Charles V25 May 1521
Charles issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw, banning his writings, and requiring his arrest: "We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic"
Spain · House / House of Habsburg. Chronological records rendered directly from the World History Database.
Charles issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw, banning his writings, and requiring his arrest: "We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic"
When Luther eventually reemerged from the Wartburg, the emperor, distracted with other matters, did not press for Luther's arrest. Ultimately, because of rising public support for Luther among the German people and the protection of certain German princes, the Edict of Worms was never enforced in Germany
In December 1521, Jacob Probst, prior of the Augustinian monastery in Antwerp, was the first Luther-supporting cleric to be arrested and prosecuted under the terms of the Worms Edict.
In the Low Countries (comprising modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands), the Edict was initially enforced against Luther's most active supporters.
This could be done because these countries were under the direct reign of Emperor Charles V and his appointed regent, Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (and Charles's aunt).
Additional arrests were made among the Augustinians in Antwerp. Two monks, Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes, refused to recant; on 1 July 1523, they were burned at the stake in Brussels
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