Venetian Report on Ferdinand I - 1532

Revenues; Court; Territories; Religious and Political Turmoil; War Against the Turks; Personal Matters

This is Part II of a 1532 report on the Habsburg dominions. Part I here.

Report

Revenues

Having particularly and distinctly narrated all that was to be considered regarding the person, qualities, and conditions of the Emperor [Charles V] and his states, it does not seem unbefitting our purpose to make the same discourse concerning the person of the Most Serene King of the Romans, his brother, and all of his affairs, since he is a prince worthy of great esteem, especially before your serenity, both for the strength of his own states and those so long near to ours, as well as for the imperial dignity newly added to him.

The said Most Serene King, therefore, who is now twenty-nine years of age, possesses by hereditary jure, as his own inherited states¹, the Archduchy of Austria, the counties of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, and the county of Tyrol, which, by the division and agreement made between the two brothers, have fallen to his share, the Emperor having ceded to him all the rights he had in them. He has since gained the Duchy of Württemberg, having driven out its duke² with the help of the Swabian League³ because in past wars he took the side of the King of France and committed many insolences both against the neighboring states and lands and against his own people; for which he was by Imperial Ban deprived of the rights to that duchy, and these were granted to whomever might win them by force of arms.⁴ After the death of the King of Bohemia and Hungary, his brother-in-law⁵, he acquired by election of the barons of the province, according to their usual custom, the kingdom of Bohemia, and with it jointly the provinces, that is, the duchies of Silesia and Moravia. And not only on account of his wife, who it seems should remain, jure successionis ab intestato, heir to her dead brother, but for various other reasons he also lays claim to the kingdom of Hungary, of which he possesses a part, and for the rest is in contention with King John⁶, for which cause so great a war has occurred, that it has caused a large part, and perhaps the best of it, to fall into the hands of the Lord Turk, and the rest, along with a good part of Austria, to remain almost destroyed by Turkish incursions, depredations, and fires; and its outcome, with perhaps little hope of any good, is still in doubt. There is also in Silesia a duchy, called the Duchy of Oppeln, which, after the death of its duke, who is very old and without any heir, is, as a royal fief, to devolve to the crown. Of this duchy, at the request and with the authority and consent of the late King Louis of Hungary, Margrave George of Brandenburg, uncle and tutor of the said king, was instituted heir by the said duke; but King Ferdinand never having been willing to confirm for him either this institution, or the donation of certain castles and places in Hungary, after much controversy, late last year they came to an agreement between them that the said Most Serene King Ferdinand is to pay the said margrave two hundred and fifty thousand Rhenish florins⁷ within a term of two years, and retain the rights to said places, so that after the death of said duke the said duchy of Oppeln shall be acquired and become his own. To this has finally been added the imperial dignity, for being elected and crowned King of the Romans, once His Majesty the Caesar of Germany has departed and gone to Spain, he will govern all the affairs of the Empire.⁸

From all these his states he draws a good sum of money in revenue and many services; although his revenues, if not perhaps all of them, as some say, at least for the most part, are either pledged or obligated to his various creditors.

From the revenues of the county of Tyrol, when they are free, between the salt that is made there and the duties, a total annual income of four hundred thousand Rhenish florins is usually drawn.

From the duchies of Austria, Styria, Carniola, and Carinthia, something has likewise been pledged, but when all the revenues are free, four hundred thousand Rhenish florins can be drawn from them each year.

From the Duchy of Württemberg he has so far drawn nothing, because its revenues have been obligated to pay the debt contracted for the expenses incurred by the Swabian League in its acquisition, which amounted to a great sum, which his majesty has undertaken to pay upon becoming lord of that state; but when this payment is finished, of which it still seems some part remains, it is said by some that he will have an annual income of two hundred thousand Rhenish florins, but most put it at only one hundred thousand.

From the other aforesaid states that he at present holds and possesses, he draws no ordinary revenue, except for the services of men and money that he obtains from them according to his needs. But beyond the aforesaid revenues, he has that the Emperor, by agreement between them, and by the testament of the Catholic King who left him heir to the Kingdom of Naples and other things acquired by him with that condition, is obliged to pay him every year from the revenues of said kingdom, sixty thousand gold ducats, which come to make eighty-four thousand Rhenish florins.

For the imperial dignity, the Emperor Maximilian used to draw an annual income of about two hundred thousand Rhenish florins, which was drawn partly from the pensions that go to the fiscal chamber from condemnations in the imperial lands, and partly from certain profits of the chancellery; but now it seems that a large part, due to the Emperor’s absence and perhaps the negligence of those who had charge of it, has gone to ruin, so that not half of it is drawn, which is left, I believe, by the Emperor for the King to enjoy with the charge of the dignity; and I have heard that it does not exceed the sum of seventy thousand Rhenish florins.

From the aforesaid Duchy of Open, when it will be his, it is said that he is to draw twenty-five thousand Rhenish florins a year, which makes in sum one million and seventy-nine thousand Rhenish florins.

Besides the aforementioned ordinary revenues, he often asks of these his states, according to his needs, aid in men and money, and places upon some, such as in the county of Tyrol, and in the duchies of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, such impositions as he sees fit, from which he draws a good sum from time to time through these means, which sometimes amounts to a quarter of the revenues. Thus, during the time I spent in Germany with His Caesarean Majesty, while we were in Innsbruck, in a diet held by the County of Tyrol, it was resolved to pay for his needs in the war in Hungary five thousand infantry for five months, for the expense of which he thought to take the money and to spend half on infantry and the other half on as many Italian light horse. And with this thought, having arrived in Augsburg, he hired Pavolo Luzasco⁹, who began to raise the horses, but then, due to a certain difference in the conditions of the contract, he did not come; nevertheless the king paid with the said money other people whom he sent, both Spaniards and Germans, with Captain Roccandolfo, to Hungary, and the sum of this money, which has been granted to him again this year, was about one hundred thousand rainos.

He has also had from his Holiness the Pope the grant of the tithe of all ecclesiastical benefices, and besides this, the indulgence, both in all his states as well as in many others in Italy; from which tithe and indulgence he has drawn no small sum of gold, although how much this has been is not said.

From his states of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, not only does he draw, as I have already said, no ordinary revenue, or if any, very little, but he also does not have in them the authority to levy impositions at his pleasure, as he has in his other states, except what he can obtain for the urgent needs of war from the barons and the men of the government of the kingdom and of the other two said provinces; who, not by any obligation they have, nor out of obedience to their king, but by their own free will, sometimes grant a good number of foot soldiers and horsemen, which are of good quality, especially the foot soldiers from that province. His Majesty expects that he would have from these three provinces, in the present need, forty-five thousand combatants, because he says that in other times of need he has drawn from them before, and especially in the year the Turk came to Vienna, a notable sum of troops paid by them, both infantry and cavalry. And I have heard from a person who would know it well and is very credible, that this year, so far, he has obtained from them one hundred and twenty thousand gold ducats.

Of the places he now possesses in the Kingdom of Hungary I include nothing, because from these, due to the contention he has for that kingdom with King John, he has rather very great expense than any revenue.

He could also, from the free imperial peoples or lands, if he were to make himself more their friend, draw some sum of money by way of gifts or subsidies, as Emperor Maximilian did, who from these with skill, through the favor he had with them, now in one way and now in another, obtained gifts of no small sum of money, with which were often paid the debts he had contracted both with his court and with those where he had once lodged with his retinue. This the present emperor has never been able to do, for having been absent from them; but the King of the Romans, who will always be near them, will perhaps be able to do it if he knows how or has the means to maintain relations with them, so that he is not, on account of the erroneous opinions many of them hold against the Catholic faith, by chance refused.

His ordinary expenses could not be well stated, because until now he has never limited them; but both because he found the revenues of his states mortgaged, which he first attended to recovering, and because of the continuous dispute he has since had over the kingdom of Hungary with King John, he has spent sometimes more and sometimes less, according as he has been more or less constrained by the war, so that nothing certain can be said. However, because he always spends lavishly, and keeps a good and well-ordered court, and dresses most splendidly, the expense he incurs is such that he is always seen to be in need, and not being able to support himself so well from his own revenues, it is necessary that he seek to help himself as much as he can with the impositions he places almost continually upon his states.

Court

In his government he keeps many councilors near him; but four especially are the principal ones and of most esteem, who are of the privy council; namely the Cardinal of Trent, the Count of Ortenburg called Salamanca, Captain Roggendorf, and Don Johann Hofmann.

The first¹⁰ is his grand chancellor, who in truth is now of greater authority than any other; but it is quite true that because he is Italian¹¹, and knows he has to deal with a people full of suspicion (such as the Germans), he treats them with the greatest respect, and proceeds very reservedly, so that he does not willingly grow as heated in the matters that are discussed as he might. He is a most humane lord, and always directs his works to a good end and with much prudence. And because he thinks very well of the government of this Most Excellent Republic [Venice], and it seems to him that he has received from her at various times many favors of which he keeps a memory, he shows himself to be not a little affectionate towards her, and where he has been able, I have always found him desirous of pleasing her and ready to act so that her requests might be satisfied; for which reason I reverently exhort Your Serenity to keep him always benevolent with every office you can, because you can expect from him nothing but the best assistance with the King in your affairs, which arise from the proximity of the states.

