Chapter 14

A History of Western Society

Chapter 14

Reform and Renewal in the Christian Church

Cover Slide

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The Condition of the Church (ca 1400–1517)A.

Signs of Disorder

1.

Clerical immorality⎯priests

frequently violated their vows of celibacy. They were also accused of drunkenness, gambling, and other vices.

2.

Clerical ignorance⎯many

priests could barely read or write. They were less educated than most educated laity.

3.

Clerical absenteeism and pluralism⎯especially

in higher-level Church officials who were often absent from their sees. Many held more than one office at a time, and some had bought their offices.

4.

Many Italian officials in Rome held benefices in England, France, or Germany, drawing income therefrom, but doing little for their sees.

5.

Upper levels of the Church hierarchy were dominated by aristocrats who lived well.

Lieferinxe, Pilgrims at the Tomb of St. SebastianJosse

Lieferinxe, a French painter of the Provencal school, was active in Marseilles from 1493 to 1508. This ancon (devotional object), decorated with eight scenes from the life of St. Sebastian, was commissioned in 1497 for the church of Notre Dame des Accoules

in Marseilles. Lieferinxe

took over the painting when the original artist died before finishing the work. This panel was from the right section of the great ancon. Here we see Christians, especially those who are ill or handicapped, flocking to the Tomb of St. Sebastian. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)

Lieferinxe, Pilgrims at the Tomb of St. Sebastian

Copyright ©Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Matthias Gerung, Folly of IndulgencesIn this woodcut by Matthias Gerung

(Spottblatt

auf die katholische

Geistlichkeit) the sale of indulgences is viciously satirized. With one claw in the holy water symbolizing the rite of purification, and the other claw resting on the coins paid for indulgences, the church, in the form of a rapacious eagle with its right hand stretched out for offerings, writes out an indulgence with excrement--which represents its worth. Fools, in a false security, sit in the animal's gaping mouth, representing hell. (Kunstsammlung der Veste Coburg)

Matthias Gerung, Folly of Indulgences


B.Signs of Vitality1.

In Holland the Brethren of the Common Life lived simply, aided the poor, and taught in local schools.

2.

Church attendance and church donations remained high.

3.

Pope Julius II summoned an ecumenical council to discuss Church reform (1512–1517).

I.

The Condition of the Church (ca 1400–1517)

II. Martin Luther and the Birth of

ProtestantismA.

Luther’s Early Years

1.Luther 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.

B.

The Ninety-five Theses1.

In Luther’s home of Wittenburg

in 1517 the Church was selling

indulgences to raise money for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome

2.

By the 1500s common people believed that when they purchased an indulgence, they were purchasing from the Church full remission of penalties for sin.

3.

Luther rejected the notion that good works, such as donating money to the Church through an indulgence, could lead to salvation. He was disturbed that Church friars were misleading the common people and wrote to his archbishop in protest.

4.

In 1519 Luther challenged the authority of the Pope (and of a general church council) in public debate. He was excommunicated.

5.

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V declared Luther an outlaw, but Duke Frederick of Saxony sheltered him.

6.

Ulrich Zwingli, a Swiss priest, joined the Reformation in 1519, denouncing indulgences, monasticism, and celibacy. Like Luther, Zwingli insisted the laity should read the Bible.

Martin Luther and the Birth of Protestantism

C.Protestant Thought1.

Luther maintained that God’s grace alone, without any element of individual good works, saved people.

2.

Luther held that religious authority resided in Scripture alone, not Scripture in combination with traditional Church teachings.

3.

Luther asserted that the Church consisted of the whole community of believers, not just the clergy.

4.

Luther argued that all vocations were equally holy, and that monasticism was not a higher vocation.

5.

Luther emphasized the invisible Church of all believers, not the visible hierarchy culminating in the Pope.


6.Luther argued that there were only two, not seven, sacraments⎯baptism, and the Eucharist.

7.The Catholic Church claimed transubstantiation⎯that

is, that the bread and

wine of the Eucharist literally became 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)John Calvin believed with Luther in

consubstantiation.


