Andrew's Travel Minute
This afternoon our son called us from Rothenberg (pronounced Rutenberg), Germany. This is one of three medieval walled cities in Germany. He was very impressed. He and his friend from Nebraska walked around the city on top of the parapet wall. The gates into the city are so small that only compact cars can enter and with the lack of traffic the city is very sedate.He is staying at the Hotel Reichs-Küchenmeister, which was built in the 12th century. For those of our readers who enjoy history, this was during the period of the 2nd and 3rd Crusades. Besides Wheaton students, among its most famous guests was Emperor Charles V who stayed under its roof in 1546. (Cardinal Shilohman, please point out to our readers why this bozo is important to our protestant roots.)
The website for this quaint establishment has a historical timeline of the hotel. (We like to visit the websites of the places Andrew is lodging since we are paying the bills and we want to ensure we are getting our moneys worth.) Here are two items that caught my eye:
1945 (October)
The Café-Restaurant is confiscated by the Americans and turned into a club for 6 weeks.
1986
Sauna and whirlpool is built.
Okay, I think I have this straight: The Crusades, Charles V, drunken American soldiers, the sauna and Wheaton students (formerly known as Crusaders).
posted by Yakimaniac at 10:17 PM
2 Comments:
Charles V lived from 1500 to 1558. Any painting you might have seen of him immediately tips you off that he was descended from the mighty and incestuous house of Habsburg. (Please note prominent, protruding lower lip.) He was Spanish on his mother’s side which had a history of insanity. Charles inherited massive Austrian and Spanish dominions as a child and at the age of 19 was elected Holy Roman Emperor.
It is providentially fortunate for Protestants that he was so young and so newly elected as Holy Roman Emperor when the issue or Martin Luther (whom my young wife believes I knew well) came to the fore. It turned out that Charles was far too busy establishing his authority to properly follow up on Luther. In 1520 Charles called the Diet of Worms at which Luther was given the opportunity to recant his writings. It was before Charles that Luther made his famous statement, “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me.”
Charles responded, “A single friar who goes counter to all Christianity for a thousand years must be wrong… Not only I, but you of this noble German nation, would be forever disgraced if by our negligence not only heresy but the very suspicion of heresy were to survive…I will proceed against him (Luther) as a notorious heretic…”
Had Charles not been so busy elsewhere, he would have done more to enforce the papal bull against Luther and pursued his execution based on excommunication for heresy.
A note to encourage the Smoking Christian by promoting knowledge of World War I: Charles V was a direct ancestor of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination in Sarajevo kicked off the Great War.
Precisely to the point and well written! Thank you Cardinal Excellentman. I knew I could count on you.
Post a Comment
<< Home