Edict of RestitutionThe Edict of Restitution was proclaimed by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, on 6 March 1629, eleven years into the Thirty Years´ War. Following Catholic military successes, Ferdinand hoped to restore control of land to that specified in the Peace of Augsburg (1555). That treaty´s "Ecclesiastical Reservation" had prohibited further secularization of lands held by the Catholic church after 1555, disallowing any transfer of such lands to Protestant control. However, as the Holy Roman Empire descended into the Thirty Years´ War, weak emperors had been unable to enforce this provision against Protestant encroachments. Edict