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Schmalkaldic

Schmalkaldic is an adjective relating to Schmalkalden, a town in present-day Thuringia, or to the historical contexts and groups named after it in early 16th-century Germany. It most often appears in reference to the Schmalkaldic League (Schmalkaldischer Bund), a Protestant alliance formed within the Holy Roman Empire in 1531 by Lutheran princes and Free Imperial Cities to defend their religious reforms and political autonomy against imperial Catholic authority, led by Emperor Charles V.

The league brought together several secular rulers and cities that favored the Reformation. Its prominent leaders

In doctrinal matters, the term also appears in connection with the Schmalkaldic Articles, a confession prepared

The league’s military dimension culminated in the Schmalkaldic War (1546–1547). Charles V defeated the League at

included
Elector
John
Frederick
I
of
Saxony
and
Landgrave
Philip
I
of
Hesse,
with
other
princes
and
cities
aligning
for
mutual
defense,
doctrinal
unity,
and
political
leverage
within
the
empire.
The
name
Schmalkaldic
derives
from
Schmalkalden,
the
town
that
became
associated
with
these
collective
efforts.
by
Philipp
Melanchthon
and
issued
in
1537
as
a
formal
Lutheran
statement
of
faith
to
accompany
the
political
alliance.
The
articles
articulated
Lutheran
beliefs
and
were
intended
to
articulate
a
common
religious
position
for
league
members.
the
Battle
of
Mühlberg
in
1547,
leading
to
the
dissolution
of
the
alliance
and
a
temporary
setback
for
Protestant
autonomy.
The
religious
settlement
continued
in
the
Peace
of
Augsburg
(1555),
which
granted
legal
recognition
to
Lutheranism
within
the
empire.
Today,
Schmalkaldic
is
used
in
historical
discussions
to
denote
this
era
of
Lutheran
political
and
doctrinal
organization,
its
key
figures,
and
its
associated
confessional
documents.