he chronic war with France an army of 24,000 men and a tax of 128,000
gulden was voted. The disposition of Wuerttemberg caused some trouble.
Duke Ulrich had been deposed for rebellion in 1518, and his land taken
from him by the Swabian League and sold to the emperor in 1520.
Together with the Austrian lands, which Charles secretly handed over to
his young brother Ferdinand, this territory made the nucleus of
Hapsburg power in Germany.

The Diet then took up the question of constitutional reform. In order
to have a permanent administrative body, necessary during the long
absences of the emperor, an Imperial Council of Regency was established
and given a seat at Nuremberg. [Sidenote: Council of Regency] The
emperor nominated the president and four of the twenty-two other
members; each of the six German electors nominated one member; six were
chosen by the circles into which the Empire was divided and six were
elected by the other estates. The powers of the council were limited
to the times when the emperor was away.

The third question treated by the Diet was the religious one. As
usual, they drew up a long list of grievances against the pope, to
which many good Catholics in the assembly subscribed. Next they
considered what to do with Luther. Charles himself, who could speak no
language but French, and had no sympathy whatever with a rebel from any
authority spiritual or temporal, would much have preferred to outlaw
the Wittenberg professor at once, but he was bound by his promise to
Frederic of Saxony. Of the six electors, who sat apart from the other
estates, Frederic was strongly for Luther, the Elector Palatine was
favorably inclined towards him, and the Archbishop of Mayence
represented a mediating policy. The other three electors were opposed.
Among the {80} lesser princes a considerable minority was for Luther,
whereas among the representatives of the free cities and of the
knights, probably a majority were his followers. The common people,
though unrepresented, applauded Luther, and their clamors could not
pass unheeded even by the aristocratic members of the Diet. [Sidenote:
February 13] The debate was opened by Aleander in a speech dwelling on
the sacramental errors of the heretic and the similarity of his
movement to that of the detested Bohemians. After a stormy session the
estates decided to summon the bold Saxon before them and accordingly a
citation, together with a safe-conduct, was sent hi