D. The Social Impact of Luther’s Beliefs

1.

Even before Luther city governments in Germany had been expressing resentment of clerical privilege and immunities.

2.

Even before Luther town burghers, disgusted with the poor quality of priestly teaching, had endowed preacherships

to support good preachers.

3.

Luther’s writing that “a Christian man is the most free lord of all”

contributed to peasant unrest in Germany.

4.

Following crop failures in 1523 and 1524, Swabian peasants in 1525 demanded an end to death taxes, new

rents, and noble seizure of village common lands.5.

Luther initially backed the peasants.


6.

When the peasants turned to violence, however, Luther egged the lords on as they crushed the rebellions.

7.

Lutheranism came to exalt the state and subordinate church to the secular rulers.

8.

Luther owed his success to the printing press, which helped him to spread his message, and to his own rhetorical skill.

9.

Luther’s claim that all vocations have equal merit, the Protestant rejection of monasticism and celibacy, the insistence that all laity (including women) should read the Bible, and Luther’s acceptance of sexual desire (within marriage) all contributed to some improvement in women’s circumstances.


Luther and his wife KatherineLucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) is known for his portraits. He painted the dual portraits of Martin Luther and his wife Katharine von Bora, who married in 1525 and had an exceptionally happy union. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)

Luther and his wife Katherine


Germany and the Protestant ReformationA.

The Rise of the Habsburg Dynasty

1.

In 1477 the marriage of Maximilian I 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 1519 Charles was elected Holy Roman Emperor. He believed that it was his duty to maintain the unity of Christendom.

4.

Many German princes converted to Lutheranism because it allowed them to seize Church property.

5.

Charles V focused his attention elsewhere, and he needed the help of Protestant princes—for example, to fight off the Turkish attack on Vienna in 1529.

6.

Between 1521 and 1555 Charles V fought a series of wars with France over Burgundy. The French supported Lutheran princes within Germany against Charles.

7.

In the Peace of Augsburg (1555) Charles accepted the religious status quo in Germany.

The Growth of the Protestant ReformationA.

Calvinism

1.

Much of northern Europe broke with the Roman Church by 1555.2.

Calvinism was the most important new form of Protestantism.

3.

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).

4.

Predestination did not lead to fatalism. Rather, Calvinists, convinced they were saved, were ready to endure great hardship in the struggle against evil.

5.

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.

6.

The Genevan

government prosecuted heretics, burning fifty-eight at the stake between 1542 and 1546, including the Spanish heretic Servetus.

7.

The Calvinist ethic of “the calling”

glorified all vocations as pleasing to God. This doctrine encouraged hard work and vigorous

activism.

John CalvinJohn Calvin's theology was in most respects similar to Luther's. Both reformers gave primary importance to the authority of the Bible and to the idea of predestination. This portrait of John Calvin is attributed to the German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (ca. 1497-

1543). It was painted around 1538, when the 29-year-old reformer was at the beginning of his career in Geneva, where he stayed to participate in the reform of the city, and then remained for the rest of his life. (H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, Calvin College and Calvin Theological Semnary)

John Calvin


Calvinist worshipThis painting, the Temple of Lyons, was attributed to Jean Perrissin

(ca. 1565). The temple was constructed in 1564 on land near the town hall and paid for by the Protestant community of Lyons. This picture of a simple Calvinist service was probably brought to Geneva by a refugee, for the temple disappeared after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Although Calvin's followers believed in equality and elected officials administered the church, here men and women are segregated. Beside the pulpit an hourglass hangs to time the preacher's sermon. (Bibliotheque publique et universitaire, Geneva)

Calvinist worship


B.The Anabaptists1.

Anabaptists believed in adult baptism, religious tolerance, and separation of church and state. They shared property and admitted women as ministers.

2.

Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, and Zwinglians all recognized the doctrine of separation of church

and state as pointing toward a secular society, and they persecuted Anabaptists.

