Walking on the Silver Line: A Valois-Bourgogne TL
- Thread starter Liminia1
- Start date
Chapter 24: Coronation and Capture 1517 - 1526
Philip's death would provide no peace in fact the troubles of Philip's time such as the Habsburgs, and the Italian wars would be cranked up to 11. A new rise of a great threat which was the rise of Protestantism would prove to be an incredibly difficult challenge for any ruler but Philip's heir would prove to be incredibly adept at dealing with all of these threats, if Philip was the one who founded the golden age of Burgundy then Henri was the one who led it to its peak. The instruments that laid the groundwork for Burgundian court and centralization would be not be touched at all by Henri. His innovation of religious policies, and importantly the beginning of Burgundian intervention and colonialism would lead Burgundy into a genuine world power.
The last moments of Philip's rule allowed Henri to take on the greatest challenge of Philip's reign: The Italian Wars and the treaty of London. John II of England who at this point wished for peace in order to return to dealing with internal affairs began to advocate for a peace which began negotiations over the Treaty of London which Henri attended personally greeting his uncle quite warmly as the duke and showering him with gifts. This negotiation led by Cardinal Wolsey advocated for a pact of non-aggression between Spain, France, Habsburg Austria/Holy Roman Empire, Burgundy and the papacy. Henri smartly realized that this non-aggression pact would be broken and the collective defence agreement would be invalidated due to their own rivalling interests decided to make the treaty a show of Burgundian generosity and would explore London and meet with the English people himself. This meeting would also put him into contact with the Spanish and Portuguese who spread rumours of great wealth in the new world which piqued his interest, already Burgundy was the dominant naval power throughout Europe rivalling the Spanish and was very open to exploration efforts just like his father.
Maximilian's death in 1519 would be a thunderstorm that would shake the empire, Henri was already quite prepared with the election at hand securing the palatine, Cologne and Trier to his side. Albert III who only strongly had Bohemia began to fight for control for the remaining electoral votes, the papacy began to back Albert's candidacy wary of Philip's and Henri's push of Leo's predecessor's goals of the fifth council of lateran. Francis I of France formed an uneasy alliance with Burgundy, in order to secure Milan they backed the Burgundian bid for the throne along with English led by John II. It would be this French backing that would doom the imperial bid for the Burgundians as Mainz, Brandenburg and Saxony were already wary of an incredibly powerful Burgundy and believing this French backing would doom the empire to French expansionism took on the promises of Albert III to host a diet to solve the heresy of Martin Luther along with a crusade against the Turks. Burgundy's attempts at diplomacy and bribery would fail but to Henri and according to his chroniclers, he never genuinely desired the imperial crown only seeking to ruin the French treasury as it was France who backed the bribes and to strengthen the connections Henri had over his electors.
The coronation of Albert III, Archduke of Austria and King of Bohemia and Hungary would be wrought with controversy as instead of Aachen, where the Burgundians were completely present, he convinced both Burgundy and Aachen itself to move it to Frankfurt. Henri sacrificed the coronation place for something that would be considered minute for Albert but actually consequential for Burgundy. Henri who had studied history and importantly the investiture controversy saw something somewhat exploitable, while the papacy had spiritual authority over prince-bishoprics it would be the emperor that would invest that bishop with the imperial prince title. He strengthened the priviliegium lotharingia with the authority to purchase the secular authority which was the domain of a prince bishopric of specific bishoprics: Tournai, Cambrai, Verdun, Metz, Toul, Liege, Utrecht, Basel, and Strasbourg. This small concession was quite easily granted due to the fact it was frankly obvious, those bishoprics could not leave the Burgundian sphere of influence. Henri however would face great opposition from the papacy. Albert III however would face further problems in Hungary and in the diet of worms.
The election of Leo X as papal controller would tie Florence to the Papal States and would further his own interests against the most powerful ruler in Italy, the Duke of Milan and the King of Naples and France: Francis I. Pope Leo X who at this point realized with the French treasury exhausted from the imperial bid for the election began to formulate a genius plan to kick out France from Italy for good, allying with the great Spanish king: Charles I promising him the crown of Naples and recognizing the transfer of the Trastamara claim of Naples from Frederick to Ferdinand. Albert III who wanted a win after the disastrous anti-king election of John Zapolya of Hungary joined in this alliance allying with Francesco II of Milan his brother in law in hopes of inheriting Milan joined this alliance. John II who at this point was prepared for the succession of his son Richard IV decided with Cardinal Wolsey to ensure internal peace and a full treasury for his son sat out. Henri already thinking it was long overdue to kick France out of Italy for good joined in this new Holy League.
