a discord is not finally settled and brought to a good end, still more will take place, and there has hitherto been no convenient, Christian, nor kind way to such a settlement, except the assembly and holding of meetings.
1) "freistehen" put by us instead of: "vorstehen". We assume that from "freistehen" was read: "fürstehen".
2) "Kindness" here and immediately following put by us instead of: "validity".
If we, Emperor Carl, have to be considered for the establishment of a common Christian concilii, we, Emperor Carl, have so far not let any diligence, effort, costs or work, which would have been useful for the promotion of the same concilii, be lacking in us; such shall also not happen to us in the future. And in the event that this should finally occur to us, or that we should be in protracted delay, by which prevention this would happen, we will otherwise think of other Christian and reasonable ways, and on our part faithfully attend to and promote that the discord, abuses and disorder be peacefully settled, dealt with and improved as soon as possible.
15. And so that, in case of need, our defense and counter-defense will be carried out in an orderly and proper manner, and equality between us will be maintained everywhere, we have agreed and united that we will divide ourselves, as at present, into two parts or provinces, namely the Upper Country, in which we Emperor Carl, we King Ferdinand, and we the Cardinal and Archbishop of Salzburg, and we the Princes of Bavaria, and those who will accept this alliance, are counted; the other, the Saxon province, in which we the Cardinal, Archbishop of Magdeburg and Mainz, we George, Duke of Saxony, and we Erich and Heinrich, cousins, Dukes of Brunswick, and those who will also join this alliance of the same kind.
16 And from each province we, Emperor Carln, have appointed a chief, and to him we have all assigned several councillors. These same chiefs and councillors shall be bound to all of us, as this duty, therefore, may be imposed; they shall at all times have perfect power and authority to moderate aid in opposition, and to do all that they shall deem best and most useful in any case which may arise according to this agreement. And what therefore is considered good, done, recognized, complied with 3) and decided by all the colonels and councils, or the more votes, we all want to and shall, in particular, by our imperial, royal and princely dignities, carry out the word of truth and right faith, and let no default be found with us, according to all our ability and according to the content of the articles, which we have hereupon united and agreed upon in particular; all faithfully and without danger.
17 In witness whereof Emperor Carl 2c. and we Ferdinand, King 2c. and we Albrecht, Car-.
3) "gemüßiget" put by us instead of "gemüßiget". See s 2 of the next number towards the end.
dinal, Archbishop of Magdeburg, Mainz and Halberstadt 2c., and we Matthew, Cardinal and Archbishop of Salzburg, together with our Cathedral Chapters of Magdeburg, Salzburg and Halberstadt; and we Wilhelm and Ludwig, Dukes of Bavaria, brothers, and we Duke Georg of Saxony 2c., Erich and Heinrich, Dukes of Brunswick 2c., knowingly affix our seals to this letter. And we, dean and chapter of Magdeburg, Salzburg and Halberstadt, for ourselves and our descendants, confess that this covenant is established with our good knowledge, will and word. We hereby give our full word and consent to the same, and we also undertake and promise for ourselves and our descendants that if it should happen that our most gracious lords, the archbishops mentioned above, should die one or more before the end of this covenant, we will not allow any succeeding archbishop or bishops to take over the reins of government, but they must first pledge to keep and enforce this covenant. That we, in witness of our Capitular Seal, besides Imperial and Royal Majesty, also the above-mentioned Electors and Princes. Princes, our most gracious, most gracious and most gracious Lords, have affixed their seals to this letter. Done at Nuremberg, on the tenth day of June, after the birth of Christ our Savior, 1538.
1249 The Nuremberg Catholic Counter-Alliance Order or Constitution, to which the Catholic estates agreed with each other for the handling, execution and implementation of their counter-alliance. June 10, 1538.
See the previous number.