The Growth of the Protestant Reformation

C.

The English Reformation1.

The Catholic Church was vigorous in early sixteenth century England and there was less of a gap between clergy and educated laypeople than elsewhere in Europe.

2.

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.

3.

Later, Henry seized monasteries and distributed their lands to the upper classes.

4.

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.


Holbein, portrait of Henry VIIIThis portrait of Henry VIII, painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1540, is the best known of all of Henry's portraits. Although the king is painted half-length, Holbein has successfully captured Henry's regal bearing, finely detailed dress, the impact of his 6′2" frame, and his imperturbable, aloof expression. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)

Holbein, portrait of Henry VIII


D. The Establishment of the Church of Scotland

1.

Scottish nobles tended to support the Reformation, while the monarchs, King James V and his daughter Mary (r. 1560–1567), opposed it.

2.

James 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).


E.Protestantism in Ireland1.

Although the English tried to impose their church on Ireland, the Irish resisted and remained Roman Catholic.

F.

Lutheranism in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark1.

In Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, monarchs took the lead in initiating the Reformation.

2.

The sixteenth century saw the establishment of Lutheranism and the consolidation of the Swedish monarchy.

3.

Christian III of Denmark and Norway secularized church property and set up a Lutheran church.


G.

The Reformation in Eastern Europe1.

Ethnic factors shaped the Reformation in Eastern Europe.

2.

During the Counter-Reformation, a Catholic revival was promoted in Bohemia.

3.

By 1500 Poland and Lithuania were joined in a dynastic union.4.

Luther’s ideas spread to the Baltic towns and then to the University of Cracow.

5.

King Sigismund I of Poland banned Luther’s teachings, limiting its success there.

6.

Many Polish found Calvinism appealing.7.

The Counter-Reformation cemented the identification of Poland with Catholicism.

8.

Lutheranism reached Hungary via Polish merchants.


The Catholic Reformation and the Counter-Reformation

A.

The Slowness of Institutional Reform1.

Preoccupation with the Habsburg-Valois wars and resistance to the idea of a council kept the popes from acting quickly to deal

with the Reformation.B.

The Council of Trent

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.

Council of Trent, School of TitianThis sixteenth-century painting by the School of Titian depicts a well-attended meeting of the Council of Trent. Since the early sessions were sparsely attended, this meeting seems to be a later session. Few bishops from northern Europe, however, ever attended. The Swiss guards (forefront) of the Vatican were founded by Pope Julius II in 1505 to defend the papacy. (Louvre/R.M.N./Art Resource, NY)

Council of Trent, School of Titian

C.

New Religious Orders1.

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.

D.

The Congregation of the Holy Office1.

In 1542 Pope Paul III created the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office to manage the Roman Inquisition’s battle against heresy.

2.

The Inquisition was a committee of six cardinals with authority to investigate, judge, and punish heretics. They had authority to execute.

E.

The Reformations: Revolution or Continuity?1.

Protestant historians stress that the Reformation was a radical break with the past, as the Church fragmented.

2.

Catholic historians stress continuity, noting the reform efforts

underway in the Church well before the Protestant Reformation that continued after it had taken hold.

The Catholic Reformation and the Counter-Reformation

Pope approves Jesuit constitutionsJuan de Valdes Leal (Spanish; active mainly in Seville and Cordoba) was famous for grimly moralizing subjects. He also created moving religious paintings and fine portraits. This portrait of Ignatius Loyola is a reasonable likeness and that of Pope Paul III an idealization; in 1540 he was a very old man. When the Jesuit constitutions were read to him, the pope supposedly murmured, "There is the finger of God." (Institut Amatller d’Art Hispanic)

Pope approves Jesuit constitutions

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Coronation of Charles V in BolognaPope Clement VII's

coronation of Charles V as emperor of the Holy Roman empire on February 24, 1530, shown in this painting, added a significant dimension to Charles's formidable stature. Charles grips a sword and an orb, symbols of the political and military power he already holds. The ceremony took place in San Petronio, a church remodeled during the Renaissance to recall the architecture of the Roman Empire. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)

