Ep. 236: Charles V (1520-1555) - The Battle of Pavia
History of the Germans
Dirk Hoffmann-Becking
4.9 • 550 Ratings
🗓️ 7 May 2026
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1521 four men dominated Europe. They were all in their twenties: King Henry VIII of England, born 1491, King Francois I of France, born 1494, Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Sultan, born that same year, 1494 and the youngest of them, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia, lord of the Netherlands, duke of Austria and Count of Tyrol.
How the world had changed. In the days of Charles’ predecessor, the emperor Maximilian, European politics was a impenetrable maze of alliances and enmities involving roughly a dozen mid-sized powers trying to get a leg up on each other.
Now we are down to four guys, dancing a political Ceilidh, all elegantly dressed, swiftly moving and swapping partners at every turn.
In this episode we are going to look at the first rounds of Gay Gordons and Dashing White Sergeants up to the point where Charles V gets a lock on Francois I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
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The Reformation before the Reformation
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the History of the Germans, Episode 236, the Battle of Pavia. |
| 0:10.5 | In 1521, four men dominated Europe. |
| 0:14.0 | They were all in their 20s. |
| 0:15.7 | King Henry VIII of England, born 1491. |
| 0:18.7 | King Francois I of France, born 1494. |
| 0:21.6 | Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Sultan, born that same year, 1494, and the youngest of them, |
| 0:29.6 | Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia, Lord of the Netherlands, |
| 0:35.6 | Duke of Austria and Count of Tyro. |
| 0:40.1 | How the world has changed. |
| 0:42.5 | In the days of Charles' predecessor, the Emperor Maximilian, European politics was an impenetrable maze of alliances and enmities involving roughly a dozen mid-sized powers trying to get a leg up on each other. |
| 0:56.4 | Now we are down to four guys, dancing a political Kaley all elegantly dressed, swiftly |
| 1:02.4 | moving and swapping partners at every turn. |
| 1:07.0 | In this episode we are going to look at the first round of Gaye Gordons and dashing |
| 1:10.5 | white sergeants up to the point where Charles V, gets a lock on Francois-Premier at the |
| 1:16.1 | Battle of Pavia in 1525. |
| 1:20.1 | So let's start with a set of character sketches of these four princes, who will be our |
| 1:24.5 | constant companions as we dissect the first half of the 16th century. |
| 1:30.4 | Now, the first striking thing about all four of them |
| 1:33.8 | is that they count amongst the most recognizable monarchs of European history, |
| 1:38.7 | not just because of their historical significance, but also due to the ubiquity of their imagery. |
| 1:45.7 | Henry VIII, this haunting classrooms in England to this day, to the point that many claim historical education |
| 1:51.1 | here is just Harry and Hitler. Francois premier is amongst France's most celebrated kings, |
... |
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