We Carl the Fifth, by the Grace of God Roman Emperor, at all times Major of the Empire, in Germania, Hispania, both Sicily, Jerusalem, Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia 2c. King, Archduke in Austria, Duke of Burgundy, of Brabant, Count of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol 2c., for us and our descendants in the Empire. And we Ferdinand by the same graces Roman King, to all lines Major of the Empire, in Germania, in Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia 2c. King, Infant in Hispania, Archduke in Austria, Duke in Burgundy, Styria, Carinthia, Crain and Würtemberg 2c., Count in Tyrol 2c. And we Albrecht by the same graces of the Holy Roman Church of the title of Sancti Petri ad vincula Priest-Cardinal and
natus, Archbishop of Magdeburg and Mainz, Primate of the Holy Roman Empire through Germania, Archchancellor and Elector, Administrator of the Abbey of Halberstadt, Margrave of Brandenburg, of Szczecin, of Pomerania, Duke of the Cassubians and the Wends, Burgrave of Nuremberg and Prince of Rügen, on account of our Archabbishoprics and Abbeys of Magdeburg and Halberstadt. And we Matthew, also by the grace of God of the Holy Roman Church of the title of Sancti Angeli Cardinal and Archbishop of Salzburg, Legate of the See of Rome. And we William, and we Ludwig, Palgraves on the Rhine, Dukes of Upper and Lower Bavaria 2c., brothers. And we George by the same Grace Duke of Saxony, Landgrave in Thuringia, and Margrave of Meissen. And we Erich the Elder and Heinrich the Younger, cousins, Dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg 2c., confess for ourselves and our descendants and heirs, and announce to all men that we have further discussed and unanimously agreed on the proper execution of the Christian covenant of these following articles.
First of all, we have named the two sovereigns in both provinces; namely, in the Upper Austrian province the sovereign shall be Duke Ludwig of Bavaria, and in the Saxon province Duke Ludwig of Brunswick; they shall all and at the same time be affiliated with us common confederates, and for the sake of this covenant they shall be obligated to each other as men, and shall act in all matters in accordance with the covenant established and with the subsequent orders made next to it.
(2) We shall also assign councillors to these same sovereigns. Namely, by us, Emperor Carlp, one; by us, King Ferdinand, one; by us, the Cardinal and Archbishops of Magdeburg and Mainz, on account of the Archdioceses of Magdeburg and Halberstadt, one; by us, Matthäo, the Cardinal and Archbishop of Salzburg, one; by us, Princes of Bavaria, one; by us, Duke of Saxony, one; and by us, Dukes Erichen and Henrichen of Brunswick, also one. Whatever more Electors, Princes and Estates would join this alliance in each province, the head of the same province, together with the assigned councils, shall then make an order as to how it shall be held with the councils related to the same alliance. And the same councils shall then also be sworn to the federally related states at the same time, as far as this matter is concerned, and do their duty, as is now reported by the supreme. And such order of the same princes and estates councils shall be made according to the form of the allowance and their assistance.
and in accordance with the law, but that the number of such advisors is not overflowing. With their advice and discretion, the superior shall conclude the order of assistance and proceed with the execution of this act.
3. Thus, as often as and when things occur that someone related to this Christian alliance, the subjects of the same, or those who are entitled to promise them in their lands hereditarily or throughout their lives, is attacked by the protesting estates or their appendages on account of religion and what is attached to the same or originates from the same, or their adherents, on account of the religious matter and what is attached to it or stems from it, with warrior troops, whether on horseback or on foot, and in doing so turboured and attacked, or if someone from the federally related estates has made his subjects angry; or if the subjects were to deceive themselves, or to commit insurrection and disobedience, in whatever form this might take: that such war, rebellion or invasion would be started by the opposing party, or by the subjects, by instigation or by themselves, and that the protesting states related to the Schmalkaldic League, or also those who would be drawn to them after the granted state of peace, or would still accept it, not for the sake of religion, but also in another appearance, or other things, as may be done, to defraud or afflict us, ours, or those who are entitled to promise us (as reported), or who would still come to us, and for this reason undertake a common trade, war, or advance, or cause some of them or others to defraud or afflict us, and do the same settlement or help: Against the same, as if it happened without any means on account of religion, we shall be obliged to help each other and by virtue of this agreement, and the offended party shall immediately write to the head of his province and make this known, who shall immediately summon the assigned councillors of the Confederation all to the appropriate place, present them with the offended or complained-of petition; And if they hear that the attack, invasion or outrage of the subjects is present, and that help is needed, they shall send themselves to the counter-defense and apply for men-of-war; also immediately write to the confederates to send their due help in people, money and artillery, as has been deemed appropriate and good by them according to the form and occasion of the aforementioned emergency. The supreme commanding officer shall then proceed with this, as necessity requires, for the sake of the defension, and thus united and undivided by both provinces at all times,
what is needed, will be advised and acted upon.