For the second, who is a Spaniard raised with him in Spain, he has much affection. This man formerly had the title of treasurer, and the King was accustomed to govern through him, so that he did almost everything (and in truth he is an esteemed and honored man, of quick wit, wise, and very shrewd); but because he was not pleasing to the Germans, and it seemed they could not bear the sight of him, the King was forced to send him away from the Court; so that he has given him some castles above Villach, which give him an income of perhaps eight thousand florins, and made him Count of Ortenburg, where he stays for most of the year, and he now meddles little with the government.

Captain Roggendorf, who is his grand master, is German; he has long served in Spain and in the Italian wars, and is reputed to be a man of courage, and one who understands matters of war better than any other German, and therefore the King gave him command of all the troops he had in Hungary and made him captain of that entire enterprise.

Hofmann, who is now the treasurer, is also German, and is in high favor with the King. But in truth the most reverend Cardinal of Trent is the one who has more authority over him than all the others, and he is almost always by his side.

Besides these, he then has his councilors of justice, among whom is Count Leonardo Nogarola, a gentleman from Vicenza, who was the son of Count Girolamo, formerly banished for rebellion by Your Serenity. He is greatly loved, and much employed by the King. Having known him first in Augsburg, and then at the court of the emperor, which he followed in Flanders as the King’s ambassador, he has always seemed to me a very prudent and modest gentleman.

Of him, both in Augsburg and in Aachen, the King spoke to me several times, urging me with such zeal and affection that I should recommend him to Your Serenity, to an extent I cannot describe; but in truth, he acted in such a manner that, as I wrote in my letters even then, he showed that he was extremely fond of him: for which reason I believe it could only greatly benefit the affairs of this Most Excellent Dominion to gratify him, if possible, at least in some part of his petitions. This is he who is now sent by the said Most Serene King as ambassador to the Turkish Lord.

The king, moreover, has several others with him, whom he frequently uses in his councils. But with the former alone he deals with all matters pertaining to peace and war, and with these others then only matters of justice. Of these matters, however, many that seem to him to require greater instruction and more diligent examination, he always sends, before dispatching them, to be seen by his councils, of which he keeps one in Vienna where all matters of the counties of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola are judged, and the other in Innsbruck which has to conclude all matters of the county of Tyrol. These councils hear, consult, and report on the matters referred to them by the king, according to their opinion; and having received their report, he either follows it, as he is accustomed to do in the majority of cases, or, modifying it as he then sees fit, handles it in his own fashion.

He, just as the Emperor does, wishes to be informed of all his own affairs, nor does he delegate any to others, save for those of a routine nature, and he does this with the utmost diligence, for every day he has his appointed hours for audiences, which are ordinarily early in the morning, and for two hours immediately after the midday meal, and so too for the council, which convenes after the audiences are finished. As a result, his business is dispatched much more swiftly than the Emperor’s, wherefore it is a matter of some wonder to see two brothers, so closely joined in spirit and will, be almost entirely contrary and different in both temperament and habits. Both are wise, prudent, and very knowledgeable in all matters, but the Emperor is more deliberate, more reserved, and more grave; this one is more prompt, more effective, more expeditious, and of a very lively intellect. He speaks of all matters of state and government most resolutely, and also of other things that arise daily in familiar conversations, well and with good discourse, so that he seems ignorant of nothing; and he entertains quite familiarly all those lords who happen at times to have dealings with him.

He not only has the German, French, and Spanish languages very readily at his command, as the emperor also has, but Italian and Latin as well quite easily, so that he understands and speaks both quite comfortably, although he does not use Italian so frequently or so willingly, and of Latin he wittily says that he speaks it in the military fashion, and that if he sometimes gives Priscian¹² a few cuffs, he believes this is permissible for him, as it does not seem to him that Priscian had the authority to impose laws upon a king.

In his audiences, he willingly listens to everyone, and then responds to them on every point with brief words and quite resolutely. It is quite true that, being of a choleric complexion and a hotter nature, it is necessary for anyone who must present his case to him to speak with even more caution, and not to say so freely something that might sting him, for he would not be so patient in hearing it, nor would he perhaps respond as meekly as the Emperor; but by presenting the pertinent business to him in a suitable manner, he responds to every point in such a way that he sends everyone away well satisfied.

In his way of living he is quite magnificent, and in his dress and that of his retinue, who receive their garments from him, he appears very distinguished and shows himself more richly when he goes out in some pomp, than does the Emperor. But in acts of liberality (having found his revenues mortgaged by the Emperor Maximilian, and the treasury laden with debt, and having always, because of the wars that have followed until now, been burdened with expenses, so that it has been necessary for him at all times to procure money by extraordinary means, imposing new taxes on his subject peoples), he has never been able to make such a demonstration as would be fit to form a certain judgment of him in this matter. Except that having succeeded the Emperor Maximilian, who was most lavish with all that was his, and took little care to preserve his things, and having on the contrary attended with all diligence at the beginning of his reign to recovering alienated properties, and to diligently examining his rights with everyone, he then acquired something of a name for being a miser, and it did not seem that for this he was very pleasing to the Germans. But yet if it is not found that he has given to many, he has however given to some, and almost without measure, nor does one hear of anyone who complains of him or accuses him or calls him illiberal; rather the people complain that because he gives too much, they are then burdened by him with daily taxes. He is held to be a diligent governor of his own affairs, so that it is thought that he knows better how to make use of what he has, than the Emperor of what is his.

It is said by his own people that he is just and a great observer of the laws and of his promised word; but yet in this he is no little suspect to the Germans, who say this is not much observed by him, especially where matters of jurisdiction and state are concerned, and they adduce as an example that in the uprising of the peasants¹³ he did not give the aid he owed to the Bishop of Salzburg, besieged by them, nor did he behave in the manner that was hoped, and almost showed that he was not displeased to see him in that danger; for which reason it does not seem that the said bishop holds himself very satisfied with him. And to this they add that, the Bishop of Augsburg having at that same time entrusted to him a very strong and important castle of his, as it seemed convenient for the expeditions against these risen peasants, the said bishop had, once the war was finished and all the tumults settled, no little trouble in getting it back, so that it was then necessary for him to be aided by the entire Swabian League, which took up the fight for him, and the King was constrained to restore it to him.

And in truth he is a prince of great spirit, and ambitious for honor and desirous of being regarded and esteemed no less than is his due by everyone; so that he greatly resents the offenses done to him, or the lack of respect sometimes shown him, and shows that he takes it very ill, as he showed when, without the knowledge, nay, against the orders of Your Serenity, the powders which he was having brought from Ferrara to Germany were detained from him in the Veronese territory; for as soon as he heard of this he first sent one of his councillors to me, and then he himself made a grave complaint to me about it, signifying to me with somewhat disdainful words that he too would have cause to do the same: and telling me that he knew you had been unaware of it, and had been displeased by it, as I was telling him, he added that the guilty parties should be punished in such a way as to be an example to others. Although, after hearing of the release of the powders, he told me that he had not only clearly recognized the goodwill of this most excellent dominion, but also that the error of those who detained the powders had proceeded from simple ignorance, as I had told him before, and that they were worthy of pardon, and that I should therefore pray Your Serenity to forgive them, so that for such a sin they might feel no punishment.

He still always thinks of great things and shows himself not a little desirous of greatness and state, so that he misses no opportunity that comes to him to increase his state and to make himself greater. And thus he has acquired the Duchy of Württemberg in the manner stated, and sought to have himself elected their king by the Bohemian barons; in which petition Duke Ludwig of Bavaria and Duke George of Saxony also competed. Nor has he ever been willing, as I have said, to grant to Margrave George of Brandenburg that Duchy of Opole in Silesia, nor the castles of Hungary, which had been given to him by King Louis. In short, he has always shown himself hard in not wishing to relinquish his jurisdictions to the Patriarch of Aquileia¹⁴, nor has any plea that was made to him in this matter been of any avail, even from the time we were in Augsburg, by the Patriarch himself, nor by the Pontiff; which jurisdictions it seems are still held occupied by his agents. And perhaps for these and for others still, which are occupied by these agents of his in various places of Your Serenity, the complete nomination of the judges who are to determine the differences over the occupied territories between him and this Most Excellent Dominion may have been so long delayed, and he has suffered himself to forgo the twenty-five thousand ducats a year, which he is to collect from Your Serenity until the complete payment of the two hundred thousand ducats, so as not to be by chance constrained to release some place that is held occupied by his men against the order of the capitulations, because it seems to him perhaps important to his state, for its jurisdiction, or for its site. And for such a desire, being a prince, as I have said, of great spirit, it is not believed that he will ever by agreement leave the kingdom of Hungary to King John, even if for that he were forced to endanger all the rest of his affairs, esteeming himself not so desirous of peace that for fear of war he would leave anything that he reputes in some way to have rightfully come to him, and to be his.

