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History 511: The Age of Reformation
Spring Quarter 2006:
Cockins Hall 312, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-11:18
Geoffrey Parker
Office Hours: Tu 1:30-3:15; Th 1:30-2:30; phone 2-6721; [email protected]
INTRODUCTION
March 28: Before the Reformation
March 30: The early Reformation, I
Readings: Cameron, chs. 1-3; Erasmus, Paraclesis
April 4: The early Reformation, II
Readings: Cameron, chs. 4-6; Luther, The 95 Theses
PART I: THE REFORMATION PROCESS
April 6: Luther stands alone
Readings: Cameron, chs. 7-9; Luther, The Freedom of a Christian
April 11: Luther and Zwingli
Readings: Cameron, ch. 10-12; The 67 Articles of Zwingli
April 13: The Anabaptists
Readings: “The Twelve Articles”; Luther, Against the Peasants; The Schleitheim
Confession
April 18: “Magnificent Anarchy”
Readings: Marshall, “Germany” article [course package]; Cameron, ch. 18;
Luther, Short Catechism
April 20: MID TERM EXAM (IN CLASS: ONE HOUR)
April 25: Bucer and Calvin
Readings: Cameron, chs. 15-16; The Geneva Confession; Draft Ecclesiastical
Ordinances
PART II: THE REFORMATION IN ACTION
April 27: The reformation in England, I: The Henrician Reformation
Readings: “England” article [course package]; Tyndale’s Bible; Act in
Restraint of Appeals.
May 2: The Reformation in England, II: The New Order
Readings: Marshall, “England” article [course package]; The Six Articles Act;
Cranmer’s Preface to the Great Bible
May 4: The Reformation in England, III: The Reformation established
Readings: Marshall, “England”; Pemble, The mischief of ignorance
APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR ALL PAPER TOPICS
May 9: The Reformation in Scotland, I: Corruption and disorder
Readings: “Scotland” article [course package]; John Knox: To his beloved brethren; The
Scots confession; “Long Reasoning” with Mary Stuart
May 11: The Reformation in Scotland, II: Order, sex and sin
Readings: Graham and Parker articles [course package], and
Kirk
Session Register of St. Andrews
TWO-PAGE OUTLINE REQUIRED FOR TERM PAPER
MAY 16 & 18: NO CLASSES: “WRITING WEEK”
MAY 19: FIRST DRAFTS OF ALL PAPERS TO BE E-SENT
May 23: The Uncompleted Temple
May 25: The Catholic Counterattack
Readings: “The Catholic Counterattack” documents [in course packet]
May 30: The Counter-Reformation
Readings: Cameron, chs. 20-21; Marshall “Spain” chapter [in course packet]
June 1: A Premature Reformation?
FINAL TEXT OF ALL PAPERS DUE IN CLASS
Required items
1. Euan Cameron, The European Reformation (Oxford, 1991) available at bookstores
2. Documents and articles in course package available at Zip Publishing
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
(a) Attendance at, and full participation in, all meetings of the class (for 30% of
total grade)
(b) A one-hour mid-term during the class period on April 20 – consisting of 5
objectives (answer 3) and 3 questions (answer 1) – for 15% of total grade.
(c) A second one-hour exam during exam week – consisting of 5 objectives
(answer 3) and 3 questions (answer 1) on material presented in class after April 25
– for 15% of total grade.
(d) An essay of 8-10 typed pages of text, plus proper footnotes and bibliography,
comparing two or more of the documents in the course package (or, with the
Instructor’s permission, other Reformation documents) and relating them to the
assigned readings for the course (see guidelines on page 4) – for 40% of the total
grade.
Please note the following deadlines:
May 4: approval of topic required
May 11: two-page outline required
May 19: first draft required
June 1: final text required
PLEASE NOTE

All written work will be graded on your familiarity with the material, the
cogency of your presentation and the quality of your writing. You may, of
course, defend any position you wish: no orthodoxy – historical, theological or
political – is required for the successful completion of this course.
 All students with disabilities who need accommodations should see me
privately during my office hours to make arrangements.
 All students must be officially enrolled in the course by the end of the
second full week of the quarter. No requests to add the course will be
approved by the department chair after that time. Enrolling officially and on
time is solely the responsibility of each student.
How to write essays involving the analysis of historical documents
Assignments consist of two unequal parts.
1. Consider the following five questions as you study each of the documents you choose:





What is the core of the document? What does it say; what does it not (and perhaps should)
say?
