Ap EURO: Reformation

• John Wycliffe (1329-1384)-Stated the Bible was the sole authority. Translated Bible into English.  

• Jan Hus (1369-1415)-Considered first “Church Reformer”.  Rejected indulgences. Burned at the stake for heresy.

• Erasmus-The Praise of Folly (1509)-Criticized the corruption of the church. (Major influence on Luther)

• Clerical immorality: Drunkenness, Gambling, Materialism

• Clerical ignorance: Illiterate priests, Poor quality sermons

• Clerical pluralism & absenteeism: Hold several offices - And collect incomes - Perform few responsibilities, Privileges & exemptions from civic duties

Church land ownership (1/3 of European land).

• Papal need for money causing rise in indulgences.

New monarchies moving towards absolute rule.

Printing Press, Humanism trends,  personal devotions, Recent challenges to the church Hus,Wycliffe, etc.

16th century

Borrows money from Fuggers to get a papal dispensation to expand his control to other Germany territories

Can use money from indulgences sold in his territory to pay back the Fuggers

16th century

A Medici

Building chapels, tombs, & St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome

16th century

Indulgence Salesman

• Catholic theology says church can grant sinners a pardon for sin 

• Luther says no, because indulgences

  • Undermine penance

  • Downplay charity

  • Have no basis in Bible

    • God alone has power to remit sins

• Friar and Professor of the Scripture at the University of Wittenberg.

• Sparked by the selling of indulgences by Johann Tetzel.

• Responds by writing 95 theses

1517: A set of propositions written by Martin Luther

Criticised certain practices of the Catholic Church. Luther's intention was to spark a theological debate, particularly regarding the sale of indulgences. The 95 Theses are considered a significant event in the Protestant Reformation and played a crucial role in the establishment of Protestantism.

- Salvation achieved by Faith Alone - not by deeds

-   Bible is the sole source of religious truth

-   Denies authority of Church councils and Popes

-   Church officials shouldn’t receive special powers

-   “Priesthood of all Believers”

-   Ban: Indulgences, Confession, Pilgrimages, 

     Prayer to Saints.

-   Focus on Sermons

-   Clergy Can Marry

Printing press, Luther’s rhetoric, use of vernacular helps spread his beliefs

Had already been calling for these reforms

Emphasis on Scriptures appeals to intelligence of literate people

Priesthood of all believers raises their status

Clergy is now taxed, so greater income for towns & cities

More authority to secular rulers

Confiscation of church property

• Respectable roles as pastor’s wives; marriage > celibacy; divorce & remarriage

  • Katharina von Bora-wife of Martin Luther

• Empowered by Luther to seek social & economic justice

  • Twelve Articles

  • German Peasants War

    • Rejected by Luther, who is anti-violence & argues that Scripture doesn’t speak to earthly justice

    • Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of the Peasants

• 1521 - Summoned Luther to appear before the Diet of Worms.

• Luther is ordered to recant or face excommunication. 

  • Would not recant unless proven wrong by Scripture NOT the Pope. 

Political Disunity= three types of kingdoms in Germany

1. Principalities= hereditary monarchies

2. Ecclesial States= Bishops rule on behalf of the church

3. Imperial Free Cities= quasi-Republics that are urban centers

✦ No strong central government.

Inquisition, Reconquista, very catholic - only option of faith

Marriage of F & I: only leadership - united Castile and Aragon

state/church, think they already have power they need, dont need reformation of this extent, gov already transitioned & recognized a shift.

Tudor family in power

Henry VII passed laws which prohibited individuals from having private armies - Nobles can no longer fight back if they have religious disagreements

Establishment of Star Chambers that administers justice to an oppressed, yet satisfied populace

Signed the Concordat of Bologna with Pope Leo X

➡ King can appoint the French bishops and abbots

➡ King has control over the personnel of the church

Turmoil in Empire

church didnt know how to respond (fight or reform)

Theology: 

Faith alone, Priesthood of All Believers, Only follow the scripture

Major Incidents: 

• Selling of indulgences led to the posting of the 95 theses (1517)

• Due to his writings, Luther was called to the Diet of Worms (1521)

• Afterwards, he translated the Bible into German, wrote extensively

Swiss reformer in Church

Mostly same beliefs as Luther - almost agreed on all points of theology - almost merged

Differed on transubstantiation

Killed during religious war in Switzerland

Calvinism

• Theology—Found in the Institutes of Christianity

  • Absolute sovereignty of God (primary)

  • Mankind are sinners, and deserve eternal damnation.

