It was one of only two sectarian or confessional conflicts, both highly localised, that occurred within the Holy Roman Empire between the Peace of Augsburg (1555) and the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War (1618).

[3] It coincided with the Counter-Reformation and the Spanish Winter (1598–99), and the Catholic victory caused Protestants in Germany great worry that the tide had turned decidedly against them.

Strasbourg's status as an important trading hub along with the appeal of its university, attracted radical thinkers from both sides of the religious spectrum including Hans Denck, Girolamo Zanchi, and Michael Servetus to name but a few.

[5][6] The Protestants feared the powerful Cardinal Charles of Lorraine, whom the Catholic canons had invited to join the chapter in 1585, and who stood for election as bishop.

[5] On this occasion, Johannes Pappus, president of the Compagnie des Pasteurs (Kirchenconvent), delivered a sermon on the "ministry, character and election of a bishop", but only the Protestants were present to hear it.

[5] Charles felt compelled to apologise to King Philip II of Spain, whose Catholic troops were at that moment fighting the Protestant Dutch, for this compromise.