Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

NAME Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Charles V was known for being one of the most powerful rulers in European history. He reigned over a vast empire that spanned Europe, the Americas, and parts of Africa and Asia. He was famous for his efforts to maintain Catholic unity in Europe during the Reformation and for his prolonged conflicts with France, the Ottoman Empire, and other rivals.

BIRTH Charles V was born on February 24, 1500, in Ghent, Flanders (present-day Belgium). His birth was somewhat undignified; he was born on the floor of a bathroom during a ball his mother was attending.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Charles V was the son of Philip I of Castile and Joanna of Castile. His father was a member of the House of Habsburg, a powerful European dynasty, and his mother was the heiress to the Spanish throne.

Charles V came from an impressive royal lineage. His paternal grandparents were Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Mary of Burgundy. His maternal grandparents were Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the famed Catholic Monarchs of Spain. This illustrious heritage gave him a claim to numerous European thrones and dominions.

A painting by Bernhard Strigel representing the extended Habsburg family with a young Charles in the middle

CHILDHOOD Charles's childhood was marked by political turmoil and instability. His mother, Joanna, suffered from mental illness, and his father died when he was a young child. As a result, Charles was raised by his grandparents, Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire and Mary of Burgundy.

Charles had a privileged upbringing, but he was separated from his parents at a young age and raised primarily in the Netherlands. His early years were marked by a rigorous education and exposure to multiple cultures, reflecting the diverse territories he would later rule.

EDUCATION Charles received a broad education that included lessons in statecraft, military strategy, theology, and multiple languages. He was known for his linguistic skills, being fluent in French, Dutch, and Spanish, and conversant in German and Italian. His education was overseen by prominent humanist scholars of the time, which instilled in him a strong sense of duty and responsibility as a monarch.

CAREER RECORD Charles V became King of Spain in 1516 at the age of 16. 

In 1519, he was elected Holy Roman Emperor after a contested election, partly won through strategic bribery of the electors. 

Throughout his reign, he faced numerous challenges, including wars with France, the Protestant Reformation, and invasions by the Ottoman Empire. 

He abdicated in 1555-1556, dividing his empire between his son, Philip II of Spain, and his brother, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor.

APPEARANCE Charles V was of medium build with a distinctive Habsburg jaw, a genetic feature of his family line. He had fair skin, light hair, and blue eyes. He was often described as having a stern and imposing demeanor. 

His most striking feature (described as "his greatest ugliness") was his mouth. Charles' teeth were disproportionate, with the upper and lower teeth not meeting properly, which made his speech difficult to understand and eating challenging

In his later years, he suffered from gout, which affected his physical appearance and mobility.

A 1519 portrait of Charles V by Bernard van Orley 

FASHION Charles V was often seen in the elaborate and luxurious attire typical of the Renaissance nobility. He favored richly embroidered clothing, velvet, and furs, and was known to dress in a manner that reflected his status as a powerful monarch.

CHARACTER Charles V was known for his deep sense of duty, piety, and commitment to his role as a defender of the Catholic faith. He was a complex character, balancing ruthlessness in war and politics with personal humility and introspection.

SENSE OF HUMOUR While not known for his humor, Charles V did possess a dry wit. His correspondence occasionally reveals a sharp, sardonic sense of humor, particularly in his dealings with rivals and in his self-deprecating reflections on his burdensome role as emperor.

RELATIONSHIPS Charles V had a tense relationship with his rivals, especially Francis I of France, with whom he had a prolonged enmity. He was briefly betrothed to Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII, but the engagement was broken off. 

Charles married Isabella of Portugal on March 10, 1526. The wedding took place at the Royal Alcázar of Seville in Seville, Spain.

Their marriage was initially arranged as a political union, but Charles and Isabella reportedly fell in love upon meeting for the first time. They were married in a quiet ceremony just after midnight in the Hall of Ambassadors at the Alcázar. Following the wedding, they spent their honeymoon at the Alhambra in Granada.

The marriage brought Charles a substantial dowry of 900,000 Portuguese cruzados from Isabella.