What was the occasion? (For example, Martin Luther wrote his “Short Catechism” of
1529 in response to his dismay while touring Saxony to measure the progress of “his”
Reformation.)
What antecedents existed? (In the case of the “Short Catechism”, these would include –
among other things – Luther’s break with Rome and his doctrine that “Every man is his own
priest.”)
What coincidences can you see? (Luther wrote his “Short Catechism” as the Turks
marched on Vienna, and he wrote other tracts at the same time designed to improve the level
of Christian knowledge among his followers.)
What consequences followed from the document? (For example, the vernacular Catechism,
in question-and-answer form, became a standard tool for “Christianizing” ordinary people;
standards of Christian knowledge rose slightly, thanks in part to the use of Catechisms by all
the major Western churches.)
[Note: the above represent only illustrations of each category; the list is not exhaustive.]
Having compared and contrasted your selected documents from each of these perspectives, you
will then:
2. Relate the document to the assigned readings in the course – both Cameron’s book and the
articles in the course package – and to any other works you care to consult. Does the text
confirm or refute points made by later writers? How important was the text in the overall
“Reformation Process”, both in the country in which it was written and elsewhere?
Contents of the Course Package
I.
Preliminary materials: course syllabus and requirements, maps, chronologies and
lecture synopses
II.
Documents for class discussion.
1. Erasmus, Paraclesis (1516)
2. Luther, The Ninety-Five Theses (in Latin and English, 1517)
3. Luther, The Freedom of a Christian (1520)
4. The 67 Articles of Zwingli
5. The Twelve Articles of the Swabian Peasants (1525)
6. Luther, Against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants (1525)
7. The Schleitheim Confession (1527)
8. Luther, Shorter Catechism (1529)
9. Farel and Calvin, The Geneva Confession (1536)
10. Calvin, Draft Ecclesiastical Ordinances (1541)
11. The Catholic Counterattack (extracts from Adrian VI’s Instructions; De consilio emendandi,
the Capuchin Constitutions, Loyola’s Rules, Eck’s Enchiridion, the Venetian Inquisition.)
12. Extracts from Tyndale’s English Bible (OT 1530; NT 1534)
13. The Act in Restraint of Appeals (1533)
14. The Six Articles Act (1539)
15. Cranmer’s “Preface” to the “Great Bible” (1540)
16. William Pemble, The mischief of ignorance (1635)
17. John Knox, To his beloved brethren the Commonalty of Scotland (1558)
18. The Scots Confession of Faith (1560)
19. John Knox’s “Long Reasoning” with Mary Stuart (1561)
20. Extracts from the Kirk-session Register of St Andrews, Scotland (1592-5)
III.
Readings
1. Scribner, Porter and Teich, The Reformation in National Context, chapters on England and
Scotland.
2. Mentzer, Sin and the Calvinists, chapters by Graham and Parker
3. Marshall, Women in Reformation and Counter-Reformation Europe, chapters on Germany,
England and Spain.
A Brief Chronology of European Church History
1453
CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE by Turkish Sultan Mohammed II the Conqueror;
St. Sophia becomes mosque
1455
Gutenberg Bible printed
1476
Papal Bull authorizes indulgences for the dead "in the form of prayer"
1486 Patronato conceded to Catholic Kings for Granada
1492
Jews expelled from Spain
1512-17 FIFTH LATERAN COUNCIL
1516
Erasmus' Greek-Latin New Testament, and More's Utopia published; Concordat of
Bologna with Francis I of France (lasts to French Revolution)
1517 THE INDULGENCE CONTROVERSY; Luther's Ninety-Five Theses
1521
Luther, excommunicated by papacy, outlawed at the Diet of Worms, writes three key
tracts appealing for support
1523 Patronato conceded to Charles V for all Spain and New World; Zürich Disputation and
Zwingli's Sixty-seven articles
1525
Peasants' War in Germany; Luther writes On the Enslaved Will against Erasmus; the
Twelve Articles; Münzer executed
1527 Schleitheim Confession
1529
Colloquy of Marburg between Luther and Zwingli; Diet of Speyer causes "Protest" of
Lutherans
1530 Augsburg Confession presented to Diet by Lutherans; Refutation by Catholic theologians
1534
Anabaptist "Kingdom of Christ" at Münster, extirpated the next year; Act of Supremacy
separates English church from Rome (Anglicanism)
1536
Calvin's Institutes; suppression of monasteries begins in England
1540
SOCIETY OF JESUS (Jesuits) approved by Pope Paul III