And because he is reputed to be as I have described above, his greatness is suspect to all the princes and lands of Germany, and they do not look upon it favorably; on the contrary, they oppose him as much as they can; whence I recall that when arrangements began in Augsburg to have him elected King of the Romans, it was understood that his election was not welcome not only to the other princes, but also to the electors themselves, some of whom, even among those who later agreed to the election, showed to some of the great men at court in whom they confided that they were utterly opposed to it and would in no way consent, although they later allowed themselves to be won over and persuaded by the others to agree. And there were other princes of the Empire as well, who, because I had visited them on occasion and had thus become somewhat familiar with them, when they heard that the electors had agreed to nominate him, could not help but reveal to me the indignation they had conceived at this; so that I was first told by some of their councillors and secretaries, in conversation, that these electors were generally blamed by everyone, and then that the Most Serene King Ferdinand had been and was a very great impediment to the business being discussed concerning the faith, as if to infer that out of his desire to be elected King of the Romans, and to have the obedience of all, he and the Emperor alike had proceeded with more deference than was due towards the Lutherans; and finally that his greatness was odious to all of Germany, and therefore his election was welcome to no one; so that they expressly told me that even if he were elected, he would nevertheless not have the obedience due from Germany. Then these same princes, during a visit I paid them upon departing from Augsburg, insinuated the same to me with their own mouths, which seems to have been later confirmed by the results; for when the Emperor was asked to dispose the minds of the princes and states of the Empire to render due obedience to his brother, elected King of the Romans, at the Diet convened in Speyer, the Lutherans, having first gathered together in a Diet of their own, among the other conditions set forth in their response, placed this one: that is, that they did not wish to be obliged to recognize any other as superior save His Caesarean Majesty, and then some of the other princes resorted to subterfuge, excusing themselves with various pretexts from coming in person to the said Diet, so that it was manifestly known that there was not much inclination for this; and for this reason especially it is believed that there was such a delay in coming to this Diet, and that in the end it was abandoned and postponed to another time in Regensburg.

The Emperor, perceiving this opinion of which I speak, and perhaps fearing that the mind and will of the Most Serene King of the Romans, his brother, might be suspect to the other princes and states of Italy, and especially to this Most Excellent Dominion, just as it was to those of Germany, and there being therefore in them some diffidence of him, I have understood more than once that when, in the petitions that were made by Your Serenity, it happened to speak of his person, he sought with me to remove all suspicion of him, and almost of his own accord, without my in any way requesting it of him, or even saying a word to him that might show that you had any doubt, he would tell me that I should, on his behalf, exhort you to have the same confidence in the King his brother that you had in himself, because both were of one will, of one mind most inclined to observe inviolably what had been concluded in the peace of Italy, and to gratify and please you always in all those things that were possible. I do not know if he did this moved by this sole cause, perchance, that seeing himself at times requested by you for something that pertained to his brother for his own states, it seemed to him that this might proceed from Your Serenity having less confidence in his brother than in him, or whether, spurred on by this general opinion, which he seems to see in everyone, he was induced to perform such an office with me.

In truth, Most Serene Prince and Most Excellent Lords, so great is the union of the minds of these two brothers and the supreme reverence that the King of the Romans shows for the Emperor, as is understood by everyone, that it is believed that as long as the Emperor lives, he will never depart one bit from his will, but will always follow his wishes as if they were the firmest laws for his own government and life, and must at all times have for friends or for enemies the very same who are such to the Emperor. And therefore, His Caesarean Majesty being joined in friendship and confederation with this Most Excellent Dominion and with all the other states of Italy, and with that goodness and faith, and desire for peace and quiet that I have stated above and which is known to everyone, for this reason alone, even if there were no other, I do not believe it is to be feared that the King of the Romans, whom I judge to be a constant and faithful prince, will fail to observe the same, and to hold firm and dear the friendship that he and his brother have together with this Most Excellent Republic, and to attend equally to preserving all of Italy and its states always in their present quiet and security.

It would seem well to me, with all my due reverence, to exhort Your Most Excellent Lordships that you seek with all your effort, not so much to maintain the union that you have with said Caesarean Majesty, which I do not think will ever end while he lives, but rather the friendship with the Most Serene King, seeking always to cultivate him not only with the observance of things promised, but also with every possible office of affection and reverence; both because you could do no greater pleasure to His Caesarean Majesty, who desires this above all measure, and also because you must consider that this prince, besides his own forces, which are indeed to be greatly esteemed, once the Emperor has passed into Spain, is to have the entire care and government of the Empire alone, and that all the states of Germany, which border in every part almost from one end of Italy to the other with your state, are in his hands and his own; from which how much trouble, harm, or danger may be expected when they are enemies, and, on the other hand, how much convenience and utility both to this renowned city and to its others on the mainland, they being friends, you may well know from what you have experienced in both cases, and still experience.

His Caesarean Majesty took great pleasure when Your Lordships wrote to him and to the King of the Romans, congratulating them on the said election, and recognizing and honoring him in a fitting manner; and he himself took the letters addressed to the king to send to him; and although he would have felt much greater pleasure if such a duty had been performed with some more express and manifest demonstration, yet the spirit they showed in this, most inclined to hold him in that due honor that was fitting, was, as I understood, most dear and pleasing to him, and I think he was easily persuaded that some most important consideration held them back then from making a greater demonstration in such a duty, hoping and expecting that when an occasion arises for them in which that greater consideration is no obstacle, they will yet do so. They, therefore, having well considered the above-mentioned conditions of both majesties and of their states and qualities, do well and will always do well to hold them in such esteem, and to seek to treat them with that honor and reverence which befits their dignity, and the preservation of such a useful confederation and friendship for the benefit of this Most Excellent Republic.

Having dispatched what was to be said of the conditions of two such great brother princes, which seemed worthy of consideration, as they possess in Germany no small part of their own states, and also that universal authority and dominion over the whole which the imperial dignity at present brings them; and as Germany is a province especially so near to this our Italy, it seems no less fitting to consider likewise its notable conditions, as has been done for its princes.

Territories

This province, then, of which I speak, Germany, is very large and populous: to the north it has the Ocean, into which it extends with some of its parts so that it reaches almost as far north as the island of England. To the east, the Vistula, a river that flows through Cracow, a royal city of the King of Poland. According to the ancient borders, it used to reach the Rhine to the west, and the Danube to the south, but not pass beyond them. Now, in truth, it has extended so much that to the south it is joined with Italy, so that it occupies all the Alps, and to the west it crosses the Rhine from the Ocean to the Alps, comprising almost all of Gallia Belgica and part of Celtica with Basel, Constance, and finally the Swiss; who, although not all now give obedience to the Empire, yet generally use the German language, and each one has no small respect for the Emperor, and recognizes him in a certain way as superior, and is careful not to take up arms against him. But leaving aside the lands and places of the Swiss, and those few states beyond the Rhine that do not hold themselves subject to the Emperor and do not concur with and obey the deliberations of the imperial diets, Germany is divided into two sorts of dominions: that is, of princes or lords, and of free or imperial lands. The states, then, or orders of these dominions that enter into the diet are five: the first is that of the prince-electors, both ecclesiastical and secular; the second, of the other secular princes; the third, of the other ecclesiastical princes; the fourth, of the counts and barons; the fifth, of the free or imperial lands. Of these, how much authority each one has in the imperial diets, and in what manner they proceed both in the deliberations they make and in the execution of them, I will not now endeavor to declare, so as not to be too long, and perhaps also tedious to Your Most Excellent Lordships, who have at other times had a particular and distinct account of all these orders, without tedious need for it.

But of the forces of all this Germany united, and also in particular of some part of it, and of the diverse wills, opinions, and dispositions that are found in its princes, cities, and peoples, I will briefly say all that I have been able to find worthy of note and consideration.

The forces of that province truly, if they are united, are very great, and it can be said for certain, were the whole of it of one same will, formidable indeed, because it is a province most populous with men of a fierce nature, and all dedicated to arms and always exercised in them, and in addition most copious in war horses; which, by the deliberation made in the last diet of Augsburg, it was concluded should give and maintain for the emperor, if he were assailed by the Turks, as he was when they came to Vienna, in his defense, eight thousand horse and forty thousand foot, which are judged few compared to what it is estimated could be done if all were willing to make their greatest effort; for of this last sum, it fell to Nuremberg and Augsburg, which are among the most powerful lands of Germany, for the eightieth part that they always pay of any quantity of men that is decided upon in a general diet for some enterprise, no more than one hundred horse and five hundred foot for each; and to the dukes of Bavaria, who are among the first princes and of greater income and larger state, but two hundred horse, and one thousand and fifty foot: whereas when Germany moved to relieve Vienna besieged by the Turks, the said dukes, being closer, prepared, as it is said, from their own state alone, three thousand horse and twenty thousand foot; the marquis Joachim of Brandenburg, elector, sent his son with two thousand of his own horse, and […] foot; the duke of Saxony, elector, put in order two thousand horse and three thousand foot, and by the imperial lands alone it was decided to send in aid fifteen thousand foot, of whom they made captain Duke Ludwig of Bavaria; and likewise by the other princes such provisions were made that, as is held for certain, the good men-at-arms who were directed to that relief surpassed in all the number of one hundred thousand, who however, because of the sudden withdrawal of the Turks, remained behind. And in sum it is reckoned from what the Swabian League is accustomed to do, when it wishes to make its greatest effort, that all of Germany could put into the field more than two hundred thousand foot, and forty thousand horse to send on any enterprise.

A union of the diverse princes and cities of this province was formed many years ago, called the Swabian League, of which I speak, which possesses no small forces, and is much renowned, and of no small esteem and reputation throughout all of Germany. This was first concluded in the time of Emperor Maximilian, in February of 1489, among only certain imperial cities that are in Swabia and thereabouts; nor did they then, I believe, exceed the number of twelve, but now they are twenty-seven, and it was made solely for their defense against whomever wished to molest and disturb their liberty; in such a way that although they are surrounded by diverse princes, whose domains reach for almost all of them up to their very walls, they have nonetheless from that time to this preserved themselves unharmed and in their liberties with such a reputation, that many of the foremost princes have since, from time to time, sought to enter it. Thus Emperor Maximilian himself first entered it as Archduke of Austria and in no other capacity, and he has been succeeded by the most serene King Ferdinand for the said duchy, and for the duchy of Württemberg; thereafter, there entered at diverse times the dukes of Bavaria, the landgrave of Hesse, the Margrave Casimir of Brandenburg, the Counts Palatine, the archbishop of Mainz, the bishop of Würzburg, the bishop of Eichstätt, the bishop of Bamberg, that of Constance, and that of Augsburg, then many other free counts, knights, abbots, and others of that sort in great number. The last of all was the bishop of Salzburg, who entered in the year 1525 to free himself from the siege of his peasants, so that it has become very powerful, and therefore all of Germany holds it in no small respect.

