This is Communio Sanctorum, the history of the Christian Church, season two.

The title of this episode is 500 Years, Part 1, The Stage is Set.

Since we're rapidly approaching the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we begin a short

series on its beginning.

And most would do so with the career of Martin Luther, but as long-time communal same

subscribers know, I usually buck the trend and do something else.

Why disappoint? So we begin with a look

at another monumental figure of history that just so happened to be in that room that day at Verms

when Luther was on trial for his ideas and writings. He's known to history as the Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V.

Charles was born in 1500, the eldest son of Philip the Hansom and Joanna of Castile.

Now, this was right at that time in European history when in world history class,

we all gave up trying to sort out how the kings and queens of one region became the rulers of so many others.

Suffice it to say that Charles ended up inheriting the rule of a vast swath of European countryside in western, central, and southern Europe, as well as the Spanish colonies in the New

World in Asia. His domains spanned some four million square kilometers,

or over one and a half million square miles. While we often refer to the British Empire as

that one on which the sun never set, that accolade? Well, it was first attached to Spain's

empire under Charles.

He became the king of the Spanish Empire at the age of just 16,

and was elected Holy Roman Emperor three years later.

He was heir to three of Europe's leading dynasties, the houses of Aloy Burgundy, the Habsburgs,

and the Trasamara in Spain, which united the famous

...