1541 CALVIN RETURNS TO GENEVA: Ecclesiastical Ordinances; Colloquy of Regensburg;
Henry VIII styled "king of Ireland" (as well as England)
1545-63 COUNCIL OF TRENT (three sessions: 1545-7; 1551-2; 1562-3)
1547-8 Defeat of Lutherans in Germany; the Interim
1555 Religious Peace of Augsburg
1559 "Elizabethan Settlement" in England
1559-60 Calvinist church order in Scotland and Rhine Palatinate
1563 39 Articles of Anglicanism; Heidelberg Catechism of Calvinism; John Foxe's Book of
Martyrs
1566
Iconoclastic riots in Netherlands; first Dutch Revolt
1570
Excommunication and deposition of Elizabeth I of England by Pope Plus V
1572 Second Dutch Revolt begins
1580
Lutheran Book of Concord; Jesuits enter England secretly
1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada guarantees Protestantism in England
Biographical Data
I. Significant Figures (Year in which each was 25)
1492 ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM, Dutch-born "Prince of the Humanists"
1494 NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, Florentine author of The Prince
1503 THOMAS MORE, English author of Utopia, chancellor, executed by Henry VIII
1508 MARTIN LUTHER, Saxon Protestant reformer
1509 HULDREYCH ZWINGLI, Protestant reformer of Zurich
1514 THOMAS CRANMER, English reformer and Abp of Canterbury,
author of the Book of Common Prayer
1514 THOMAS MUENTZER, German radical reformer.
1516 IGNATIUS LOYOLA, founder and 1st general of the Jesuits;
author of the Spiritual Exercises
1519 WILLIAM TYNDALE, English reformer and translator of the Bible
1522 PHILLIP MELANCHTHON, German Humanist and reformer, associate of Luther
1525 REGINALD POLE, English Catholic, cardinal and Abp of Canterbury under Mary I
(1553-58)
1534 JOHN CALVIN, Protestant reformer in Geneva, author of the Institutes of the Christian
Religion
1538 JOHN KNOX, Calvinist leader of the Scottish Reformation
1540 PHILIP NERI, Italian Counterreformation figure
1540 TERESA OF AVILA, Spanish mystic and monastic reformer
1541 JOHN FOXE, English Protestant, author of the Book of Martyrs
1560 CARLO BORROMEO, reformer and Abp. of Milan, nephew of Pope Pius IV, whose
pontificate he guided
1567 ROBERT BELLARMINE, cardinal and papal theologian
Biographical Data II. Popes (Bishops of Rome)
1447-55 NICHOLAS V (Parentucelli): Humanist, founds Vatican library, ends councils; 1450
Jubilee
1455-58 CALIXTUS III (Borgia): Aragonese lawyer, anti-Humanist, urges crusade against Turks
1458-64 PIUS II (Piccolomini): Humanist poet, bull Execrabilis (1460) forbids appeal to council;
dies as Crusade begins
1464-71 PAUL II (Barbo): Venetian merchant, nephew of Pope Eugenius IV, first printing press
in Rome
1471-84 SIXTUS IV (della Rovere): Franciscan scholar, politician, nepotist, restorer of Rome
1484-92 INNOCENT VIII (Cibo): ineffective courtier, encourages witch persecution
1492-1503
ALEXANDER VI (Borgia): most scandalous of Renaissance popes, father of
Cesare and Lucrezia
1503 PIUS III (Todeschini): Sienese nephew of Pius II, dies 26 days after election
1503-13 JULIUS II (della Rovere): nephew of Sixtus IV, soldier pope, re-founder of Papal States
1513-21 LEO X (Medici): extravagant son of Lorenzo the Magnificent of Florence; indulgence
controversy
1522-23 ADRIAN VI (Florenszoon): Dutch carpenter's son, advisor of Charles V; Scholastic; last
non-Italian Pope until 1978
1523-34 CLEMENT VII (Medici): vacillating cousin of Leo X; Sack of Rome by Charles V's
troops, 1527
1534-49 PAUL III (Farnese): Humanist and nepotist; approves Jesuits and opens Council of Trent
1550-55 JULIUS III (del Monte): Roman lawyer and Humanist, re-assembles Council of Trent,
reconciles England
1555 MARCELLUS II (Cervini): former legate at Trent; first real "reformist" pope, dies 22
days after election
1555-59 PAUL IV (Caraffa): Neapolitan noble, ascetic, fanatic; founds Theatines; makes war on
and excommunicates Habsburgs
1559-65 PIUS IV (Medici): lawyer, (not Florentine), reverses Paul IV's policies; nephew Abp
Carlo Borromeo
1566-72 (St.) PIUS V (Ghislieri): Dominican from poor family, enforces Trent
1572-85 GREGORY XIII (Boncompagni): lawyer, son of Bolognese merchant, reforms calendar
(1582)
1585-90 SIXTUS V (Peretti): Franciscan, farm worker's son; restores curia and Rome
1590 URBAN VII (Castagna): lawyer and diplomat, dies 12 days after election
1590-91 GREGORY XIV (Sfondrati): Milanese lawyer
1591 INNOCENT IX (Fachinetti): Bolognese lawyer, dies 2 months after election
1592-1605 CLEMENT VIII (Aldobrandini): son of anti-Medici Florentine.
