Thirty Years' Wye

The following is an Anglish translation of an Encyclopedia Britannica article on the Thirty Years' War.

Beware: this article uses spellings which have had foreign influence reverted.

The Writ
Þe Þirty Years' Wye began wiþ a twin crisis in þe heart of Yorope: one in þe Rineland and þe oþer in Beheemland, boþ lands in þe Holy Roomish Empire. Þe Empire of þe Duc folk was a land of many rices; þere were some 1,000 sundry, somewhat freestanding rices, many of þem full small. Þe Imperial Knites, lords of some of þese rices, and firsthand hews of þe coaser, were hurely rife in þe suþewest, and eac mite own only one deal of one þorp, while oþer knites mite own lands abute as big as fully freestanding rices elsewhere, suc as Scotland or þe Neþerlandish Republick. At þe top came þe lands of þe Habsburgs of Eastric, spanning þe kingdoms of Beheemland and Ungerland, as well as Eastric, þe Tyrol, and Alsase, wiþ abute 8,000,000 men dewlling wiþin; next came Saxland, Brandenburg, and Bayern, wiþ more þan 1,000,000 men eac; and þen þe Kurpfalts, Hessa, Treer, and Vurtemberg, wiþ abute 500,000 men eac.

Þese were great rices, but þey were weakened by þree þings. First, þey did not hold to 'primogeniture': Hessa had been split into four deals at þe deaþ of Fillip þe Yifel, Looþer's patron, in 1567; þe lands of þe Habsburgs were split in 1564 and again in 1576. Twoþ, many of þe rices were made up of lands strewn abute: þus, þe Kurpfalts was split into an Upper Shire, next to þe borders of boþ Beheemland and Bayern, and a Lower Shire on þe middel Rine. Þese þings had, in þe going of time, set in Ducland a heller of strengþ among þe rices. Þe landholding strengþ of þe Habsburgs may haf brot þem a monopoly on þe imperial titel from 1438 onward, but þey could haf no more: þe oþer aþelings, when þreatened, could set up a þoftship whose strengþ maced þat of þe coaser himself. Huefer, þe þird weakness, þe leef-upheafing of þe 16þ yearhundred, went all þat: aþelings who had formerly stood togeþer were nue split by leef. Sweefeland, for one, more or less maced in its great to Switzerland today, had 68 leefgrey and 40 unleefgrey aþelings and also 32 imperial free burrows. By 1618 more þan half of þese leaders and almost exactly half of þe landsfolk were Caþolick; þe oþers were Protestant. Neiþer block was willing to let þe oþer call forþ a heer. Stunnedness like þis was to be fund in most oþer shires: þe Reformasyon and Wiþer-Reformasyon had split Ducland into foelike but efenly wayed leefteams.

Þe Leeffriþ of Augsburg in 1555 had put an end to 30 years of fitful infiting in Ducland between Caþolicks and Looþerans by setting up a framework of lawbeelds for þe folk of þe Empire. At þe top was þe rite of efery leefgrey weelder, from þe sefen walers dune to þe Imperial Knites, to coose wheþer þeir underlings' leef was to be Looþeran or Caþolick (þe only officially þafed leefs). Þe only yutings to þis ew were þe imperial free burrows, where boþ Looþerans and Caþolicks were to haf freedom of worship, and þe Caþolick circrices, where bishops and abbots who wished to become Looþerans had to step dune first. Þe latter ew gafe rise to a wye in 1583–1588 when þe alderbishop of Colone boded himself a Protestant but werned stepping dune: in þe end a team of Caþolick aþelings, led by þe hartow of Bayern, pushed him ute.

Þis "Wye of Colone" was a wharfing ord in þe leefstear of Ducland. Until þen, þe Caþolicks had been þe ones sheelding blows, losing grund steadily to þe Protestants. Efen þe bidding of þe Moot of Trent, whic stirred up Caþolicks elsewhere, trucked to strengþen þe standing of þe Roomish circ in Ducland. After þe speedful struggel to keep Colone, huefer, Caþolick aþelings began to forþfill þe cuius regio lodestar wiþ þriþe. In Bayern, as well as in Vurtsburg, Bamberg, and oþer circrices, Protestants were yifen þe kire of eiþer leefwharfing or fleemdom. Most of þose rined were of þe Looþeran circ, already weakened by fleers to Calfinleef, a new leef þat had almost no Duc beleefers at þe time of þe Leeffriþ of Augsburg. Þe weelders of þe Kurpfalts (1560), Nassue (1578), Hessa-Kassel (1603), and Brandenburg (1613) all forsook Looþeranleef for þe new Calfinleef, as did many lesser weelders and a handful of tunes. Small wonder þat þe Looþerans came to loaþe þe Calfinleefers efen more þan þey loaþed þe Caþolicks.