The overstretched French forces in Italy were no match for the combined Burgundian-Imperial-Spanish triumvirate and drove out France completely within the year. Henri in particular leading his armies in person after watching his father's armies suffer defeat after defeat began to place his hand and mind over the Burgundian army turning it into a professional fighting force rivalling the French in terms of power. Francis would further doom his efforts by breaking the Bourbon powerbase in order to gain more funds and armies to fight in Italy. This betrayal would lead Charles III of Bourbon to pledge his allegiance to the Burgundians who led a devastating campaign into Provence from Savoy against Francis proclaiming himself Count of Provence and declaring that it would leave the French crown and rejoin the empire. Importantly to Henri, the crown of Arles or of Burgundy was transferred from the city of Arles to the city of Aachen, securely but not completely in Burgundian hands.
This short lived conquest of Provence would end with a new invasion led by Francis I, his armies fought a pitched battle against Henri in the battle of Marseille. Henri would retreat due to the size of the army but from his organized defence and retreat, neither side could properly claim victory. Francis returned marching into Milan and trying to remove Francesco II of Milan from his seat in Milan. His advance would be halted in Milan, the pope ironically would switch sides with the death of Pope Leo X now seeing this triumvirate began to eye the papacy and hoping to weaken it too in terms of strength such as the feudal contract of Naples, the imperial-papal relation and importantly for Burgundy the idea of purchasing the prince part of a prince-bishopric. Francis would lead his armies with papal blessing and his own forces against the Milanese in Pavia. The resulting battle would be humiliating for France.
The capture of Francis by the Burgundians would begin to negotiation processes of the treaty of Madrid in 1526. This would firmly end the French dominance of Italy. Francesco II would be restored as Duke of Milan and Charles I would ascend as Charles IV of Naples. Henri's great gain here would be the agreement that the archbishop of Sens to be part of the Burgundian sphere instead of the weird dual rival bishops that France and Burgundy would fight for, while not as large of a concession as Milan or Naples it once again ensured Burgundian internal control and importantly would not risk the ire of France should another war occur in Italy at least not on France's terms. Henri had displayed a return of the a legendary Burgundian diplomacy not seen since the Privilegium Lotharingia. These concessions would be major to Burgundy as Henri rightfully realized the new field of politics would be in religion and he would focus the most on the protestant reformation and the war of Danish succession.
The last moments of Philip's rule allowed Henri to take on the greatest challenge of Philip's reign: The Italian Wars and the treaty of London. John II of England who at this point wished for peace in order to return to dealing with internal affairs began to advocate for a peace which began negotiations over the Treaty of London which Henri attended personally greeting his uncle quite warmly as the duke and showering him with gifts. This negotiation led by Cardinal Wolsey advocated for a pact of non-aggression between Spain, France, Habsburg Austria/Holy Roman Empire, Burgundy and the papacy. Henri smartly realized that this non-aggression pact would be broken and the collective defence agreement would be invalidated due to their own rivalling interests decided to make the treaty a show of Burgundian generosity and would explore London and meet with the English people himself. This meeting would also put him into contact with the Spanish and Portuguese who spread rumours of great wealth in the new world which piqued his interest, already Burgundy was the dominant naval power throughout Europe rivalling the Spanish and was very open to exploration efforts just like his father.
Maximilian's death in 1519 would be a thunderstorm that would shake the empire, Henri was already quite prepared with the election at hand securing the palatine, Cologne and Trier to his side. Albert III who only strongly had Bohemia began to fight for control for the remaining electoral votes, the papacy began to back Albert's candidacy wary of Philip's and Henri's push of Leo's predecessor's goals of the fifth council of lateran. Francis I of France formed an uneasy alliance with Burgundy, in order to secure Milan they backed the Burgundian bid for the throne along with English led by John II. It would be this French backing that would doom the imperial bid for the Burgundians as Mainz, Brandenburg and Saxony were already wary of an incredibly powerful Burgundy and believing this French backing would doom the empire to French expansionism took on the promises of Albert III to host a diet to solve the heresy of Martin Luther along with a crusade against the Turks. Burgundy's attempts at diplomacy and bribery would fail but to Henri and according to his chroniclers, he never genuinely desired the imperial crown only seeking to ruin the French treasury as it was France who backed the bribes and to strengthen the connections Henri had over his electors.