The portion of troops to be given by each of the confederates is different, more or less, according to their greater or lesser forces; but the proportions of all together ordinarily amount to two thousand horse, and twelve thousand foot; which sum, according to the times and needs, can be multiplied up to double, triple, quadruple, or quintuple; thus far, never more than double the aforementioned sum has been assembled, that is, four thousand horse, and twenty-four thousand foot.

In the diets of this league, when some deliberation is to be made, all the confederates enter with their votes, yet not all those of the league have a vote, because some are accepted without a vote; but of the twenty-four or twenty-five votes that there are in all, the free cities have eight, the princes eight, and the prelates, free counts, knights, and others mentioned above have eight.

Nor is the burden of the expense, not only of each individual but also of each of these three estates, or orders, equal, like the authority; because in the simple sum of two thousand horse and twelve thousand foot soldiers, it seems that to this last order or estate of the prelates, counts, and knights fall no more than fifty horse and one thousand foot soldiers: to the order of the free cities only two hundred and seventy horse, and two thousand nine hundred foot soldiers: and the rest, which would come to be one thousand six hundred and eighty horse and eight thousand one hundred foot soldiers, to the order of the princes; whence it follows that, besides some other particular reason that perhaps moves some of them, this so great a disadvantage that the princes seem to have, causes some of them, as it is said, to want to withdraw once the time of the last confirmation of the league, which ends in 1534, is finished; among whom I have heard named the Counts Palatine, the Landgrave of Hesse, and Margrave George of Brandenburg; which, should it happen, is considered a matter of no small moment, because it is believed that, as the ferocity and insolence of many are suppressed by the authority and force of this league, its dissolution would give birth, both among those who were formerly confederates and among the others, to so many differences and dissensions, that they would plunge a large part and perhaps all of Germany into war and into greater confusion than the new division of faith has done so far.¹⁵

Of the particular forces and dominions of each prince or free city, besides it being difficult to know, it would be too long to narrate, but by choosing the principal ones from both sides, something can be said.

Of the free or imperial cities, therefore, few are there that have any dominion beyond that of their own land; indeed, some of the most principal ones hold jurisdiction for no or very little space outside their walls, as everything outside is held by the neighboring princes; such as the city of Augsburg, which has the dukes of Bavaria who come with their dominion almost to its gates.

The ordinary income proper to each is, then, very small, for although they do collect some duties, these are nevertheless so few and so meager (which is a general condition throughout Germany, which is very free of such burdens) that they can in no way amount to a large sum. On the other hand, they do not have many expenses, because they do not ordinarily maintain any troops, but all the guarding of their own land is done by the citizens and the people themselves, according to their established orders. And if they must make some extraordinary expenditure, whether for a particular need of the land in fortifying it or defending it from some external violence, or to pay its share of some enterprise, or for another expense made generally or in common with another, each one imposes its own taxes, and with these it satisfies the need; which are the more robust and of greater effect the richer the lands are, and such can be reputed Nuremberg, Augsburg, Strasbourg, and Lübeck.

Of the ecclesiastical princes, among the electors, the greatest in revenue and in state is reputed to be the one of Mainz, who is archbishop and lord of Mainz and of many other lands, and has an income of seventy thousand Rhenish florins: he used to have a greater one, but the cardinal, who spends prodigally, has diminished it considerably, as they say.

The second is the Archbishop of Cologne, who is not so much the master of Cologne, with which he has much controversy, but is indeed of many other lands, and has an income of fifty thousand florins.

The third is the Archbishop of Trier, who is likewise master of Trier and of other small lands, and in income can hold around forty thousand florins.

Of the other prelates, the Bishop of Salzburg, who is a cardinal, used to have before the peasants’ war an annual income of one hundred thousand florins, but now, due to damages suffered in said war, it does not exceed eighty thousand florins; he has his state between Bavaria and the states of the King of the Romans, and has that land of Salzburg, very strong both by its site and nature, as well as by artifice. This man was the primary counselor of Emperor Maximilian, through whose favor he obtained that bishopric, even though he was not of that order of nobles required in Germany, and he is a very prudent and highly reputed man, as should be well known to Your Serenity. There are other very rich bishops in Germany, but not to be more lengthy, it is enough for now to have spoken of these, as the principal ones.

Of the secular princes, among the electors, the greatest is the most serene King Ferdinand for the Kingdom of Bohemia and its conjoined states.

The second is the Elector Palatine, who has an income of more than one hundred thousand florins; besides him are Duke Frederick his brother (who, two years ago now, came to this land, where he was so honored by Your Serenity that he still cannot have his fill of thanking and praising you), and the sons of another brother, all of whom have their own separate ordinary incomes, though not of a great sum.

The third is Duke John of Saxony, who from his own income has one hundred fifty thousand florins.

The fourth is Marquis Joachim of Brandenburg, who has an income of eighty thousand florins.

Among the other, non-elector princes, the brothers Dukes William and Louis of Bavaria are the greatest in state, and the richest in income of any other prince in Germany. Their state comprises almost all of that province besides the county of Tyrol, between the Liscus, the Eno, and the Danube, which by the ancients was called Vindelicia, and also no small part of the neighboring provinces. It contains within it, besides the other good lands, as they call them, thirty-two cities, and yields an income of, some say one hundred fifty, some two hundred thousand florins, without the special levies, which, as all the princes of Germany do, besides their income, they extract from the people in times of war. Of which levies it is said that when the aforementioned relief was to be sent from Germany to Vienna, they drew, with a very light tax, nine hundred thousand florins in cash to pay the men they had planned to send as such relief; which, as it was not then necessary to send the men, remained in deposit. And when I was in Augsburg, I heard that they offered them to the Emperor, as he wished to make war on the Lutherans, and I learned that they had treated with the Duke of Mantua to have a way to lead a thousand light horse from Italy, in case war were to be made in Germany; but since no need for war has arisen thus far, deducting seventy thousand florins that were taken from these to honor the Emperor when he went through Bavaria to Augsburg, the rest is held in deposit for such needs.

These are close relatives of the Emperor, and of the most serene King Ferdinand, being born of a sister of Emperor Maximilian; but now it does not seem that they are too friendly to said King for many reasons, the first of which is that during the war of the Count Palatine, Maximilian occupied certain lands that they claim to be theirs.¹⁶ The second is the rejection that the King had given to Duke Louis when he vied in the election for the Kingdom of Bohemia. The third is the indignation conceived by Duke William over this new election of the King of the Romans, in which, it not being held now in the presence of the Emperor, he himself, should the case arise, had a great interest, and was not without good hope for it, for which reason he showed himself very reluctant to consent to it. As a fourth, one can add the Duchy of Württemberg, held by the King of the Romans, which by succession ought to come to a nephew of theirs, the son of the exiled duke and of one of their sisters.

Besides these, there is the Landgrave of Hesse, who has his state upon the Rhine, which gives him an income of some eighty thousand florins, not including the not inconsiderable revenue he now derives from the occupied churches. He is young, and vigorous in both body and mind, and one of the staunchest Lutherans that exist, for which reason he is held in great account by his neighbors; whom he has, in past years, so troubled that he compelled, among others, the Cardinal of Mainz to give him sixty thousand florins, the Bishop of Würzburg forty thousand, and the Bishop of Bamberg twenty thousand; and by force he still occupies an estate of the Count of Nassau near Mainz, with an income of twenty thousand florins.

There is Duke George of Saxony, uncle of the Elector and father-in-law of the said Landgrave, who has an income of seventy thousand florins, and is, in contrast, a very Catholic prince, who has never allowed any heretic to enter his country, so that although his state is near that of the Elector, and almost entirely surrounded by Lutherans, he has nonetheless kept his peoples entirely pure of this stain.

Margrave George of Brandenburg, of whom I spoke above when I discussed the affairs of the King of the Romans, was the second brother of Margrave Casimir, and therefore, as guardian of the son of his deceased elder brother, although he has other brothers and his old father is still alive (the latter being of a decrepit age), he holds, governs, and possesses the entire state, which gives him an ordinary income of seventy-five thousand florins. He is a man of considerable repute, and was also guardian to King Louis of Hungary. He is not without the stain of the Lutheran heresy, especially in his seizure of church revenues, in which opinion he is contrary to his father and brothers, who are most Catholic. He, however, notwithstanding the controversy I mentioned above with the King of the Romans, has always been naturally inclined, as are his father and his entire house, toward the House of Austria and closely joined with it, nor has he ever consented with the other Lutherans to anything that might be to the prejudice of the states and dignity of the Emperor or of King Ferdinand.

There are then many other princes besides these, of whom it seems I should not speak more particularly one by one, so as not to be too lengthy, having already said enough of the principal ones, and of those who in the present times are most renowned; besides their incomes, it is to be considered that from their subject peoples, and from the nobles who are their feudatories, and therefore obliged to serve them with arms and horses both in peace and in war, they draw in service, but especially in times of war, a great many men and much money, as I have narrated above with the example of the Dukes of Bavaria.

