|
Η '''Ένωση του Σμαλκάλντικ''' (Schmalkaldischer Bund) ήταν μια αμυντική [[Στρατιωτική συμμαχία|συμμαχία]] των [[Λουθηρανισμός|Λουθηρανών]] πριγκίπων μέσα στην [[Αγία Ρωμαϊκή Αυτοκρατορία]] κατά τα μέσα του [[16ος αιώνας|16ου αιώνα]]. Αν και αυθεντικά άρχισε από θρησκευτικά κίνητρα σύντομα μετά την έναρξη της [[Μεταρρύθμιση|Προτεσταντικής Μεταρρύθμισης]], τα μέλη της ουσιαστικά σκόπευαν να αντικαταστήσει η Ένωση την [[Αγία Ρωμαϊκή Αυτοκρατορία]] ως πηγή της πολιτικής τους υποταγής<ref>Merriman, σ. 110.</ref>. Ενώ δεν ήταν η πρώτη συμμαχία του είδους της, αντίθετα από προηγούμενους σχηματισμούς, όπως η [[Ένωση του Τόργκαου]], η Ένωση του Σμαλκάλντικ είχε έναν ουσιαστικό στρατό για να υπερασπισθεί τα πολιτικά και θρησκευτικά της συμφέροντα. Πήρε το όνομα της από την πόλη του [[Σμαλκάλντικ]], στη [[Γερμανία|Γερμανική]] επαρχία της [[Θουριγγία|Θουριγγίας]]ς.
<!--
==Καταωγή και μέλη==
The League was officially established on February 27,<ref>{{ws|"[[s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Smalkaldic League|Smalkaldic League]]" in the 1913 ''Catholic Encyclopedia''}}</ref> 1531, by [[Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse]], and [[John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony]], the two most powerful Protestant rulers at the time.<ref>Kagan. ''The Western Heritage'', p. 360''</ref> It originated as a defensive religious alliance, with the members pledging to defend each other should their territories be attacked by [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], the Holy Roman Emperor. The League quickly became more of a territorial political movement, as breaking from the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]] offered significant economic advantages. In December, 1535, the league admitted anyone who would subscribe to the [[Augsburg Confession]], thus [[Anhalt]], [[Württemberg]], [[Duchy of Pomerania|Pomerania]], as well as the [[Free Imperial City|free imperial cities]] of [[Augsburg]], [[Hanover]], [[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]], and [[Kempten im Allgäu|Kempten]] joined the alliance.<ref>Acton, et al. ''The Cambridge Modern History'', p. 233.</ref> In 1535 [[Francis I of France]] joined the League against the Habsburgs, but later retracted due to religious conflicts from within. In 1538 it allied with [[Reformation in Denmark|newly reformed]] [[Denmark]]. In 1539 the League acquired [[Brandenburg]], which was under the leadership of [[Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim II Hector]].<ref>Smith, Henry Preserved. ''The Age of the Reformation''. p. 119.</ref> In 1545 the League gained the allegiance of the [[Electoral Palatinate]], under the control of [[Frederick III, Elector Palatine|Elector Frederick III]].<ref>Smith, Henry Preserved. ''The Age of the Reformation''. pp. 120-121.</ref> In 1544 Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire signed the [[Treaty of Speyer (1544)|Treaty of Speyer]], which stated that during the reign of [[Christian III of Denmark]] Denmark would maintain a peaceful foreign policy towards the Holy Roman Empire.
==Activities==
The members of the League agreed to provide 10,000 [[infantry]] and 2,000 [[cavalry]]<ref>Wilde, Robert. [http://europeanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa051101a.htm ''The Schmalkaldic League, Part 1: Introduction and Creation'']</ref> for their mutual protection. They rarely provoked Charles directly, but confiscated Church land, expelled bishops and [[Catholicism|Catholic]] princes, and helped spread [[Lutheranism]] throughout northern [[Germany]]. [[Martin Luther]] planned to present to the League the [[Schmalkald Articles]], a stricter Protestant confession, during a meeting in 1537.<ref name="age121">Smith, Henry Preserved. ''The Age of the Reformation''. p. 121.</ref> Luther attended the critical meeting in 1537, but spent most of his time suffering from kidney stones. The rulers and princes even met in the home where Luther was staying. Though Luther was asked to prepare the articles of faith that came to be known as the Smalcald Articles, they were not formally adopted at the time of the meeting, though later they were incorporated into the Lutheran Confessions, in the Book of Concord, of 1580, in German, and in Latin translation, in the official Latin edition of the Book of Concord, the Leipzig edition of 1584.
For fifteen years the League was able to exist without opposition, because Charles was busy fighting wars with [[France]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The [[Ottoman–Habsburg wars]] lasted from 1526 until 1571. In 1535 Charles led a [[Raid on Tunis|successful campaign against Tunis]]. Francis I of France, in an effort to limit the power of the Habsburgs, allied with Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. The [[Italian War of 1535–1538]], between France and the Holy Roman Empire, ended in 1538 with the Truce of Nice. The final war during this period Charles fought against France, the [[Italian War of 1542–1546]], ended with inconclusive results and the [[Treaty of Crépy]].<ref name="age121"/>
==The Schmalkaldic War==
[[Image:schmalkaldic war 1947.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Political situation during the Schmalkaldic War, 1547]]
{{main|Schmalkaldic War}}
After Charles made peace with Francis, he focused on suppressing Protestant resistance within his empire. From 1546 to 1547, in what is known as the [[Schmalkaldic War]], Charles and his allies fought the League over the territories of [[House of Wettin#Ernestine and Albertine Wettins|Ernestine]] [[Saxony]] and [[House of Wettin#Ernestine and Albertine Wettins|Albertine]] [[Saxony]]. Although the League's military forces may have been superior, its leaders were incompetent and unable to agree on any definitive battle plans.<ref>Smith, Henry Preserved. ''The Age of the Reformation''. p. 127.</ref> On April 24, 1547, the imperial forces gathered by Charles and [[Pope Paul III]] routed the League's forces at the [[Battle of Mühlberg]], capturing many leaders, including, most notably, Johann Frederick the Magnanimous and Philip of Hesse, and forcing residents of thirty different cities to reconvert.<ref>Merriman, John. ''A History of Modern Europe, Volume One'', p. 110.</ref> This battle effectively won the war for Charles; only two cities continued to resist. Many of the princes and key reformers, such as [[Martin Bucer]], fled to England, where they directly influenced the [[English Reformation]].
==Aftermath==
In 1548 the victorious Charles forced the Schmalkaldic League to agree to the terms set forth in the [[Augsburg Interim]]. However, by the 1550s, Protestantism had established itself too firmly within Central Europe to be ended by brute force. A small Protestant victory in 1552 forced Charles, weary from three decades of war, to sign the [[Peace of Passau]], which granted some freedoms to Protestants and ended all of Charles' hopes at religious unity within his empire. Three years later, the [[Peace of Augsburg]] granted Lutheranism official status within the Holy Roman Empire and let princes choose the official religion within the domains they controlled.
-->
==Σημειώσεις παραπομπές==
{{reflist|2}}
==Βιβλιογραφία==
|