The coronation of Albert III, Archduke of Austria and King of Bohemia and Hungary would be wrought with controversy as instead of Aachen, where the Burgundians were completely present, he convinced both Burgundy and Aachen itself to move it to Frankfurt. Henri sacrificed the coronation place for something that would be considered minute for Albert but actually consequential for Burgundy. Henri who had studied history and importantly the investiture controversy saw something somewhat exploitable, while the papacy had spiritual authority over prince-bishoprics it would be the emperor that would invest that bishop with the imperial prince title. He strengthened the priviliegium lotharingia with the authority to purchase the secular authority which was the domain of a prince bishopric of specific bishoprics: Tournai, Cambrai, Verdun, Metz, Toul, Liege, Utrecht, Basel, and Strasbourg. This small concession was quite easily granted due to the fact it was frankly obvious, those bishoprics could not leave the Burgundian sphere of influence. Henri however would face great opposition from the papacy. Albert III however would face further problems in Hungary and in the diet of worms.
The election of Leo X as papal controller would tie Florence to the Papal States and would further his own interests against the most powerful ruler in Italy, the Duke of Milan and the King of Naples and France: Francis I. Pope Leo X who at this point realized with the French treasury exhausted from the imperial bid for the election began to formulate a genius plan to kick out France from Italy for good, allying with the great Spanish king: Charles I promising him the crown of Naples and recognizing the transfer of the Trastamara claim of Naples from Frederick to Ferdinand. Albert III who wanted a win after the disastrous anti-king election of John Zapolya of Hungary joined in this alliance allying with Francesco II of Milan his brother in law in hopes of inheriting Milan joined this alliance. John II who at this point was prepared for the succession of his son Richard IV decided with Cardinal Wolsey to ensure internal peace and a full treasury for his son sat out. Henri already thinking it was long overdue to kick France out of Italy for good joined in this new Holy League.
The overstretched French forces in Italy were no match for the combined Burgundian-Imperial-Spanish triumvirate and drove out France completely within the year. Henri in particular leading his armies in person after watching his father's armies suffer defeat after defeat began to place his hand and mind over the Burgundian army turning it into a professional fighting force rivalling the French in terms of power. Francis would further doom his efforts by breaking the Bourbon powerbase in order to gain more funds and armies to fight in Italy. This betrayal would lead Charles III of Bourbon to pledge his allegiance to the Burgundians who led a devastating campaign into Provence from Savoy against Francis proclaiming himself Count of Provence and declaring that it would leave the French crown and rejoin the empire. Importantly to Henri, the crown of Arles or of Burgundy was transferred from the city of Arles to the city of Aachen, securely but not completely in Burgundian hands.
This short lived conquest of Provence would end with a new invasion led by Francis I, his armies fought a pitched battle against Henri in the battle of Marseille. Henri would retreat due to the size of the army but from his organized defence and retreat, neither side could properly claim victory. Francis returned marching into Milan and trying to remove Francesco II of Milan from his seat in Milan. His advance would be halted in Milan, the pope ironically would switch sides with the death of Pope Leo X now seeing this triumvirate began to eye the papacy and hoping to weaken it too in terms of strength such as the feudal contract of Naples, the imperial-papal relation and importantly for Burgundy the idea of purchasing the prince part of a prince-bishopric. Francis would lead his armies with papal blessing and his own forces against the Milanese in Pavia. The resulting battle would be humiliating for France.