(4) And every chief shall preside and preside over his province; even if the councils should be divided into equal votes, he shall make the majority by chance.
5. We, the confederates, and before that the chiefs of each province, shall and want to give good notice and attention to this everywhere, and as soon as some business, armament or apprehensive suspicion and indignation against us, one or more, occurs, or is in sight, to whom such comes, shall faithfully warn the others, also write to the chief of his province; who shall then order his good notice further on it; And if he hears of the opposition's armament or outrage, he shall summon the councillors, discuss the matter, and oppose it with his covenant armament, or as is otherwise deemed good, and take good precautions so that the opposition's advance may be broken and not permitted, and so that in all this it may be done properly, and not otherwise than in equity and natural resistance.
6. Whether then one of us, ours, or those hereditary to us, or those who are entitled to promise throughout their lives, as reported, on account of religion, as has been reported above several times, or as among others on account of long-established church customs, ceremonies, endowments, monasteries, the same pensions, interest, dues, and other ecclesiastical movable and immovable goods, and Christian orders, or that other new doctrines may arise in our lands and principalities, or that they may be practiced by our subjects, or that preachers or visitators may be ordained or imposed in our lands, or that they may invade by themselves, as well as all other things, whatever their names may be, concerning religion and pending thereto; also that the protesting, Schmalkaldic Covenant related estates, and those they draw to them, would afflict, hinder, overpower, violate or overdraw us, ours, or those (as reported) entitled to promise, also in secular and other matters, in which appearance such would be carried out outside of religion, and this case is further understood in the agreement; or also that such overdressing, overpowering, afflicting, hindering, manifesting trades, ordinances or armaments would be in view: the offended person, or the person who has been offended by such obvious, respectable actions, may be
If a governor is concerned about the matter, he must expressly notify the head of his province of his complaint by means of a message or in writing. Thereupon, as soon as possible and from that time on, the Supreme shall write to the person who dares to grieve us or ours in the above-mentioned manner and kindly request him to refrain from his actions, and let us or ours remain with our religion, endowments, and Christian fiefdom, as well as with the suggested imperial agreements and peaceful decency, and with the proper rights. In addition, we also offer a day for amicable settlement and negotiation; however, in the meantime, the opposing party must not act violently, but remain silent in all respects. And if the opposing party then wants to or would accept an amicable day and a convenient venue, which the superior shall have the power to set, the superior shall describe the appointed councilors to such a day and venue; which councilors shall also certainly appear, and act with all diligence to settle and put away the pending chaff and confusion in good faith.
(7) If, however, the good will is not preserved, but is retained by the opposing party, or if the opposing party does not desist from his conduct, or if he is in business and does not wish to desist from it, then and immediately, without further delay and delay, our supreme authority and council shall be obliged to determine how and to what extent the offended party is to be handled and protected and shielded from his opponents.
(8) If, in such amicable action, any of us or ours, or those who are entitled to promise us hereditary or lifelong rights in our lands and territories, should hold anything too hard, or not want to follow it, or not want to be satisfied with equality and justice, or even want to raise war, unrest or indignation of their own, which should by no means be the case, we do not owe them any compensation.
