Chapter 2 Reading Notes- Renaissance and Reformation

The major trend in European History at the end of the Medieval period was the general movement toward secularization- where religion became less important in culture and society. Religion began to lose its control over all aspects of European life and people were more willing to pursue non-religious thoughts and goals. This movement was of primal importance because it was the secular institutions developed by Europeans (e.g. economics, military, science and technology) that were most likely to be accepted throughout the world by non-Europeans. If our goal is to study how Europe influenced the rest of the world, it would be disastrous to underestimate the importance of this secular movement.

Disasters of the 14th CenturyThe first challenges to Church authority came not from specific people but from a series

of unfortunate events that befell the people of Europe in the 14th century. One of those disasters was continued invasion by groups from the east. For example, the Mongols invaded Eastern Europe and ruled what would later become Russia for 200 years. Another group that was previously mentioned in Chapter 1 was the Ottoman Turks. They took Serbia in 1389 and started influencing southeastern Europe, particularly the Balkans. Again, the Ottoman Turks took over Constantinople in 1453 and remained in power until the end of WWI.

The other prominent disaster of the 14th century was the Black Death or Black Plague that killed almost half the population of Europe at the time. Coupled with a series of famines at the end of this century, the Black Death appeared to be an inescapable menace for those of all levels of society. It is believed the plague was carried by rats that had stowed away on ships landing in Mediterranean ports coming from the Middle East. Since sanitation measures were severely lacking in the late Medieval period, fleas would bite the rats and then bite humans. Humans would thus become ill, and since Europeans had no immunities to the plague, would transfer it to others rapidly. In 1300, there were approximately 70 million people living in Europe. By 1400, that number had dropped to 45 million, and the population did not return to its pre-plague levels until about 1550.

The Black Death had many consequences. The population decrease meant that there was no one to cultivate the land leading to even more famine and more susceptibility to disease. Whole villages disappeared either because people died or fled. The lower population did, however, improve the economic situation of some in the lower class. Since there were fewer people to work, wage went up. Landowners and guild masters tried to control prices and wages, but these actions led to peasant rebellions. The most famous of these rebellions were the Jacqueries in France in 1358 and the Wat Tyler Rebellion in England in 1381. The rebellions were met with severe repression and had few long-lasting consequences. One result of the Plague, in general, was to create a new class of land-owning peasants that were able to convince lords to give them land at fixed rents which meant that, over time, the peasants became relatively more wealthy because of inflation. Peasants were able to secure this deal because the lords had to offer them something good to keep working the land as there were fewer people to hire. This was much more typical in Western Europe than in Eastern Europe where serfdom remained prominent.

Finally, the Plague also helped kings to secure more power in a roundabout way. Kings at this time still had to bargain with parliaments and their feudal lords, but as the Plague killed so many parliamentary representatives, it became easier for the king to exert his influence. The

Plague also caused some of these feudal lords to go to war with one another to determine which family would gain the throne thus eventually reducing the amount of contenders overall. Two examples would be the Hundred Years’ War (between the feudal lords of England and France) and the War of the Roses (between the houses of Lancaster and York in England, both of which used a rose as the symbol for their family). These wars weakened the feudal lords thereby making the king more powerful.

Troubles of the ChurchThe 14th Century also called into question some of the practices of the Medieval Roman

Catholic Church. People became dissatisfied because the Church could not always explain why so many were dying. In addition, the Church lost credibility to Europeans as a result of abuses of power. The most prominent of these issues were simony (the selling of church offices), nepotism (church leaders giving their children high positions in the Church or local government, especially problematic since the Church leaders were supposed to be celibate), and indulgences (having people pay money to receive grace or a reduced sentence in purgatory).

Along with these issues came the problem of authority. Kings wanted more control over the Church in their given area while the pope felt he had ultimate authority over religious matters in any country. An example of this would be when Francis I of France wanted to tax the clergy in France. Pope Boniface VIII sent out a papal bull called Unam Sanctum in 1302 that basically stated that the pope was the supreme authority on Roman Catholic doctrine and practice; what the pope says goes. Unfortunately, Pope Boniface VIII was kidnapped by the French and died shortly thereafter, so he did not exactly get his way. The next pope that was elected was French, and he moved the capital of the Roman Catholic Church from Rome to Avignon, France. The papacy stayed in Avignon for about 70 years while under the careful influence of the French king. In this way, the French king was able to work out a deal with the pope that allowed the French to appoint their own religious leaders as long as those bishops and abbots paid their money not to the French king but to the pope. No other country in Europe ever had this special privilege. While in Avignon, the papacy lost prestige as many countries felt the pope was merely a puppet of the French king. This led to the title of Babylonian Captivity for this time period drawing on the Biblical example of when the Hebrews were taken captive into Babylon for about 70 years and then allowed to return to Jerusalem.