The capture of Francis by the Burgundians would begin to negotiation processes of the treaty of Madrid in 1526. This would firmly end the French dominance of Italy. Francesco II would be restored as Duke of Milan and Charles I would ascend as Charles IV of Naples. Henri's great gain here would be the agreement that the archbishop of Sens to be part of the Burgundian sphere instead of the weird dual rival bishops that France and Burgundy would fight for, while not as large of a concession as Milan or Naples it once again ensured Burgundian internal control and importantly would not risk the ire of France should another war occur in Italy at least not on France's terms. Henri had displayed a return of the a legendary Burgundian diplomacy not seen since the Privilegium Lotharingia. These concessions would be major to Burgundy as Henri rightfully realized the new field of politics would be in religion and he would focus the most on the protestant reformation and the war of Danish succession.
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Fantastic chapter as always I have to say, in reality I think that Burgundy would have a better chance in the future of obtaining the imperial crown than now ( taking advantage of the institutional reforms that the Protestants will have to recognize in the HRE ) and perhaps the imperial Valois will be able to pull a Charles VII Otl more successful, for the rest I think that Henry can obtain from Rome the secularization of one of the episcopal princes under his control ( after all, in Otl both Charles V and William IV of Bavaria did it, perhaps one that is positioned in a fairly "vulnerable" area is preventing connections between the two parts of the kingdom, like Metz, Toul or Liège ), also putting Albert III before the fait accompli ( i.e. Henry being crowned with the Arelate crown ) and perhaps reminding Rome of who defeated the French in Italy, it is probable that the elevation to kingdom will arrive quite quickly ( this would also involve a cardinal in the curia, therefore the possibility of intervening in the conclave, although still to a much lesser extent than Spain, France and HRE )
p.s
the king of Spain would not be Charles V but rather Carlos I, because he would be the first monarch to carry that name on the throne
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I just realized that it was supposed to be Charles V of Navarre and Charles I of Spain. I'm actually so dumb, I looked at the trastamara dynasty and saw Charles IV of Navarre above like Ferdinand
When it comes to the imperial election I really don't want to wank it and make Burgundy takeover the empire as well. The issue with the crown is again, imperial politics suck ass and it would be near impossible to make Burgundy a kingdom and I kinda have no plans for that to happen. (Why do you think I changed it to Walking on the Silver Line instead of Kingdom Building . Italy though, burgundy kinda just swooped in to save the day, the majority of saving the pope would be from Spain and Austria like OTL. (I'm trying desperately to figure out how to make the empire stick with Austria though)
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You did an amazing Job! And Don't worry! Since Charles is the heir of Catherine of Navarre he would truly be Charles V of spain since navarre is on the unión. Hoping the Best For Austria. LOVED seeing Francis humilliatedI just realized that it was supposed to be Charles V of Navarre and Charles I of Spain. I'm actually so dumb, I looked at the trastamara dynasty and saw Charles IV of Navarre above like Ferdinand
Chapter 25: Peasants, crowns, and clerics 1517 - 1527
Henri I was raised in an anti-clerical and humanist ideals. The Burgundian court in Nancy was the epitome of the Burgundian renaissance and Henri was raised in this vibrant court studying at length various classics and debating at length with various artists and scholars over various pieces of work. Erasmus would be a key figure in raising the boy, pushing him into renaissance humanism and anti-clericalism. It would be no surprise that with his ascension that Henri would be incredibly receptive and willing to read the 95 theses published by Martin Luther. The protestant reformation ironically would be the epitome of clericalism for Henri and yet the overall goal of this clericalism would be fundamentally to support his own belief in anti-clericalism.
The sale of indulgences by the papacy was a long standing doctrinal allowance which was supposed to be a tool to assist in the path of repentance. However, the late medieval papacy and in particular due to corruption and financial aid began in practice changing the doctrine to forgive sins for money to fund the papal treasury. This combined with the invention of the printing press would explode a lot of various religious viewpoints. This was nothing new as these heresies were very local and minor. Martin Luther would publish his 95 theses against the church and in particular (unironically) to the archbishop of Mainz, the only archbishopric that wasn't funded or indirectly controlled by the Burgundians. The archbishop was backed by Brandenburg and the papacy in order to gain funds to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica which was damaged after the two Italian wars of Charles and Louis. It would be this heresy that would spark major religious debates in Saxony, importantly the Leipzig Debate of 1519.
