The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ✎

I saw this commemorative medal dedicated to Emperor Charles V. 

He is on my list of top 10 historical figures I wish I could talk to.

Beautiful German Renaissance craftsmanship: “silver-gilt medal was made by Hans Reinhardt the Elder, in Germany in 1537.”

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I’ve been deeply fascinated by Charles V. 

His power was unrivalled in the 16th century and he completely changed European history, but I also think an overall decent(ish) Emperor.

• The Sack of Rome - Charles V’s own army caused the Sack of Rome. The army hadn’t been paid in months, and they were practically starving. The Duke of Bourbon (defecting from King Francis I of France) was nominally the “commander”, but had very little control over them. He gave an order to “take Rome”. His Imperial troops attacked and the army turned into a leaderless mob. The Sack of Rome was a total collapse in all human decency and human restraint. Torture, mass murders, and mass rapes (even of nuns). The great basilica of St Peters was used as a stable for horses. It’s probably unknown how many irreplaceable manuscripts and masterpieces were destroyed. He was publically horrified by his own army and it is a great irony: the man who spent his life fighting to preserve the Catholic Church against the Reformation was the same man whose army effectively destroyed the Renaissance Papacy. Renaissance too. 
• The Dutch Golden Age - Flemish Charles V was the unintentional “founding father” of the Dutch Golden Age. His religious policies and his eventual abdication, and giving the Netherland to Spanish Philip II, set the stage for the Netherlands to become a global superpower.
• Causing Henry VIII to leave the Catholic Church - Normally, Popes granted favors to kings all the time. But Charles V forced the Pope’s hand preventing the annulment. The irony here is that Charles inadvertently helped create one of the most powerful Protestant nations in European history which then became a massive rival to his own deeply Catholic son, Philip II. One of the first major Catholic but secular forces that reigned Papal power.
• Humble End - He died as a simple monk (mostly), wearing plain clothes instead of robes.