  • Drinking, singing, dancing and gambling are prohibited

  • Predestination

  • Emphasized the importance of hard work and accompanying financial success as a sign that God was pleased 

• Formed in Zurich, Switzerland

  • Characteristics:

    • No connection or allegiance to any state - Refused to take civil oaths, pay taxes, hold public office, or serve in the military,

    • Rejected Holy Trinity

    • Opposed childhood baptism

      • Only adults could make the decision to commit to Christ

  • Attacked by other religions:

    • Tragedy of Munster: Protestant and Catholic forces captured the city and executed Anabaptist leaders

• Henry VIII began it

• Son of Henry VII (Tudor dynasty)

• Intelligent and well educated

• Loved art, music, dancing, sports, 

• Influential members of his government

  • Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

  • Thomas More

Henry VIII - Devout Roman Catholic

• In reaction to Martin Luther, he wrote Defense of the Seven Sacraments (1521)

  • Dedicated the work to Pope Leo X

• Supported traditional Catholic theology

• “Defender of the Faith”

Sparked Ang. Ref.

1. Married to Catherine of Aragon (1/6 wives)

   • sought an annulment b/c she wasnt having male children

   • he wanted a male heir

   • Sent Cardinal Wolsey to rome for annulment

   • Rationale: marriage to brothers ex-wife violated bible

• Henry broke from Cath. Church

• Catholic lands - ¼ of land - confiscated

• Doubled royal revenues which helped build up the military

• Monasteries closed down

• Act in Restraint of Appeals (1533) makes King highest legal authority

• Act of Supremacy (1534): Made the king officially the head of the Church

• Act of Succession (1534): All the king’s subjects had to take an oath of loyalty to the king as head of the Anglican Church

1547-1553

Shift to Protestantism (calvanism)

Act of Uniformity 1552: Parlimentary act that required all subjects to follow

(Sick) - throughout his short reign (thomas crammer) published the first Book of Common Prayer  that became the order for all services in the church of England

• Protestant interpretation of Christianity

• taught people how to worship as protestant

1553-1558 (died)

daughter of Henry VIII & Catherine

Devout catholic

Decided to bring the nation back to Catholicism - restored church of england to roman church.

Married Philip II of Spain (cousin)

1558 - 1603

daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

raised protestant - educated/intelligent

Imprisoned by sister Mary I

Returned England to Protestantism

• The beginning of religious stability in the Anglican Church. Defeated the Spanish Armada 

find a way to reconcile - reason to come back to cath. church

flip gov first

reform leaders —> Luther 95 theses - anything they can change?

• Called by Pope Paul III in 1545

  • Lutherans and Calvinist invited (work together??)

    • Only willing to discuss scripture

• 3 Goals:

  • Stop the spread of Protestantism.

  • Stop the abuses within the Catholic Church.

    • Education

  • Reaffirm Church Doctrine. 

• Faith & good works - Bible & church teachings - Bible in Latin - Pope power and authority and policies he puts in place - 7 sacraments & transubstantiation

• Reforms:

  • Discipline

  • Oversight

  • Seminary (School of Theology) 

  • Preaching

Index of prohibited books

inquisition - established to uncover heretics

heresy - tortured to secure confessions

Ignatius Loyola

• Spiritual leader who fought Protestantism – preserved Catholicism in southern Germany, Poland, and Belgium

1548 – Spiritual Exercises-used to train Jesuits 

3 goals:

• reform the church through education, spread the Gospel to pagan peoples, fight Protestantism 

Goal: To raise the moral and intellectual level of the clergy and people

• Ursuline order f Nuns: Founded by Angela Merici, attained enormous prestige for the education of women 

  • Re-Christianize society by training future wives and mothers 

• St. Teresa of Avila-helped restructure monasteries to be more simplistic and focused on spirituality

Began in Catholic Reformation countries to teach in a concrete and emotional way and demonstrate the glory and power of the Catholic Church 

• Supported by the Papacy and Jesuits 

• Meant to overwhelm the viewer

• Emphasized grandeur, emotion, movement, spaciousness and unity surrounding a certain theme  

• It stressed broad areas of light and shadow rather than on linear arrangements of the High Renaissance. 

• Color was an important element as it appealed to the senses and was more true to nature. 

• It was not concerned with clarity of detail as with overall dynamic effect. 

• It was designed to give a spontaneous personal experience.