Having seen thus far how many and of what kind are the forces of all of Germany together, of the Swabian League, and finally of each prince and imperial land, I come now to speak of the dispositions of the minds and wills of all, as can be most clearly understood from the words, movements, and actions of each.

One sees, therefore, in Germany that same effect and passion that exists in all other provinces: namely, a desire among all the princes to aggrandize themselves, and to make themselves as great as they can in both state and dignity, and likewise a jealousy that one has of another, lest he become so great as to be able to hold the others beneath him. So too in the lands there is a desire: for those that do not have it, to attain liberty, and for those that have it, to preserve it. From this it arises that the princes are always little friendly and concordant, both among themselves and with the imperial lands, in the deliberations they make. And there always exists a perpetual difference and controversy between some lands and their bishops, who were once or are now their lords, with the latter claiming and seeking to recover their lost dominion or to maintain themselves in it, and the former seeking to maintain their acquired liberty, or to acquire it by withdrawing from their dominion. This controversy is especially seen between the Archbishop of Cologne, the Bishop of Speyer, the Bishop of Worms, and the Bishop of Augsburg, each with his own land. It was due to such controversy, difference, or jealousy that the Swabian League was first formed by those few free lands, and then, four years ago, the league I have mentioned of all the imperial lands.

Religious and Political Turmoil

In these imperial lands there are, then, various forms of government, but in almost all of them the common people still, in some more and in some less, have authority and a part in it, such that the nobles have no share; and in some the citizens have little more power than the artisans and all the other lower classes, and in some others the lower class has become so powerful that it governs alone, as has happened in those lands which, due to the similarity of their government and their proximity, have since become Swiss cantons, or have allied with them; and thus some have withdrawn from the Empire, to which, as imperial lands, they were formerly named and subject, such as Bellinzona and Basel which became cantons of the Swiss, and then Constance and finally Strasbourg and some others which allied with them, and there is perhaps no small reason to fear that other neighboring lands will do the same from one day to the next.

And as in all these, the people always seek to take control of the government, so in all of Germany there seems to exist, in them and in the peasants, an almost natural hatred against all princes and nobles of every sort, to whom they lament being so subject as they are; and for this reason so great a multitude rose up in past years, as Your Most Excellent Lordships must remember, which threw all of Germany into the greatest confusion, and put all its princes and lords in extreme peril. And if it had shown itself only against the ecclesiastics, as it did at the beginning, and as the lords and nobles of Germany believed it would, and had it not so soon after revealed itself also against almost all of them, it would have obtained what it wanted, and seized everything; but as soon as the lords and nobles realized this, whereas before they had laughed and almost consented to such an uprising, content that the prelates should be beaten, they grew resentful, so that all of them, united and in agreement, took up the fight; with the result that that multitude (although almost infinite, but disorganized and without leaders, and lacking any instrument of war or any soldiers), being destroyed in diverse parts in a short time, was for this reason forced to come and ask for pardon, so that, with the leaders punished, it all dissolved. But Germany was left, because of the killings in various places, deprived of many people, and with spirits so offended and ulcerated, that it would be an easy matter for such uprisings to arise again at any time for the slightest reason.

Then, beyond the aforementioned dispositions, the opinions of this province regarding ecclesiastical dominion and authority, as well as in many matters of faith, are so contrary and so diverse and confused, and so harsh and obstinate, that one could scarcely believe it.

There is first, in every class of person, a general disposition, among the ecclesiastics as well as the laity, contrary to the Roman Church and to pontifical dignity and authority, against which some feel one way, and others another.

It is universal among all the princes that they complain greatly of the constitutions and orders of various pontiffs, and of certain chancery rules, observed, as they say, to the great detriment and prejudice of their subjects, and they would like that the many and enormous disorders that occur every day be remedied, and, in short, that in the conferring of benefices, and in the litigations that arise from this, the power of the apostolic see be diminished and theirs be increased; which can be seen expressed in the grievances issued some years ago by all the princes and states of Germany¹⁷, and newly presented again in this last Diet of Augsburg, where complaints are made of many things, and their correction, change, or total removal is demanded.

These grievances were all seen and well-pondered by the most reverend Cardinal Campeggio, apostolic legate in Germany, so that, as he is most learned and most prudent, and of excellent will and supremely desirous of satisfying, as honestly as possible, the security and convenience of all Christians, in responding to many he demonstrated the error in which they found themselves, and the little reason they had in their petitions; and to some he showed that the disorder proceeded not from the constitutions and orders, but from the malice or ignorance of those who execute them; and for many he not only promised correction in the name of the Holy Apostolic See, but also, to gratify all of Germany, broader concessions than even those they enjoyed, which already gave them more authority than any other province has, so that it was thought they ought to remain content. But as no resolution was made on the other articles concerning matters of faith, this too has remained suspended until now.¹⁸

Besides this general disposition, there is another special desire in all the bishops of Germany, that each one would like to have in his own diocese, both in the conferring of all benefices and in judgments, an absolute power that would not be in any way subject to the pontifical authority, nor dependent upon it; rather, that they alone should be like pontiffs in all places subject to their church, saying that the authority of binding and loosing given by Christ to Peter was granted to the other apostles as well, and thus no more to the Roman church than to any other. This would be the desire of all; but there are some also who go further, who, also having a temporal state as bishops, would like to seize all the revenues and ecclesiastical goods, and make them their own, and, taking a wife, reduce everything to temporal dominion, like dukes, or marquises, or counts of their states, in the same way that the Grand Master of Prussia has done.¹⁹

There is, finally, an almost equal hatred on the part of the princes and temporal lords as well as of the people against all the bishops and their other prelates, and generally against every sort of religious person, of whom, because of their habits—to tell the truth, quite dissolute and of bad example—they have a very poor opinion, which removes the reverence that they ought to have, and were accustomed to have, for them; and for this reason they are easily moved to any persuasion made to them by anyone who has even a little reputation for learning and audacity, and a way of speaking or writing against these persons. Hence not only have some of the princes been induced to drive out abbots and other prelates, to strip the churches of every ornament, and to occupy the revenues of abbeys and other opulent monasteries, but many of the people also have been and are seen every day doing the same, to the ruin of all the churches and sacred places, and the destruction of all divine worship, as the people of Lübeck and other cities have done during the time I have been in Germany, making this change after the Emperor’s arrival in Germany. This arises from the hatred they bear for all persons of the church, aided not a little by the avarice that incites the people to plunder, and the princes and lords to the occupation of ecclesiastical revenues, by which many enrich themselves, and then, having occupied them, they relinquish them most unwillingly, and therefore become every day more harsh and obstinate in their evil opinion.

This disorder is general in all those who by any way have deviated from the ancient Catholic rite, who, although many may dissent from some of Luther’s articles, yet because he was the first seducer, and followed by the others, each one adding something new of his own, are all called by the general name of Lutherans. But these who, as I have said, all agree in the destruction of sacred persons and places, and usurp their revenues, are then divided into different sects.

The first is that of Luther, who besides removing entirely every preeminence of the pope and pontifical power, condemns the general confession of all mortal sins, establishes communion generally for all adults and non-adults under both kinds [bread and wine], removes all merit from every good human work²⁰, does away with every religious vow, so that he wishes that all priests and religious of whatever sort may, while still remaining priests, take a wife, and sacred nuns a husband; he does not wish that Christians be obliged to any fast from any food, nor to observe any feast; he destroys all images, and removes many other rites and constitutions of the church both in divine worship, and in the Christian way of life, which it would be long to narrate in full; and it is enough for now to have stated the principal articles.

The second is that of Zwingli²¹, who, among other things, adds as a principal article of his own that he entirely removes the transmutation of the host and wine into the blood and body of Christ, and says that the words of the Gospel and of Saint Paul on this article must be understood only figuratively; this sect is especially found among the Swiss and in neighboring lands, and was followed by Oecolampadius in Basel.

The third is that of the Anabaptists, who want all Christians to be baptized as adults and not as infants, and that those who were baptized in swaddling clothes, as is the general custom, must be rebaptized.²²

Finally there is the fourth, worse than all the others; of these, some say that according to the life of the apostles no one should possess any private wealth, but all goods must be held in common, and that such should be the life of all Christians; and this is the sect that the peasants followed; to which others, who call themselves “spirituals,” add that a man’s appetite moves him to do is lawful for everyone to do; from which it follows that not only property, but also women, are common to all, and moreover every incestuous and bestial lust is permitted, provided that someone has the desire to practice it.²³

In short, it seems that these peoples have come to such licentiousness in some places, that they wish it to be lawful for everyone to speak and preach of the faith, and to raise up new sects, according to their own pleasure, which thing brings extreme confusion to every place. And these seducers, in order to spread their opinions more widely, not being able to preach everywhere, as this is forbidden to them in many places, have written and had printed all their opinions in their own vernacular tongue, so that all of Germany is full of them; and where they cannot go, these books go, which are read in every house, at least secretly, and every base and vile person, every woman, wishes to dispute about the Gospel and the epistles of Saint Paul and the faith; and in this way they have done such a work that, although through the care and study of many Catholic princes the ancient divine worship and rite of Catholic living has been kept intact and pure in many states, so that in this no change has been made, nevertheless, such a disposition has been made among the peoples that most of them willingly incline, when not forbidden, to one of these sects for the license of living more freely and according to the inclination of their own appetite, and for the greater liberty that each one grants them, naturally desired by everyone. This is understood when speaking with various people in almost all the lands that are held to be Catholic: so that one may well with reason doubt that if our Lord God does not in some way place His hand upon it, this whole province will soon become Lutheran, that is, that in one way or another it will be removed from the usual rite of Christian living; and not only one city from another, but in the same house people will become of different faiths among themselves, and then, going from time to time from bad to worse, all religion will be utterly lost, and we shall return to the ancient savagery of life, because every day some land is seen to turn away, and those already fallen to increase their error, and to become of a worse and more enormous sect, and many of the princes, not only secular but also ecclesiastical, waver, so that little is wanting for them to fall headlong. And if one of these should once begin, as is already murmured of some of the chief among them, I fear that all the others will then be seen to follow them precipitously to the same ruin, which I believe will bring such confusion to the Christian religion, and to the states and peoples of that province, that one day we shall see or hear of it being turned completely upside down; and God grant that from this ruin there does not then arise such a catastrophe as to fall upon some neighboring country.