Coronation of Charles V in Bologna


Cranach, Luther and the Wittenberg ReformersThe massive figure of John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, who protected and supported Luther, dominates this group portrait of Martin Luther and the Wittenberg Reformers by Lucas Cranach the Younger. Luther is on the far left; his associate Philipp Melanchthon is in the front row on the right. Luther's face shows a quiet determination. (The Toledo Museum of Art, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey)

Cranach, Luther and the Wittenberg Reformers


Cranach, True Church and FalseThis woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) was designed to make clear the distinction between the evangelical church and the papacy. On one side Christ and his sacrifice are clearly at the center; on the other the pope and innumerable church officials are caught in the flames of hell. (Kunstsammlung, Dresden)

Cranach, True Church and False


Everyday Holy HouseholdOne of the most popular ideas among Protestants was that true religion should be taught and preserved in the Christian family, presided over by the father. The detail in this painting shows not only the interior of a Flemish home but also the role of the father and the symbolic importance of meals eaten together. (The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust)

Everyday Holy Household


Henry VIII on deathbedIn this allegorical painting by an unknown artist, Henry VIII, on his deathbed, points to his heir, Edward, who is surrounded by Protestant worthies, as the wave of the future. The pope collapses, monks flee, and through the window iconoclasts knock down statues, symbolizing terror and superstition. Since the new order lacked broad popular support, propagandistic paintings like this were meant to sway public opinion. (Reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees, National Portrait Gallery, London)

Henry VIII on deathbed


Peasant FreedomThe German peasants believed Martin Luther's call for individual freedom of conscience included economic and political freedom. Their revolt of 1524-

1525 struck terror in the hearts of German rulers. This sixteenth-century German woodcut--the title page of an anonymous pamphlet from the Peasants' War, 1525--shows that the peasant army was lightly armed; many peasants carried only tools, pitchforks, flails, and scythes.

Peasant Freedom


Pierre Virer preaching before CalvinAnother great reformer, the Swiss Pierre Viret

(1511-71) exercised his ministry at Orbe, Payerne, and Lausanne before taking refuge in Geneva. In this Limoges enamel plaque, Viret

preaches before Calvin and others on the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." (Louvre/R.M.N./Art Resource, NY)

Pierre Virer

preaching before Calvin


St. Sebastian and the Plague-strickenIn his painting St. Sebastian Interceding for the Plague-Stricken, the Flemish artist Josse

Lieferinxe

portrays an outbreak of the plague. One dying man seems to be falling terrified to the ground while a female bystander in the background screams in alarm. In the foreground the body of a dead person, carefully shrouded, is attended by a priest and other clerics bearing a cross. In the background is a cart transporting the dead to common graves. At the top of the painting, Christ listens to the prayers of Saint Sebastian (pierced by arrows). (The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore)

St. Sebastian and the Plague-stricken


Teresa of AvilaBetween 1562 and her death in 1582, Teresa of Avila founded or reformed fourteen houses of nuns--no small feat for a woman in a very sexist society. She was the first spiritual author to provide a scientific description of the life of prayer, from simple meditation to mystical union with God. But for all her mystical experiences, Teresa was a motherly, practical, and down-to-earth woman with a strong sense of humor. In her late thirties Teresa had profound mystical experiences: she heard voices and had visions in which Christ chastised her for her frivolous life and friends. This seventeenth-century cloisonne

enamelwork illustrates one of Teresa of Avila's visions, where an angel seems to pierce her heart several times. (By gracious permission of Catherine Hamilton Kappauf)

Teresa of Avila


Chapter 14 Discussion Questions1.

Why did Protestantism and capitalism complement each other?

2.

How did the Society of Jesus combat the influence of Protestantism?

3.

What were Luther’s views on marriage and sexuality?

4.

Why did Henry VIII try to purge England of monastic communities?

5.

What role did the printing press play in the Protestant Reformation?

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Chapter 14