ABSTRACT
Charles V and Luther were for so long opponents that it is interesting to inquire what each thought of the other. The monarch had first seen the " presumptuous monk " at Worms, and then felt nothing but horror for his stout defiance of the universal Church. According to Charles's most recent biographer 2 the sincerest and most outspoken utterance of the usually reticent Hapsburg was his declaration, written by himself immediately after hearing Luther, that on supporting the cause of the Church against this heretic he " staked all his dominions, his friends, his body and blood, his life and his soul." A few years later, thinking the heretic might be useful in curbing the Pope, he had said, that " some day or other, perhaps, Luther may become a man of worth," 3 but this cautious utterance never for an instant indicated that he entertained the slightest leaning to the new faith or the least liking for its leader.
