Count Ulrich of Lindburg

Count Ulrich of Lindburg, by
W.H.G. Kingston

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Title: Count Ulrich of Lindburg A Tale of the Reformation in Germany
Author: W.H.G. Kingston
Release Date: October 25, 2007 [EBook #23191]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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ULRICH OF LINDBURG ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

Count Ulrich of Lindburg
by W.H.G. Kingston.
CHAPTER ONE.

On the banks of the river Saal, in Merseburg, forming part of Saxony,
at the time of which we speak, governed by the aged and excellent
Elector Frederick, stood the Castle of Lindburg. It was one of those
feudal piles of the Middle Ages, impregnable to the engines of ancient
warfare, but which were destined to crumble before the iron shots with
which cannon assailed them, as the system they represented was
compelled to succumb to the light of that truth which the Gospel was
then diffusing over the greater part of Europe.
Ulrich, Count von Lindburg, or the Knight of Lindburg, as he was often
called, sat in a room in his Castle, with his arm resting on a table and a
book before him, at which, however, his eyes seldom glanced; his looks
were thoughtful and full of care. He had engaged in much hard fighting
in his younger days, and now all he wished for was rest and quiet,
though the state of the times gave him but little hope of enjoying them.
In his own mind, too, he was troubled about many things. Four years
before the time at which he is introduced to the reader, he had visited
Worms, during the time the Diet, summoned by the Emperor Charles
the Fifth, was sitting, and was among those who found their way into
the great hall where the Emperor and the chief princes, bishops, and
nobles of the land were sitting, when Dr Martin Luther, replied to the
chancellor of Treves, the orator of the Diet, who demanded whether he
would retract the opinions put forth in numerous books he had
published and sermons he had preached.
"Since your most serene majesty and your high mightinesses require
from me a clear, simple, and precise answer, I will give you one, and it
is this: I cannot submit my fate either to the Pope or to the councils,
because it is clear as the day that they have frequently erred and
contradicted each other. Unless, therefore, I am convinced by the
testimony of Scripture or by the clearest reasoning, unless I am
persuaded by means of the passages I have quoted, and unless they thus
render my conscience bound by the Word of God, I cannot and will not
retract, for it is unsafe for a Christian to speak against his conscience."
And then, looking round on that assembly before which he stood, and
which held his life in its hands, he said, "HERE I STAND, I CAN DO
NO OTHER. MAY GOD HELP ME! AMEN!"

The assembly were thunderstruck. Many of the princes found it
difficult to conceal their admiration; even the emperor exclaimed, "This
monk speaks with an intrepid heart and unshaken courage." Truly he
did. This is the weakness of God, which is stronger than man. God had
brought together these kings and these prelates publicly to confound
their wisdom. These bold words had had also a deep effect on the
Knight of Lindburg, and he kept meditating on them as he rode
homeward towards the north. Could it, then, be possible that the lowly
monk--the peasant's son--should be right, and all those great persons,
who wished to condemn him, wrong? Was that faith, in which he
himself had been brought up, not the true one? Was there a purer and a
better? He must consult Father Nicholas Keller, his confessor, and hear
what he had to say on the subject. The Knight carried out his intention.
Father Nicholas was puzzled; scarcely knew what answer to make. It
was a dreadful thing to differ with the Church--to rebel against the
Pope. Dr Martin was a learned man, but he opined that he was
following too closely in the steps of John Huss, and the Knight, his
patron, knew that they led to the stake. He had no wish that any one
under his spiritual charge should go there. As to the Scriptures, he had
read but very small portions of them, and he could not tell how far Dr
Martin's opinions were formed from