Þese leefsplits set up a manyfold weafe in Ducland. By þe first yearten of þe 17þ yearhundred, þe Caþolicks were sundly dug in suþe of þe Danewb and þe Looþerans norþeast of þe Elbe; but þe lands in between were a pacwork cwilt of Calfinleefer, Looþeran, and Caþolick, and in some steads one could find all þree. One suc was Donuevort, a freestanding burrow rite beyond þe Danewb from Bayern, bund (by þe Leeffriþ of Augsburg) to þafe boþ Caþolicks and Protestants. But for years þe smaller deal of Caþolick had not been yifen full rites of open worship. When in 1606 Caþolick preests fanded to hold a forþgang þro þe roads of þe burrow, þey were beaten and þeir relicks and fanes were sullied. Shortly afterward, an Italish Capoocin, Fray Lorenzo, later hallowed, came to þe burrow and was himself mobbed by a Looþeran crude. He heard from þe burrows clergy of þeir plite and swore to find boot. Wiþin a year, Fray Lorenzo had gotten oaþs of help from Hartow Maximilian of Bayern and Coaser Rudolf II. When þe Looþeran magistrates of Donuevort flatly werned to yif þeir Caþolick underlings freedom of worship, þe Bayerners marced into þe burrow and ednewed Caþolick worship by þrake in Ereyool 1607. Maximilian's men also forbade Protestant worship and set up a leedward þat later handed ofer þe burrow to firsthand Bayernish weeld.

Þese befallings þorowly worried Protestants elsewhere in Ducland. Was þis, þey wondered, þe first step in a new Caþolick fite against dwild? Waler Frederick IV of þe Kurpfalts took þe lead. On þe 14þ of Þrimilk, 1608, he set up þe Protestant Þoftship, a fellowship þat was to last 10 years and ward against þe Caþolicks. At first þe Þoftship was Duc only, but before long it became oferþeedish.

Þe new plite began wiþ þe deaþ of John William, þe cildless hartow of Clefes-Yulich, in Reeþmonþ 1609. His hartowdoms, whic held a noteworþy spot in þe Lower Rineland, had boþ Protestant and Caþolick underlings, but boþ of þe main claimers to þe erf were Protestants; under þe cuius regio principle, eiþer getting þe land would lead to þe drifing ute of þe Caþolicks. Þe coaser þerefore would not acknowledge þe Protestant aþelings' claim. Sinse boþ were liþs of þe Þoftship, þey sot, and nome, oaþs of heer-help from þeir fellows; þey also nome, þro Cristian of Anhalt, alike oaþs from þe kings of Frankric and England. Þis swift growþ in Protestant strengþ made þe Duc Caþolicks set abute wiþ wiþerdeeds: a Caþolick Leag was made between Hartow Maximilian of Bayern and his naybours on Afterliþe 10, 1609, soon to be þeeded by þe circ-weelders of þe Rineland and being held up by Spain and þe Papasy. Again, bulwarking on one side sparked wiþerdeeds. Þe leaders of þe Protestant Þoftship made a berrowy forþward wiþ England in 1612 (set in stone by þe wedlock between þe Þoftship's steerend, þe young Frederick V of þe Kurpfalts, to þe king of England's dotter) and wiþ þe Duc Republick in 1613.

At first site, þis seems like þe web of þoftships, crafted by þe leaders of Yorope 300 years later, whic plundged þe mainland into World War I. But whereas þe drife behind errandrakes before 1914 was fear of one's ric being bestridden, before 1618 it was fear for one's leef being wiped ute. Þe Þoftship liþs beleefed þat þere was a Caþolick plot to root ute Protestantleef from þe ric. Þis weening was shared by þe Þoftship's utelandish backers. At þe time of þe Clefes-Yulich erf plite, Her Ralf Winwood, an English errandrake at þe heart of happenings, wrote to his lords þat, alþo "þe goings on of þis whole business, if slitely recked, may seem eaþly and mean," in trewþ its utecome would "uphold or cast dune þe greatness of þe huse of Eastric and þe circ of Rome in þese lands." Suc fears were likely uncalled for at þis time. In 1609 þe bond of goal between pope and coaser was in sooþ far from flawless, and þe last þing Maximilian of Bayern wished to see was Habsburg midwist in þe Leag: raþer þan þole it, in 1614 he made a sunder fellowship of his own and in 1616 he wiþdrew from þe Leag altogeþer. Þis waning in þe Caþolick þreat was enuff to drife wiþerdeeds from þe Protestants. Alþo þere was ednewed fiting in 1614 ofer Clefes-Yulich, þe liþs of þe Protestant Þoftship had forsaken þeir heery mood by 1618, when þe forþward of þoftship came up for ewnewing. Þey boded þat þey would no longer become wrapped up in þe mere wrangels of lone liþs, and þey set ute to lengþen þeir liþship for only þree years more.

Alþo wye kind of came to Ducland after 1618 owing to þe þese þoftships of leef, þe link must not be oferblown. Boþ Þoftship and Leag were þe utecome of fear; but þe grunds for fear seemed to be waning. Þe English errandrake in Turin, Isaack Wake, was upbeat: "Þe gates of Janus haf been shut," he afeed in late 1617, swearing "mild and Halcyonian days not only unto þe dwellers of þis shire of Italy, but to þe greatest deal of Cristendome." Þat Wake was so soon shown wrong was owed in great deal to happenings in þe lands of þe Habsburgs of Eastric ofer þe winter of 1617–18.