From all these passions which I have narrated above, one can easily conjecture what may follow in the said province, and how much the other neighboring states have to fear from her. For being so diverse both in matters pertaining to dominion and in those pertaining to religion, it seems impossible that they should agree together and jointly undertake any enterprise that touches specifically upon the particular greatness of any one of its princes; for besides the fact that jealousy does not allow them to consent to their neighbor becoming greater, and being, moreover, so contrary among themselves in the matter of religion, it is more to be suspected that war will arise among them, than to be feared that they will wage it together against others. Thus at the Diet of Augsburg they would not consent to any aid for the Most Serene King Ferdinand for the recovery of the Kingdom of Hungary, nor for the preservation of any part of it, but only to the Emperor against the Turks, either in defense of Germany, or also in offense, should a general enterprise of all Christians be undertaken. They say furthermore that they do not wish in any case to consent to their portion, if first they are not assured that the others will not wage war upon them or molest them in their own lands; because in truth, apart from this religious doctrine, all these show that they hold the greatness of these two brothers in no little suspicion, nor would they wish to see it greater. Which greatness, however, they would more willingly, and with fewer reservations, grant to the Emperor, because he seems to them more a friend of quiet and peace, and less ambitious of greater power and of state, and is, after all, far away from them, than to the Most Serene King of the Romans, who must always be near them, and seems more lively and effective, and of greater spirit, and more desirous of augmenting both dignity and dominion; which was manifestly seen in this election, as has been particularly said above.

It is indeed true that if both Their Majesties were to promise the Lutherans not to be their enemies, and to consent that they hold their opinions and live freely in their own fashion, they would have from them, as is said, whatever they wished (and it is understood that on several occasions the latter have, on such conditions, offered the former in any of their enterprises against anyone a good number of men paid at their own expense), but they have never yet been willing to lend them an ear. And even when the peasants’ revolt occurred, it is said that they offered King Ferdinand to make him sole lord of all Germany if he would become their captain, and together destroy and drive out the other princes and lords of Germany.

Therefore, it seems to me, as I have said, that it is not to be feared that this province, while it remains so divided, will deliberately undertake any enterprise against another prince or state or external people; but it can well be believed that among the Germans themselves there may first arise some great and confused war, which would bring extreme ruin to cities, lands, and peoples of every quality and condition, from which many dangers could then come to others.²⁴ And the first will be that, should they take up arms against themselves, if the heretical party were to prevail, destroying and sacking the others, the victors could become so insolent that they would then wish to impose laws upon neighboring countries as well, subjugating them and compelling them to live in their manner; which intention has been seen expressed among the Zwinglian Swiss, who not only attempted to compel the Catholic cantons by arms to join their sect, but also wished, such was their arrogance, that the Duke of Savoy be forced to admit their preachers into his country. And I have likewise heard the ambassador of the Most Christian King, who is now with His Imperial Majesty—a most prudent and wise man—express the same fear, that they might perhaps one day do the same in the neighboring lands of France; but the Lord God has willed that the very opposite should happen to them. For if by ill fortune it had come to pass that the Catholic cantons had consented to their wicked will and joined with them, or had been defeated, it was certainly greatly to be feared that they would not have contained themselves within their borders, but would have made some inundation elsewhere: nor was Italy secure that such a ruin might not yet be unleashed upon her, seeing especially that many of the Lutheran imperial lands of Germany are allied amongst themselves, and that perhaps all the princes of this sect have an understanding together.

It would also be no small danger that, as has happened many times in ancient days, the banished party, whichever it may be, being deprived of its own homeland and possessions, would be constrained to seek new lands, and to deprive the proper inhabitants thereof, sacking them and driving them from their homes, or disturbing them in order to settle themselves there either alone or among them. But finally, a greater danger would be if a new uprising were to occur, whereby the peasants and the common people might find some prince as their leader to conduct them, instruct them in warfare, and give them the instruments of war of which they are deprived; which danger, although it would first harm its own body, as it has done before, nevertheless the neighbors would not be safe from having to experience the like in various ways themselves, either at the same time or a little after.

For this reason, Most Serene Prince and Most Excellent Lords, it seems to me that the study, care, and diligence of our fathers and ancestors is supremely to be praised, with which they have always kept their own land and their entire state purged of such a plague, not permitting anyone who was not of lauded doctrine to preach to the people on matters of faith, and driving out and punishing those who sought to create new sects or to sow words that could scandalize the soul of anyone against God and against the present state and dominion. And no less are your most excellent lordships to be praised if, following in the footsteps of your ancestors, you strive with all study and diligence for the same, not only by driving out or not permitting such people, but also by forbidding all their writings; because truly these too can do nothing but great harm, for they secretly at least infect the minds of many, who every day become worse, and with bad examples and also with words spoken in secret, they go about infecting others all day long. Thus, like a fire that has been dormant for a time, it can go on creeping so secretly that one day, unexpectedly, it may kindle such a blaze that in an instant it engulfs everything, nor can it then be extinguished, when one might wish to.

Nor is it to be believed that this plague touches religion alone—which, however, above all other things, every good Christian must strive to preserve pure and unharmed, and not be confused with new heresies, and especially so for this Most Excellent Republic which was born Christian, and has always until now kept itself clean of every stain. But it is to be noted that it tends no less to the destruction of all dominion, by giving to the peoples every license little by little: who, as soon as they have begun even a little to spurn the laws because of some license granted to them, no longer wish to feel the rein, but taking it with their teeth, or throwing it off, they carry their governor against his will, or they cast him down and trample upon him, inflicting upon him grave and intolerable torments. As for this reason has happened in many lands of Germany, where the peoples, having deposed the nobles or the ancient citizen governors of the dominion, and having placed in it tailors, cobblers, and other such artisans, these, with the plebs, became more insolent every day, and trampling upon every law and ancient good order, they disposed of everything according to their own favor, resulting in an extreme confusion of life.

The War Against the Turks

Now returning to the consideration of the other things said above, and of what I, from the treaties concluded and dispatched, and from the orders already largely given by these two princes, have been able to comprehend, it seems to me that one can reasonably discourse upon the forces that can be expected both by sea and by land from these two princes against so many Turkish preparations that are being heard of, and to say something about it with considerable foundation; which I believe that your Most Excellent Lordships, above all other things, perhaps now expect to hear.²⁵

Therefore, in this regard, there are to be considered their own forces, in whatever manner, as well as the external ones they await from elsewhere. Their own forces I call thus those that they will have of men paid with their own money, as well as those that will be supplied to them by their subjects. External forces, then, I truly call those which they are to have from external friends and their confederates, such as from the princes and states of Germany, from the pontiff, or from another friendly prince or state.

And beginning with the forces at sea, His Majesty the Emperor currently has armed of his own fifteen galleys of Prince Doria, two of the Lord of Monaco, six of the Kingdom of Sicily, and two of the Kingdom of Naples. Furthermore, he has twelve galleys armed in Spain, which he keeps continually for the custody and security of those his seas from the infestation of Barbarossa and other corsairs; nor does it seem that there is any thought of moving these twelve from there for other enterprises. But besides the said galleys of Doria, Monaco, Sicily, and Naples, which are twenty-five in all (having now no means of being able to arm other galleys for himself), he has resolved to arm in addition up to forty ships, of which he can have as great a number as he wishes; and already for this purpose he dispatched, before my departure from Ratisbon, Messer Erasmo Doria and Messer Giovanni Reni, our Venetian citizen, but for a long time now a servant of the Catholic King, and always employed by both one and the other in such expeditions, both of whom he sent with such an order to Genoa.

Besides this armada of his own galleys and ships, His Holiness the Pontiff adds to it another twelve galleys, and the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John five, which would make in all forty-two galleys and forty ships. And if Barbarossa should join his forces with the Turkish armada, likewise His Majesty will have the twelve galleys from Spain come and will join them with the rest of his armada, so that in that case he would have fifty-four galleys well-armed and well-furnished.

By land, His Majesty has always said that he wishes to pay for thirty thousand infantry with his own money from among the Italian and Spanish peoples, and others he wished to raise from Germany, for which he has been retaining the captains for many weeks now.

He further affirms that besides the four companies of his men-at-arms he has with him, brought from Flanders, of six hundred horse, he wants to newly bring four thousand Burgundian horse and two thousand Italian light horse; nor does he for now lack the means to meet this expense, because besides that million scudi I mentioned in the first part of my discourse, he may still have in hand a good sum from the payments received thus far of the one million five hundred thousand ducats from the subsidy had in Flanders and joined together, and of the six hundred thousand from the subsidy of the aforementioned kingdoms of Naples and Sicily.

Furthermore, should he need it, he will be able to make use of all the following payments from said subsidies, paying some interest to whoever would serve him immediately with cash, besides the two hundred thousand ducats that the Pope has offered him, along with however many others he can always, with his authority, draw from every provision.

