September 25, 1555 Peace of Augsburg takes effect ending conflicts for a time between Catholics and Protestants. The Peace of Augsburg refers to a settlement between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Lutheran princes that accorded Lutheran churches legal status in Germany. This settlement resolved the conflict on a state level but did not … [Read more...]

September 24, 1054 Death of Hermann von Reichenau in Reichenau, Germany. As a chronicler, he has become a primary source of information on his age. September 24, 1521 Death of Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist, … [Read more...]

September 23, 1122 The Concord of Worms is reached between Pope Callistus II and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Heinrich V. It is determined who has the right to invest clergy. September 23, 1783 Birth of Peter von Cornelius in Düsseldorf, Germany. He was an artist who revived the art of fresco painting. He was a member of the … [Read more...]

September 22 Feast day of St. Mauritius ( ? - ca. 302). St. Mauritius (or St. Maurice) was one of the 66 Christian legionnaires who was martyred after torture, refusing to pay homage to the pagan gods. He was beheaded in St. Maurice, Switzerland. The Augustinian monastery of St. Maurice stands today at the site of the martyrdom. His designation … [Read more...]

September 21, 1522 The first publication of Martin Luther's translation of the New Testament. September 21, 1792 Birth of Johann Peter Eckermann in Winsen, Germany. Eckermann was Goethe's secretary in Weimar. He published Goethe's posthumous works and participated in the publication of the first complete edition of his works. He wrote … [Read more...]

September 20, 1863 Death of Jakob Grimm in Berlin, Germany. Along with his brother Wilhelm he is known most for the Grimms' fairy tales, published as Kinder- und Hausmärchen. (1812-1822). But the brothers did a huge amount of work which is equally important but less known. Between 1816-18 they published Deutsche Sagen, a collection of German … [Read more...]

September 19, 1610 Death of Friedrich IV in Heidelberg, Germany. Friedrich, an ardent Protestant, was the elector of Rhineland-Pfalz. He actively opposed the Roman church and Habsburg leadership in the Holy Roman Empire. September 19, 1812 Mayer Rothschild died on this date in Frankfurt am Main, the city where he had been born in 1744 and … [Read more...]

September 18, 1630 Death of Melchior Klesl in Vienna, Austria. A Protestant in early life, Klesl converted to Roman Catholicism through the influence of the Jesuits. He became a priest and rose in the church to the office of Bishop of Vienna and finally cardinal. He was close to the Holy Roman Emperor and for a time was in essential control of … [Read more...]

September 17, 530 The first pope of Germanic origin was elected. Boniface II was Gothic. (The Goths were an East Germanic people. The Germans of today descend from the West Germanic grouping.) Boniface II was appointed by his predecessor, Felix IV, rather than being elected. In protest against the process by which Boniface became pope and in … [Read more...]