Cultural depictions of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

[2][3][4][5] Commenting on the events that commemorated the 500th anniversary (in 2000) of his birth, historian C. Scott Dixon writes that, "Born in Ghent on 24 February 1500, the first son of Philip of Habsburg and Juana of Castile, Charles would live to acquire the largest empire of the age.

He cast a shadow long enough to raise the concerns of the papal theologians, for here was a secular ruler who really could give living form to the medieval idea of a universal monarchy.

[9] Christian R.Kemp notes that biographical materials between 1610 and 1800 tend to be political or religious propaganda, either "mythical hero worship or litanies of hatred".

[12] Peter Rassow's Karl V: der letzte Kaiser des Mittelalters (1957), (which is also German-centered[13]), continues with Brandi's view that Charles was a ruler with a medieval character (which is challenged by recent scholarship[14]).

[15] Alfred Kohler praises Brandi's work as an extraordinary and valuable work even for modern readers, that clarifies the full severity of the conflict with France and the central importance of the European policy for the emperor, but thinks that he focuses too much on the dynastic side, the supposed peaceful intentions and the "Tu felix Austria nube" idea.

[18] From a global perspective, Brendan Simms summarises that Charles V focused the most on the Holy Roman Empire and the least on his possessions in the Americas: The New World was an increasingly important part of the balance of power, but it was completely subordinate to European considerations.

[19][3] A much praised work by an Anglo historian is Sir Geoffrey Elton's 1963 Reformation Europe 1517-1559, which describes Charles as having a deep sense of duty, loyal to his principles (unusual for a prince of his time), intelligent, capable in making viable a government that had to administer scattered lands and even wage wars by proxy and from a distance, but lacked "the depth of insight which might have made him a truly great king" – this problem showed itself the most in German matters.

In his mature years, Charles refuted the idea that he had sought monarchia and emphasized that he was not an aggressors, but only his inherited lands and Christendom's defender against France, the Protestants and others.

For example, when he refused a joint command with Francis I of an expedition against the Turks, it was not clear he was acting as defender of Christendom or head of the house of Austria.

[5] Henry Kamen notes that Tracy "relates the emperor's military role in Spain to what he did in the rest of his dominions, and gives the best overall survey of imperial policy".

[28] Joachim Whaley notes that Charles did possess a political vision – a European one that focused on the West (unlike his grandfather Maximilian I who had a dual focus on both the East and the West, and unlike his brother Ferdinand I who was essentially a German emperor) and in the end more on Spain which provided more revenue while his absences (as well as his reluctance in allowing Ferdinand to share power according to Maximilian's desire) limited his authority in Germany and allowed the princes to assert their position more strongly.

[29] Whaley remarks Charles's and Ferdinand's focus on non-German affairs during the crucial years of the mid-1250s, when Imperial Cities were forced to manage the rise of the common man in a way that estranged them from the crown, had important implications for the fact that a centralized, South German monarchy never arose from the alliance between crown and cities that Maximilian I had fostered.

The military, diplomatic, and dynastic force of his empire weighed on cultural movements that included the Reformation, Renaissance, print revolution, witch trials, global trade, and colonization.

The interplay of his narrow and shortsighted vision on one side and his military courage, administrative acumen, and devotion to duty as he understood it on the other has intrigued historians for nearly five hundred years.

His publicists devised an imperial program focused on his personal power as a ruler chosen by God to defend Christianity from internal and external forces of evil.

References to Charles in popular culture include a large number of legends and folk tales; literary renderings of historical events connected to his life and romantic adventures, his relationship to Flanders, and his abdication; and products marketed in his name.

[62] Other than Titian, whom he compared to Apelles, other notable court painters of Charles V included Bernaert van Orley and Pieter Coecke.

Filippo was perhaps the first Italian armorer who constructed pseudo-antique helmets from single plates rather than combining multiple pieces as was the common practice of the time.