In order to solve this problem and hopefully return peace to Latin Christendom, two different popes were elected in 1378- one in Avignon and one in Rome. Each expected the other to step down, but neither did. This event was called the Great Schism of the West. It caused many Europeans to doubt the authority of the Catholic Church. Some even called for reform that would allow lay persons more activity in the church. For example, John Wycliffe of England translated the Bible into English in 1380. He believed that everyone should be able to read and interpret scripture for himself. His followers were called Lollards. John Huss of Bohemia had a similar idea and supported the ideas of Wycliffe. Huss gained a substantial following among the lower class.

These reform movements did not get very far due resistance from the Church. In 1409, a Church council was held in Pisa where a 3rd pope was elected. Unfortunately, the other two popes still refused to step down which made the Schism now three-fold. Finally, in 1415, at the Council of Constance, a 4th pope, Martin V, was elected by one of the largest gatherings of Church officials in European history. The other three popes were eventually persuaded to withdraw and the Great Schism ended. The Council of Constance also addressed the reformers

Wycliffe and Huss by declaring them both heretics. Huss was burned at the stake but Wycliffe was already dead, so his body was exhumed and his remains were destroyed. Aside from the reaction to the reformers, the Council of Constance did little to address the main issues most people had with the Church. The next several popes after Martin V were known as being increasingly secular and concerned with worldly affairs which put further church reform on hold indefinitely.

Italian RenaissanceAt the end of the Medieval Era, the European world started transitioning into a time of

great change, a time of “rebirth” of learning called the Renaissance. Along the change was slow and gradual, most historians consider the beginning of the Renaissance to be in the 15th century. The “rebirth” of learning focused mostly on studying ancient Greek and Roman texts in order to progress beyond life in the Middle Ages. The philosophy of humanism became the idea of the time. Humanism is concerned with what humans ought to be and ought to do. Humanism glorifies human traits. Art and beauty were preeminent during the Renaissance.

The place in Europe most open to these changes was Italy because there was no central government in Italy; it varied by locale. Some cities were ruled by hereditary dukes or princes, some by oligarchies, and others were republican in nature. Most historians consider the Renaissance to have started in the Italian city-state of Florence. Florence was originally a republic, but eventually a powerful banking family known as the de Medici overthrew the government and became hereditary dukes. Many of the early names of the Renaissance came from Florence including the writers Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio as well as the painters Michelangelo and DaVinci. The de Medici family helped influence Renaissance artists by becoming patrons of the arts in order to glorify their family. A patron is someone who supports an artist. Lorenzo de Medici was perhaps the most well-known patron of the family spending inordinate amounts of money on artwork and sculpture around Florence that would leave a legacy for his family. The de Medicis were certainly not the only patrons of Renaissance artists. Kings from around Europe also commissioned artwork, and the Roman Catholic Church also supported many artists in order to beautify their churches and hopefully encourage more religious fervor.

Art in all forms changed stylistically during the Renaissance. Architecture took on a more Greco-Roman style with columns and arches becoming more popular (in opposition to the sharp lines of Gothic architecture popular during the Middle Ages). Sculpture similarly used ideas and subjects from ancient Greece, Rome, and even Biblical figures. Great leaders were immortalized in free-standing statues, often portrayed on horseback. Painting improved greatly during the Renaissance due to mathematical developments in perspective. Paintings told stories and were more realistic than their Medieval counterparts. Often Renaissance paintings conveyed religious themes or portrayed wealthy people, but there was still some Greek and Roman influence. Some of the most well-known painters in Italy were Bellini, Raphael, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo. Renaissance artists tended to have many areas of expertise, though, so they often painted in addition to sculpting or architectural work.

Another key component of the Renaissance was writing. During the Middle Ages, writers had focused on religious themes (like how to get to heaven or how to be more devout) and only wrote in Latin. During the Renaissance, writers analyzed human thought processes or analyzed Greek and Roman texts. They also started writing the common language- called vernacular- which allowed more people to read their works. One of the first examples of this was the author

Dante Alighieri who wrote The Divine Comedy in Italian. It was one of the first European books to be written in a language other than Italian. Another writer was Petrarch. He was called the first man of letters because he became the model for studying Greek and Roman texts and writing about his reflections about his own thoughts. Not all writing was personal reflection, though; much of it was scholarly as well. For example, the Renaissance man Lorenzo Valla was famous for using textual criticism to analyze when documents were written. The premise behind this idea is that languages change over time, so the Latin used by Europeans in the 4th century would be different than the Latin used by Europeans in the 8th century or even 14th century. Using this method, Valla proved that the document entitled the Donation of Constantine which supposedly gave the pope land in Rome from the Roman Emperor Constantine was a fraud. Valla showed that the language was not consistent with how Europeans wrote in the 4th century and therefore could not have been written by the Emperor Constantine.