  

Luther: Believed that painting and sculpture had value in spreading the Gospel message

Calvin: Tolerated narrative biblical scenes as long as they did not include pictures of God or Jesus Christ

• To domesticate or to humanize God would deprive him of his glory 

Churches often stripped of all statues, images and decoration and were redesigned with a start, bare simplicity

France wants to remain Catholic-Concordat of Bologna

Calvinism begins to gain support because Calvin wrote in French (French Calvinists=Huguenots)

Henry II dies and his three “weak” sons occupied the throne - Catherine de’ Medici dominated them

Nobility increasingly are switching to Calvinism

• Undermine the power of the monarch

Protestant mobs took down and smashed statues, stained-glass windows, and paintings (iconoclasm)

Catholics respond with Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre

A savage catholic attack on Calvanists in Paris on 8/24/1572. 

Religious ceremony - marriage of the kings sister Margaret of Valois to Protestant Henry of Navarre - intended to reconcile Catholics and Huguenots

Huguenot wedding guests in Paris were massacred, and other protestants were slaughtered by mobs

Religious violence then spread to the provinces - thousands killed. 

• led to a civil war that occurred for 15 years. 

Agriculture in many areas was destroyed; commercial life declined severely - and starvation and death haunted the land. 

• Henry of Navarre (Protestant) takes power after the death of Catherine de’ Medici and the assassination of Henry III

• Henry of Navarre becomes King Henry IV and used the strategy of politique to restore stability to France

  • Converted to Catholicism

  • Issued the Edict of Nantes. This protected Huguenots and allowed them to worship in outlined areas.

• Charles V abdicated and divided his territories. (17 provinces in Netherlands) - self governing, trade, collected own taxes.

• His brother Ferdinand got Austria and the Holy Roman Empire and his son Philip received Spain, the Low Countries and parts of Italy

• Philip wants his empire to remain Catholic. Problem is Calvinism appealed to the middle classes 

• 1560s - spanish authorities raise taxes to supress calvanism - sparked riots & iconoclasm

• Phillip sent troops to pacify low countries

  • opened Council of Blood tribunal - men executed

• William I (William of Orange) (1533-1584) led 17 provinces in the Netherlands and Flanders against the Spanish Inquisition

  • Philip looks to crush the rise of Calvinism

Politiques believed that restoring a strong monarchy would save the country. No religious creed was worth the destruction and disorder. 

10 southern under control of spanish habsburg forces (catholic)

7 northern under control by Holland - formed union of utrecht - declared independance from spain (protestant)

• Elizabeth I of England sent aid to protect the low countries from Philip (Fearing England would be next)

• Union of Utrecht-the seven northern provinces led by Holland declared their independence from Spain

• 1609-Spain agreed to a truce that recognized the independence of the United Provinces

• Queen Mary Tudor tried to re-impose Catholicism in England.

  • She married Philip II of Spain

  • When she died, Queen Elizabeth I reversed Mary’s course via the “Elizabethan Settlement.”

• Elizabeth subsequently helped the Protestant Netherlands in their revolt for independence from Spain.

  • In 1587, she ordered the beheading of Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots - Elizabeths cousin - wanted to take control

• Philip looked to make England Catholic again so he sends his Armada to attack England

  • Spain’s attempt to invade England ended in disaster.

  • Much of Spain’s navy lay in ruins due to a raging storm in the English Channel as well as the effectiveness of England’s smaller but better-armed navy.

  • This signaled the rise of England as a world naval power.

Defenestration of Prague (1618): triggered war in Bohemia

• Two HRE officials were thrown out a window and fell 70 feet (they did not die because they were allegedly saved by a large pile of manure)

• Protestant forces were eventually defeated and Protestantism was eliminated in Bohemia (present day Czech Republic)

• This represented the height of Catholic power during the war

  • Albrecht von Wallenstein: he was a mercenary general who was paid by the emperor to fight for the HRE

  • Edict of Restitution (1629):The Emperor declared all church territories that had been secularized since 1552 to be automatically restored to Catholic Church

•  (1629-1635): Protestants liberated territory lost in the previous (Danish) phase

  • Gustavus Adolphus (r.1611-1632) King of Sweden: he led an army that pushed Catholic forces back to Bohemia

    • Battle of Breitenfeld, 1631: victory for Gustavus forces that ended Habsburg hopes of reuniting Germany under Catholicism

• The French feared a resurgence of Catholicism in the HRE

• Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) of France allied with the Protestant forces to defeat the HRE 

• Ended the Thirty Years’ War 

• Recognized the sovereign, independent authority of more than three hundred German princes 

• Made the Augsburg agreement of 1555 permanent, with the sole modification that Calvinism, along with Catholicism and Lutheranism, would be a legally permissible creed

ended wars of religion

now fight for balance of power

1618-1648