Page:A General Sketch of Political History from the Earlist Times.djvu/257

 THE ERA OF THE REFORMATION 245 southern states ; but in Germany the Protestant and the Catholic states have come to terms. At the moment when Charles v. was elected emperor, French interests were in conflict with his on every side. Milan was held by Francis, but Charles had a claim on it as Charles V. a fief of the empire. Naples was held by Charles, and Francis I. but Francis had not resigned the Angevin claim there. France had absorbed the duchy of Burgundy, which Charles still regarded as part of his own lawful inheritance. A part of the Low Countries consisted of what were still technically fiefs of the French Crown. Finally, the competition for the empire had created a strong personal antagonism between the two monarchs. Within his own personal dominions the sovereignty of Charles in Castile was still limited, while in the Low Countries princes and cities claimed privileges which also limited his powers. In Germany the power of the emperor was still more restricted, and the Constitution demands further attention. The empire was, in fact, a collection of states, large and small, with the emperor as president. Of these states, seven held the leading position as ' Electorates, ' with constitution whose princes rested the choice of the emperor, of the Empire. Three were ecclesiastical, the archbishoprics of Cologne, Mainz, and Trier, or Treves. Four were lay principalities, Saxony, Brandenburg, the Palatinate, and Bohemia; but in other respects, Bohemia stood outside, having no part in the diet or council of the empire. Saxony at this time was divided between two branches of the same family; the head of one being the Elector, while the head of the other held the title of Duke. The diet of the empire consisted of three colleges : the first consisting of the Electors, the second of the rest of the princes, and the third of the deputies of the free cities. There was no other representation of the commons, of vassals of the princes, or of the knights or lesser nobles who owned no feudal superiors except the emperor himself. Outside of the Electors, the three most important princes were those of Austria, Bavaria, and Hesse. There was a supreme Court of Justice called the Imperial Chamber, whose members were chosen by the diet.