This volume deals with a central aspect of Charles V's empire: The emperor's policy regarding the church and the rising reform movement in the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands. The first part of the book provides a survey of the situation in the Netherlands at the beginning of Charles' reign and deals with the prominence of these territories in the emperor's testaments. In the second part the role of the regents is closely examined and the successful efforts of the government to submit the church to secular power are also looked at in detail. The final part of the book is especially important as it is the first close examination of Charles' restrictive antireform policy throughout his whole reign from 1515 to 1555, including the introduction of an inquisitorial system in all seventeen provinces of the Netherlands.