LECTURE OUTLINES: THE CONTINENTAL REFORMATION
I. The Early Reformation
Protestantism made spectacular initial progress: Luther affixed his 95 theses on 31 Oct. 1517;
defended them in debate in October 1518 and July 1519; outlawed for them at the Diet
(Reichstag) of Worms in April 1521. Yet by 1565, 70 percent of Germany and 40 percent of
Europe had broken their allegiance to Rome.
Five reasons for this amazing success: two negative and three positive.
A.
Negative reasons
1. Total failure of the Roman church to cope with the challenge
a) so little heresy in Europe since 1450 that the papacy seemed reluctant to believe a new
one to be imminent.
b) devolved structure and institutional weakness of Roman church made a firm and swift
reaction difficult anyway (Avignon "Captivity" 1307-78; "Great Schism" 1378-1449). [Note:
160,000 parishes in Latin Christendom.]
c) many of Luther's criticisms were manifestly just.
2. Failure of the secular powers to stop Luther
a) the imperial interregnum and election of 1519 (Electoral College of seven created by
Golden Bull of 1356.)
b) the Diet (Kurfürstenrat of 7, Fürstenrat of about 50, Städterat of about 52) made it
difficult for Emperor to act in matters affecting individual states.
c) the concern with "public order"
B.
Positive factors
3. The appeal of the Protestant message
a) appeal to Humanists (although there were crucial differences of approach between
Reformers and Humanists).
b) the common people (N. B. difficulty of assessing spiritual awareness in early modern
times).
i) traditional anti-Italian anti-Papal sentiment
ii) the Devotio Moderna
iii) late medieval popular piety
4. The media used by the Reformers were most effective
a) printing [Luther's personal output included 30 tracts of 1517-20 and 3100 separate
works 1517-46 (excluding his Shorter Catechism and German Bible, both frequently reprinted).]
b) However, low literacy rates in early modern Europe made it essential to use alternative
techniques of dissemination:
i) carnival, play and performance
ii) slogans and graffiti
iii) Bible discussion groups
iv) ballad, hymn and psalm singing
v) woodcut, broadsheet
vi) catechism and school
vii) preaching
5. The charisma and the teaching of the leading Reformers themselves.
II Luther and Zwingli
1. Martin Luther 1483-1546
BA Erfurt 1501; MA 1502; ordained 1507; lectures on philosophy 1508; lectures on theology
1513
May 1517: 97 theses on Aristotle
31 October 1517: 95 theses on Indulgences
(N.B. first "Jubilee Indulgence" 1300; indulgences to remit penalties in purgatory from 1476)
Luther's road to outlawry:
1. 12-14 October 1518: Augsburg debate with Thomas de Vio, Cardinal Cajetan, General of the
Dominican Order
2. 4-14 July 1519: Leipzig Disputation with Hans Maier von Eck
3. August-October 1520: An open letter to the Christian nobility (August); The Babylonish
captivity of the church (October); Of the liberty of a Christian Man (October)
4. 17-26 April 1521: Luther at the Diet of Worms
26 May 1521: edict of outlawry
Luther and his Bible.
2. Huldreych Zwingli 1484-1531
Educated Basel, Vienna and Bern; ordained 1506; parish priest.
December 1518: appointed minister of Cathedral Church in Zurich
February 1519: persuades Council to expel "pardoners"
March 1520: Council ends Ave Maria, simplifies Breviary and secularizes Poor Relief
Sept/Oct 1520: Council exempts Zwingli from celebrating Mass and authorizes him to preach as
he sees fit.
