Download Brainstormed List of Causes of the Italian Renaissance

STUDY GUIDE CH. 12-14  AP EUROPEAN HISTORY
MR. PIERSMA  SANTA YNEZ VALLEY UNION HIGH SCHOOL
Chapter 12—The Crisis of the Later Middle Ages
AP European History Style Questions
 Analyze the Black Death's impact on Europe's late medieval economy, society, and
culture.
 Evaluate the relative importance of economic and political causes of the Hundred Years'
War.
 Compare and contrast the consequences of the Hundred Years' War on England and
France.
 Analyze the impact of late medieval political, economic, and cultural events on the
growth of centralized political power.
 To what extent did events during the late Middle Ages impact the Roman Catholic
Church's authority and prestige (1300-1450)?
 Evaluate the overall impact of an increasing sense of ethic and proto-national identity on
late medieval historical development.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
After reading and studying this chapter, students should be able to explain the process that
brought the Black Death to Europe and how this disease spread throughout Europe in the later
Middle Ages. They should be able to summarize the consequences of the Black Death in Europe.
They should be able to discuss the impact of the Hundred Years' War on France and England, in
particular on the English parliament. Students should be able to list the problems that led to
disorder in the later medieval Catholic Church. Finally, students should be able to identify the
most important consequences of the social and economic tensions that marked this period.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
Prelude to Disaster: The fourteenth-century climate changes in Europe led to reduced
food production, which led to numerous social and economic problems.
A. Climate Change and Famine: The “Little Ice Age” caused a “Great Famine” (13151322), with related problems such as increased disease and reduced population and trade.
1.
Between 1300 and 1450, Europe experienced a "Little Ice Age."
2.
Harsh weather led to ruined harvests.
3.
Poor nutrition increased susceptibility to disease and facilitated
epidemics (for example, typhoid).
4.
Social consequences of famines and epidemics included depopulation of some
areas, a volatile land market, and unstable international trade.
B. Government Ineptitude: While the governments of both France and England attempted
numerous solutions to alleviate the various problems, few solutions proved effective.
1.
Government measures, such as price controls, were ineffective.
2.
The starving scapegoated and attacked Jews, lepers, and the wealthy
II. The Black Death: Through international trade routes, the dreaded disease known as the Black
Death entered Europe.
A. Arrival in Europe and Spread
1.
Genoese ships brought the plague to Italy in 1347.
2.
From there it spread to southern Germany, France, and then England.
B. Pathology: Generally identified as the bubonic plague, the Black Death was carried by
fleas on rodents. The victim suffered terrible symptoms and pain before dying.
1.
Fleas often living on black rats bore the plague bacillus.
2.
Poor sanitary conditions and lack of bathing facilitated the spread of the disease.
3.
The appearance of a single boil was followed by bleeding under the skin,
vomiting of blood, and death.
4.
Medieval doctors had no way of coping with the plague.
C. Spread of the Disease: First noticed in China, the plague entered Europe at Sicily and then
followed trade routes into both eastern and western Europe. Both poor sanitation and poor
personal hygiene in urban areas, in particular, aided the spread of the disease until it
ultimately killed an estimated one-third of western Europe’s population. The plague would
appear intermittently until 1721.
1.
Black rats mostly stayed in cities, so the disease was concentrated there.
2.
In England perhaps one-third of the population died-in some Italian cities more
than one-half.
3.
The plague reached Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Russia.
D. Care: Europeans tried numerous tactics to either cure or ward off the plague, such as
bloddletting, strong herbs or sounds, medicines, trying to avoid contact with the diseased,
and religious acts. In some areas, Jews were blamed for the plague and then severely
persecuted or even killed. Hospitals provided some care for the dying.
1.
Doctors could sometimes ease the pain of the disease, but they had no cure.
2.
Many believed the plague was caused by poisoned or "corrupted" air.
3.
Strong-smelling substances were used in an effort to stop the spread of the
disease.
4.
Wealthy people often fled to the countryside.
5.
Many thousands of Jews were killed by people looking for a scapegoat.
6.
Hospitals served as a refuge for some sick people.
7.
Many people believed the plague was a sign of God's anger.
E. Social, Economic, and Cultural Consequences: The clergy’s mortality rate was
exceptionally high as they fulfilled their duties toward the dying. The plague did solve the
overpopulation problem and therefore produced at least some long-term positive economic
results. However, the plague was accompanied by shortages and inflation. Psychologically,
the plague ushered in a period of pessimism, evident in numerous cultural practices.
1.
Priests often took great risks to minister to the sick and had a high mortality rate.
2.
Church officials sanctioned unorthodox measures in the emergency, such as
laymen administering extreme unction.
3.
New evidence suggests that the medieval agrarian economy showed
remarkable resilience in the face of the plague.
4.
Guilds accepted many new members, often unrelated to old guild members.
5.
The Black Death resulted in a general European inflation.
6.
The plague caused profound pessimism, religious fanaticism (flagellants),
suspicion of travelers and pilgrims, and slighting of funeral rites.
7.
New colleges were endowed to deal with the shortage of priests.
8.
By traumatizing medieval society and the church, the plague ultimately
contributed to the Reformation.
III. The Hundred Years' War: A war between England and France increased the problems of
the fourteenth century.
A. Causes: The war’s causes included the vassalage of the English king to the French king,
French expansionist goals, disputed claims for the French throne, and economic factors
2
involving the wool trade and control of Flemish towns.
1.
In 1328 French barons denied the claim of English King Edward III to the
French throne and chose Philip VI of Valois as king.
2.
In 1337 Philip confiscated Edward III's holding of Aquitaine.
3.
The Hundred Years' War also became a French civil war as some French
barons supported Edward III's claims to stop the centralizing drive of the
French monarchy.
4.
Economic factors involving the wool trade and control of Flemish towns
created tension between the English and the French.
B. The Popular Response: Both the French and English kings used various types of
propaganda to successfully rally support for the war. The war also offered opportunities to
gain wealth and advancement.
1.
Both English and French kings used priests to stimulate patriotism among the
people.
2.
War provided poor knights and others (criminals who enlisted, for
example) with opportunities for plunder and new estates.
C. The Course of the war to 1419: Even though the war was fought primarily in France and
the Low Countries, the English, relying on their long bowmen, were winning throughout the
first years of the war.
1.
The English scored successes early on.
2.
At Crecy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and Agincourt (1415), the English long
bowmen were instrumental in defeating the French.
D. Joan of Arc and France's Victory: With religious zeal, Joan of Arc, a French peasant,
inspired French troops to take Orleans and ultimately saved the French monarchy.
However, she was captured and burned at the stake by an English Church court, and the
new French King, Charles VII, failed to intervene on her behalf. The French, however,
went on to win the war.
1.
In 1429, the French peasant girl Joan of Arc claimed divine inspiration and
helped turn the tide in favor of the French.
