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The Reformation
A Need For Reform
• The age of church reform was dominated by 4 great
kings:
a) Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547)
b) Francis I of France (r. 1515-1547)
c) Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566)
d) Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (r. 1519-1556)
• During the Middle Ages
• The idea of reforming the Catholic Church was not new
• The prestige of the Church had been damaged by the
Great Schism (1378-1417), the Babylonian Captivity,
and the abuses of the clergy
• English cleric John Wyclif had questioned the authority
of the pope and rejected transubstantiation
• Bohemia theologian Jan Hus was burnt at the stake
• Even Erasmus criticized the Church, but he never
advocated separation
• In theory the pope was the most powerful man in
Europe
• But with the emergence of the new monarchs and the
nation-states the power of the papacy was eroded
• The Italian and Christian humanists denounced the
corruption of the Church
a) clerical immorality
b) clerical ignorance
c) Clerical pluralism – holding more than one Church
office at a time
d) Simony – the selling of Church positions
e) Nepotism – appointing family members to high-ranking
positions
• At the village level priests were not much better off than
peasants
• Government officials were often rewarded with clerical
positions
• Popes were just as corrupt:
• Leo X – “God has given us the papacy – let us enjoy it!”
• Innocent VIII made the papal court the gossip of
Europe
• Paul III made two grandsons cardinals
• Alexander VI publicly acknowledged his mistress and
children
• Julius II led an army against France
• Many priest had concubines, drunkenness, gambling,
and elaborate dress were common
• Many priests could barely read or write
• The Church held a large portion of European wealth
and large tracts of the most valuable land
• Germany was part of the Holy Roman Empire and it
was a region with weak borders and many rulers
• Few believed in religious freedom, but anti-Roman
feelings were strong
• Europe was still deeply religious and many groups i.e.
“The Brethern of Common Life” wanted reform
• The Lateran Council of 1512-17 did recommend
changes - but there were many obstacles
• Martin Luther would force the issue
• The Tower
Experience read
Apostle Paul’s letter
to the Romans
• “The just shall live
by his faith” if people
had faith God will
save them
• Almost hit by lightning and he saw it as a sign from God
• Entered the strict Augustinian monastery against his
father’s wishes
• Disillusioned with the Church questioned good works:
prayers, fasting, etc.
• Despite being a monk he worried about achieving
salvation
• The Tower Experience read Apostle Paul’s letter to the
Romans (1:17)
• “The just shall live by his faith” if people had faith God
will save them
• Salvation would come from Jesus as a gift to those who
had faith
Cranach, True Church and False
This woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder was designed to make
clear the distinction between the evangelical church and the papacy.
On one side Christ and his sacrifice are clearly at the center; on the
other the pope and innumerable church officials are caught in the
flames of hell.
• Archbishop Albert of Magdeburg hired John Tetzel to
oversee the collection of funds for the construction of
St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome – Indulgences
• A person could purchase indulgences and reduce the
amount of time they, or a family member would have to
spend in purgatory
• Indulgences based on:
a) God is merciful and just
b) Christ has a treasury of merit
c) The Church has the authority to grant remission of
sins
• English humanist John Colet said the Church was a
“money machine”
• Luther openly criticized the abuses of indulgences
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• October 31, 1517, he posted his 95 theses on the Castle
Church in Wittenberg to challenge the church to debate
the issue
• Spread without Luther’s knowledge
• In 1519 Luther debated the question with Johannes
Eck and claimed the pope was not infallible
• Eck claimed that Luther shared the same views as the
heretic Jan Hus – who had been burned at the stake
• In 1520 Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther for heresy
In 1520 Luther wrote Appeal to the Christian Nobility of
the German Nation asking them to reform the Church
• Pope Leo X did not take the threat seriously he
thought Luther would disappear, but Luther
publicly burned the papal bull
• The Augustinians championed reform and
supported Luther, the Dominican attacked
Luther’s views.
• The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who had
just become the emperor in 1519 ordered Luther
to appear at the Diet of Worms
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• The Diet order Luther to recant
• Luther refused to modify his views and said “Here I
stand. I cannot do otherwise”
• The Diet condemned Luther and the pope, with the
agreement of Charles V, issued the Edict of Worms
(1521) declaring Luther a heretic and prohibiting him
from preaching in the empire
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• Luther was kidnapped for his own protection and
returned to Wittenberg under the protection of
Frederick the Wise
• In Wittenberg Luther began reforming the Church
• Under pressure Luther’s views became more critical
• Luther: a) defended the radical martyr Hus
b) Proclaimed the Bible was the supreme authority
c) Appealed to the German nobles to stop the abuses of
the church
d) Recognized good work but emphasized faith
• In 1522 Luther translated the New Testament into
German and in 1534 the Old Testament
• In 1524 the peasants, who misunderstood Luther’s
message revolted against the landowners
• The peasants thought independence meant an end to
serfdom
Peasant Freedom
Peasant Freedom
The German peasants
believed Martin Luther's call
for individual freedom of
conscience included economic
and political freedom. Their
revolt of 1524-1525 struck
terror in the hearts of
German rulers. This
sixteenth-century German
woodcut--the title page of an
anonymous pamphlet from
the Peasants' War, 1525-shows that the peasant army
was lightly armed; many
peasants carried only tools,
pitchforks, flails, and scythes.