April 1522: group of supporters eat meat in Lent
November 1522: all preachers in canton authorized to follow Zwingli's teaching
January 1523: Zurich Disputation and "67 articles"
June 1524: all images removed from churches
Lent 1525: Mass abolished; replaced by Lord's Supper
3. Luther and Zwingli compared
a) salvation by faith alone
b) living the Christian life
c) Eucharist
d) church membership
III The Anabaptists and the Peasants' War
1. The Origins of Anabaptism
The movement began 1521-3 and achieved its maximum impact 1524-34. two main groups:
a) dissenters from Luther led by Thomas Münzer (1491-1525) and Hans Hut (d. 1528).
b) dissenters from Zwingli led by Conrad Grebel (1498-1526) and Balthasar Hübmaier (d. 1528)
At least 700 converts annually during the 1520s and about 200 annually thereafter; women
prominent; 40 percent urban; extremely high "martyr rate" (617/880 in Netherlands under Charles
V). But never widespread: only 1300 villages in the entire Empire known to have contained
Anabaptist communities.
2. Luther and the Radicals
Protestantism got out of hand in Wittenberg during Luther's enforced confinement 1521-2, and
his "laissez-faire" stance did little to restrain his more radical supporters -- Luther opposed
compulsion, arguing that good Christians would choose to live a godly life anyway.
3. The problem of Thomas Münzer
A self-taught theologian who became pastor to miners at Zwickau (Saxony) in 1520. At first a
great admirer of Luther, but then criticized "Dr Softlife" for his reluctance to challenge the
magistrates and "complete" the Reformation. As parish priest of Allstedt 1523-4 he became far
more radical; driven out, he took refuge at Mühlhausen and welcomed the outbreak of the greatest
mass insurrection in early modern Europe...
4. The Peasants' War
a) began in the southwest May 1524 and spread over much of central Germany 1524-5. Full of
grievances, some of them religious (73/1510 contained clear evidence of Reformed
theology). See, for example, the Twelve Articles.)
b) Condemned by all the "magisterial Reformers", including Luther, and crushed with exemplary
brutality.
5. Anabaptism after the War
a) the Schleitheim confession (1527)
b) the Münster experiment (1534-5)
c) Menno Simonsz and the later movement (Fundament des Christelycke Leer, 1539)
IV Bucer and Calvin
1. Martin Bucer
b. 1491 Alsace; Dominican; "converted" when he heard Luther speak 1518; chaplain to Franz von
Sickingen; took refuge in Strasbourg/Strassburg 1523; driven out 1548; died in Cambridge
(England) 1551.
Matthew Zell began reformation at Strasbourg 1521; images abolished 1523; Mass 1529.
Strasbourg's importance lay in its role as gateway for the Reformation to enter France and as the
seminary in which Calvin learned his ecclesiology.
Bucer believed in "election" and in deacons and elders -- all ideas that Calvin adapted.
2. John Calvin
b. 1509 Noyon (Picardy); cathedral canon 1521; studied theology and law at Paris, Orleans and
Bourges; "conversion" 1533 (key influences = Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples and Gérard Roussel);
celebrated Reformed Eucharist 1534, imprisoned and fled to Basel.
1536: first edition of The Institutes of the Christian Religion (six chapters); stopped in Geneva to
help Guillaume Farel; composed Confession de Foi.
1538: expelled and went to Strasbourg (to 1541)
1539: second edition of Institutes (17 chapters; 1559 edition contained 80 chapters in 4 books.)
1541: attended Regensburg Colloquy and then returned to Geneva, creating the Consistoire and
promulgating the Ecclesiatical ordinances. Remained in Geneva until death in 1564.
V Church-building: the limits to growth
Why did the Reformed churches created after 1521 spread in some areas but not others, and in
some periods but not others?
1. The Catholic Response
a) The absence of Charles V, 1522-30
b) The wars of Charles V against France and her allies (1521-9: Bicocca 1522; Pavia 1525; Rome
1527)
c) Ambiguous papal policies towards heresy:
i) reluctance to argue with heretics
ii) preference for persuasion (e.g. bribery)
d) The Turkish advance (1526-45: Mohacs 1526; Vienna 1529; Hungary 1532 and 1541)
2. The Protestant bloc
The number of Protestant states therefore increased: about 50 of the 65 Imperial Cities adopted a
Reformed church order at some point, as did Electoral Saxony and Ansbach (1522-4), Prussia
(1525), Hesse and Mecklenburg (1526), Schleswig-Holstein (1533), Pomerania (1534),
Württemberg (1535), Brandenburg and ducal Saxony (1539), most of Brunswick and the
Palatinate (1544).
