Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 4.djvu/281

1547.] and yet more agitating question, What was the Pope's authority, and what was a bishop's authority? How far could one bishop overrule another bishop in his own diocese? Here the strife of tongues, once kindled, raged without ceasing till Midsummer, 1546, when the Emperor was ready to take the field; and then at last the Council were allowed to approach subjects which would bring them in collision with the Reformers. An article was brought forward on the heresy of justification by faith: a league was concluded between Charles and Paul; and a holy war was proclaimed.

This is not a place to describe the campaign which closed at Muhlberg in the following spring, so disastrously for the Lutherans. The Pope undertook to provide an Italian contingent, and for a supply of funds he allowed the Emperor to sequestrate half the revenue of the Church of Spain, and to sell church lands to the value of a half-million crowns. But the Emperor's misgivings had not deceived him as to the strength of the enemy. The Elector of Saxe and the Landgrave of Hesse took the field at the head of an army far superior to the Papal Imperial troops in number, in equipment, in commissariat. Their artillery doubled the Emperor's: the people were on their side; they possessed every advantage, except in the one point of a divided command and inferiority of military skill.