• Luther attacked the peasants in his Against the
Murdering, Thieving Hordes of Peasants and advised the
princes to crush the revolt
• Religion was put aside until the revolt was suppressed
• Because the Holy Roman Emperor faced a larger
problem with the Muslims he could not devote all his
energies to Germany
• Charles V, the strongest defender of Catholicism was too
busy worrying about the Muslims in the East and
Francis I of France in the West to devote time and
energy against Luther
• Francis I was happy to see Luther causing so many
problems for the Habsburgs
• In 1526 the Turks defeated the Hungarians at the Mohác
in Hungary – forcing Charles to make concessions to the
German princes for their support
Augsburg Confession
In this woodcut of the Augsburg Confession being read to Charles V,
the artist has included text and images of the Lutheran teachings on
the sacraments and the nature of salvation in the background. In
contrast are the images on the left of a papal ceremony and court
hierarchy in which, the artist implies, Christ is not present.
• In 1530 Luther appeared before Charles V at the Diet of
Augsburg
• Luther presented his ideas about faith in what was
known as the Confession of Augsburg
• The Diet refused to accept such ideas
• In 1531 several German princes formed the
Schmalkaldic League – a religious and military alliance
against the Catholic Habsburgs
• Religious wars did not start until 1546 – the year of
Luther’s death
• In 1555 the Lutherans and the Catholics agreed to the
Peace of Augsburg – cuius regio, eius religio
• Northern Germany -Protestant
Southern Germany - Catholic
• The Protestant movement proved a disaster for
Germany
• Luther was abducted an placed in Wartburg Castle for
his own protection
• Philip Melanchthon implemented Luther’s ideas
• Reasons for Luther’s success:
a) Germany resented papal power
b) Distance from Rome
c) Lack of central authority to mediate the dispute
• Equality of all people before God
• Eventually he abandoned the cloth and married and
had six children
• Luther was not a revolutionary, but he knew the
Church would not change
• Concerned with issues of the soul
Luther believed:
a) salvation comes by faith alone
(Romans 1:17)
b) religious authority resides in the Bible and is open to
interpretation
c) the church is a community of believers
d) all vocations are equal in the eyes of God
e) there are only 2 sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s
Supper
f) the importance of marriage
g) a women’s place was in the home
• Still religion was a public matter
• Very few believed in religious liberty
• Humanists validated Luther’s words
• While Luther’s translation of the Bible into German
made it an issue of nationalism
Zwingli
• In Zurich a humanist and Catholic priest Ulrich Zwingli
wanted the Church to reform itself
• He preached that salvation could be achieved through
faith alone and that the scriptures should be the basis of
religious practice
• In 1519 he led the Church at Zurich to break from
Rome
• He advocated the need for simple services and, unlike
Luther claimed that Communion involved symbols of
Christ
• The issue of Communion became the first division
among the Protestants
• Zwingli was killed by Catholics at the battle of Kappel in
1531
Anabaptists
• They were identified as a very radical sect
• They believed:
only adults should be baptized
all believers were equal
• They appealed to the lower classes
• Believed the ‘road to God was through suffering’
• They were wiped out in Germany, moved to Poland,
then to the Netherlands, eventually to the United States
Calvinism
• John Calvin was the person
most responsible for the
spread of Protestantism
• About 20 years younger than
Luther
• Started in Geneva – a
theocracy
• Absolute rule by Calvin and
the Consistory
• Institutes of Christian
Religion
Calvinism
• John Calvin was the person most responsible for the
spread of Protestantism
• He was born in France and about 20 years younger than
Luther
• Calvin became a Protestant but developed his own ideas
• In 1536 he established a theocracy in Geneva
• Agreed with Luther that the Bible was the only
acceptable source and that there were only two
sacraments
• Absolute rule by Calvin and the Consistory
• In 1536 Institutes of Christian Religion was published
Calvinist worship
This picture of a simple Calvinist service was probably brought to
Geneva by a refugee, for the temple disappeared after the revocation
of the Edict of Nantes. Although Calvin's followers believed in
equality and elected officials administered the church, here men and
women are segregated. Beside the pulpit an hourglass hangs to time
the preacher's sermon.