(9) We, ours and those who are hereditarily entitled to promise us as mentioned above, shall and will also keep ourselves in such amicable negotiations in accordance with the law and equity and in such a way that our counterpart has no right to complain about some unfair action.
(10) The councillors shall also appear at the request and demand of the Supreme in all our matters and affairs on the day and in the place designated by the Supreme, and shall not be delayed for two days at any council.
1) In the old edition: "kind".
(11) Some of the councilors may or may not appear, nevertheless the superior and the councilors present shall proceed in the matters for which they are required, and in all measure as if the councilors were all together, and shall be bound by their duty to perform and act in accordance with the necessities of this agreement.
(12) Whatever is considered, recognized, acted upon, and decided upon by the Supreme and the same Councillors present, we shall and will likewise carry out as if the Councillors had all been present at the decision.
If it should happen, however, that more than one of us, of the above-mentioned masts, should at once be attacked, overrun, or distressed, so that help should be given in more than one place, or not only in one, but in both provinces, as such cases may arise: in this it shall at all times be acted upon according to the discretion of the colonels and assigned councils, and again according to the occasion of the course of time and resistance. And especially, where it is considered good and better that all power and help be used in one place, this shall be complied with by us, and in the meantime those who have the same burden shall keep their land and property in good custody for themselves, or at the common expense of all of us, and shall stay as much as possible until they may be helped properly; Nevertheless, they shall send their aid, both in people and money, to the Supreme Commander and to the place where the war was fought, and shall not appear to be in want, unless the Supreme Commander and the Councils, out of necessity, release them from their aid and facilities.
(14) And if it should come to a war, no direction shall be taken, the offended shall all be satisfied, after our colonel's and council's allowance, and above all, whether what has been wrested from ours has been reinstated and made in hand.
15 Whether it should happen that in such a war cities, castles, fortifications, land or people, guns or other things are taken from our enemies, or even excellent, high persons are captured by us, we shall all follow and be entitled to it at the same time, but according to each one's help and installation.
(16) But our rulers and councillors shall make and carry out such an order with regard to the common harvest and plunder, so that quarrels and ill-will may arise among our people of war.
17 And after one must be provided for the war with a makeshift gun, in deliberation of the war by the colonels and
The Councilors of our country are to lend each of them a number of guns, powder, and other ammunition, in which one is to provide and advance to the other.
(18) And if any of their borrowed ordnance, powder, and other things are lost, broken, or damaged, they shall be reimbursed and paid for by the commonwealth, and the ordnance and what belongs to it shall be maintained by us all, according to each one's help.
19. Item, if it should happen through the physical action of the protesting estates or their followers, or that this Christian defension and resistance should otherwise cause things to get out of hand, so that one or more castles, towns or villages are taken, wrested or seized from some confederates by the opponents or disobedient, rebellious subjects, by whatever means or appearance this happens: The reported commander with his assigned warriors shall immediately and without delay recapture them with federal aid and all power, at the expense and damage of the commonwealth, and shall not let up that he has recovered them; he shall then without delay freely restore and deliver them to the person who had them before, without charge or demand for any expenses or other things.
(20) Nor shall any of our covenant kinsmen, to whom the help, as aforesaid, is given, make atonement with the enemies and the repugnant, nor perform it, without the knowledge, will and consequence of all our covenant kinsmen.
If this should happen, which it should not, it shall be considered null and void, and the contracted covenantor shall be punished for it after the reduction of the governors and councils.
22. 1) It shall also be specially understood and provided for in the muster and articles of war, so that the warriors, when they come on a campaign, do not damage, harass or burden their friends, and especially us, the confederates, our lands, people and dependents in the campaigns, stores, or in some other ways, but keep themselves manly and skilful, as befits friends, and do honorable good pay; and when they have been released, they shall leave peacefully and without coercion from us, without any delay. Our chiefs and councillors shall keep to all this with all diligence, and shall do as much as possible,
1) In the old edition: shall.