Other prominent writers focused on every day issues such as Castiglione in his Book of the Courtier. This book explained what was expected of polite people during the Renaissance. He focused on how men should act toward one another in order to have a civilized society. Another famous Renaissance writer focused on the political issues of his day. In his book The Prince Niccolo Machiavelli wrote the first secular treatise on politics. Previous political instructions had focused on how leaders should behave toward their subjects and other leaders if they were to be considered good Christians. Machiavelli instead focused on what effective leaders actually did to keep power. His philosophy has been described as “the ends justify the means” meaning that his book was not about what was right or wrong but rather about what worked. Machiavelli was likely influenced by a sincere patriotism toward Italy as a whole. Since Italy was not unified like the stronger countries in Europe (France, Spain, England) he was trying to explain how his country could become stronger and remain politically powerful. This lack of unification often led to power struggles among competing cities. Italian mercenaries, called condottieri, were hired by various Italian states to either attack their neighbors or defend from such attacks. These soldiers were even used at times by the pope. The turbulent political situation in Italy accounts for at least some of Machiavelli’s ideas but also contributed to the open atmosphere in which artists and writers were free to express new ideas without fear of government censorship.

Education continued to improve during the Renaissance. During the Middle Ages, universities had started to form where people would go to learn how to be a doctor or a theologian or a teacher at that university or another one. These universities became even more popular during the Renaissance and new universities were established in Spain, France, Scotland, Scandinavia, and especially Germany. Secondary schools for males also became more common during the Renaissance. Though not like our high schools today, these secondary schools did educate males in the basic skills considered necessary for life including learning to read Latin as well as how to act in social situations (think Book of the Courtier). Women were mostly denied educational privileges, but a very few wealthy women were taught to read and write in their homes. Education for females focused on how to raise a family and run a household. This was likely due to the family structure at the time. Men often did not marry until they were in their 30s because they had to first earn a living and establish a household. Women married in their mid- to late-teens in order to bear as many children as possible because so many did not survive until adulthood. Due to high mortality rates, children were often raised by their widowed mothers because their fathers were so much older than their mothers and therefore died when the children were still young.

Northern RenaissanceThe Renaissance outside of Italy took on a different feel. Although still considered a

rebirth with a focus on Greek and Roman texts, the Renaissance in northern European countries tended to be more conservative. The Renaissance spread to the north quite gradually, usually through artists and writers that studied in Italy and then brought the ideas of the Renaissance to their home countries. There was more blending in the north of Medieval tradition and new thought processes. Similarly, the cultured of Italy were said to believe in a “pagan” humanism that focused much more on secular pleasures whereas outside of Italy, the humanists were called Christian humanist because the Church still played a significant role in the works produced.

The Renaissance in the north was most prosperous in the Germanic states that made up the Holy Roman Empire. Perhaps this was because the Holy Roman Empire most resembled Italy in that it was economically very prosperous but politically disparate. The cities of Germany thrived during the 14th century, and the Holy Roman Empire gave rise to some of the first banking families. The Fuggers were especially well known for lending out money especially very large sums to the rich and famous, something virtually unheard of in the Middle Ages. Several important families, including some monarchies took out loans from the Fugger family. Another thing that sparked the prosperity of the Germanic states was the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg circa 1450. The printing press allowed books, flyers, and pamphlets to be printed easily and rapidly thereby influencing the rate at which information could be spread.

This environment led to the spread of humanism throughout northern Europe. Many famous artists came from the Holy Roman Empire including the Flemish masters (a painting guild from modern-day Belgium), Albrecht Durer, and the Holbeins. This painters were particularly well-known for their portraits of famous people. Science also started to use the ideas of the Renaissance by challenging accepted beliefs. For example, the German, Regiomontanus, developed the first mathematical conception of the universe. Later, in the 16th century, Nicholas Copernicus developed a heliocentric (sun-centered) model of the universe that opposed the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Copernicus will be discussed more in chapter 6, but it is important to know that the Scientific Revolution was beginning about the same time as the Renaissance.