• Did not believe in free will
• Predestination – only those pre-selected by God with
gain salvation
• Since God had created the universe he had a plan for
everyone
• Those who would be saved were called the Elect
• Calvin believed in simple services
• He advocated a puritanical approach to life – he banned
dancing, gambling, swearing and the consumption of
alcohol
• Violators were severely punished
• Michael Servetus burnt at the stake for denying the
divinity of Jesus Christ
• The Calling – Protestant work ethic
• Spread to Scotland, France, England and America
• Catholicism
• Salvation comes from
grace
• Salvation is available to all
(even non-believers)
• 7 sacraments
• Source comes from the
scriptures and Church
tradition
• Highly structured hierarchy
with the Pope as head
• Lutheranism
• Salvation cannot be earned
• Grace is all a person needs
for salvation – but not nonbelievers
• 2 sacraments (Baptism and
Confirmation
• Authority comes only from
the scriptures
• Structured on the local
level with bishops and
priests, but no Pope or
cardinals
ENGLISH
REFORMATION
The King’s Great Matter
• According to Peter Gay “On the Continent the
Reformation began with religion and ended with
politics; in England it began with politics and ended
with religion”
• English humanists had been wanting reform
• 1509 Henry VIII became the king aged 18
• Henry was strongly Catholic and had been trained as a
priest
• In 1521 the pope gave him the title “defensor
fidei”(defender of the faith) for criticizing Luther
• Luther called him a “lubberly ass”
Holbein, portrait of Henry VIII
• Catherine of Aragon and
Arthur Tudor were married
by proxy in 1501
• In 1509 Henry was given
special permission from
Pope Julius II to marry
Catherine of Aragon who
had been married to
Henry’s older brother,
Arthur – Arthur had died.
Henry kept the dowry
• Catherine was 5 years older
than Henry
Catherine of Aragon
• Daughter of King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella of Spain
• Catholic, but preferred living in
England to Spain
• She had five daughters, only Mary
survived
• Henry asked Pope Clement VII to
grant a divorce claiming the marriage
was invalid because a man was not
permitted to marry his brother’s
widow
• Cardinal Wolsey, Henry’s chief
minister pushed the matter but the
pope was reluctant to act
Because:
1. Charles V was Catherine’s nephew and he dominated
Italy at the time
2. Leviticus said a man who married his brother’s wife
would be childless
3. Lutheranism
4. Papal infallibility
• The “matter” took six years
• Henry replaced Wolsey with Thomas More, who also
refused to go against the Catholic Church
• Thomas Cranmer was made the new Archbishop of
Canterbury because he promised success
• In May 1533 Cranmer granted Henry a divorce – in
June Anne Boleyn gave birth
• Henry issued The Act in Restraint of Appeals (1533),
which made the king supreme head of England
• The Act of Submission of the Clergy (1534), clergy must
submit to the monarch
• The Supremacy Act, (1534) made the king head of the
Church of England
• Separated Church of England from the Roman
Catholic Church
• In 1535 Thomas More and John Fisher, the bishop of
Rochester refused to swear loyalty to the king and were
beheaded
• Catherine still remained loyal to him and the Catholic
faith and remained in England to raise her Catholic
daughter
• In 1536 Henry dissolved the smaller monasteries and
in 1539 dissolved the rest – he sold the land to his
friends and supporters
• By removing the monasteries Henry was able to
eliminate the centers of opposition
• Also in 1536 the Catholics of northern England
formed the Pilgrimage of Grace to protest, but Henry
easily suppressed the revolt
• Most Englishmen supported the king because they
resented the power of the Catholic Church
• In 1539 Parliament passed the Act of Six Articles
which was actually very Catholic – including, anyone
denying transubstantiation could be burned at the
stake
Henry VIII on deathbed
In this allegorical painting by an unknown artist, Henry VIII, on his deathbed,
points to his heir, Edward, who is surrounded by Protestant worthies, as the wave
of the future. The pope collapses, monks flee, and through the window iconoclasts
knock down statues, symbolizing terror and superstition. Since the new order
lacked broad popular support, propagandistic paintings like this were meant to
sway public opinion.
