CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: C - In 1536, Francis I of France aligned with Sulieman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire in his ongoing fight in Eastern Europe with Spain’s Charles I (who was also Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor). It was considered the “alliance that shocked Christendom” because France was predominantly Catholic, while the Ottomans were Muslim. Charles was a Hapsburg, the prominent royal house that first ascended to power in Austria, which bound him to affairs in Eastern Europe. Francis signed a peace treaty with Charles in 1538, but resumed the alliance with the Ottomans in 1542. Charles was shamed into a treaty with Suleiman that disallowed his use of the title “Emperor” due to a stipulation that required that Suleiman be recognized as the only emperor in the world. As Holy Roman Emperor, Charles attempted to address the Reformation, once it became apparent that Catholicism was really facing grave consequences. After issuing the Edict of Worms against Martin Luther in 1521, conflicts with the French and Ottomans made it virtually impossible for him to focus his attention on the Reformation.