The excommunication of Martin Luther would further accelerate these efforts, as this excommunication would push Henri into reading the 95 theses himself. It would be his interpretation that would prove Burgundy's position in the reformation. Henri would write extensively to Martin Luther inviting him to Burgundy in front of the duke with safe conduct and had an incredibly long discussion of Catholic Church doctrine, theology and anti-clericalism. Martin would leave Burgundy, only further entrenching Henri in his belief that the state should be above the papacy, however he would not approve of many of the changes of church doctrine or interpretations of the bible: in particular the belief that there is no papacy at all. Martin Luther would write about Henri as: "He reminds me of my younger self before I was excommunicated by the pope." It would be the diet of worms in which Henri would display his full brilliance in dealing with the matter of religion in his state.
Albert III when he ascended to the throne, was immediately struck down low when the remaining old guard magnates of Hungary, that were not replaced by Maximilian elected one of their own, John Zapolya to the throne, seizing all of Hungary for themselves, starting the second war of Hungarian Succession. It would be the Ottoman turks that would end this conflict with the battle of Pest ending with a decisive Hungarian-Ottoman Victory. This victory would cause the kingdom of Hungary to split into two. Loyalist/Royal Hungary which consisted mostly of the western marches of Hungary and the Duchy of Nitra was filled with people loyal to the Habsburg cause, meanwhile the actual Kingdom of Hungary now a new Ottoman tributary would be proclaimed with John seizing the throne. A mixture of Ottoman threats and ottoman support would give John Zápolya, the most powerful magnate of Hungary to take the throne himself with unanimous support.
It is this environment that Albert III would arrive at Worms, the complete loss of Hungary within two years. The loss of the kingdom would also put a lot of pressure in a friendly relationship with the papacy. Albert was recognized by the pope as king of Hungary meanwhile the Italian wars were already aligning the emperor with the pope. Importantly for both Burgundy and Saxony was the election of Albert III as Holy Roman Emperor, this granted Martin Luther an audience in the diet of worms, and granted Burgundy an opportunity to present itself as the true power behind the empire. It would be this great city in which great political reform occurred under Philip the Rich. Henri the Fortunate however, would be present in order to witness great religious upheaval. Both the duke and emperor watched as Johann Eck began to rip apart Luther in theology and scripture constantly pressuring him constantly trying to get him to recant anything. This was unsuccessful and eventually Johann charged Martin Luther with heresy. The edict of Worms which Albert believed would eventually allow him to seize Saxony due to Frederick the Wise's support of Martin Luther charged with the imperial ban, declared him a heretic and an enemy of the state. Henri would be far more conciliatory, promising with his word and his guard that the safe conduct Martin was promised would be enforced. Martin would gratefully return to Saxony, this receptiveness of Burgundy would also be further increased when Martin Luther was invited by Henri to visit Burgundy itself and he would later meet the reformist minister: John Calvin.
Henri would be thrust into two separate wars in order to further his own interests: The German Peasant's war, and the war of Danish succession. The German Peasant's war would see the creation of the county of Chur run by the brother of Albert III: Frederick of Austria. His contributions in Italy, Hungary and now in Swabia granted him the lands that were formerly called the three leagues. Henri himself would focus on one of the smaller peasant wars, the Palatine Peasant Wars in which his armies decisively crushed the protestant peasants. Interestingly enough, they were all condemned by Martin Luther himself. This war would mostly wreak havoc in Swabia and in Tyrol, both of these were in the Habsburg influence but Burgundy could not exploit this weakness as the war of Danish succession would hamper if not doom Burgundy's complete dominance over the empire, if the protestant reformation ruined Austria, the war of Danish succession ruined Burgundy.
Christian II of the Kalmar Union was an absolutist at heart, it would be this absolutism that would cause such a large headache for Henri. Henri was very fond of his sister Margaret as she was the only member of his family left alive, his mother Anne died a year ago. The Stockholm Bloodbath in which Christian had a majority of the nobility killed for treason would spark a large revolt against Christian for Sweden. Henri would send his armies to assist Christian II secure that crown but the Swedish had incredible popular support which Burgundy could not crush, finally Christian would make an enemy of his uncle Frederick and a joint Hanseatic, Holstein, and Swedish effort drove out Christian and his loyalists out of Scandinavia. Burgundy would fight to the last man in order to save Margaret and her husband allowing them to flee and arrive in exile. This war of Danish succession would see Henri grow more and more frustrated with Christian as he would fail in his campaigns in Norway and Denmark. Henri's armies however would find success in Oldenburg once again restoring Christian as Count of Oldenburg.