Writers were also popular in the north. The most well-known humanist writer outside Italy was Erasmus of Rotterdam who wrote a book called The Praise of Folly. In his book, he pointed out many of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church that were bothersome to the common man. His intention was not to start a Reformation but to get the Church to reform on its own from within its own ranks. Historians debate whether the Reformation could have been avoided if the Church had heeded the warnings of Erasmus and took immediate action.

Aside from Erasmus, there were others in the north that were trying to fix what they believed to be wrong with the Church in their own way. Mysticism, or the idea that the soul could commune directly with God without any necessary actions, rituals, or works, became very popular in the north. Mysticism led to the feeling that an organized Church may not be necessary at all to gain salvation. More moderate reformers attempted to be better Christians by helping others. A group was established called the Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life. Members lived communally and tried to relieve the suffering of the poor. They also became teachers of Christian doctrine. Basically, they were much like monks and nuns, but they never took vows, could wear everyday clothing, and could leave any time they wanted. The Renaissance in the north, therefore, created the perfect conditions for people to challenge the Church thereby leading to the Reformation.

New MonarchiesThe Reformation was also influenced by the political climate of the time. The 14th and

15th centuries were considered the days of the New Monarchies. They were not really new in the sense that that the kings and queens involved descended from long lines of feudal lords that had already held power. They were new in their conception of the state and how the monarchy should have complete power at the expense of the old feudal lords. These new monarchs gained significant control over the people they ruled.

In England, for example, Henry VII of the House of Tudor started a new line of kings after the War of the Roses. As one could recall, the War of the Roses weakened the feudal lords in England which allowed Henry VII more power over the people than his predecessors. He ruled from 1485-1509. He first made it illegal for his feudal lords to raise their own armies under their own family crest (the problem that had led to the War of the Roses). At the same time, he raised a national army of foot soldiers. Traditionally, during the Middle Ages, those who chose to become professional soldiers had to be wealthy because only those who could afford horses and armor (think knights) really stood a chance in battle. Nevertheless, with the inventions of the pike and the longbow, both a result of the Hundred Years’ War, foot soldiers became invaluable because they were inexpensive to arm and they could now effective take down knights with very little effort. Thus, Henry VII’s plan to arm foot soldiers proved a cost-effective way to keep his feudal lords in line. Finally, Henry VII put into place the Court of Star Chamber (so named because it met in a room with stars painted on the ceiling). This court was established as a royal council to deal with infractions and disputes among the feudal lords. There was no jury and the king’s ruling was final, but it did allow for the feudal lords to present their case to the king and was considered moderately just. These changes made Henry VII a new monarch in England.

France had a similar development under Louis XI who ruled from 1461-1483. Like Henry VII, he also raised a royal army to keep his feudal lords in check. Louis XI was also well-known for gaining power over the clergy of France. He was eventually able to create a national clergy in which the king appointed Church leaders like bishops and abbots as long as these Church leaders still paid dues to the pope in Rome. Since the French had so much control over the Church in their country, they had very little reason to become Protestant during the Reformation.

Spain was another great example of the development of a strong unified monarchy. During the Middle Ages, Spain had been controlled by Muslims. However, by 1492, the Reconquista of the country was complete, and the Muslims had been expelled from the country. Spain was not really a unified country yet. The monarchs of the two separate states that made up modern-day Spain (Aragon and Castile) married in order to consolidate their rulings. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile became well-known both in their time and today. In fact, it was these monarchs that funded Columbus on his voyage to the west. Ferdinand and Isabella experienced one major problem: their separate countries that they were attempting to unify had very little, if anything, in common. They even spoke different languages. The only thing that Aragon and Castile had in common was the Roman Catholic Church. Being Catholic therefore became a symbol of national pride. You could not truly be Spanish unless you were Catholic. This led to a unification movement known as the Spanish Inquisition. The purpose of the Inquisition was to root out people in Spain who were not Catholic because that would mean that they were not supporting the unification movement (basically, it became treasonous to not be Catholic). The Spanish Inquisition was most concerning to Moriscos (Spanish Muslims that

converted to Christianity) and Marranos (Spanish Jews who converted); they were always seen as being questionably patriotic. This explains why Spain became the defender of Roman Catholicism during the Reformation and why Spanish explorers and missionaries pushed to convert Native Americans in large numbers to Christianity.