Motives included (i) fear of provoking disorder; (ii) need to act in absence of central direction;
(iii) attractions of secularizing church property (by 1550s revenues from church goods made up
two-thirds of income of duke of Württemberg).
3. The crisis of 1525-6
This growth alarmed the Catholic princes. They formed a league at Dessau, 19 July 1525, to
extirpate Protestantism; the Protestant princes retaliated with the league of Torgau (4 May
1526). Confrontation at the Diet at Speyer in 1526: the Protestants survived only because the
Habsburgs needed their help against the Turks (Recess of Speyer, 27 August).
4. From Marburg to Augsburg
When the crisis passed the Catholics again moved to extirpate the heretics: new Recess on 19
April 1529 ordered all religious novelties to cease.
Lutherans:
i) Composed "Protest" at the decision
ii) Refused to send military aid to Vienna
iii) Sent "Protest" to Charles V (who invited them to present their case at the next Imperial Diet.
iv) Agreed to hold "summit meeting" at Marburg (held 1-3 October)
The Marburg colloquy failed: agreement on 14 of the 15 issues debated, but not on Eucharist. So
Luther and Melanchthon composed a Confession of Faith (28 articles) ready for Diet at Augsburg
(April 1530).
Catholics rejected "Augustana" and ordered all innovations to cease within one year. Catholic
cantons attacked Zurich -- Zwingli killed (1531) before peace could be restored -- but in Germany
the Protestants formed a new league at Schmalkalden (27 Feb 1531).
New Turkish attack in Hungary forced Charles to permit toleration until General Council or
National Synod met: religious peace of Nuremberg, 23 July 1532. The league was renewed in
1542, after the outbreak of another war with France and the Turks, and after the failure of a last
attempt to achieve reconciliation between the Catholics and Lutherans (Colloquy of Regensburg,
1541). Toleration renewed for another five years, to 1547.
VI The Uncompleted Temple
By 1550, Protestant cause in Germany lay in ruins: why?
1. Extrinsic causes
(a) The Catholic Reformation
The fifth Lateran Council (1512-17); lay confraternities; reform of convents; new religious
Orders (especially Theatines 1524; Capuchins 1525; Jesuits 1534/40); opening of Council of
Trent, 1545 (see Section VI.)
(b) The Turks and the French both made peace (1544-5)
II. Intrinsic cause: the Protestant cause fragmented
(a) doctrinal -- Augsburg Confession (1530) versus Tetrapolitan Confession (1530) and Helvetic
Confession (1548)
(b) ideological -- Luther and others venerated princes and rejected all talk of resistance
(c) political
1. Philip of Hesse and his expanding family
2. Alliance of Charles V and Maurice of Saxony, 1546
The results: Mühlberg (1547); imprisonment of Philip of Hesse and deposition of elector of
Saxony; the Interim (May 1548); Spanish garrisons in towns and in Württemberg.
Lutheranism only survived thanks to another French invasion, in alliance with Maurice of Saxony
and other Protestants, coupled with a division between Charles and his brother Ferdinand: Passau
agreement (1552) and Religious Peace of Augsburg (1555).
The Peace guaranteed (i) toleration of Catholic and Lutheran creeds; (ii) religion of ruler would
be only permitted religion of subjects [cuius regio eius religio] -- with exception of ecclesiastical
states and Imperial Cities.
VII The Catholic church and the Counter-Reformation
I. The Council of Trent
Despite the Colloquy of Regensburg (1541), Pope Paul III (1534-49) called a General Council to
meet at Trent, on the border of Italy and Austria, in December 1545. Dissolved March 1547.
-- The decisions to convoke and to dissolve were both politically determined: the former to
forestall Charles V from calling a German National Synod, the latter to prevent Charles from
winning total victory in central Europe (note that the political world viewed from Rome differed
from the Habsburg vision: Paul's decision in 1545 to confer the duchy of Parma on his son,
Pierluigi Farnese (murdered 1547), raised the tension.
-- First session of Trent: 8 plenary meetings, 16 chapters, 33 canons; attended by 270 bishops,
187 of them Italians. Concentrated on church government, "justification," Scripture and Original
Sin.
-- Second session (called by Julius II) May 1551-April 1552: ruled on sacraments. Reforms now
implemented in Spain and Portugal.
-- Paul IV (1555-9) introduced other reform measures without Council (Spain and France at war
throughout his pontificate; he allied with France): (i) Inquisition and Index; (ii) greater discipline
for clergy.
