The Ottomans made a not wholly successful, but certainly not unsuccessful attempt at invading Belgrade. The siege of Belgrade failed to take the city, but the Hungarian-Bohemian defense forces lost many of their ground troops. The Ottomans continue to be aloof from European affairs, a spectre haunting Europe from the East. The pirate port at Algiers laid in wait. The Hapsburgs while struggling to control their fragmented Empire, continue to have a great deal of wealth and prestige. Charles V was coronated Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Paul III in Vienna. Spain launched a voyage of conquest to the New World. Conquistador de Cordova landed at the Mayan shores, in…

Extremely vigorous theological debates, reformation, and counter-reformation in Southern Germany. Nuremburg, Mainz, and Salzburg switching sides several times. The French made an early Spring attempt on Portsmouth, but were repulsed by the English navy. Protestant debater Latimer felt the flames of hell rising around him as he burnt at the stake. The French tried their luck again in England, took Portsmouth, but at Bristol a series of fire-breathing snakes launched a counterattack, and drove the French back to their dog-shaped tents.

The Papacy faced an immediate threat from Martin Luther’s heretics after the 95 theses. Luther embarked on a virulent disinformation campaign, leading thousands of German parishioners astray. Within three years, ten cities had become hotbeds of fundamentalist dissent. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh. The penalty of sin remains…

The Papacy largely sat upon its laurels for most of 1528-1531, with the newly crowned Pope Clement VII taking stock of the status of Christendom. In a surprising move, the new Pope granted annulment to Henry VIII, severing England’s ties to the Hapsburg Empire, and severely straining relations between the Vatican and Vienna. Martin Luther and his protestants converted Cologne, Augsburg, and Regensburg, and the Pope’s feeble attempts at Counter-Reformation had little effect. Clearly the new faith is finding fertile ground in the German speaking principalities. The Ottoman empire under Suleiman the Great was largely engaged in a war with Persia along their southern borders. They emerged victorious and their…

In France, feudal lords in St. Quentin and Tours struggled with peasant uprisings. Hundreds of local subsistence farmers laid siege to their rightful lords’ estates, wielding torches and pitchforks, and demanding bread and pork. They demanded to know why they should deliver tithes up to their lordships, offering the toil of their backs and beasts, working 20 whole hours per week on average while the gentry live in sloth. Unrest lasted through the winter of 1523, with the King offering no help from Paris. Meanwhile in the New World, France sent their intrepid explorers to discover riches, and charted the Amazon River. Unimaginable rainforests are now under French Dominion, and…