From the Diet of Worms to the Augsburg Confession - James Aitken Wylie

was necessary there should be a lawful General or
Provincial Council of Germany held within a year;
and, that no delay or impediment might intervene,
that ambassadors should be sent to the emperor, to
pray him that he would look upon the miserable
and tumultuous state of the Empire, and come into
Germany as soon as he could, and procure a
Council. As to religion and the Edict of Worms,"
continued the Diet–conferring by a simple
expedient one of the greatest of blessings–" As to
religion and the Edict of Worms, in the meanwhile
till a General or National Council can be had, all
shall so behave themselves in their several
provinces as that they may be able to render an
account of their doings both to God and the
emperor" – that is, every State was to be free to act
in religion upon its own judgment.
Most historians have spoken of this as a great
epoch. "The legal existence of the Protestant party
in the Empire," says Ranke, "is based on the
Decree of Spires of 1526." "The Diet of 1526,"
says D'Aubigne, "forms an important epoch in
history: an ancient power, that of the Middle Ages,
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