2.
She was captured by the English, tried, and executed on charges of witchcraft.
3.
The war ended in 1453 with the English holding only the port of Calais in
France.
E. Costs and Consequences: For the French, the war created a huge loss of life. It ruined
farmland, disrupted trade, and led to dissatisfaction due to high taxes. The English were
hurt by the huge cost, the loss of local governing officials to the war effort, and lost trade.
The cannon would permanently change warfare. The English Parliament developed during
the war, and both countries experienced a growing nationalism.
1.
The war was costly for both sides and local government in England fell into
disarray as so many sheriffs were serving abroad as knights.
2.
To pay for the war, Edward III had to negotiate almost constantly with the
barons in Parliament, thus strengthening the institution.
3.
The war promoted the growth of nationalism in both countries.
IV. Challenges to the Church: The failure of the Church to provide spiritual solace to the
people during the difficult fourteenth century made both the official Christian Church and the
pope vulnerable to attack.
A. The Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism: The Babylonian Captivity, a time when
the popes lived in Avignon under French dominance, hurt the pope’s authority and
independence. Botched attempts at reforms led to the Great Schism, a period with two
popes, which greatly damaged the Church’s reputation.
1.
From 1309-1376 the popes resided in Avignon, France, under control of the
French monarchy.
2.
After returning to Rome in 1377, Urban VI succeeded to the papacy.
3
Antagonized by Urban's anti-corruption campaign, a number of cardinals
returned to France and chose a different Pope, Clement VII, who would reside
in Avignon.
3.
Kings lined up behind one pope or the other based on political considerations.
4.
The schism confused common people and discredited the Church among some.
B. The Conciliar Movement: Conciliarists wanted to reform the Church through
representative general councils, believing the pope’s authority came from the Christian
community. Marsiglio of Padua said the Church was subordinate to the state; John Wyclif
challenged papal authority and urged the translation of the scripture into the vernacular. A
council did end the Great Schism, but Conciliarists had laid the foundation for the
Reformation.
1.
Before the schism, Marsiglio, rector of the University of Paris, argued that the
Church should be led by a council superior to the pope.
2.
The English scholar John Wyclif (ca 1330-1384) argued that there was no
scriptural foundation for the pope's temporal power. He also argued that all
Christians should read the Bible for themselves.
3.
The cardinals of Avignon and Rome summoned a council at Pisa in 1409 that
deposed both popes and elected a third, but the old popes refused to step down,
leading to a threefold schism.
4.
The German emperor Sigismund organized a council at Constance that met from
1414-1418 and resolved the schism, electing a new pope (and burning the
heretic John Hus at the stake).
C. Lay Piety and Mysticism: Because Church leadership failed to provide for the spiritual
needs of the people. Increasing numbers of laity began to control Church affairs, form
religious volunteer groups known as confraternities, practice living in stark simplicity to
imitate Christ, and have mystical experiences.
1.
During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the laity began to exercise
increasing control over parish affairs.
2.
Laymen and women often formed confraternities.
3.
In late fourteenth-century Holland, a group of laypeople formed the
"Brethren and Sisters of the Common Life."
4.
For some people, lay piety found expression in mystical experiences.
V. Economic and Social Change: The numerous calamities of the fourteenth century impacted
the economic and social structure of Europe in numerous ways.
A. Peasant Revolts: The worsening economic conditions, class strife, and high taxes
produced widespread discontent that led to an increase in peasant uprisings throughout
Europe.
1.
Frequent revolts provide evidence of the suffering and exploitation of peasants.
2.
Flanders was the most highly urbanized region in northern Europe.
3.
Uprisings in Flanders (1323-1328) represent the first mass movements
of the fourteenth century.
4.
Following fighting along the French-Flemish border, heavy indemnities
were placed on the peasants.
4.
In response, revolts broke out in 1323, revolts that evolved into a larger
movement.
5.
A French army crushed the peasant forces in 1328.
6.
In 1358 French peasants, tormented by famine, plague, and high taxes to
finance the Hundred Years' War, rebelled in the so-called Jacquerie.
7.
In 1381 rising peasant expectations of well-being in England collided with
reimposition of a head tax on peasants to start a peasant rebellion, probably the
largest of the Middle Ages.
B. Urban Conflicts: In some urban areas, workers also staged uprisings over high taxes, poor
4
working conditions, and falling social and economic status.
1.
Rebellions also occurred in the late fourteenth century in Florence, Spain, and the
cities of Germany.
2.
Revolts often occurred in cities where the conditions of work were changing for
many people.
3.
Urban uprisings were most often touched-off by economic issues, but they
were also sparked by issues involving honor.
4.
The sense of honor developed by craft and journeymen's guilds was a gendered
one.
C. Sex in the City: As couples waited for economic security before marrying, both men and
women tended to be of an older age at marriage. The late marrying age of males may have
contributed to widespread prostitution, which was often regulated. Rape was a fairly
common crime and received a relatively light punishment. The Church became more vocal
in condemning homosexuality, suggesting that it may have become more common.
1.
The trend in this period was toward later marriage for women, especially
peasant and poor urban women.
2.
Men of all social groups were older when they married.
3.
Letters between John and Margaret Paston of the gentry class show that
Margaret managed family lands and business while John worked in
London.
4.
Men in their mid-twenties generally married women in their mid-teens.
5.
Late age of marriage for most men and prohibitions on marriage for certain
groups of men contributed to urban unrest.
6.
Many cities established rules for brothels and their customers.
7.
Unmarried women were often the victims of unwanted sexual contact.
8.
Hostility to same-sex relations increased over the course of this period.
9.
It is difficult to establish the prevalence of homosexuality in the Late Middle
Ages.
10. Same-sex relations involving women almost never came to the attention of
legal authorities.
D. Fur-Collar Crime: Nobles, lacking adequate incomes, frequently financed their
aristocratic lifestyles through crimes, often stealing from both the rich and the poor. Such
crimes typically went unpunished.
1.
To maintain their standard of living as prices rose, some nobles and gentry
turned to outright robbery and extortion.
2.
Fur-collar criminals often got away with their crimes.
E. Ethnic Tensions and Restrictions: Through migration, various ethnic groups came to live
as neighbors. Typically, each group maintained its own law code and customs. The Irish,
however, suffered persecution from the English. With economic hard times, ethnic tensions
would often rise, which led to laws prohibiting intermarriage.
1. In early periods of conquest and colonization in the Middle Ages, newly
arrived populations tended to live under their own laws, while the "native"
populations retained their own laws and customs. Only in Ireland did
England impose its legal system, and exclude the Irish from it.
2. In the fourteenth century, regulations, laws, and customs discriminating
among different ethnic groups on the basis of "blood descent" multiplied.
These separated Germans from Slays in Eastern Europe, Irish from English in
Ireland, Spanish from Moors in Spain, and so on.