Though it started as a political arrangement, their marriage was described as happy, with both partners devoted and faithful to each other despite Charles' long absences

They had several children, including his successor, Philip II of Spain.

Isabella of Portugal died on May 1, 1539 in Toledo, Spain two weeks after giving birth to a stillborn son. She was 35 years old at the time of her death. The cause of death was likely due to complications from the pregnancy, including fever and hemorrhage.

Her death deeply affected Emperor Charles V, who refused to remarry and remained single for the rest of his life. Charles was so grief-stricken that he shut himself in a monastery for two months to mourn her passing.

Emperor Charles V and Empress Isabella. Peter Paul Rubens after Titian, 17th century.

MONEY AND FAME Charles V controlled vast wealth due to his extensive territories, particularly from the resources of the New World. However, he also faced enormous expenses due to constant wars, leading to frequent financial difficulties.

FOOD AND DRINK Charles V had a robust appetite and was particularly fond of rich, heavy foods, which may have contributed to his health problems later in life, such as gout. He enjoyed various delicacies of his time, including Spanish cuisine. He also drank wine and beer.

MUSIC AND ARTS As a Renaissance ruler, Charles V was a patron of the arts and encouraged music and culture at his court. He employed musicians, composers, and artists, promoting the spread of Renaissance culture throughout his domains.

LITERATURE Charles V was well-read and appreciated literature. He collected a significant library of books and manuscripts, reflecting his interests in theology, philosophy, and the classics.

Charles V features as a character in several literary works including:

In Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus, Charles V appears as a character whom Faustus visits at court.

He is a notable character in Simone de Beauvoir's novel All Men Are Mortal.

Lord Byron refers to Charles V as "The Spaniard" in his poem Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte.

NATURE Charles V enjoyed hunting and other outdoor activities. He also had a keen interest in botany and horticulture.

PETS  TIt was common for noblemen of his era to keep hunting dogs and birds of prey. The Portrait of Charles V with a Dog, painted by Titian in 1533, depicts Charles V with a hunting dog. 

The Portrait of Charles V with a Dog

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Charles V was an avid hunter and enjoyed jousting and other forms of courtly sports, which were popular among the nobility of his time.

Charles V was known to be a polyglot, speaking several languages fluently. He reportedly enjoyed learning and practicing languages, which could be considered an intellectual hobby.

SCIENCE AND MATHS Charles V was interested in the scientific advancements of his era. His court was a center for scholars, including scientists and astronomers, contributing to the scientific developments of the period.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY As a devout Catholic, Charles V was heavily involved in the religious conflicts of his time, particularly the Protestant Reformation. He sought to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in his realms and was deeply influenced by Christian theology.

In 1529, having made a peace treaty with his enemy, the King of France, Charles V was successfully stamping out the new Reformation movement. Suleiman's Ottoman Turks, who had swept through Eastern Europe, and were now laying siege to Vienna, distracted him. Despite having previously referred to Martin Luther as "This devil in the habit of a monk", Charles swallowed his pride and made peace with his Protestant subjects, so they could be united against the common enemy. Thus divine providence bought good out of evil.

POLITICS Charles V was a central figure in European politics, involved in numerous wars, alliances, and treaties. His reign was marked by his efforts to maintain Catholic unity and resist the growing Protestant Reformation.

Charles V had a knack for inheriting things. Born to one of the most distinguished and complicated family trees in Europe, he was barely out of diapers before he started collecting kingdoms like a child hoarding marbles. By 1506, after the rather untimely death of his father, he inherited the Low Countries – a charming assortment of damp, flat territories that would later become Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Then, at the ripe old age of sixteen, he became King of Spain, ruling as co-monarch of Castile and Aragon alongside his mother. His new Spanish portfolio wasn’t just limited to sunny Iberian realms; it also included far-flung bits like the West Indies, the Spanish Main, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, making it a sort of early 16th-century package tour.

