The Treaty of Frankfurt, also known as the Truce of Frankfurt, was a formal agreement of peace between

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V , french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

on 19 April 1539. The parties met at

Frankfurt-on-the-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

,Hagenbach, p. 235. and the

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

were represented by

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...

.Smith, ''The Life and Letters of Martin Luther'', p. 314. The treaty stated that the emperor would not take any violent actions against the Protestants, who had formed an alliance known as the

Schmalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...

, for fifteen months starting 1 May; during this time both parties could try to resolve the differences in their confessions. As a result of this peace, the Schmalkaldic League lost the protection of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{Germany-hist-stub Schmalkaldic League Frankfurt (1539) 1539 in the Holy Roman Empire 1539 in Christianity Reformation in Germany 1539 treaties