F. Literacy and Vernacular Literature: Increasingly, the vernacular languages were used for
literature producing such great works as Dante’s Divine Comedy and Geoffrey Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales. The period also saw an increase in literacy rates.
1.
In the fourteenth century, writers began writing in their vernacular languages all
over Europe.
5
2.
3.
4.
Dante Alighieri of Florence wrote the Divine Comedy in Italian.
Geoffrey Chaucer of London wrote The Canterbury Tales in English.
Beginning in the fourteenth century, literacy rates rose among men and women,
reflecting the greater complexity of society, the growth of commerce, and
government bureaucracy.
Review Questions
Check your understanding of this chapter by answering the following questions.
1.
What were the causes of the population decline that began in the early fourteenth century?
2.
How did governments try to deal with the problems created by climate change? How
successful were their attempts?
3.
What impact did the plague have on Europeans socially, economically, and culturally?
4.
Describe the psychological effects of the plague. How did people explain this disaster?
Did the explanations of Muslim scholars differ from their Christian contemporaries?
5.
What were the immediate and other causes of the Hundred Years' War?
6.
Who was winning the Hundred Years' War through 1419 and why?
7.
What were the results of the Hundred Years' War? Who were the winners and losers
within both countries?
8.
How did the Babylonian Captivity weaken the power and prestige of the Church?
9.
What was the Great Schism and how did it weaken the Church?
13.
What was the Conciliar Movement and who were its advocates? Was this a revolutionary
idea?
14.
Why was Wyclif a threat to the institutional Church?
15.
What were the reasons for the French Peasants' Revolt of 1358 and the English Peasants'
Revolt of 1381?
16.
What was fur-collar crime, and why was it so common in the period? How did the public
perceive this type of crime?
17.
What is vernacular literature? Who were some of the most notable vernacular authors of
the later Middle Ages, and what did they write about?
Chapter 13—European Society in the Age of the Renaissance
Brainstormed List of Causes of the Italian Renaissance
 Venice grows wealthy through overseas trade.
 Genoa and Milan benefit from international trade with the Middle East and northern
Europe.
 Better ships allow for year-round trade, more cargo, and speedier transportation.
 Florence benefits from newly gained control of papal banking.
 Florentine bankers pump profits from loans, money exchanges, and investments into the
economy.
 Driving enterprise, technical knowledge, and a drive to succeed help Florence
6
overcome challenges experienced during the fourteenth century.
 Rise of merchant oligarchs and signori takes place.
 Rise of the popolo occurs.
 Merchant oligarchs and signori use the pageantry of the court to demonstrate wealth and
power.
 The arts are used to overawe the masses.
 Merchant oligarchs and signori flaunt their patronage of learning and the arts.
 Furious competition develops between city-states for territory and power.
Categorization Exercise
Category 1: Economic causes
 Venice grows wealthy through overseas trade.
 Genoa and Milan benefit from international trade with the Middle East and northern
Europe.
 Florence benefits from newly gained control of papal banking.
 Florentine bankers pump profits from loans, money exchanges, and investments into the
economy.
 Driving enterprise, technical knowledge, and a drive to succeed help Florence
overcome challenges experienced during the fourteenth century.
Category 2: Political causes
 Urban nobility use the pageantry of the princely court to demonstrate wealth and power.
 The arts are used to overawe the masses.
 Furious competition develops between city-states for territory and power
 Merchant oligarchs and signori flaunt their patronage of learning and
the arts.
Category 3: Social causes
 Rise of merchant oligarchs and signori takes place.
 Rise of the popolo takes place.
Category 4: Cultural causes
 Better ships allow for year-round trade, more cargo, and speedier transportation.
 Technical knowledge and a drive to succeed help Florence overcome challenges
experienced during the fourteenth century.
AP European History Style Questions







Assess the relative importance of political, economic, and social factors as causes of the
Italian Renaissance.
Evaluate whether or not Renaissance is an appropriate label for Italian history from 1450 to
1550. "European" or "women's" could replace Italian in this question.
Analyze the impact of Renaissance humanism on the development of Italian art from
1450 to 1550.
To what extent are secularism, individualism, and humanism reflected in the art
of two Renaissance artists of your choice?
Compare and contrast the Renaissance in Italy and the Netherlands.
Analyze the impact of women on the Renaissance and the impact of the Renaissance on
women.
Describe and analyze the changing relationship between the monarchy, church, and
nobility in Renaissance France, England, and Spain.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
After reading and studying this chapter, students should be able to identify the key economic and
7
political developments that provided the setting for the Renaissance. They should be able to
discuss the key ideas of the Renaissance and note differences between the experience of the
Renaissance for men and women and for southern and northern Europeans. They should also be
able to describe the basic structure of Renaissance society. Finally, students should be able to
elaborate on the evolution of medieval kingdoms into early modern nation-states.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
Economic and Political Developments: Economic growth in Italy provided the basis for
merchants to buy political power and, ultimately, to hire artists, thus paving the way for the
Renaissance.
A. Commercial Developments: The basis of Italian economic strength was the increased
shipping of the northern cities. Though not a shipping center, Florence gained wealth and
economic stability by acquiring control of pap banking, which gave bankers, such as the
Medici family, enormous political and culture influence.
1.
Venice, Genoa, and Milan grew rich on commerce between 1050 and 1300.
2.
Florence, where the Renaissance originated, was an important banking center
by the fourteenth century.
B. Communes and Republics: Beginning as communes, most northern Italian cities gained
their independence and evolved into oligarchies. Pressure from the common people, the
popolo, led to the creation of republican governments. However, the republic often served as
facades for governments controlled by either signori or merchant oligarchies. The wealthy
used their money for elaborate lifestyles that included patronizing the arts.
1.
In northern Italy the larger cities won independence from local nobles and
became self-governing communes of free men in the twelfth century.
2.
Local nobles moved into the cities and married into wealthy merchant families.
3.
This new class set up property requirements for citizenship.
4.
The excluded, the popolo, rebelled and in some cities set up republics.
5.
By 1300 the republics had collapsed, and despots or oligarchies governed most
Italian cities.
C. The Balance of Power among the Italian City-States: Fiercely loyal to their city-states,
Italians failed to achieve political unity in this period. Five powers dominated the peninsula
(Venice, Milan, Florence, the Papal States, and the kingdom of Naples) and invented modern
diplomacy as they achieved a balance of power. The states’ lack of unity would make them
prey to invasion by France and the Holy Roman Empire in the late fourteenth century.
1.
In the fifteenth century, five powers dominated the Italian peninsula: Venice,
Milan, Florence, the Papal States, and the kingdom of Naples.
2.
City patriotism and constant competition for power among cities prevented
political centralization on the Italian peninsula.
3.
As cities strove to maintain the balance of power among themselves, they
invented the apparatus of modern diplomacy.