That no unusual pay and other treasure be demanded from the people of war, nor be requested with earnestness and affliction, nor ours, if the help is no longer needed, be burdened with stores or guards.
23 And so that in all the above-mentioned, as well as in other cases, matters may be dealt with honestly at all times, and in the deliberation of the councils extensiveness is and remains avoided, we have agreed that now in the beginning there shall be no more councils, and that without complaint of the covenanting relatives, each one shall be paid by whom he is appointed, and shall be paid and receive his allowance.
24 But the colonels shall be paid by the common federal assembly, and each of them shall be given one thousand guilders in maintenance money every year, and also a skilled secretary and substitute, who shall write in the federal proceedings and who shall be obligated to the federal estates in general, but wait for the colonels.
25 If the colonels, councillors, secretaries, substitutes, one or more, were to lie down without means in federal actions or services, or were to suffer noticeable damage, each of them shall be removed, discharged and held harmless at the common federal expense. However, since the same colonels, councillors, secretaries, and substitutes would accept new appointments in the event that the matters come to war and military campaigns, such damage shall be kept after the same appointments.
26. If, however, more electors, princes, counts, prelates and other notable persons of the knighthood, cities or other special persons would come into this union, our princes and councillors of each province shall have the power to make such a division for the sake of the covenant councils that we, the secular, likewise the ecclesiastical electors and princes differently, and each party a special number of votes, likewise the counts, prelates, those of the nobility, all for one party, and if so many cities come into this alliance, the same shall also be allowed one or more votes according to the occasion of each of the now mentioned estates and the same assistance and facilities, and the same councils, as aforesaid, shall also be provided with remuneration.
(27) If one or more of them should fail to send the people of war, money, or other property from us, and thus fail to carry out what is considered good and decided by our rulers and councilors, which should by no means be the case, he or they shall be liable to such punishment or penance as may be imposed on the people,
money and other things, to be reimbursed, given and paid twice, and to be penalized for this, according to the reduction of our chiefs and councils; and we, the others, shall be liable to collect such penalty or penance, or double reimbursement of what has been imposed, from the disobedient.
And so that no one will be burdened by the other in the assistance concerned, we Emperor Carl and we King Ferdinand all want, if a war should come about, or assistance and support have to be provided in other ways, to bear, transfer and provide at all times the fourth part of all assistance and expenses, be it in the form of soldiers, foot soldiers, guns, ammunition, money and other things, as this is determined by the colonels and councils of the confederation. The other three parts shall be borne, held and directed by us, the states of the Confederation, which are now or will come to us in the future, and the aid shall be provided and moderated at any time by the colonels and councillors of the Confederation, according to the magnitude and occasion of the aforementioned need, and shall be cast upon each state of the Confederation by virtue of the imperial estimate of the great aid granted to us, Emperor Carl, at the entrance of our government in the Roman campaign. Thus, on the occasion of this proposal, the order is to be taken; in this, the princes and councillors of the confederation are to apply faithful diligence, so that we Emperor Carl and we King Ferdinand are burdened with the fourth part of the entire aid and presentation, also we, the others, in the three parts, no one before the other, nor otherwise, as the common imperial proposal shows.
29 And after we Emperor Carl 2c. and we King Ferdinand 2c. have borne and taken upon ourselves the fourth part of all the costs and expenses, we shall also have the fourth part of the votes against them.
30 Furthermore, we have also agreed, if perhaps urgent matters might arise, that we, the reported two provinces, want to pool a handsome sum of money in cash for the beginning alone, and make sure to use it in urgent need, also for the provision and publishing of the necessities of this alliance. Namely, we Emperor Carl 2c. and King Ferdinand 2c. want to advance together fifty thousand florins; and we the Cardinal and Archbishop of Salzburg five and twenty thousand florins; and we the two Princes of Bavaria, together fifty thousand florins. Item, we the Cardinal and Bishop of Magdeburg and Mainz five and twenty thousand florins; and we Duke George of Saxony sixteen thousand florins; and we Erich and Heinrich,
Dukes of Brunswick 2c. to advance a total of sixteen thousand florins for this defense. This sum is to be used only for emergencies and in urgent cases, and diligence is to be exercised by the princes and councillors so that such sum [by those] who enter into such an alliance is increased and a substantial supply is created.
