Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/425

Emperor Charles V and his Vast Realms 307 twenty years old. It had long been Maximilian's ambition that his grandson should succeed him upon the imperial throne. After his death in 1519 the electors finally chose Charles as emperor the fifth of that name instead of the rival candidate, Francis I of France. By this election the king of Spain, who had not yet been in Germany and who never learned its language, became its ruler at a critical juncture. 519. Diet at Worms (1520). Germany had a national assembly called the diet, which met at irregular intervals, now in this town, now in that, for Germany had no capital city. The princes and bishops and towns sent representatives to this assembly. It was this diet that Charles V summoned to meet him on the Rhine, in the ancient town of Worms, when he made his first visit to Germany in 1520. The most important business of the assembly proved to be the consideration of the case of a uni- versity professor, Martin Luther, who was accused of writing heretical books, and who had begun what proved to be the first successful revolt against the powerful medieval Church. QUESTIONS I. What were the results of the Italian expedition of Charles VIII ? II. What were the effects of the Mohammedan conquests of Spain? Give an account of the expulsion of the Mohammedans from the peninsula. How did Spain become a European power? Describe the revival of the Inquisition in Spain. III. How was Charles V's vast empire accumulated? Why did the German kings fail to build up a strong, unified state ?