4.
In 1494, the city of Milan invited intervention by the French King Charles VIII.
5.
Italy became a battleground as France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Emperor
vied for dominance.
6.
In 1527 the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V sacked Rome.
II.
Intellectual Change: Italian intellectuals, especially Francesco Petrarch, believed they
were part of a new age of intellectual achievement.
A. Humanism: Renaissance humanists studied the classics to learn about human nature,
although they approached the subject form a Christian perspective. Through their interest in
human achievement, they also focused on the individual and the individual’s potential to
achieve.
8
1.
The revival of antiquity took the form of interest in archaeology, recovery of
ancient manuscripts, and study of the Latin classics.
2.
The study of the classics became known as the "new learning," or humanism.
3.
Humanists studied the Latin classics to learn what they reveal about human
nature.
4.
Humanism emphasized human beings, their achievements, interests, and
capabilities.
5.
Interest in human achievements led humanists to emphasize the importance
of the individual and individualism.
6.
Humanists derided what they viewed as the debased Latin of the medieval
churchmen.
B. Education: Humanists emphasized the importance of an education that prepared one to
actively contribute to public life. Establishing numerous schools, the humanists stressed
studying the classics for training in how to live such a life. Their programs did focus on
influential in defining a Renaissance education for young upper-class men.
1.
Humanists placed heavy emphasis on education and moral behavior.
2.
Humanists opened schools and academies throughout Italy.
3.
They were ambivalent about education for women.
4.
Baldassare Castiglione's The Courtier had a broad influence.
C. Political Thought: The most significant political treatise of the Renaissance is Niccolo
Machiavelli’s The Prince, based on the premise that humans are out to advance their own
interests. Ultimately, Machiavelli maintained that a perfect, godly social order is not possible
and, therefore, politics has its own laws, based on the necessity of maintaining power, not
morality.
1.
Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince addressed the subject of political power.
2.
Starting with assumptions about human nature, Machiavelli outlined a vision of
power that rested on a realistic understanding of the political environment.
D. Secular Spirit: The Renaissance emphasis on secularism or concern with the material
world over spiritual matters focused on understanding through the limits of sensual
discovery. While Renaissance thinkers still maintained spiritual interests and did not
question basic Christian tenets, they increasingly focused on worldly wealth and material
pleasures, including appreciating the arts.
1.
The secular way of thinking focuses on the world as experienced rather than
on the spiritual and/or eternal.
2.
Renaissance thinkers came to see life as an opportunity rather than a painful
pilgrimage toward God.
3.
Lorenzo Valla argued that sense pleasures were the highest good.
4.
Giovanni Boccaccio wrote about an acquisitive, sensual, worldly society.
5.
Renaissance popes expended much money on new buildings, a new
cathedral (St. Peter's), and on patronizing artists and men of letters.
E. Christian Humanism: Northern humanists sought to combine the best elements of
classical and Christian cultures to develop Christian social reforms. Christian humanists
included Sir Thomas More, who described an ideal socialist community in Utopia, and
Desiderius Erasmus, who saw education as the means to reform and said that Christianity
was an inner attitude reflecting the philosophy of Christ.
1.
Christian humanists in northern Europe interpreted Italian ideas in the context of
their own traditions.
2.
Christian humanists were interested in an ethical way of life.
3.
Utopia by Thomas More (1478-1535) described an ideal socialistic community.
4.
Erasmus (1466-1536) was the leading Christian humanist of his era.
5.
Two fundamental themes run through. Erasmus's work.
a)
Commitment to education is the key to moral and intellectual improvement
b) Adherence to "the philosophy of Christ"
9
F. The Printed Word: Nothing changed public and private life and culture more than the
invention of the printing press with movable type, which was developed by several
metalsmiths, most notably John Gutenberg. The increased use of more affordable paper, the
growing literacy rate, and expanded educational opportunities magnified the impact of the
printing press.
1.
The advent of movable metal type had a huge impact on the spread of new ideas.
2.
Printing with movable metal type developed in Germany in the middle of the
fifteenth century.
3.
Increased urban literacy, the development of primary schools, and the opening
of new universities expanded the market for printed materials.
4.
Within fifty years of the publication of Gutenberg's Bible of 1456, movable
type and brought about radical changes.
III. Art and the Artist: The creative artistic spirit of the Renaissance, found primarily in
Florence, Rome, and Venice, is perhaps its most distinctive and admired feature.
A. Art and Power: Early in Renaissance Italy, artistic works were typically religious and
commissioned by powerful urban groups, such as guilds or religious confraternities, to
demonstrate their dominance. By the late fifteenth century, changing patterns of
consumption led powerful individuals and oligarchs to sponsor art works for their private
palaces and chapels to glorify themselves and their families.
1.
In the early Renaissance, corporate groups such as guilds sponsored religious art.
2.
By the late fifteenth century, individual princes, merchants, and bankers
sponsored art to glorify themselves and their families. Their urban palaces were
full of expensive furnishings as well as art.
B. Subjects and Style: Several new artistic styles developed in the Renaissance, including the
individual portrait, realism, and perspective. Changing subject matter included the individual
portrait and more secular subjects, often with classical themes. Architects also relied on
classical inspiration.
1.
Classical themes, individual portraits, and realistic style characterized
Renaissance art.
2.
Renaissance artists invented perspective and portrayed the human body in a
more natural and scientific manner than previous artists did.
3.
Art produced in northern Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries tended
to be more religious in orientation than that produced in Italy.
4.
Rome and Venice rose to artistic prominence in the sixteenth century.
C. Patronage and Creativity: Almost all Renaissance artwork was commissioned by a patron.
Distinguished artists were generally well respected and often well paid, and the Renaissance
saw the emergence of the idea of artist as genius who should be allowed creative license.
Still many patrons strongly influenced content, and the “artist as genius” designation was
reserved for educated males.
1.
Medieval masons were viewed as mechanical workers/artisans. Renaissance
artists were seen as intellectual workers.
2.
The princes and merchants who patronized artists paid them well.
3.
Artists themselves gloried in their achievements. During the Renaissance, the
concept of artist as genius was born.
4.
Renaissance culture was only the culture of a very wealthy mercantile elite; it
did not affect the lives of the urban middle classes or the poor.
IV. Social Hierarchies: Renaissance social hierarchies, originally based on medieval concepts,
developed new features that would evolve into modern social hierarchies.
A. Race: In the Renaissance, the term race was not used in the contemporary sense but was
closely linked with ideas about ethnicity, blood, and culture. Renaissance Europeans did,
however, distinguish people by skin color. Black slaves were sought after in parts of Europe
10
for a variety of jobs.
1.
Renaissance ideas about "race" were closely linked with those about ethnicity
and "blood."
2.
The contemporary meaning of "race" originated in the eighteenth century.
3.
Renaissance people did make distinctions based on skin color.
