Fejezetek a schmalkaldeni háború történetéből
Chapters from the History of the Schmalkaldic War

Summary/Abstract: The paper summarizes the antecedents and the history of the Schmalkaldic War (1546–1547). In 1545–1546 Emperor Charles V considered that favourable circumstances made it possible for him to discipline the Protestant estates of his empire. The occupation of Geldern (1543), the peace reached with the French (1544) and the Turks (1545),considerable financial and military aid from the Pope as well as unsuccessful negotiations with the Protestants incited him to enforce denominational peace and political unity in the empire by arms. Between July and October 1546, along the Danube the opposing parties intended to exhaust each other. The attack by Ferdinand, King of Hungary and Bohemia and Maurice, Duke of Saxony in November 1546 in Saxony divided the unity of the Schmalkaldenic League. In April 1547 the united imperial troops took John Frederick, Elector of Saxony captive. Although the emperor could not restore religious unity, due to the successes of his army, the Reformation, spreading irresistibly until then, lost its momentum. It became possible for the Catholic Church to reorganize itself in Central Europe. The appeasement of the rebelling Bohemian estates, seeking alliance with John Frederick, stabilized Ferdinand’s position in the Danubian Monarchy, who thus could devote significant financial sources to the defence against the Turks in the Hungarian Kingdom.

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