A CAPTIVE PRINCE ESCAPES FROM THE HANDS OF THE EMPEROR.
(AUTUMN 1532.)
The news of the meeting of Francis I. and Henry VIII. alarmed Germany,
Italy, and all Europe. 'The kings of France and England,' it was said,
'are going to take advantage of the emperor's campaign against the
Turks, to unite their armies with those of the protestants and gain a
signal victory.'[265] But nobody was more alarmed than the pope.
Abruptly addressing the Bishop of Auxerre, the minister of France, he
made the bitterest complaints to him.[266] Already he saw France, like
England, shaking off the yoke of Rome. 'I have it from good authority,'
says Brantôme, 'that the King of France was on the point of renouncing
the pope, as the King of England had done.'[267]
On leaving Boulogne, Francis went to Paris, where he spent the winter
and took his measures for 'the great effort' with which he threatened
the pope. The priests were very uneasy, and began to dread a reform
similar to that in England. Calling to mind that in Denmark, Sweden, and
elsewhere, a great part of the ecclesiastical property had been
transferred to the treasury of the State, they granted the king all he
asked; and the prince thus obtained between five and six hundred
thousand ducats, which put him in a condition to do 'the great things'
with which the cardinals were to menace the pontiff.[268] An unexpected
event furnished the opportunity of employing the priests' money in
favour of the Reformation.
[Sidenote: CHARLES V. HASTENS TO ITALY.]
The haughty Soliman had invaded Hungary, in July 1532, at the head of
numerous and terrible hordes. Displaying a luxury without precedent, he
gave audience on a golden throne, with a crown of solid gold at his
side, and the scabbards of his swords covered with pearls. But erelong
the sickly Charles succeeded in terrifying this magnificent barbarian.
Having raised an army which combined the order and strength of the
German lansquenets with the lightness and impetuosity of the Italian
bands and the pride and perseverance of the Spanish troops, he forced
Soliman to retreat. The emperor was all the more delighted, as the
conference between Henry and Francis made him impatient to settle with
the Mussulmans. It was even said in the empire that it was this
conference which brought Charles back, as he desired to join the pope in
combating projects which threatened them both. The emperor passed the
Alps in the autumn of 1532.[269]
Among the nobles and warriors who accompanied him, was a young prince of
eighteen, Christopher, son of Duke Ulrich of Wurtemberg. He was only
five years old when his father was expelled from his duchy by the
Austrians; and the latter, wishing to make him forget Wurtemberg,
resolved to separate him from his country and his parents. The little
boy and his guardians having left Stuttgard, stopped to pass the night
in a town near the frontier. A lamb was gambolling in the yard; the poor
boy, delighted with the gentleness of the animal, ran and took it up in
his arms, and began to play with it. In the morning, just as they were
leaving, little Christopher, less distressed at their taking away his
sceptre than at their separating him from his pet companion, kissed it
with tears in his eyes, and said to the host: 'Pray take care of it, and
when I return I will pay you for your trouble.'
Christopher was taken to Innsbruck, where his life was a hard one. The
young prince who, in later times, filled his country with evangelical
schools, had no one to cultivate his mind, and he who was one day to sit
at the table of kings was often half-starved; his dress was neglected,
and even the beggars, when they saw him, were moved with compassion.
From Innsbruck he was transferred to Neustadt (Nagy-Banya) in Hungary,
beyond the Theiss. One day a troop of Turkish horsemen, having crossed
the Carpathians, scoured the country that lay between the mountains and
the river, and, catching sight of the prince, rushed upon him to carry
him off. But a faithful follower, who had observed their movements,
shouted for help, and succeeded in saving Christopher from the hands of
the Mussulmans. And thus the heir of Wurtemberg grew up in the bosom of
adversity.
[Sidenote: THE PRINCE AND HIS GOVERNOR.]
The noble-hearted man who had saved him at the peril of his own life was
Michael Tifernus. In his early childhood he had been carried off by the
Turks, and, being abandoned by them, he had succeeded in reaching a
village near Trieste, where some kind people took care of him. Tifernus
(who derived this name from the place of his adoption, for his parents'
name was never known) was sent to a school in Vienna, where he received
a sound education. King Ferdinand, who was guilty of negligence towards
Christopher rather than of ill-will, gave him Tifernus for tutor. The
latter attached himself passionately to the prince, who, under his care,
became an accomplished young man. In the midst of the splendours of the
court of Austria and of the Roman worship, grew up one who was erelong
to rescue Wurtemberg from both Austria and Rome. An important
circumstance occurred to agitate the young prince deeply, and throw a
bright light over his dark path.
Christopher accompanied the emperor in 1530 to the famous diet of
Augsburg. He was struck by the noble sight of the fidelity and courage
of the protestants. He heard them make their confession of faith; his
elevated soul took the side of the oppressed Gospel; and when, at this
very diet, Charles solemnly invested his brother Ferdinand with the
duchy of Wurtemberg,—when Christopher saw the standard of his fathers
and of his people in the hands of the Austrian archduke—the feeling of
his rights came over him; he viewed the triumphant establishment of the
evangelical faith in the country of his ancestors as a task appointed
him. He would recover his inheritance, and, uniting with the noble
confessors of Augsburg, would bring an unexpected support to the
Reformation.