4.
Beginning in the fifteenth century, sizable numbers of black slaves entered
Europe.
5.
African slaves served in a variety of positions.
6.
Fifteenth-century Europeans knew little about Africans and their cultures.
B. Class: While the term class is nineteenth-century concept, its roots are found in the
medieval system of social oders. In the Renaissance, particularly in urban arrears, a
hierarchy based on wealth meshed with the inherited hierarchy of orders. Te distinction
between nobles and commoners continued, reinforced with sumptuary laws. Wealthy
commoners could buy or marry into noble status.
1.
The contemporary notion of class was developed in the nineteenth century.
2.
The medieval system of social differentiation was based on theoretical function.
3.
During the Renaissance the inherited hierarchy of social orders was interwoven
with a more fluid hierarchy based on wealth.
4.
Social status was also linked with considerations of honor.
5.
Cities had the most complex and dynamic social hierarchies.
C. Gender: The development of the printing press and the emergence of several women
rulers fueled the continuing debate in the Renaissance about the character and nature of
women. Stereotypical ideas about women and men’s roles shaped lives. The idea that men
should be dominant and women subordinate for society to function properly received
considerable emphasis.
1.
Gender is a concept that grew out of the women's movement that began in the
1970s.
2.
The Renaissance witnessed a debate about the character and nature of women.
3.
Beginning in the sixteenth century, the debate about women also became one
about female rulers.
4.
Ideas about men and women's roles shaped the actions and options of
Renaissance people.
5.
Maintenance of proper gender relationships served as a symbol for the
maintenance of a well-functioning society.
V. Politics and the State in the Renaissance (ca 1450-1521): The Renaissance proved crucial to
building strong states because rulers aggressively worked to rebuild governments after the
destructive events of the fourteenth century.
A. France: Charles VII began rebuilding France after the Hundred Years’ War through such
acts as reconciling the civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs, expelling the
English form French soil (except in Calais), strengthening royal finances, creating a
permanent royal army, and affirming the rights of the French crown over the Church.
France became stronger under Louis XI, who promoted new industries and extended French
territory.
1. In France, Charles VII (r. 1422-1461) created the first permanent royal army,
set up new taxes on salt and land, and allowed increased influence in his
bureaucracy from middle-class men. He also asserted his right to appoint
bishops in the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges.
2. Charles's son Louis XI (r. 1461-1483) fostered industry from artisans, taxed it,
and used the funds to build up his army. He brought much new territory under
direct Crown rule.
3. The marriage of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany added Brittany to the French
state.
11
4.
The Concordat of Bologna gave French kings effective control over church
officials within the kingdom.
B. England: Following the Hundred Years' War, the English monarch continued to decline
until the reign of Edward IV. He and his two successors restored royal prestige, weakened
the nobility, and restored local law and order. These rulers relied less on Parliament, which
was controlled by nobles, and instead depended on a royal council as the center of royal
authority. Henry VII kept the support of the wealthy by promoting trade and industry
1.
In England, Edward IV (r. 1461-1483) ended the war of the Roses between
rival baronial houses.
2.
Henry VII (r. 1485-1509) ruled largely without Parliament, using as his
advisers men with lower-level gentry origins.
3.
Under Henry, the center of royal authority was the royal council.
4.
Henry's Court of the Star Chamber tried cases involving aristocrats and did
so with methods contradicting common law, such as torture.
5.
The Tudors won the support of the influential upper middle class.
C . Spain: The various Spanish kingdoms remained a loose confederation until about 1700.
Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon exerted authority over the aristocracy by using
local groups (hermandades) for law enforcement, by making the royal council the basis of
their government, and by creating a national Catholic Church. The conquest of Granada
marked the conclusion of the reconquista. Spain witnessed a rise in anti-Semitism
1.
Although Spain remained a confederation of kingdoms until 1700, the wedding of
Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon did lead to some centralization.
Ferdinand and Isabella stopped violence among the nobles, recruited "middleclass" advisers onto their royal council, and secured the right to appoint bishops in
Spain and in the Spanish empire in America.
2.
Popular anti-Semitism increased in fourteenth-century Spain. In 1478,
Ferdinand and Isabella invited the Inquisition into Spain to search out and
punish Jewish converts to Christianity who secretly continued Jewish religious
practices.
3.
To persecute converts, Inquisitors and others formulated a racial theorythat conversos were suspect not because of their beliefs, but because of who
they were racially.
4.
In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the Jews from Spain.
Review Questions
Check your understanding of this chapter by answering the following questions.
1.
2.
What role did economic developments play in creating an environment that could produce
the intellectual and artistic creativity associated with the Renaissance? What was the basis
of Italian economic strength, both in the northern cities and in Florence?
What five powers dominated the Italian peninsula in the fifteenth century? How did the
Italian city-states contribute to modern diplomacy? What is balance of power?
3.
What is humanism? How did humanism foster an increased emphasis on the individual?
How is that emphasis important in producing the creative thrust of the Renaissance?
4.
5.
What was the humanist view of the proper role of education? What was the role of the
classics in such an education? Identify The Courtier and its role in Renaissance education.
What is secularism? To Renaissance thinkers, did secularism conflict with their Christian
beliefs? What was the role of secularism in fostering the creative thrust of the
Renaissance?
6.
What is Christian humanism? What were its main goals, and who were its leading
12
spokesmen?
7.
How did the invention of movable type revolutionize European life?
8.
How did patronage of artwork change from the early Renaissance to the late fifteenth
century? How did this change the nature of the artwork?
9.
How did the perception and status of the artist change in the Renaissance?
10.
How did Renaissance people categorize people of different ethnic groups? How were
blacks valued in Renaissance society? What roles did they play in the economic and
social life of the times?
11.
To what extent did the social hierarchy change in the Renaissance from the medieval
concept of social orders or estates? How were distinctions between nobles and
commoners enforced? How could wealthy commoners achieve upward social mobility?
What troubles did England face in the fifteenth century? What devices did Henry VII of
England use to check the power of the aristocracy and strengthen the monarchy?
16.
17. What were the achievements of Ferdinand and Isabella in the areas of national power and
national expansion? What role did religion and the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition
play in their attempts to consolidate royal power? Who were the New Christians (conversos)
in Spain, and why were so many of them ultimately killed or expelled?
Chapter 14—Reformations and Religious Wars
AP European History Style Questions

Compare and contrast the German and English Reformations.

Assess the relative effect of the Protestant Reformation on the nobility, the middle class,
and the peasantry.

Compare and contrast the effects of the Renaissance and Reformation on women.

Evaluate the effects of the Protestant Reformation on established religious and political
authority.

Compare and contrast the attitudes of Martin Luther and John Calvin toward political
authority and social order.

Evaluate how revolutionary the ideas of Luther and Calvin were in the context of the
sixteenth century.

