A simple narration of the events surrounding the rise and fall of the Antwerp Augustinian cloister reveals its connections to the highest levels of temporal and ecclesiastical authority of the era, the Holy Roman Emperor and the Roman Pontiff respectively. It further indicates that Luther and the hierarchy of the German Reformed Augustinians were keenly aware of what was happening. But if one argument of this book is that the fight over the cloisters of the Province of Lower Germany must be seen as a proxy battle, it is necessary to investigate more closely the precise roles played by the emperor and pope in the events surrounding the cloisters of that province – especially the Antwerp house – and to consider their actions against the background of broader events in the early Reformation. An analysis of the nature and extent to which they were involved will demonstrate not only an awareness of, but a considerable direct participation in these events.

Efforts to Control Religious Dissent in the Low Countries Prior to 1521

Prior to pope and emperor entering the struggle against Reformation impulses in Brabant, the lines there had already been drawn. A coalition comprised of the faculty of theology from the University of Leuven, representatives of the mendicant orders, and the inquisition of the Bishop of Cambrai (with significant overlap among these three groups) had already censured Luther's ideas and confronted humanist-minded reformers in the Low Countries.