Charles V

A descendant of the powerful House of Hapsburg, Charles V epitomizes the vitality of Roman Catholicism in sixteenth-century Spain. He was devout and desired the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church without seeking fundamental theological or institutional reform. He presided over Luther's hearing at the Diet of Worms in 1521. His attitude toward Protestantism varied with his political fortunes and his need of German support in international affairs. Charles resigned his crown in 1556 and spent the remainder of his life in the seclusion of a Spanish monastery.