Muehlberg Crushes the Schmalkaldic League

April 24, 1547

Charles V routed the Protestant Schmalkaldic League at Muehlberg on the Elbe, capturing the elector of Saxony and the landgrave of Hesse. Titian would paint the emperor on horseback in ceremonial armor. The triumph proved brief: German Protestantism would rally within five years. Titian's equestrian portrait of the victory depicted Charles as a chivalric warrior, creating one of Habsburg power's most iconic images.