-- Split of Habsburg empire, Franco-Habsburg peace and death of Paul opened the way for the
council to resume; threat of separate French national synod compelled Pius IV (1559-66) to
act. Third session convened January 1562, closed December 1563: eleven plenary meetings,
attended by 120-240 prelates, resolved issues of "residence," seminaries, salvation and
hierarchical control (control over Orders; "congregations" and colleges; single creed, catechism
and liturgy.)
II. After Trent
1. Bishops implemented new standards.
2. Religious Orders (e.g. Jesuits: Loyola and six others founded in 1534, 1000 by 1556 and
15,544 in 1626; 125 colleges by 1574, 521 by 1640.)
3. Secular clergy: seminaries; François de Sales, Introduction à la vie dévote (1609)
4. Catholic governments offered strong support and began to enforce cuius regio principle.
England in the 16th Century
CHRONOLOGY
1494
Statute of Drogheda (Poyning's Law) asserts English control over Irish parliament
1502
Marriage of Margaret, Henry's eldest daughter, to James IV Stuart, king of
Scotland (1488-1513)
1509-47
HENRY VIII, second son of Henry VII (eldest, Arthur, d. 1503); marries
(first of six wives) his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand & Isabella),
with papal dispensation
1512-14
War with Louis XII of France, allied to Holy League; James IV, king of Scotland,
allied with France
1513
Bloodless "Battle of the Spurs" (Guinegate); Battle of Flodden Field: defeat &
death of James IV
1520
Henry meets Francis I of France near Calais: "Field of the Cloth of Gold"; war
with France 1522-25
1521
Henry writes Assertion of the Seven Sacraments against Luther & receives title
Defender of the Faith
1527
Henry seeks an annulment of his marriage to marry Anne Boleyn, younger sister
of his mistress; alleges undispensible biblical ban on marrying a deceased brother's wife; also
seeks male heir
1529
Pope Clement VII removes Henry's marriage case from England to Rome: Henry
removes Wolsey as chancellor for failure to secure annulment; Thomas More appointed
chancellor; Parliament summoned
1532
Henry secures opinions from European universities re annulment; More does not
support it & resigns
1533
Henry's marriage to Catherine declared invalid by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop
of Canterbury; declared married to (2) Anne Boleyn; pope excommunicates Henry; Anne's
daughter Elizabeth born
1534
Act of Supremacy names king "Protector and only Supreme Head of the Church
and Clergy of England"; Act of Succession entails crown on Anne's children and imposes oath;
More imprisoned
1535
Thomas More & Bishop John Fisher of Rochester beheaded on charges of
opposing Act of Supremacy
1536
Anne Boleyn beheaded on charge of adultery: Henry marries (3) Jane Seymour;
Tyndale's English Bible published with king's authority; suppression of smaller monasteries by
Thomas Cromwell; Pilgrimage of Grace from Catholic North suppressed by deception; Ten
Articles allow moderate Protestantism
1537
Jane Seymour dies giving birth to Henry's son Edward; apparatus of state
oppression enlarged
1538 English Bible & Erasmus' paraphrases ordered to be provide in every church
1539
Suppression of larger monasteries by Cromwell; but Six Articles reassert Catholic
teaching
1540
Henry marries & divorces (4) Anne of Cleves & executes Thomas Cromwell, who
urged match, on a charge of treason; marries (5) Catherine Howard; assumes new title, "King of
Ireland"
1542
Catherine Howard beheaded; war with Scotland
1543
Henry marries (6) Catherine Parr, who outlives him; 3rd war in France (1543-6)
allied with Charles V
1547-53
Edward VI, 10 years old at accession, controlled by duke of Somerset, then duke
of Northumberland
1549
First Book of Common Prayer; a second, more Calvinist, in 1552; last rural
risings until 19th cent.