Then, no small forces are supplied to him by the states; for from the county of Tyrol he has been offered one hundred thousand florins, which would pay for six thousand infantry for four months, nor are Austria and the counties of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola to give him any less. It was also firmly promised by the Most Serene King of the Romans, in addition to these subsidies, that the kingdom of Bohemia and the duchies of Moravia and Silesia would pay for no fewer than forty thousand good fighting men to be led forth for the present enterprise in defense of the affairs of their king, for as long as was needed.

Finally, they await external subsidies from Germany, namely the forty thousand infantry and eight thousand cavalry resolved to be given to him at the Diet of Augsburg, all of whom, it is estimated, would be had if the Lutherans did not fail in their duty; but should they fail, it is believed that two-thirds of them will be had, or perhaps even fewer. Nevertheless, both for the common danger and for the respect that the imperial lands have and must always have for the Emperor, it is hoped that they will certainly not be wanting. Because of this common danger, although there was still some disagreement among the Catholic princes, and hidden and open hatred of some toward the King of the Romans, yet it is not doubted—rather, it is held to be certain—that none of these shall fail in his duty. And of the Dukes of Bavaria especially, notwithstanding any controversy or enmity of theirs with the said King, it is estimated without any doubt that, being closer to the imminent danger than the others, they will promptly send their portion of men, and even more besides.

All these forces, by the number and quality of their men, may be estimated to be great, and fit both on sea and on land not only to withstand the onslaught of the enemy, however great it may be, but also to fight with them and perhaps overcome them. Nor is anyone found who doubts that there will be at least enough of these forces present to garrison in time the places that are to be held on the enemy’s frontiers on the borders of Hungary, among which are named principally Vienna, Neustadt, Pressburg, and the castles of Strigonia and Altenburg, with which it is especially thought to prevent the Turkish fleet from being able to pass upstream in conjunction with its army. And of the other forces, up to the said sum of men to oppose them in the field, it also seems that there is no little hope; which, although they might not yet be so ready upon the arrival of the enemy camp before any of the said towns, yet it is held that shortly thereafter they would all be assembled together in such a way that, with the delaying action that the garrisoned towns and that part of the men that had assembled first could provide, one would arrive in time to be able to relieve all the places, and, if needed or desired, even to engage in conflict with him to their advantage. It is true, however, that of all these men, no part is yet seen to be assembled in Germany; but because it seems the enemy is still leaving them time, not being able to be upon them so quickly, due to the length of the journey and the multitude of impediments he brings with him, and it is seen that this province has a very great convenience from the abundance of good men it has in every part, from the vicinity of the places to be garrisoned, and from the ease of sending them by way of the rivers to each of these, so as not to throw money away without necessity, but to save it only for times of need, the dispatch of the provisions is delayed, and these are only now being ordered, so that in time they may all be had ready and prepared.

Of particular captains they have as many as they wish, because they have almost all the good ones now to be found among the Christians at their disposal, and besides these, they have resolved, by the Diet of Augsburg, to send Duke Frederick Palatine as captain-general of the German troops; but they were seeking a single principal chief, and above all they desired the Duke of Urbino, captain of this most illustrious dominion, for whom they have the highest esteem, so much so that it was not enough for the Emperor to have asked Your Serenity for him several times, both in Bologna and in Flanders, as was signified to you both by several of my letters and by his own orators, but that when I was taking my leave of him, he expressly commanded me that I should once again, on his behalf, make an appeal that Your Sublimity might be content to serve him in some honorable way in such a need.²⁶

Not being able to have him, they will call upon Antonio di Leva²⁷, of whom they also hold in much esteem; but as head of the entire enterprise there will be the Most Serene King of the Romans, or the Emperor himself, who has affirmed many times to the most illustrious legate, to me, and to many others, speaking on this subject, that if the Turk comes in person, he too will wish to go in person to meet him, it not seeming to him, as he said, that he could spend his life better in any other enterprise than in this one, where, both in winning and in losing, he would gain; because by putting his life in the service of Christ and of his faith, he would not remain without praise, and in leaving the earth he would gain the Kingdom of Heaven: and if he won, besides the merit he would acquire with God, he would extend the empire of the Christians perhaps to its ancient borders, and would live gloriously in the world, leaving then to posterity eternal fame and glory of himself. Which he always said with such feeling, that he was seen not only to be ready for this enterprise, but almost to burn with desire that such an opportunity might come to him that he could honorably expose his person to such a fortune.

These are all the things that have seemed to me worthy of being reported to your Serenity concerning these two most serene brothers, who are not only great in forces and in state, but also in reputation and in the felicity of their successes, as great as has been enjoyed hitherto, I say not by their house, but by Germany since the imperial dignity was transferred to it. Although these things may perhaps be known for the most part to the older Senators, nevertheless it has seemed to me also my duty, upon returning from this legation, to report them anew, so that they may be made known to the younger ones who have not heard them before, and so that the others may either be confirmed in what they have previously heard, or recognize how much has changed in the present times from what it was. Wherefore it seems to me that your Most Excellent Lordships can certainly promise yourselves, that as long as the friendship and confederation they have with these two princes is preserved, you will have perpetual peace, and will enjoy the entire state, quiet and secure, with as much dignity and reputation among all princes and peoples as you have ever had in any condition of times, and with that security and tranquility of your own citizens and of all your other subjects that could ever be desired by any people as the highest felicity. In which state I pray our Lord God that He may deign, through His immense goodness, to preserve Your Serenity, and all Your Most Excellent Lordships, happy for many years, and this Glorious Republic under His protection and His holy grace for eternity.

Personal Matters

Now then, how much I have satisfied Your Serenity in this my legation I cannot know: this I know well, and can certainly affirm to all, that I have served you with extreme affection; wherefore I pray that it may not displease you to hear also a few words in my excuse, and to understand in what condition your servant finds himself.

I wish, therefore, that Your Most Excellent Lordships know for certain that since I reached the years of discretion, I have always had in mind to render all the service I could to my homeland, it seeming to me that every good citizen was obliged to do so both with his means and with his own life; but to tell the truth, I have always found fortune contrary to this my desire, because when I would perhaps have been more able, the opportunity to do so did not arise; and when I was less able, I have been compelled to it.

After my father’s death, fortune had kept me wearied with a long and damaging persecution, but then for a very brief space had left me in some quiet, when, having been deprived of all leisure, it became necessary that I too, although entirely inexperienced in such business, should take care of the recovery and management of my family affairs; which, with much effort and diligence, were brought to a point where they began somewhat to be set in order, and the almost-shipwrecked vessel to take refuge from the past storm, when that same adverse fortune, soon repenting of having shown itself in some part benign to me, then assailed me all at once with greater impetus, for at almost the same moment it took from me my wife and my mother, leaving me with three small children, the eldest of whom had not yet completed his fourth year, and my house without any governance. This put me in such travail that, it being necessary for me alone to take thought for the domestic affairs I had never before had, and together with my brothers to begin to make new disposition of our maternal inheritance, which alone was our entire estate and was in greatest need of it, I could no longer apply my mind, let alone my labor, to anything else.

But even then it seemed fitting to Your Serenity that I should abandon everything and go to Pesaro to bring back the Most Illustrious Lord Duke of Urbino to your service, and to restore him as soon as possible to the command of the army in Lombardy, which, to confess the truth, for the reasons stated, was very grievous to me; and yet, for the ancient desire I had to serve you, and having been specially promised that I would not be detained on such an expedition for more than a few days, I could not refuse; and it was the good fortune of this Most Excellent Republic, the supreme prudence of Your Serenity, and the goodness of that Lord, that having secured with new provisions his state of Romagna, of which he was much afraid, he not only returned easily and willingly to service, but before two months had passed, as was desired, he returned to his usual charge in Lombardy. This, for the benefit of my homeland, was so gratifying to me that few things could have been more welcome at that time; but it availed my family affairs and me little, for in that time I lost my father-in-law, to whose care I had entrusted and left my children, and I myself, having just arrived, was struck by such an illness that it nearly brought me to death: which, after having kept me oppressed for many days, finally left me, but in such a condition that for the entire following winter I could not recover my former vigor, and I still feel its effects.

Then, having recovered but a little of my natural strength, when I had scarce begun with my brothers to set our affairs in order, behold, Your Lordships willed once again, though you had many better and more able than I, to compel me to a new charge and to send me not merely to a place near my home, and for two months only, but to wander continuously, following the court of an Emperor through diverse countries most distant from our own, without knowing when I was to see the end of this my pilgrimage. Nor was I granted the time of even a single week, I do not say to be able to leave my affairs in some good order, and provide for the care of my poor children, but even to furnish myself—with less damage to my meager means—with those things that, to honor at least moderately this Most Excellent Dominion, were necessary for me, who was utterly unprovided; so that I was forced to leave our affairs interrupted and all in confusion, and my own then with almost no order at all, and to abandon my children once again, and to leave them, lacking any other means, to the care of one who had so great a burden of his own that he could scarce sustain it.