Lastly, the Holy Roman Empire was unable to create a new monarchy like the aforementioned countries because of the way it was politically organized. Unlike the other countries, there were not just feudal lords to deal with. In the Holy Roman Empire, there were three kinds of states: princely states (ruled by feudal princes), ecclesiastical states (ruled by a Church leader, usually a bishop), and imperial free cities (ruled by a town council and subject to a town charter approved by the emperor). From 1356 until the Thirty Years’ War, the Holy Roman Emperor was chosen by seven permanent electors. Four were princes and three were leaders of ecclesiastical states. The emperor ruled until he died or gave up the throne. As a result, the line of emperors did not necessarily have to be hereditary, though it usually was. The most important of the ruling families that became emperors was the Hapsburg family. This was the ruling family of Austria that wanted more influence in the Germanic states. From 1452-1806, every generation had a Hapsburg as emperor (with one exception). This dynasty started with the Hapsburg Maximilian I who through a series of successful marriages of his children was able to amass a significant empire in Europe. His grandson, Charles V, would eventually control Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, Austria, and all the Spanish holdings in the New World while also being elected as the Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V’s brother ruled Hungary and Bohemia which meant that any other European country was afraid that the Hapsburgs were trying to create a “universal monarchy” in which all Europe was under their control. This led to a lot of opposition, especially from France.

ReformationWith all the social and political changes resulting from the Renaissance, many people

wanted religious changes as well. There were three main types of people who wanted reform. First, the poor saw religious reform as a way to break free from oppression. The higher church authorities, particularly the pope and the cardinals in Rome, were seen as being corrupt, asking the poor for more money when they had no more to give. The poor saw the Reformation as a way to break free from the bondage they were in. Second, the middle class saw the Reformation as a way to exert more political and economic influence in their respective countries. The middle class did not like being told what to do and resented certain Church laws such as tithing and laws against usury (lending money at interest) that they felt hurt them economically. Third, princes or sovereigns of states supported the Reformation because it allowed them to oppose the established authority. It allowed them to break free from the pope or even allowed feudal lords reason to stop listening to their respective new monarchs. As such, there was a reason for almost every person to support the Reformation.

Although many people were calling for Church reform at the beginning of the 16th century, the person credited with starting the Reformation was a German monk by the name of Martin Luther. Luther was a very pious person constantly concerned about his own sinfulness and how he could attain salvation. He eventually came to the personal conclusion that men were justified by faith- meaning that all they had to do was acknowledge God and they would be saved. Luther thought good works such as giving to the poor or going to church were good things to do but unnecessary for salvation. Luther also believed that people should be able to interpret scripture for themselves instead of relying on a Church authority to do it for them. This meant

that he supported the translation of the Bible into vernacular. These two doctrines were in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church but not enough to get Luther in trouble. It was his attack on indulgences that really fueled the fire of the Reformation.

During the early 1500s, there was a major movement by the Renaissance popes to build a structure known as St. Peter’s Basilica over the supposed burial site of the Christian apostle Peter. In order to build the structure, the popes needed money. Some of the major funding came from a man named Albrecht. Albrecht was an archbishop of Magdeburg but he also wanted to be archbishop of Mainz (this was called pluralism and was against Church law). In order to become archbishop of Mainz, he appealed to Pope Leo X and offered to pay a significant sum of money to help build the Basilica. Pope Leo X agreed to the deal, but Albrecht had to borrow the money from the Fugger family- the imperial bankers. In order to repay the loan, Albrecht sanctioned the aid of a preacher named John Tetzel to sell as many indulgences as possible. Tetzel’s methods were considered outrageous and scandalous that they caused Martin Luther to express his feelings in a letter to the new archbishop in 1507. This letter, called the 95 Theses, was a list of 95 reasons why indulgences were not doctrinally sound. Luther nailed it to the door of the chapel in Wittenberg where he taught theology. When Pope Leo X found out about the incident and Luther’s preaching, he sent out a papal bull that demanded Luther be brought to Rome to stand trial for heresy. With the help of some powerful friends, Luther’s trial was moved from Rome to the Holy Roman Empire. Luther was asked to recant at the trial. His response was:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.

Luther was excommunicated and would have been killed except that the prince of Saxony offered him refuge as long as Luther remain hidden for a while until things calmed down.

During his time apart, Luther finished a translation of the New Testament into German which he later presented to the prince of Saxony. This movement was a clear and clean break from the Roman Catholic Church because it was against Church law to read the scriptures in anything but Latin. Also during Luther’s voluntary confinement, a German peasant revolt broke out in 1524. The peasants, thinking that Luther had been killed by the Church, started storming the manor houses of the land they lived on and brutally murdering landlords. The peasants saw in Luther’s opposition to the Church a reason and method for opposing all authority, both religious and political. Chapels were burned, priests murdered, and all of Germany was in turmoil. When Luther found out about the revolt, he revealed himself and pleaded with the people to stop the butchery but to no avail. Thus, Luther went to the princes that supported him and asked that they send out troops to stop the peasants. The revolt was put down. This action meant that from that point forward, Luther and his religious ideas would always be tied to civil authority; it would always be dependent on the government for protection.