31. In order that such money may be kept as aforesaid in case of need, and may be increased by those who come into this settlement in the future, and that equality may be maintained among all the relatives of the Confederation, and that no one may be burdened before the other, every year, for the payment of the colonels, as well as of their secretaries and substitutes, and of the cavalry captains and captains who are to be appointed by the colonel of this settlement in common, salaries and other necessary expenses shall be paid by the colonels and federal councilors, The colonels and councillors of the Confederation shall make a common investment for the payment of the colonels, their secretaries and substitutes, as well as the captains and captains, who are to be appointed by the colonel of these united relatives, salaries, and other necessary expenses, and shall allocate it to the federal estates according to the opportunity for assistance, and in this no one shall be burdened before the other. And such money shall be given to the hands of the colonels, and the expenditure, as it is due, shall be made from it; and shall be inscribed by the secretaries in the name of the colonels, and shall also be duly accounted for each year to the federal estates.
32. The above-mentioned two colonels shall also appoint, each in his province, up to fifteen sub-captains, and then also as many cavalry captains on waiting money, by means of which they may at any time, if extreme necessity demands it, most advantageously come to a goodly number of people on horseback and on foot, who shall be used for the execution of this covenant, also, where necessity requires it, for the replacement of the covenanting states of men-at-arms and help, where perhaps one or more to his number, which is to be sent to him by colonels and councils.shall be used, if they could not come in such a hurry.
33. If it should happen that, by virtue of this agreement, assistance must be rendered and a military campaign must be undertaken, then our colonels and councillors, pennance masters, and other servants and commanders, as the occasion may require, shall receive, appoint and order them, swear them in from the common assembly, and give them necessary orders, also prescribe due remuneration, and to all this appoint honorable, fit, and such persons who would be worthy of such orders, and also do proper accounting and overriding for their actions.
34. item, also all the writings, man-
data, and other things that the colonels and councillors do, carry out, and cause to be done by virtue of their office, under the title and name of a special imperial command, as such is also used in the Swabian Confederation beforehand.
35 It is also specially granted and agreed by us that we shall and will hold our provinces to this agreement of ours, and that they shall not act contrary to it.
(36) Wherever (God forbid) our subjects should act against religion and this unification of ours, we should and will also be obliged to help each other, and to enable and have our subjects to achieve this Christian unification. All faithfully and without danger.
In witness whereof we Emperor Carl 2c., and we King Ferdinand 2c., and we [Abrecht,] Cardinal and Archbishop of Magdeburg, Mainz and Halberstadt 2c., and we Matthew, Cardinal and Archbishop of Salzburg, together with our Cathedral Chapters of Magdeburg, Salzburg and Halberstadt 2c., and we William and Louis, Dukes of Bavaria, Ge
brothers 2c., and we Duke George of Saxony, Erich and Henry, Dukes of Brunswick 2c., knowingly affix our seals to this collateral contract. And we dechant and chapter of Magdeburg, Salzburg and Halberstadt, for ourselves and our descendants, hereby confess: that this collateral treaty has been established with our good knowledge, will and word of consent; which our word of consent and approval we also hereby give, for ourselves and our descendants; if it should come to pass that our most gracious lords, as aforesaid, the archbishops, one or more, should depart with death before the termination of this covenant, that we will not allow any succeeding archbishop or bishop to come to the government, he then pledges beforehand to keep this covenant and collateral treaty, and to execute it. That we have affixed to this letter, in addition to the Imperial and Royal Majesty, the above-mentioned Princes and Princes, our most gracious, gracious and gracious Lords, the seals of our Chapter.
Done at Nuremberg, on the 10th day of June, after the birth of Christ our Savior, in the year 1538.