Explore and explain the appeal of Protestantism.

Evaluate the role of elite and popular culture in the development of the early modern
European witch hunts.

Describe and analyze how the sixteenth-century Roman Catholic Church defended itself
against the Protestant Reformation.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
After reading and studying this chapter, students should be able to discuss the central ideas of
religious reformers and explain their appeal to different social groups. They should be able to
explain how the political situation in Germany shaped the course of the Reformation. They
13
should also be able to identify factors that contributed to the spread of Protestant ideas and
institutions beyond German-speaking lands. They should be able to assess the response of the
Catholic Church to the challenge of Protestantism. Finally, they should able to identify the
causes and consequences of the various forms of religious violence that plagued sixteenthcentury Europe.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
The Early Reformation: Early sixteenth-century reformers enjoyed an appreciative
audience because of widespread dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church.
A. The Christian Church in the Early Sixteenth Century: Typically, sixteenth-century
Europeans remained loyal to the Catholic Church even as they criticized it for such abuses as
clerical immorality, clerical ignorance, and clerical pluralism, including absenteeism
1.
External signs suggested that Europeans in the early sixteenth century remained
pious and loyal to the Roman Catholic Church.
2.
Many people were, however, highly critical of the church and its clergy.
3.
Critics of the church concentrated on clerical immorality, clerical
ignorance, and clerical pluralism.
4.
There was also local resentment of clerical privileges and immunities.
B. Martin Luther: Luther, a highly educated Augustinian friar who taught theology at the
University of Wittenberg, gave voice to the dissatisfaction with the Church as he protested
the sale of indulgences in The Ninety-five Theses. He based his arguments on the doctrine of
justification by faith alone. When the Catholic authorities called for him to recant at the Diet
of Worms, Luther refused, citing the authority of Scripture over the pope
1.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a conscientious friar, but observance of the
religious routine did not bring him a sense of security in salvation.
2.
Eventually he concluded that only simple faith in Christ led to salvation.
3.
Luther was spurred to public action by his objection to the sale of indulgences.
4.
His "Ninety-five Theses" argued that indulgences undermined true Christianity.
5.
Luther's positions brought him into conflict with the church and he was
eventually excommunicated.
6.
Luther's ideas spread rapidly in the politically charged atmosphere of early
sixteenth-century Germany.
C. Protestant Thought: The term Protestant referred to all non-Catholic western European
Christians. In Zurich, Protestant reformer Ulrich Zwingli expressed many ideas similar to
Luther's. General Protestant beliefs included salvation by faith, biblical authority as
interpreted by individual conscience, the Church as a spiritual priesthood of all believers, and
the equal merit of both ecclesiastical and secular vocations. The primary area of
disagreement for early Protestants was the meaning of the Eucharist.
1.
Luther's followers came to be called Protestants.
2.
The most important early reformer other than Luther was Ulrich Zwingli (14841531).
3.
Protestants held that salvation comes by faith alone.
4.
Protestants held that religious authority resided in Scripture alone, not
Scripture in combination with traditional Church teachings.
5.
Protestants asserted that the Church consisted of the whole community of
believers, not just the clergy.
6.
The Catholic Church claimed transubstantiation—that is, that the bread and
wine of the Eucharist literally become Christ's body and blood—but Luther
disagreed.
a)
Luther argued for consubstantiation--that Christ was really present in the
host in spirit, but that the bread and wine were not transformed.
b) Zwingli argued that the Eucharist was a memorial of the Last Supper and
14
nothing more.
c)
John Calvin agreed with Luther on consubstantiation.
D. The Appeal of Protestant Ideas: Numerous factors influenced the spread of Protestantism,
including its appeal to the educated by stressing individual reading of Scripture; its
emphasis on the priesthood of all believers; Luther's linguistic skills as expressed through
hymns, psalms, and catechisms; the printing press; and the reformers' willingness to work
with political authorities. The Reformation first spread beyond the German states into
Denmark-Norway
l.
Educated people and humanists were attracted to Luther's simpler, personal
vision of Christianity.
2.
Many urban Europeans were attracted to Luther's call for an end to clerical
privilege.
3.
The printing press played a key role in the rapid spread of the Protestant
message.
4.
Luther and Zwingi worked closely with political authorities to gain
support for Protestantism.
E. The Radical Reformation: Radical Protestants rejected the idea that church and state must
be united. Basing their ideas on the New Testament Church, they faced harsh persecution
because many authorities maintained that separation of church and state would lead to the
secularization of society and economic dislocation. Their ideas provided the foundation for
Quakers, Baptists, Congregationalists, and the separation of church and state in the United
States.
l.
Some individuals and groups rejected the idea that the church and state
needed to be united and, instead, sought to create voluntary communities of
believers.
2.
Such groups arrived at their own interpretations of Christianity, interpretations
that often set them at odds with the authorities and many of their fellow
citizens.
3.
Secular and religious leaders responded with harsh punitive measures.
F. The German Peasants' War: When lay and ecclesiastical lords increased their demands on
peasants, who were already suffering deteriorating economic conditions, revolt erupted in
1525. The peasants claimed Luther's support, but he did not advocate open rebellion. Instead,
he condoned the crushing of the revolt, leading to the death of over seventy-five thousand
peasants. Peasant conditions did improve moderately after the revolt, but the lay rulers
gained power and influence
1.
Following crop failures in 1523 and 1524, Swabian peasants demanded an end
to death taxes, new rents, and noble seizure of village common lands iol525.
2.
Luther initially backed the peasants.
3.
When the peasants turned to violence, however, Luther egged the lords on
as they crushed the rebellions.
4.
Lutheranism came to exalt the state and subordinate church to the secular rulers.
G. The Reformation and Marriage: Protestants praised marriage as ordained by God, but
they did not believe it was a sacrament. They emphasized spiritual equality within the
marriage, but with wifely obedience to the husband. Protestants did broaden justification for
divorce. Condemnation of prostitution frequently led to that profession losing its legal status.
Closing of convents led to fewer opportunities for unmarried women
l. Many Protestant reformers, including Luther and Zwingli, married.
2. Many Protestant reformers praised marriage. In their view, a good marriage
demonstrated the spiritual equality of men and women and the proper social
hierarchy of a husband’s authority and his wife’s obedience.
3. While Catholics viewed marriage as a sacrament, Protestants saw it as a contract.
4.
Most Protestants came to allow divorce.
15
5.
6.
Protestants uniformly condemned prostitution.
The impact of the Protestant Reformation on the lives of women was mixed.