The peasants’ revolt was not even the most radical phase of the Reformation. Luther’s example of opposition to the Church sparked many other reformers to become more vocal and to take action. Many Protestants groups were formed. Perhaps the most radical at the time were the Anabaptists, so called because they believed that people should be baptized as adults instead of as infants. They were led by a man named John of Leyden. In 1534, Leyden and his followers took over the German city of Munster where they set up a communal city with Leyden as the

head of the government. They also instituted polygamy which was an outrage to everyone outside the community. Eventually, the pope sent a Catholic army to retake the city as Munster was ecclesiastical state. The army besieged the city and eventually won out in 1535. Leyden and his two closest advisors were tortured and killed in 1536.

Through the many years after Luther broke with the Catholic Church, there was religious turmoil throughout Germany. The Holy Roman Empire descended into civil war because everyone was taking sides with Luther or the Catholic Church. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, was the grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain and was raised in Spain. He saw Catholicism as the only option for his subjects and therefore would tolerate no other religion in the Holy Roman Empire. Consequently, he sent his standing army to root out reformers. Consequently, many of his princes revolted in 1546 and formed the League of Schmalkald. These princes became Lutherans and convinced/forced their subjects to do the same. Although some of the princes may have been convinced by their religious convictions, historians believe that many of the princes joined the League in order to assert their historic feudal liberties; they did not want the Holy Roman Emperor to have too much power. Interestingly, the French also supported this League not because they wanted to promote Protestantism but because they did not want Charles V to gain too much power and create a “universal monarchy”. In 1555, Charles V was forced to sign the Peace of Augsburg that allowed each state in the Holy Roman Empire to choose its own religion (either Roman Catholicism or Lutheranism, no other options). The idea was “he who rules, his religion” meaning that whoever was the political leader of the state chose the religion for everyone. In this manner, about half of Germany became Lutheran (mostly in the northern states). The southern German states tended to remain Catholic. Also, though not part of the Holy Roman Empire, the countries of Scandinavia had also converted to Lutheranism.

While all of this was going on in Germany, reformers throughout Europe started to be more bold in their assertions. Perhaps the most influential of these reformers outside of Germany was John Calvin. Calvin was born in France but was forced to flee to Switzerland due to persecution. Calvin was a contemporary of Luther, and they shared many ideas, but they never met. Calvin agreed with Luther about justification by faith while also introducing the doctrine of predestination. According to Calvin, not everyone would be gain salvation, and the few that would gain salvation were already chosen by God before they were even born. He believed that being prosperous in this life meant that God was showing his favor upon a person. Therefore prosperity and hard work was linked to salvation even though a person’s actions had no bearing on whether he would be saved or not. This paradox led many Calvinists to be quite militant, uncompromising, and perfectionist. Calvin, unlike Luther, believed that the church should not be subordinate to the state. In Calvinist churches the church was governed by elected laymen. Calvin even supported people who were willing to rise up against their respective governments in order to establish Calvinist churches in their respective states. In 1536, Calvin wrote an extremely popular book called The Institutes of Christian Religion that laid out the principles of Protestantism. As a result of the book and the grassroots nature of Calvinism, it spread very rapidly across Europe, usually in bits and pieces. Calvinist communities would spring up within countries that already had a different established religion. For example, in Scotland, John Knox used the ideas of Calvinism to build up the Presbyterian Church in the country starting in 1550. Also, the Puritans that became influential during the English Civil War and those who eventually settled in Massachusetts had Calvinist roots.

Calvin himself was very strict in his doctrinal teachings. When he fled France, he moved to Geneva, Switzerland where he established a theocracy with the elders of his church as the

head of the government. Geneva was supposed to be opposed to Catholicism in every way. Calvin ensured this by keeping close watch of the people that lived there and regulating their lives as much as possible. Anyone who opposed Calvin was dealt with harshly. Music and dancing were forbidden. People were required to wear dark clothing at all times. Churches had no decoration nor music. Singing was frowned upon. Even bells were not allowed because Calvin believed them to be a “survival of popery.” Interestingly enough, in creating a sanctuary for himself and his believers, Calvin also created a dictatorship for those who did not believe in his preaching. For example, a refugee from Spain named Michael Servetus fled to Geneva seeking tolerance from the people of Geneva. When Calvin found out that Servetus had fled Spain because he was persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition for denying the Trinity, Calvin had him burned at the stake. The Reformation, though a time of great change, was not a time of tolerance.

