The Roman Emperor went to war against the protestant German princes because they were protestant. They wanted all Catholic Church in Europe to become Catholic once again.
The Roman Emperor went to war against the protestant German princes because they were protestant. They wanted all Catholic Church in Europe to become Catholic once again.
bands of angry peasants went about the countryside raiding monastaries
The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, went to war against Protestant German princes primarily to maintain religious unity and authority within his empire. The rise of Protestantism threatened the Catholic Church's influence and undermined the emperor's power. In 1546, he launched the Schmalkaldic War to suppress the Protestant League, seeking to reassert Catholic dominance and enforce the Edict of Worms, which condemned Martin Luther and his teachings. Ultimately, the conflict highlighted the deep religious and political divisions within the empire.
Simply because they were protestant, and the Holy Catholic Church wanted all of Europe to become Catholic once again.
A group of German princes were protestant. The term Protestant originally referred to these German prince who were not loyal to the Pope.
Electors
Because several German princes were Protestant as well and opposed the Catholic Church.
The Peace of Augsburg ended a war between the supporters of Catholic and Protestant German princes.
Actually, Germany did not exist in the sixteenth century, there were many individual German states in that part of the Holy Roman Empire which came to be what we now know as Germany. The Holy Roman Empire was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor, and the individual principalities were ruled by princes.
The immediate cause was a Protestant revolt in Bohemia, which replaced Archduke Ferdinand of Syria, a Catholic, who was soon to become Holy Roman Emperor, with Frederick of the Palatinate, a Protestant, as their king.
If you are referring to Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor, he fought wars against France in Italy which, though victorious, were costly, faced attacks by the Ottoman Turks, rebellions in Spain, opposition by the German Princes who limited his authority there and controlled territories there, and a revolt in the Flanders.
By early modern times, as the French philosopher Voltaire later observed, the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. Instead, by the seventeenth century it had become a patchwork of several hundred small, separate states. In theory, these states were ruled by the Holy Roman emperor, who was chosen by seven leading German princes called electors. In practice, the emperor had little power over the many rival princes. This power vacuum contributed to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War. Religion further divided the German states. The north had become largely Protestant, while the south remained Catholic.