II. The Reformation and German Politics: Political factors, such as the decentralization of
power in the Holy Roman Empire and the events leading to the election of Charles V of the
Hapsburg family as emperor, created a climate that was crucial to the success of the Reformation
A. The Rise of the Habsburg Dynasty: Advantageous marriages transformed the Austrian
Habsburg family into an international power, enabling Charles V to control about half of
Europe, plus Spain's New World Empire. Only the emperor's influence united these diverse
peoples, but Charles worked to impose a political and religious unity
1. In 1477` the marriage of Maximilian of the House of Habsburg and Mary of
Burgundy united the Austrian Empire with Burgundy and the Netherlands,
making the Habsburgs the strongest ruling family in the Holy Roman (German)
Empire.
2.
The Habsburg Charles V (1500-1558) inherited Spain, and Spanish
possessions in Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia, in addition to the lands mentioned
above.
3.
In 15l9, Charles was elected Holy Roman Emperor. He believed that it was his
duty to maintain the unity of Christendom.
B. The Political Impact of the Protestant Reformation: Most sixteenth-century Europeans
believed civil authorities rightfully determined the form of religious practice. Religious wars
erupted as many German rulers embraced the Reformation (often for political and economic
gain), while Charles V defended Catholicism. The fighting ended in 1555, when the Peace
of Augsburg declared that the political head of each territory could decide whether the state
would be Catholic or Lutheran.
l. Spiritual and material concerns swayed many German princes to
convert to Protestantism.
2.
The Reformation led to religious wars, first in Switzerland and then elsewhere.
3.
In 1530, Charles V called an Imperial Diet in Augsburg to try to halt the
spread of religious division.
4.
When Charles rejected Protestant demands, Protestant princes formed a
military alliance.
5.
Numerous outside powers became involved in Germany's political and
religious upheaval.
6.
In the Peace of Augsburg (1555) Charles accepted the religious status quo in
Germany.
III. The Spread of the Protestant Reformation: Reformers such as John Calvin built on the
ideas of Luther and Zwingli to develop their own theology and spread Protestantism into
England, France, and eastern Europe.
A. The Reformation in England and Ireland: Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church
when the pope did not quickly annul his marriage. Serving as the head of the new Church of
England, the king used the religious changes to strengthen royal power and wealth. Most Irish
remained loyal Catholics and resented the Protestant Church of Ireland. Queen Mary's
attempts to revert England to Catholicism were short-lived. Queen Elizabeth restored the
Church of England, creating a compromise between Catholic and Puritan extremes
1.
In 1534, in order to. legitimize his divorce and subsequent marriage to Anne
Boleyn, English King Henry VIII convinced Parliament to approve the Act of
Supremacy, making him head of the English Church.
2.
Later, Henry seized monasteries and distributed their lands to the upper classes.
3.
Henry's policies provoked some popular opposition, including the rebellion
known as the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536.
4.
Loyalty to the Catholic Church was particularly strong in Ireland.
16
5.
6.
On orders from London, the Church of Ireland was established in 1536.
Armed Irish opposition to the Reformation led to harsh repression by the
English.
7.
The nationalization of the church and the dissolution of the monasteries
led to important changes in government administration in both
England and Ireland.
8.
Henry's son Edward VI (r. 1547-1553) steered England in a strongly
Protestant direction.
9.
Mary Tudor (r. 1553--1558) swung the country back toward Catholicism.
10. Elizabeth I (r. 1558--1603), daughter of Henry VIII, steered a middle course
between Catholicism and the "Puritans" who wanted a "pure" church free of
Catholic influences.
11. The Elizabethan Settlement embodied Elizabeth's religious policies.
B. Calvinism: The most influential person in spreading Protestantism was John Calvin, who
set up a theocracy in Geneva. Through The Institutes of Christian Religion, Calvin motivated
Christians through the doctrine of predestination. Emphasizing a high standard of morality,
Calvin used the Genevan Consitory to regulate citizens' lives. Calvin's emphasis on hard
work led to a vigorous activism, and Calvinism became the dominant force in Protestantism
1.
Calvinism was the most important new form of Protestantism.
2.
Proceeding from the idea of God's absolute sovereignty and his omnipotence,
the founder of Calvinism, John Calvin, concluded that human beings could do
nothing to save themselves. God decided at the beginning of time who would
be saved and who would not (predestination).
3.
Predestination did not lead to fatalism. Rather, Calvinists, convinced they were
saved, were ready to endure great hardship in the struggle against evil.
4.
Calvin and the city government of Geneva attempted to regulate people's
conduct in order to create a godly city on earth. Card playing, dancing, and
so on were banned.
5.
The Genevan government prosecuted heretics, burning fifty-eight at the stake
between 1542 and 1546, including the Spanish heretic Servetus.
6.
The Calvinist ethic of "the calling" glorified all vocations as pleasing to
God. This doctrine encouraged hard work and vigorous activism.
C. The Establishment of the Church of Scotland: A political struggle between Catholic
monarchs and Protestant nobles led the nobles to embrace the ideas of Calvin as interpreted
by John Knox. Scottish barons created a strictly Calvinist Presbyterian Church of Scotland,
governed by ministers (not bishops as in the Catholic Church) known as presbyters
1.
Scottish nobles tended to support the Reformation, while the monarchs, King
James V and his daughter Mary (r. 1560-1567), opposed it.
2.
John Knox, a minister who studied in Geneva with Calvin, was instrumental in
getting the Scottish Parliament to set up a Calvinist church as the official state
church of Scotland (Presbyterianism).
D. The Reformation in Eastern Europe: Ethnic diversity, coupled with political and economic
struggles, led some groups in Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary to adopt Protestantism in
eastern Europe
1.
Ethnic factors shaped the Reformation in Eastern Europe.
2.
In Bohemia, ethnic grievances of the Czech majority fused with
resentment of the Roman church.
3.
By 1500, most Czechs had adopted the utraqism position.
4.
During the Counter-Reformation, a Catholic revival was promoted in Bohemia.
5.
By 1500, Poland and Lithuania were joined in a dynastic union.
6.
Luther's ideas spread to the Baltic towns and then to the University of Cracow.
7.
King Sigismund I of Poland banned Luther's teachings, limiting its success there.
8.
The Polish szlachta found Calvinism appealing.
17
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
The Counter-Reformation cemented the identification of Poland with
Catholicism.
Lutheranism reached Hungary via Polish merchants.
Military defeat by the Ottomans left Hungary divided into three parts.
Many Magyar magnates accepted Lutheranism.
Recognition of Habsburg rule led to a Catholic restoration in 1699.
IV. The Catholic Reformation: After 1540, Protestant growth was slowed by the strong
response of the Catholic Church, which included both internal reform and a Counter-Reformation
that challenged Protestants intellectually, politically, militarily, and institutionally
A. The Reformed Papacy: Pope Paul III accomplished significant reforms within the
Church that included improved education and moral standards for the clergy;
prohibition of pluralism, absenteeism, and the selling of Church offices; and
establishment of new religious orders that preached to the common people. The Roman
Inquisition successfully destroyed heretical influence within the Papal States
1.