While Luther was allying with German princes and Calvin was starting grassroots communities such as Geneva, another country became Protestant as a result of their leader. England took a new step in the Reformation because their leader, Henry VIII, chose to break with the Catholic Church. Henry VIII had one goal in life, to have a male heir. His wife, Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain), had been able to give him only one surviving child, a daughter named Mary. This greatly aggravated the king and he sought other ways to have a male heir. He determined the only way was to marry again, especially since he had become interested in one of Catherine’s ladies-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII wanted a divorce from Catherine but he had to receive the pope’s special permission (because divorce was unheard of and never acceptable at the time). Pope Clement VII might have granted Henry VIII the divorce, but he was unfortunately held hostage at the time by Charles V and his combined German and Spanish army that had recently invaded and sacked Rome. Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, so the pope was in no position to offend the queen. The pope denied Henry VIII his divorce.

As a result, Henry VIII took matters into his own hands. He refused to recognize the authority of the pope and had an archbishop in England pronounce his marriage to Catherine void. He then married Anne Boleyn in 1533. He convinced parliament to pass the Act of Supremacy in 1534 which made the king of England the head of the new Church of England (also called the Anglican Church). The pope then excommunicated him and instructed Catholic priests in England to stop administering the sacraments to the people. In retaliation, Henry VIII started confiscating land previously held by the Catholic Church. Some of the chapels were converted into Anglican churches, but the many monasteries confiscated were either used by the king to secure money or redistributed to his loyal followers. If anyone opposed the Act of Supremacy or refuse to take an oath of loyalty to the king, they were executed. Such was the fate of the humanist writer Thomas More who wrote the book Utopia. The formation of a new church created great religious turmoil throughout the country.

In his personal life, Henry VIII was still not happy. Anne Boleyn had a daughter named Elizabeth and then miscarried a second and a third child. The third child happened to be miscarried on the day of Catherine of Aragon’s funeral (she had died of natural causes). After the second miscarriage, Anne Boleyn was accused of adultery and executed as a result. Shortly thereafter, Henry VIII married his third wife, Jane Seymour who did produce a male heir, Edward, and then died shortly thereafter due to an infection. Henry VIII was ecstatic about the birth of his son, but still did not want to live alone. He married his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, after seeing a picture of her that was painted by the Renaissance artist Hans Holbein the

Younger. Henry VIII liked the portrait, but not the woman, and shortly after their wedding, he secured a divorce from Anne of Cleves. He next fell for the very young Catherine Howard who became his fifth wife. She committed adultery and was discovered which meant that she had to be beheaded by law (although the king was not overly happy about the situation). Finally, in his old age and with his body in decline, the king married a wealthy widow, Catherine Parr, as his sixth and final wife. The king died four years later in 1547 at the age of 55.

The religious turmoil caused by Henry VIII continued in the reigns of his children. Edward VI succeeded his father and continued the Reformation in England. The Anglican Church had very few differences from Roman Catholicism with the exception of who held authority. Under Edward VI, people were forced to take oaths of loyalty to the king and the Anglican Church in order to further the switch to Protestantism. Edward VI, however, was a sickly person and died only six years after taking the throne. He was succeeded by his half-sister, Mary I. Since Mary was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, she was a staunch Catholic. She saw it as her responsibility to correct the problems caused by her father and brother by converting the country back to Catholicism. Mary I married the king of Spain, Philip II, who was also a staunch Catholic. She tried to reconcile England with the pope and persecuted Protestants in England. Almost 300 Protestants were burned at the stake and 800 more chose exile earning her the unflattering title “Bloody Mary.” Mary I died in 1558 and was succeeded by her half-sister, the only remaining child of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth inherited a very religiously confused country. In the twenty-five years before her reign, there had been constant changes which meant she had to decide how to fix it. Her only option was to support the Church of England because Catholics still saw her as illegitimate (if Henry VIII had not broken from Catholicism, her mother never would have been queen). Nevertheless, she had no desire to persecute Catholics within her realm as her sister had done with Protestants. As a result, she made the Church of England the official religion in England while still allowing Catholics to worship as long as they paid a special tax. Her policy was one of great tolerance that healed deep-seated wounds among the various religious groups. This policy made her very popular and ensured a relatively stable reign for many years. The only group that really opposed her policy were the Irish who refused to recognize the Church of England because Ireland had been invaded by the English several years before. The Irish always oppose English rule (still true today), so they would do anything as long as it was opposite of what the mainland was doing.