How harshly I suffered this, I believe none could imagine who has not experienced it; but I know well that I experienced it, and can truly say that it was so bitter to me that death itself is little more so, seeing myself thus assailed on a sudden and forced to abandon the things most dear to me, and to leave them almost entirely in the hands of fortune. Yet drawn by force by that same will and desire, I knew not how to refuse such a burden again, but putting my shoulders, though quite weak, beneath it, I set myself on the road with many tears, as best I could. In this my pilgrimage, I must indeed say, for it is the truth, that I feel I have suffered greatly in my person from the many discomforts endured on long and arduous journeys, and from being away from my home at my age, which is no longer so young; and I find I have had to spend excessively, first in outfitting myself with all necessary things, and then in living, whether on the road at the inns, or while staying where the courts of a pope and an emperor were gathered, with an army and most or nearly all the nobility of Italy, or where the Emperor himself was in arms with a king and almost all the princes and states of Germany together, in a time of such a dearth of both lodging and all necessities, the like of which no man can recall a greater in Germany.

These causes have made my expenses of such a sort that they have by necessity consumed the provisions received from Your Most Illustrious Lordships, and also so much of my own fortune that, for its meagerness, it was a great deal; and finally, I have learned that my affairs here at home (due to the poor order in which I was able to leave them, and to the illness that befell my brother who was managing them, and to the other burdens he bore, both of his own affairs and of our common ones, for which he alone could not suffice without me) have suffered no small detriment. Nevertheless, for this once, I have borne and still bear all this not only patiently but willingly, feeling that I have at least this satisfaction and contentment in my soul: that I have not been a forever useless servant to my fatherland, but have at some time rendered it my service, whatever it might have been—if not very fruitful, indeed of little value, then at least as much as was possible for one of its diligent and faithful citizens.

But now I find myself truly come to such a point that it is impossible for me to think any longer of being able to leave my home. And therefore I beseech Your Serenity, and all Your Most Excellent Lordships, on my knees, that you be willing to consider that the fatherland is no less obligated to strive with all care to preserve the fortunes and the children of its citizens, than they are to lay down, where necessary, both the former and the latter for her; and, measuring only the affection, as great as it can be, with which I have rendered this my service, and not my little knowledge and weak forces, may it please you to hold it in good grace and to be content; since fortune has taken from me the means of being able to serve you any longer in such offices, having left me with household burdens of such a sort that I can no longer abandon them without the ruin of my house, and the perdition of my children.

Let what I have done suffice for my part, holding me excused for the future and seeking to make use of those who—many of whom exist in this Most Excellent Republic, by the great goodness of our Lord God—are perhaps equal to me in affection but are most certainly of much superior strength, wit, and knowledge, and are held oppressed neither by children nor by the distress of their household affairs as I am. This I say because my interests and necessities are such that I could certainly not express them with words, and against my will they constrain me to speak and act thus; not to flee every public charge, and to live idly in my house, for I think no charge will ever be imposed upon me by my fatherland that I would refuse; and though I were to do nothing else but attend with all my diligence to the good education of my children, who certainly now have need of a father’s assiduous care, I hope even in this way to render a not un-useful service to our common fatherland. For if I shall strive with all diligence to educate them, and to instruct them in letters and good morals as is fitting, and if I shall not be impeded from doing this, and if they can turn out to be such that in their time, in the following age, they may perhaps be not inept for the service that can be expected from every good citizen in honor and benefit of his land, and if the father will not have known how or, due to his impediments, been able to do more than what he has done, they, making up for what I will have lacked, will pay both their own and their father’s debt together. And with this, as earnestly as I can, I commend myself to Your Serenity and to Your Most Excellent Lordships.

1. This is to be understood not as having been received by right of inheritance, he being the second-born son, but with a right of inheritance acquired through the renunciation made to him by Charles.

2. Ulrich

3. This is discussed further down

4. In 1534, however, this prince, with the help of France, re-entered into possession of his duchy, which was then recognized by Ferdinand himself as a fief of the House of Austria.

5. Louis II, last male of the house of Jagiellon, whose only sister, Anna, Ferdinand had married. Said king died in 1526 in the famous battle of Mohács on the Drava, which he fought against Suleiman II, who had invaded Hungary with three hundred thousand men, and who, after his death, had advanced to the very walls of Vienna, as we have seen above.

6. John Zápolya, Count of Szepes, elected their king by a portion of the Hungarian lords after the death of King Louis in the Battle of Mohacs. Suleiman, to take advantage of this occasion for his own ends, set about supporting the legitimacy of this election, and the new war promoted by him in 1532 was under this pretext.

7. Also known as rainos. Rhenish florins, or florins of the Rhine, of the value of about two-thirds of a gold ducat, as appears from a forthcoming report by the same ambassador.

8. This took place in the middle of 1532, after the affairs of Hungary were secured against the Turks.

9. Italian, companion-in-arms of Giovanni delle Bande Nere.

10. Bernardo Clesio of Trent, formerly a councillor of Emperor Maximilian, then, as we see him here, grand chancellor of Ferdinand. He was created cardinal in January 1530 by Clement VII in Bologna, where he was sent by his prince to attend the coronation of Charles V. He died of apoplexy on July 28, 1539, at the young age of fifty-four years and four months. The title of Cardinal of Trent that Tiepolo gives him here, because he was a native and bishop of that city, should not cause him to be confused with either of the two Madruzzos, Cristoforo and Luigi his nephew, more commonly known by this denomination; the elder of whom was not invested with the cardinal’s dignity until 1544, five years after the death of Clesio.

11. Ciaconio calls him a German, while still recognizing him as a native of Trent.

12. Priscian (c. 500 AD) wrote the Institutes of Grammar, which was the standard Latin textbook at the time

13. German Peasants’ War, 1524-1525 AD

14. This alludes to an ancient dispute which on the subject of this patriarchate was debated between the House of Austria and the Republic of Venice, and which was tacitly resolved in favor of the former; which, having possession and dominion of the place, considered itself in the right to nominate to that dignity. The Republic found the way to impede such a nomination by granting to the incumbent, from the time the question arose, the right to name a coadjutor in his lifetime, under the title of Elected of Aquileia, who would necessarily succeed him at the very instant in which the Patriarch came to die; but this did not assure the dignitary of the possession of anything but a title devoid of all substantial attribution.

15. Indeed, the league was disbanded just two years after this report, in 1534. The “particular reason” the report alludes to is their support of the Lutherans.

16. This brief war originated from the claims of Rupert, son of the Elector Palatine, to the succession of his father-in-law George, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut, who died in 1503 without male heirs, and was sustained, after the death of the said Rupert not long thereafter, by the Elector Palatine his father. Forced finally to capitulate, not only the states over which the dispute had arisen, but also a good part of the Upper Palatinate was adjudicated to the Bavarian princes of the Munich branch. On that occasion Maximilian, under the pretext of recouping the expenses of the war, retained for himself Kufstein, Geroldseck, and some other strongholds and the Landgraviate of Alsace; and to this perhaps refers the discontent of the Dukes of Bavaria of which the Report speaks in this place.

17. Alludes to the diets of Nuremberg and Speyer.

18. Cardinal Campeggio of Bologna, highly accredited at the court of Rome, and employed by it in many most important affairs, was sent as legate to Germany in 1530 in the retinue of Charles V. From one of his Instructions to the emperor, which Ranke, who discovered it in a Roman archive, discusses in the third chapter of the first book of his History of the Papacy, it appears that the Cardinal intended that one should proceed with great resolution against the reformers; and it was he in fact who procured the decision of the Diet of Augsburg, which has been spoken of in its proper place. From this passage of the Relazione, however, it appears that, perhaps in view of difficulties greater than he had imagined, he modified his initial intention in some part; certainly, then, the final outcome of his mission was different from that which he himself and the Roman court had promised themselves.

19. Albert of Brandenburg, elected in 1511 as Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, governed the province of Prussia as subject to the order, when in 1546, having adopted the principles of the reform, he broke away from the order and declared that province his own state, which, by virtue of a treaty with Sigismund, King of Poland (who laid claim to ancient rights there, which he then renounced), was erected into a secular and hereditary duchy in his house. This inheritance passed over time to the electoral branch of the family, which in 1701, having been elevated, as is known, to royal dignity, gave the new kingdom its name from this province, which kingdom was composed of all the states of the margraves of Brandenburg.

20. Alluding here to the doctrine of sola fide (that one is saved by faith alone, not works)

21. A Swiss from the canton of Zurich, the first apostle of the Lutheran reform in his homeland.

22. From this denial of baptism in its orthodox form, the sect drew the name Anabaptist. Its first institutor was Carlstadt of Wittenberg.

23. In 1534, believers in this radical Anabaptist sect would take control of Münster in the Münster rebellion.

24. The Schmalkaldic Wars would begin in 1546

25. And reasonably so, because at that hour it was already known that Suleiman had set out with three hundred thousand men toward Hungary, from where Charles V, commanding the army in person, soon forced him to retreat.

26. Duke Francesco Maria I della Rovere, of whom it is spoken in this place, although in the pay of the Venetians, from 1530, the time of the coronation of Charles V in Bologna and of the general peace of Italy in which he too was included, did not again leave his own states for the eight years of life he still had.

27. And so it was, but for a short time, because this valiant man of war died, in 1536, at the age of 56, during the invasion of Provence, from a contagious fever that was devastating the imperial army. His body was transported to Milan and there buried in a church dedicated to Saint Dionysius. He was a native of Navarre; he had served as a soldier from his earliest years: in 1512 he had distinguished himself in the battle of Ravenna; and in 1525, by valiantly defending Pavia against the French, he was the cause of the famous battle of this name, in which Francis I was taken prisoner. He was then created governor of the Milanese, and held that dignity until the reinstatement of Duke Francesco Sforza, and resumed it also in 1535 on the occasion of the death of this prince. In the last years of his life, oppressed by many grave hardships and infirmities, he had himself carried to the field in a litter, and from it he directed the battles as if he were on horseback.