Anne Boleyn
• Had been a Maid of honor to Catherine
• Her sister had already had an affair with Henry and she
had given birth to an illegitimate son
• 2nd wife and most famous wife
• Bore him a daughter Elizabeth I, who was raised
Protestant
• In 1536, charged Anne of
adultery
• Beheaded on May 19, 1536
Edward VI
• Only son of Henry
• His mother died of child bed
fever
• Became king at ten so the
country was ruled by a
series of protectors
• Had been tutored by
Protestants so the country
became firmly Protestant
• In 1549 Thomas Cranmer
wrote the Book of Common
Prayer
• Died in 1553
Mary Tudor
• Became queen after
Edward died
• Devoted Catholic and
daughter of Catherine of
Aragon
• Married her cousin Philip
II of Spain, the son of
Charles V
• Nicknamed “Bloody
Mary” because of her
persecution of Protestants
– (roughly 300 including
Thomas Cranmer)
• Even Charles V disapproved of her persecution of
Protestants because he wanted to use England as an
ally
• By 1554 she had repealed all the religious legislation
passed by Henry VIII and Edward VI
• Very unpopular with the English people – died in 1558
Elizabeth of York
• Daughter of Anne Boleyn
and the last Tudor monarch
• Became queen of England
in 1558 and focused on
creating national unity
• Protestant, but tolerant
(politique) – repealed many
of the laws passed during
the reign of Mary
Hulton-Deutsch Collection
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• In 1563 “Elizabethan Settlement” required conformity
• In 1563 the Thirty Nine Articles became the basis of the
Anglican Church
• In 1567 a revolt in Scotland led to Mary Queen of Scots
abdicating and fleeing to England and James VI being
the new Scottish king
• Mary was the great-granddaughter of Henry VII and
had a claim to the English throne
• (Margaret Tudor married James IV of Scotland)
• For over 20 years she was implicated in plots to kill
Elizabeth
• In 1587 Elizabeth had her beheaded
• Many people thought Elizabeth did not go far enough to
remove Catholic influence
• These people wanted to purify the Anglican church
• Other Protestants wanted to leave the church altogether
they were known as Separatists
England and Spain
• In 1588 only England and the Low Countries remained
Protestant
• Elizabeth realized a foreign war would be a disaster
• Unofficially she encouraged English sea captains to rob
Spanish ships - Francis Drake
• She also supported French Huguenots and Dutch
Protestants
• Philip was assured that if he invaded England the
Catholics would rise up and support him
• In 1588 Philip launched his armada
SCOTLAND
• Did not follow the English model
• Mary Queen of Scots allied with the French
• Scottish nobles supported the Protestants and John
Knox forcing Mary to flee to England (1568)
• Knox persuaded Parliament to end papal supremacy
in Scotland
• Established the Presbyterian Church of Scotland
IRELAND
• Ireland was dominated by the English Parliament and a
few English landowners
• They also severed ties with Rome and recognized the
English king as sovereign over the Church
• Most Irish remained Catholic
The Catholic Reformation
• The Lateran Council (1512) had told Julius II to reform
the church
• Adrian VI wanted reform but he was Dutch
• Popes resisted reform because they feared a loss of power
and revenue
• Also, known as the Counter-Reformation
• Began in 1517 in response to calls for reform
• Didn’t really have an affect until the 1540s
• Catholic Church wanted to persuade dissidents to return
to the church
• At the request of Charles V, Pope Paul III called the
Council of Trent in 1545
• The council met sporadically until 1563
• Decided:
a) 7 sacraments
b) Bishops had to reside in their dioceses
c) Suppressed pluralism and simony
d) Churches had to establish seminaries
e) The Index of Prohibited Books
• Great emphasis was placed on discipline
• The Council did not meet expectations but it did correct
the church
Council of Trent, School of Titian
This sixteenth-century painting by the School of Titian depicts a well-attended
meeting of the Council of Trent. Since the early sessions were sparsely attended,
this meeting seems to be a later session. Few bishops from northern Europe,
however, ever attended. The Swiss guards (forefront) of the Vatican were founded
by Pope Julius II in 1505 to defend the papacy.
• New religious orders appeared, such as the Jesuits and
the Ursuline nuns
• These orders emphasized strict Catholic dogma to lift up
the spiritual condition of the clergy and laity
• In 1540 Pope Paul III established the Jesuits (The
Society of Jesus) with Ignatius Loyola in charge
• Loyola wrote Spiritual Exercises which advocated total
obedience to God
• The Jesuits emphasized education, especially to the
young and they went on missions
• They became very influential with Catholic monarchs
and nobles
• The Ursuline order was only for women
Inquisition
• The most feared weapon of the Catholic Reformation
was the inquisition
• Spanish and Roman Inquisition used torture to gain
confessions
• By 1560 Spain, France, Italy, and Austria were all
staunchly Catholic
• England, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands were
Protestant
• The issue of religion would dominate Europe for over
another century