Catholic ReformationThus there were many ways in which different countries started breaking away from the

Catholic Church. Europe was no longer religiously homogenous. The Catholic Church did not accept Protestantism without trying to solve the problem. This led to the Catholic Reformation (aka the Counter Reformation).

The first goal of the Church was to try to reconcile with the various Protestants that had arisen since the beginning of the sixteenth century. In 1545, the Church called a meeting dubbed the Council of Trent that met on and off for the next 20 years. The Council was exceedingly important as it solidified doctrines and practices that were held until the 2nd Vatican Council in 1960. There were some issues associated with the council. First, it was not well-attended. At times, as few as 20 representatives voted on doctrines and Church law that would be enforced for the next 400 years. Second was the issue of authority. Some believed a church-wide council held more authority than the pope while others believed the pope to be the only true authority for the

Church. In the end, this was probably a moot concern because the pope generally agreed with the rulings of the Council.

The Council of Trent had two main goals: to clarify church doctrine and reform the abuses in the Church that had led to people like Luther taking a stand. Doctrinally, the Church stood by justification by works (instead of on faith alone). They also affirmed the seven necessary sacraments to receive salvation (most Protestants only believed in two or three). The Church believed the priesthood should be set apart from the laity and confirmed celibacy among the clergy. The Church also emphasized the importance of the scriptures and tradition in defining Church practices. People were not encouraged to read nor interpret scripture on their own. Latin became the only accepted language for sermons and mass. Latin was used exclusively in the Church until 1960. As far as reforming the clergy, the Council was able to check pluralism, get rid of indulgences (while still upholding the doctrine), and initiate training for priests in order to better educate them. While successful in reforming and transforming the Church, by 1565 when the Council ended, it was clear there would be no ultimate reconciliation with Protestantism. Western Europe would never be religiously homogenous again.

In addition to the Council, there were other methods for reforming the Church. The popes that followed the Renaissance popes were reformers so they made sure bishops and priests were following Church law. Missionary work also became preeminent. Missionaries were sent out to convert non-Europeans that Europeans had come in contact with but also to reconvert those who had become Protestant. These efforts were particularly successful in places that had a turbulent religious history like the states of Germany and the northern parts of Italy.

New religious groups, devout to the pope and the teachings of the Catholic Church were established. One such group was the Ursulines, a group of women dedicated to serving the poor and teaching those in need. They convinced many of the benefits of the Catholicism by relieving suffering. Another group was the Jesuits, established by Ignatius Loyola. He was a devout Spanish Catholic that served in the army and almost lost his life fighting crusades against the Ottoman Empire. He was wounded, and he became exceedingly religious during his recovery process. After he had recovered, he went to see the pope and started the Jesuits. This was a quasi-military group that swore allegiance to the pope and his infallibility. Basically, if the pope said white was black, the Jesuits would agree with him. Their efforts focused on reconversion, missionary work, and teaching. They set up schools that are still in operation today.

Finally, the Church cracked down on opposition by more clearly defining what it meant to be heretical. The pope initiated an Index of Prohibited Books that listed books that were opposed to Church doctrine. Anyone in a Catholic area found with one of these books would suffer serious consequences. The Church used the model of the Spanish Inquisition to root out heretical ideas. The goal of the Roman Inquisition was to try people for heresy or to encourage compliance with the Church and its doctrine. Even the famous Galileo was brought before the Roman Inquisition for speaking out against the Church. In this way, the Church was able to use police efforts to ensure compliance.

By about 1560, Europe had somewhat stabilized with each country or state being in charge of the religion in its area. The Catholic Reformation had been able to control the spread of Protestantism, though not completely reverse the effects. New religious, social, and political issues would continue to arise and would have to be worked out in the next 100 years.

Reading Questions:1. What was the selling of indulgences?2. What was the Conciliar Movement?3. How did the de Medici family influence the growth and prosperity of Florence?4. What were some changes in art and architecture that reflected change in society?5. What were the purposes of humanist writing?6. What was Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier about?7. How did Italy differ from states such as Spain, France, and England during the

Renaissance?8. What are at least three differences between the Renaissance in Italy and the Renaissance

in the north?9. What was the Star Chamber and who started it?10. List at least three differences between Spain and France.11. Which family controlled the politics of the HRE?12. What were the three groups that contributed to the Protestant Reformation?13. What were some of the ideals of Martin Luther?14. How did the Peace of Augsburg settle the religious wars in the HRE?15. What were some ideals of John Calvin?16. What was Geneva like during the Reformation?17. How did Elizabeth I settle the religious conflicts in England?18. What did the Council of Trent do for the Catholic Church?