The death of Margaret of Burgundy who stayed the entire time in Burgundy once again treated as a proper Burgundian duchess would finally rip apart the relationship between Christian and Henri. Henri who was already receptive of Frederick I the new ruler of Denmark and Norway agreed to a peace that would betray Christian by having him imprisoned in Denmark, Henri would gain guardianship over all of Christian's children as he was now their closest blood relative, and importantly Burgundy would gain more trade privileges and a huge indemnity to pay off the debt incurred throughout the war. This complete failure of the war of Danish Succession would weak the diarchy enough to split it into a triarchy with the protestants, Burgundy and Austria all competing against each other for control over the empire.
Burgundy within the year would also buy out all the prince bishoprics, Basel, Verdun, Toul, Metz, Cambrai, Tournai, Utercht, Liege, and Strasbourg. This relatively quick sale of all of these prince-bishoprics would eliminate all of Burgundy's influence over the eecelesiatical bench of the Holy Roman Empire, however they would gain an equal amount of influence in the secular bench which they headed and importantly for Henri, he would gain further control over religion in his own lands by appointing his own bishops who had no secular or political authority and led a mini counter reformation as the implementation and funding of Catholic education dictated by the fifth council of Latheran would be a precursor of the Catholic reformation or as it is called, the Burgundian counter-reformation.
The sale of indulgences by the papacy was a long standing doctrinal allowance which was supposed to be a tool to assist in the path of repentance. However, the late medieval papacy and in particular due to corruption and financial aid began in practice changing the doctrine to forgive sins for money to fund the papal treasury. This combined with the invention of the printing press would explode a lot of various religious viewpoints. This was nothing new as these heresies were very local and minor. Martin Luther would publish his 95 theses against the church and in particular (unironically) to the archbishop of Mainz, the only archbishopric that wasn't funded or indirectly controlled by the Burgundians. The archbishop was backed by Brandenburg and the papacy in order to gain funds to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica which was damaged after the two Italian wars of Charles and Louis. It would be this heresy that would spark major religious debates in Saxony, importantly the Leipzig Debate of 1519.
The excommunication of Martin Luther would further accelerate these efforts, as this excommunication would push Henri into reading the 95 theses himself. It would be his interpretation that would prove Burgundy's position in the reformation. Henri would write extensively to Martin Luther inviting him to Burgundy in front of the duke with safe conduct and had an incredibly long discussion of Catholic Church doctrine, theology and anti-clericalism. Martin would leave Burgundy, only further entrenching Henri in his belief that the state should be above the papacy, however he would not approve of many of the changes of church doctrine or interpretations of the bible: in particular the belief that there is no papacy at all. Martin Luther would write about Henri as: "He reminds me of my younger self before I was excommunicated by the pope." It would be the diet of worms in which Henri would display his full brilliance in dealing with the matter of religion in his state.
Albert III when he ascended to the throne, was immediately struck down low when the remaining old guard magnates of Hungary, that were not replaced by Maximilian elected one of their own, John Zapolya to the throne, seizing all of Hungary for themselves, starting the second war of Hungarian Succession. It would be the Ottoman turks that would end this conflict with the battle of Pest ending with a decisive Hungarian-Ottoman Victory. This victory would cause the kingdom of Hungary to split into two. Loyalist/Royal Hungary which consisted mostly of the western marches of Hungary and the Duchy of Nitra was filled with people loyal to the Habsburg cause, meanwhile the actual Kingdom of Hungary now a new Ottoman tributary would be proclaimed with John seizing the throne. A mixture of Ottoman threats and ottoman support would give John Zápolya, the most powerful magnate of Hungary to take the throne himself with unanimous support.