The emperor, after the war against the Turks, desired the prince to
accompany him to Italy and Spain; perhaps it was his intention to leave
him there; but Christopher made no objection. He had arranged his plans:
two great ideas, the independence of Wurtemberg and the triumph of the
Reformation, had taken possession of his mind, and while following the
emperor and appearing to turn his back on the states of his fathers, he
said significantly to his devoted friend Tifernus: 'I shall not abandon
my rights in Germany.'[270]
[Sidenote: PRINCE CHRISTOPHER'S ESCAPE.]
Charles V. and his court were crossing the Alps in the autumn of 1532.
The young duke on horseback was slowly climbing the passes which
separate Austria from Styria, contemplating the everlasting snows in the
distance, and stopping from time to time on the heights from whose base
rushed the foaming torrents which descend from the sides of the
mountains. He had a thoughtful look, as of one absorbed by some great
resolution. The news of the interview of Francis I. and Henry VIII.,
which had alarmed Austria, had inflamed his hopes; and he said to
himself that now was the time for claiming his states. He had conversed
with his governor about it, and it now remained to carry the daring
enterprise into execution. To escape from Charles V., surrounded by his
court and his guards, seemed impossible; but Christopher believing that
God can _deliver out of the mouth of the lion_, prayed him to be his
guide during the rest of his life. As etiquette was not strictly
observed in these mountains, Christopher and his governor lagged a
little in the rear of their travelling companions. A tree, a rock, a
turn in the road sufficed to hide them from view. Yet, if one of the
emperor's attendants should turn round too soon and look for the
laggards, the two friends would be ruined. But no one thought of doing
so: erelong they were at some distance from the court, and could see the
imperial procession stretching in the distance, like a riband, along the
flanks of the Norican Alps. On a sudden the two loiterers turned their
horses, and set off at full gallop. They asked some mountaineers to show
them a road which would take them to Salzburg, and continued their
flight in the direction indicated. But there were some terrible passes
to cross; Christopher's horse broke down, and it was impossible to
proceed. What was to be done? Perhaps the imperialists were already on
their track.
The two friends were not at a loss. There was a lake close at hand; they
dragged the useless animal by the legs towards it, and buried it at the
bottom of the water, in order that there might be no trace of their
passage. 'Now, my lord,' said his governor, 'take my horse and proceed;
I shall manage to get out of the scrape.' The young duke disappeared,
and not before it was time. 'What has become of Prince Christopher?'
asked Charles's attendants. 'He is in the rear,' was the reply; 'he will
soon catch us up.' As he did not appear, some of the imperial officers
rode back in search of him. The little lake into which the prince's
horse had been thrown was partly filled with tall reeds, among which
Tifernus lay concealed. Presently the imperialists passed close by him;
he heard their steps, their voices; they went backwards and forwards,
but found nothing. At last, they returned and mournfully reported the
uselessness of their search. It was believed that the two young men had
been murdered by brigands among the mountains. The court continued its
progress towards Italy and Rome. All this time Christopher was fleeing
on his governor's horse, and by exercising great prudence he reached a
secure asylum without being recognised, and here he kept himself in
concealment under the protection of his near relatives the dukes of
Bavaria. Tifernus joined him in his retreat.
[Sidenote: CHRISTOPHER CLAIMS HIS STATES.]
The report of Christopher's death was circulated everywhere; the
Austrians, who had no doubt about it, felt surer than ever of
Wurtemberg; they were even beginning to forget the prince, when a
document bearing his name and dated the 17th of November, 1532,[271] was
suddenly circulated all over Germany. Faithful to his resolution, the
young prince in this noble manifesto gave utterance to the bitterest
complaints, and boldly claimed his inheritance in the face of the world.
This paper, which alarmed Ferdinand of Austria, caused immense joy in
Wurtemberg and all protestant Germany. The young prince had everything
in his favour: an age which always charms, a courage universally
acknowledged, virtues, talents, graceful manners, an ancient family, a
respected name, indisputable rights, and the love of his subjects. They
had not seen him, indeed, since the day when he had bedewed the pet lamb
with his tears; but they hailed him as their national prince who would
recover their independence. Protected by the Duke of Bavaria, by the
Landgrave of Hesse, and by the powerful King of France, Christopher had
all the chances in his favour. He had more: he had the support of God.
As a friend of the Gospel, he would give fresh strength to the great
cause of the Reformation. Du Bellay would use all his zeal to
reestablish him on the throne, and thus procure an ally for France who
would help her to enter on the path of religious liberty.
We must now return to the country of Margaret of Navarre, and see how
this princess began to realise her great project of having the pure
Gospel preached in the bosom and under the forms of the Roman Catholic
Church.
[Footnote 265: 'The people was marvellously affrayed less you would have
joined armies.'—Hawkins to Henry VIII., Nov. 21, 1532. _State Papers_,
vii. p. 388.]
[Footnote 266: 'Hys Holynes taketh it greatly for ill.'—Ibid. p. 381.]
[Footnote 267: Brantôme, _Mémoires_, p. 235.]
[Footnote 268: Du Bellay, _Mémoires_, p. 174. _Relation des Ambassadeurs
Vénitiens_, i. p. 52.]
[Footnote 269: Hammer, iii. p. 118. Schoertlin, _Lebens Beschreibung_.
Ranke, _Deutsche Geschichte_, iii. p. 425.]
[Footnote 270: 'Entschlossen seine Gerechtigkeiten in Deutschland nicht
zu verlassen.'—Ranke, _Deutsche Geschichte_, iii. pp. 448-451. This
narrative is based upon Gabelkofer, extracted by Sattler and Pfister.]
[Footnote 271: This document will be found in Sattler, ii. p. 229. See
also Ranke, _Deutsche Geschichte_, iii. p. 450.]