But young Charles wasn’t done yet. In 1519, when his other grandfather, Maximilian I, shuffled off this mortal coil, Charles inherited the Austrian hereditary lands and was promptly elected Holy Roman Emperor. In a move that could be described as both ambitious and, well, a bit cheeky, he took on the title of Charles V and began styling himself as a new Charlemagne, the sort of branding exercise that only a young man with half of Europe in his back pocket could attempt with a straight face.

Charles had a bold idea. He wanted to bring back the medieval concept of a "universal monarchy," which was essentially a euphemism for “I’ll be in charge of everything, thanks.” This meant he spent a good deal of time on the road, crisscrossing his sprawling domains like a medieval rock star on a never-ending tour. He made some 40 journeys across his various realms and spent about a quarter of his reign on the move, which must have made packing a nightmare.

But although he inherited his vast empire more or less peacefully, Charles soon found himself at war with just about everyone. He spent his days and an enormous amount of money trying to preserve the integrity of the Holy Roman Empire. This involved exhausting campaigns to fend off the Reformation (the 16th-century equivalent of a European-wide political and religious upheaval), thwarting the expansionist ambitions of the Ottoman Empire, and engaging in a series of wars with the perpetually disagreeable French.

To fund his endless wars, Charles borrowed heavily from German and Italian bankers, a strategy that left him drowning in debt. To pay back these loans, he relied on the wealth of the Low Countries and the steady flow of silver arriving from New Spain and Peru, territories brought into his ever-growing portfolio following the rather aggressive Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires. In the end, Charles’s efforts to keep his empire intact left him with a treasury that was more holes than silver, an exhausted empire, and a legacy that would require his successors to untangle the mess for generations to come.

SCANDAL The imperial election of 1519 was surrounded by controversy due to the massive bribes paid to the electors, which some historians argue secured his victory as Holy Roman Emperor.

MILITARY RECORD Charles V was a skilled military leader and personally led several campaigns. He fought against the French, the Ottomans, and Protestant forces, achieving notable victories and suffering some defeats.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Charles V suffered from various health issues throughout his life, including gout, which caused him great pain and limited his mobility in later years. His heavy diet and constant stress from ruling contributed to his deteriorating health.

HOMES Charles V resided in numerous palaces and castles across his vast empire. His primary residences included the Royal Alcazar of Madrid, though Charles was often away on military campaigns and to administer other parts of his realm..

He commissioned the building of the Palace of Charles V near the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, intending it to be a permanent residence befitting an emperor. 

At the end of his life, after abdicating in 1555, Charles retired to the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain. 

TRAVEL Charles V traveled extensively throughout his reign, visiting his numerous territories in Europe to maintain control and manage affairs. His travels took him across Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Italy, and other regions.

He made 40 journeys across the various entities he ruled, spending about a quarter of his reign traveling within his realms.

DEATH Charles V died on September 21, 1558, at the Monastery of Yuste in Spain, where he had retired after his abdication. He was 58 years old, and his death marked the end of a significant chapter in European history.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Charles V has appeared in various historical novels, films, and television series. He is often portrayed as a conflicted and complex ruler, balancing his imperial ambitions with his personal struggles and devout faith.

1. Opera. Charles V has been portrayed in multiple operas:

Ernst Krenek's opera Karl V  examines Charles V's career through flashbacks.

In Giuseppe Verdi's opera Ernani, Charles V's election as Holy Roman Emperor is depicted.

Verdi's opera Don Carlo implies Charles V rescues his grandson Don Carlo in the final scene.

2. Film and Television Charles V has been portrayed on screen several times:

He is played by Hans Lefebre in the 1953 film Martin Luther.

Torben Liebrecht portrays him in the 2003 film Luther.

Sebastian Armesto plays Charles V in an episode of the TV series The Tudors.

Álvaro Cervantes portrays Charles V as the main character in the Spanish TV series Carlos, Rey Emperador.

Rupert Everett portrays Charles V in the series The Serpent Queen.

ACHIEVEMENTS Charles V's achievements include maintaining a vast empire that spanned several continents, his efforts to defend Catholicism during the Reformation, and his political and military successes against rivals such as France and the Ottoman Empire. His abdication and retirement set a rare precedent for monarchs of his time.