It is this environment that Albert III would arrive at Worms, the complete loss of Hungary within two years. The loss of the kingdom would also put a lot of pressure in a friendly relationship with the papacy. Albert was recognized by the pope as king of Hungary meanwhile the Italian wars were already aligning the emperor with the pope. Importantly for both Burgundy and Saxony was the election of Albert III as Holy Roman Emperor, this granted Martin Luther an audience in the diet of worms, and granted Burgundy an opportunity to present itself as the true power behind the empire. It would be this great city in which great political reform occurred under Philip the Rich. Henri the Fortunate however, would be present in order to witness great religious upheaval. Both the duke and emperor watched as Johann Eck began to rip apart Luther in theology and scripture constantly pressuring him constantly trying to get him to recant anything. This was unsuccessful and eventually Johann charged Martin Luther with heresy. The edict of Worms which Albert believed would eventually allow him to seize Saxony due to Frederick the Wise's support of Martin Luther charged with the imperial ban, declared him a heretic and an enemy of the state. Henri would be far more conciliatory, promising with his word and his guard that the safe conduct Martin was promised would be enforced. Martin would gratefully return to Saxony, this receptiveness of Burgundy would also be further increased when Martin Luther was invited by Henri to visit Burgundy itself and he would later meet the reformist minister: John Calvin.
Henri would be thrust into two separate wars in order to further his own interests: The German Peasant's war, and the war of Danish succession. The German Peasant's war would see the creation of the county of Chur run by the brother of Albert III: Frederick of Austria. His contributions in Italy, Hungary and now in Swabia granted him the lands that were formerly called the three leagues. Henri himself would focus on one of the smaller peasant wars, the Palatine Peasant Wars in which his armies decisively crushed the protestant peasants. Interestingly enough, they were all condemned by Martin Luther himself. This war would mostly wreak havoc in Swabia and in Tyrol, both of these were in the Habsburg influence but Burgundy could not exploit this weakness as the war of Danish succession would hamper if not doom Burgundy's complete dominance over the empire, if the protestant reformation ruined Austria, the war of Danish succession ruined Burgundy.
Christian II of the Kalmar Union was an absolutist at heart, it would be this absolutism that would cause such a large headache for Henri. Henri was very fond of his sister Margaret as she was the only member of his family left alive, his mother Anne died a year ago. The Stockholm Bloodbath in which Christian had a majority of the nobility killed for treason would spark a large revolt against Christian for Sweden. Henri would send his armies to assist Christian II secure that crown but the Swedish had incredible popular support which Burgundy could not crush, finally Christian would make an enemy of his uncle Frederick and a joint Hanseatic, Holstein, and Swedish effort drove out Christian and his loyalists out of Scandinavia. Burgundy would fight to the last man in order to save Margaret and her husband allowing them to flee and arrive in exile. This war of Danish succession would see Henri grow more and more frustrated with Christian as he would fail in his campaigns in Norway and Denmark. Henri's armies however would find success in Oldenburg once again restoring Christian as Count of Oldenburg.
The death of Margaret of Burgundy who stayed the entire time in Burgundy once again treated as a proper Burgundian duchess would finally rip apart the relationship between Christian and Henri. Henri who was already receptive of Frederick I the new ruler of Denmark and Norway agreed to a peace that would betray Christian by having him imprisoned in Denmark, Henri would gain guardianship over all of Christian's children as he was now their closest blood relative, and importantly Burgundy would gain more trade privileges and a huge indemnity to pay off the debt incurred throughout the war. This complete failure of the war of Danish Succession would weak the diarchy enough to split it into a triarchy with the protestants, Burgundy and Austria all competing against each other for control over the empire.
Burgundy within the year would also buy out all the prince bishoprics, Basel, Verdun, Toul, Metz, Cambrai, Tournai, Utercht, Liege, and Strasbourg. This relatively quick sale of all of these prince-bishoprics would eliminate all of Burgundy's influence over the eecelesiatical bench of the Holy Roman Empire, however they would gain an equal amount of influence in the secular bench which they headed and importantly for Henri, he would gain further control over religion in his own lands by appointing his own bishops who had no secular or political authority and led a mini counter reformation as the implementation and funding of Catholic education dictated by the fifth council of Latheran would be a precursor of the Catholic reformation or as it is called, the Burgundian counter-reformation.
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Btw i think he truly would be charles V because he also inherited navarre thanks to his mother.League of Cognac
Not too sure how personal unions worked when it came to unification and regnal numbers but I think it's safer to use Charles I because the larger unions were of Castille and Aragon who had no Charles unfortunately.
It was forcibly split because spider king gotta spider king
I updated the chapter btw. Henri is moving incredibly quickly.