Despite their desire for reform, early sixteenth-century popes resisted
calls for a general council to discuss the church's problems and
challenges.
2.
This changed with Pope Paul III (r. 1534-1549) who became the center of a
reform movement.
3.
In 1542 Pope Paul III established the Sacred Congregation of the Holy
Office with jurisdiction over the Roman Inquisition.
4.
The influence of the Inquisition outside of the papal territories was slight.
B. The Council of Trent: Both doctrine and political considerations kept the Council of
Trent from fulfilling its mission of reconciliation with Protestants. The council did
accomplish reforms that provided the basis of spiritual renewal of the Church, which
included giving equal validity to Scriptures and tradition, reaffirming the sacraments,
strengthening ecclesiastical discipline, expanding religious education, and giving new
emphasis to preaching and instructing the laity
1.
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) reaffirmed the equal authority of Scripture
and of Church tradition. It reaffirmed also the seven sacraments and
transubstantiation.
2.
The Council required bishops to reside in their own dioceses, ended
pluralism and simony, and forbade the sale of indulgences.
3.
The Council ordered that for a marriage to be valid the vows had to be
exchanged publicly.
C. New Religious Orders: Two new religious orders, the Ursuline order of nuns, founded
by Angela Merici, and the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), founded by Ignatius Loyola, provided
the foundation to the Catholic Church's successful response to the spread of Protestantism.
Both orders emphasized education. The Jesuits also focused on missionary efforts in Asia
and Latin America
1.
The new order of Ursuline nuns fought heresy with religious education for
girls.
2.
Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuit order to fight the Reformation, again
largely through education.
V. Religious Violence: Because both Protestants and Catholics saw the other as a dangerous
element that could ruin society, they combated each other in riots, wars, and witch-hunts
A. French Religious Wars: The effect of the Concordat of Bologna, between the French
king and the pope, was to make Catholicism a state religion. French Calvinists, known as
Huguenots, used religion to exert independence from the monarchy. Huguenots, attacking
the icons of the Catholic Church, frequently resorted to mob violence, leading to a fifteenyear civil war. Religious moderates, led by Henry of Navarre—later King Henry IV—ended
18
the fighting by allowing the Huguenots religious toleration
1.
In an effort to raise revenue to pay for the Habsburg-Valois Wars, Francis I sold
public offices and concluded the Concordat of Bologna with the papacy.
2.
Luther's tracts first appeared in France in 1518. Calvin's Institutes was
published in 1536.
3.
Monarchial weakness combined with religious division to create civil war.
4.
Popular Calvinism was manifested in iconoclasm.
5.
Thousands of Protestants were killed in the Saint Bartholomew's Day
massacre (August 24,1572), an event that sparked a fifteen year civil
war.
6.
The politiques believed that only the restoration of a strong monarchy
could save France from collapse.
7.
The accession of Henry IV (r. 1589 -1610), himself a politique, brought new
stability to France.
8.
For the sake of peace, Henry converted to Catholicism and issued the Edict of
Nantes.
B. The Netherlands Under Charles V: Calvinist influence in the Netherlands encouraged
opposition to Catholic civil authorities. When Spain tried to suppress Calvinists, civil war
erupted, which resulted in ten Catholic southern provinces coming under Spanish
control and the seven Protestant northern provinces declaring independence. Spanish
attempts to control the rebels led the English to aid the Protestants. The Spanish retaliated by
attempting to invade England, but they were quickly defeated. The northern provinces
retained independence.
1.
Under Charles V (r. 1519-1556), the Netherlands remained relatively calm.
2.
In the 1560s, the policies of Philip II of Spain led to rebellion in the
Netherlands.
3.
Philip tried to quell the violence by sending twenty thousand troops to the
Netherlands under the command of the duke of Alva. Alva's harsh policies
only intensified the conflict.
4.
Eventually, the ten southern Catholic provinces came under the control of the
Spanish Habsburgs, while the seven northern Protestant provinces formed the
Union of Utrecht in 1581 and declared their independence from Spain.
5.
Spanish efforts to retake control of the North led the leaders of the United
Provinces to look for help from outside powers, particularly Protestant England.
C. The Great European Witch-Hunt: Even though witch-hunts were increasing prior to the
Reformation, ideas about religious reform and the insecurities caused by religious wars
intensified persecution by both Catholics and Protestants. Witches were heretics accused of
making pacts with the devil. The large number of females executed as witches reflected a
negative view of women. Inquisitorial judicial procedures made it easier to gain convictions
of accused witches
1.
The relationship between the Reformation and the upsurge of witchcraft trials
in the mid-sixteenth century is complex.
2.
In the Middle Ages, a demonological element was added to the European
understanding of witchcraft. The essence of witchcraft became a pact with
the devil.
3.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, between 40,000 and 60,000
people were executed for witchcraft.
4.
Between 75 and 85 percent of those tried and executed were women.
5.
Learned ideas about witchcraft filtered down to ordinary people.
6.
Legal changes facilitated massive witch trials.
7.
Most witch trials began with a single accusation, but often grew to include
numerous alleged witches.
19
8.
Doubts and skepticism eventually brought the trials to a halt.
Review Questions
Check your understanding of this chapter by answering the following questions.
1.
Why did many loyal Catholics criticize the Church in the early sixteenth century?
2.
Who was Martin Luther? What were his main ideas? What circumstances prompted Luther
to post his Ninety-Five Theses? How did Luther respond to authorities' demands that he
recant?
3.
Who was Ulrich Zwingli? What were the basic tenets of Protestant thought? How did the ideas of
Zwingli and Luther differ?
4.
What were the causes of the German Peasants' War? How did Luther respond to the
revolt? What was the result?
5.
How did Protestant thought change ideas and practices about marriage, divorce, and
prostitution?
6.
Describe the extent of Habsburg power by the sixteenth century. How did the Habsburg
dynasty become so powerful? What were Charles V's primary goals regarding the
Habsburg empire?
7.
Briefly trace the history of the Reformation in England from the rule of Henry VIII
through Elizabeth. What were the results of the English attempting to establish a
Protestant church in Ireland?
8.
Who was John Calvin, and what were his basic beliefs? Describe his impact on Geneva.
Summarize his importance in the spread and influence of Protestantism in western
civilization.
9.
What factors influenced the spread of Reformation ideas in Bohemia, Poland, and
Hungary? What was the impact of Protestant thought in each country?
10.
How did Pope Paul III reform the Church? How did the Roman Inquisition combat
heresy? How effective was it?
11.
What were the original goals of the Council of Trent? Was the council successful in
meeting those goals? Why or why not? What reforms did the Council of Trent accomplish?
How did religious differences lead to civil war in France? What role did politics play
in those conflicts? How was the conflict resolved?
12.
13.
How did religious conflict lead to wars in the Netherlands? What role did both Spain and
England play in those conflicts? What was the outcome of those conflicts?
20