 This is striking because both Charles I and Philip II were confessed admirers of Erasmus.The humanist Juan de Valdés, fled to Italy to escape anti-Erasmian factions that came to power in the court, and the preacher, Juan de Ávila spent close to a year in prison after he was questioned about his prayer practices.The first trials against Lutheran groups, as such, took place between 1558 and 1562, at the beginning of the reign of Philip II, against two communities of Protestants from the cities of Valladolid and Seville, numbering about 120.