Holy Roman Empire

  • When you think of popes, you wouldn’t believe that a small country like the Netherlands would ever produce a pope, but it did. Pope Adrian VI: The Dutch Reformer of the Papacy Pope Adrian VI, born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens, holds the unique distinction of being the only Dutchman to ascend to the papacy. His brief

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  • On this day in 1631 the city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years’ War. In November 1630, King Gustavus sent his colonel Dietrich von Falkenberg to direct Magdeburg’s military affairs and promised

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