In 1497 the order lost its possessions in Sicily through the influence
of the Pope and the King of Aragon, who combined to deprive it of
them. It still retained a house at Venice, and some other property in
Lombardy. In 1511 Albert de Brandenberg was elected grand master. He
made strenuous efforts to procure the independence of the order, and
solicited the aid of the Emperor to free it from the authority of
Poland, but without success. The grand master refused the customary
homage to the King of Poland, and, after fruitless negotiations, war
was once more declared, which continued till 1521, when peace was
concluded; one of the results of which was the separation of Livonia
from the dominion of the order, and its erection into an independent
state.
All this time the doctrines of Luther had been making progress and
spreading among all classes in Prussia and Germany. In 1522 the grand
master went to Nuremberg to consult with the Lutherans there, and
shortly afterward he visited Luther himself at Wittenberg. Luther's
advice was decided and trenchant. He poured contempt upon the rules of
the order, and advised Albert to break away from it and marry.
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