1551
Forty-Two Articles of Religion published by Archbishop Cranmer; mercenary
troops dismissed
1553
Edward assigned crown to Lady Jane Grey, descendent of Henry VII & married to
Northumberland's son
1553-58
Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, reared Catholic; marriage treaty
with Philip II of Spain provokes rebellion; execution of Lady Jane Grey & imprisonment of
Elizabeth
1555
Restoration of Catholicism & execution of Protestant leaders ("Bloody Mary");
Calais lost (1558)
1558-1603
Elizabeth I, daughter of Anne Boleyn, reared Protestant; secretary Sir William
Cecil (Burghley); repeal of Mary's church legislation & re-enactment of Henry's: Act of
Supremacy, Prayer Book
1559
Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis with France; Francis II king of France: his wife Mary
Stuart descendant of Henry VII, assumes title "Queen of England and Scotland"; returns to
Scotland after Francis' death (1561) and is assailed by Calvinists (notably John Knox)
1563
Thirty-Nine Articles (revision of 42): compromise Elizabethan Settlement of
Anglican Church
1565
Mary Stuart ("Queen of Scots") marries cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who
has her secretary, David Rizzio, murdered; Darnley assassinated by James Hepburn, Earl of
Bothwell, who divorces wife & marries Mary in Protestant rite; lords rise and establish
Protestantism (Bothwell flees to Denmark)
1567
Mary Stuart abdicates: her infant son (by Darnley) crowned king as James VI
1568
Mary Stuart escapes & flees to England, where she is imprisoned for 14 years
LECTURE OUTLINES CONTINUED
VIII. The English Reformation
I. Historiography
The problem of hindsight.
Six separate developments: an attack on the power of priests; a rejection of the authority of the
popes; a confiscation of church property; a suppression of Catholic cadres; introduction of an
English Bible and a new church order; a redefinition of prescribed beliefs.
Reformation and risk: (a) international; (b) domestic.
II. "The king's Great Matter"
(a) Young Henry (to 1527)
(b) Seeking a divorce: Katharine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and the problem of an annulment
(1527-29).
III. The break with Rome (1529-33)
1529-30: the fall of Cardinal Wolsey.
1531: Henry summoned to Rome in person
1532: Rise of Thomas Cromwell; "Reformation Parliament" begins
deliberations
March 1533: Parliament passes Act in Restraint of Appeals and Convocation declares marriage
with Katharine to have been incestuous. Anne married Henry January 1533; crowned queen
May; Elizabeth born September.
Support for these moves came through:
1. Latent anticlericalism
(a) long tradition of criticizing clergy (e. g. Chaucer)
(b) inadequacies of clergy
(c) lay jealousy and resentment
2. Common Law traditions
3. "England is an empire"
4. Committed Protestants, such as William Tyndale.
IV. A new church order
(a) The English Bible
(b) The Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536, smaller houses; 1539, the rest)
(c) The opposition -- Thomas More, the Pilgrimage of Grace, the People -- and the police.
(d) A conservative settlement
V. The mid-Tudor crisis
(a) Edward VI (1547-53)
(b) Mary and Philip "the Brief" (1553/4-8)
VI. The Anglican solution.
(a) the Elizabethan settlement (1559)
(b) the religion of English Protestants
IX The Protestant Reformation in Scotland
I. Origins
a) Lutheran beginnings: Patrick Hamilton and Patrick's Places; nine "martyrs" 1525-39; George
Wishart and the first Protestant period (1543-6); John Knox and the siege of St Andrews' Castle
(1546-7). For a decade after 1547 there was very little Protestant activity in Scotland: only a few
cells in Ayrshire and the east coast ports.
b) The Catholic Church: General Councils of 1549, 1552, 1559 attempted to reform the Church
of Scotland from within - papal power almost entirely neglected (not mentioned in 1552
catechism). But no effort to remedy inequality of wealth.
- 1080 parishes, 85 percent of them "impropriated";
- 50 abbeys, 50 or more friaries, 12 or more nunneries;
Clerical standards in all religious institutions were low, with only a few exceptions. The church
was collapsing from the inside before it felt the pressure of the true reformation.
c) The revolution of 1559-60: the role of John Knox, and the strength of his supporters before
1559.
- December 1557: "First Band" or covenant
- April 1559: peace of Cateau-Cambrésis releases French troops for service in Scotland
- May 1559: iconoclasm begins in Scotland
- December 1559; French troops defeat "Lords of the covenant"
- January 1560: English fleet relieves "Lords"
- July 1560; French go home
- August 1560: Reformation Parliament meets
d) The instruments of reform: The Scots confession; the first Book of Discipline; the Book of
Common Order
II. The kirk established
a) the "public face of the kirk" in the 1560s: clergy and laity
b) the legal powers of coercion: 1567, 1573-4, 1584, 1592
c) the organization: kirk-session, presbytery, synod, assembly.
d) the prolonged struggle of presbyterianism and episcopacy: 1596-1689.
III. The discipline enforced
a) recruitment to clergy and elders.
b) the criminalization of sin: adultery, fornication, sabbath-breach and cursing.
c) the kirk-session in action: St Andrews 1559-1600.