Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Mr. Szczepkowski
Honors World History
31 January 2010
The 16th century in Europe was a great century of change on many fronts. The
humanists and artists of the Renaissance would help characterize the age as one of
individualism and self-creativity. Humanists such as Petrarch helped restore the dignity
of mankind while men like Machiavelli injected humanism into politics. When all is said
and done, the Renaissance helped to secularize European society. Man was now the
creator of his own destiny -- in a word, the Renaissance unleashed the very powerful
But the 16th century was more than just the story of the Renaissance. The century
witnessed the growth of royal power, the appearance of centralized monarchies and the
discovery of new lands. During the great age of exploration, massive quantities of gold
and silver flood Europe, an event which turned people, especially the British, Dutch,
Italians and Germans, money-mad. The year 1543 can be said to have marked the origin
of the Scientific Revolution -- this was the year Copernicus published his De
Revolutionibus and set in motion a wave of scientific advance that would culminate with
Newton at the end of the 17th century. In the meantime, urbanization continued unabated
as did the growth of universities. And lastly, the printing press, perfected by the
moveable type of Gutenberg in 1451, had created the ability to produce books cheaply
and in more quantities. And this was indeed important since the Renaissance created a
Despite all of these things, and there are more things to be considered, especially in the
area of literature and the arts, the greatest event of the 16th century -- indeed, the most
revolutionary event -- was the Protestant Reformation. It was the Reformation that forced
people to make a choice -- to be Catholic or Protestant. This was an important choice, and
a choice had to be made. There was no real alternative. In the context of the religious
wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, one could live or die based on such a choice.
We have to ask why something like the Reformation took place when it did. In
general, dissatisfaction with the Church could be found at all levels of European society.
First, it can be said that many devout Christians were finding the Church's growing
emphasis on rituals unhelpful in their quest for personal salvation. Indeed, what we are
witnessing is the shift from salvation of whole groups of people, to something more
personal and individual. The sacraments had become forms of ritualized behavior that no
longer "spoke" to the people of Europe. They had become devoid of meaning. And since
more people were congregating in towns and cities, they could observe for themselves
and more important, discuss their concerns with others. Second, the papacy had lost much
of its spiritual influence over its people because of the increasing tendency toward
secularization. In other words, popes and bishops were acting more like kings and princes
than they were the spiritual guides of European men and women. And again, because so
many people were now crowding into cities, the lavish homes and palaces of the Church
were noticed by more and more people from all walks of life. The poor resented the
wealth of the papacy and the very rich were jealous of that wealth. At the same time, the
popes bought and sold high offices, and also sold indulgences. All of this led to the
increasing wealth of the Church -- and this created new paths for abuses of every sort.
Finally, at the local level of the town and village, the abuses continued. Some Church
officials held several offices at once and lived off their income. The clergy had become
lax, corrupt and immoral and the people began to take notice that the sacraments were
These abuses called for two major responses. On the one hand, there was a
general tendency toward anti-clericalism, that is, a general but distinct distrust and dislike
of the clergy. Some people began to argue that the layperson was just as good as the
priest, an argument already advanced by the Waldensians of the 12th century. On the
other hand, there were calls for reform. These two responses created fertile ground for
conflict of all kinds, and that conflict would be both personal and social.
The deepest source of conflict was personal and spiritual. The Church had grown
more formal in its organization, which is hardly unsurprising since it was now sixteen
centuries old. The Church had its own elaborate canon law as well as a dogmatic
theology. All of this had been created at the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215. That
Council also established the importance of the sacraments as well as the role of the priest
in administering the sacraments. 1215 also marks the year that the Church further
elaborated its position on Purgatory. Above all, the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215
established the important doctrine that salvation could only be won through good works:
The common people, meanwhile, sought a more personal, spiritual and immediate
kind of religion -- something that would touch them directly, in the heart. The rituals of
the Church now meant very little to them -- they needed some kind of guarantee that they
were doing the right thing – that they would indeed be saved. The Church gave little
thought to reforming itself. People yearned for something more while the Church seemed
to promise less. What seemed to be needed was a general reform of Christianity itself.
Only such a major transformation would effect the changes reflected in the spiritual
Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries the Church was faced with numerous direct
challenges.
• Heretics had been assaulting the Church since the 12th century. The heretics were
Christians who deviated from Christian dogma. Many did not believe in Christian
• There were also numerous mystics who desired a direct and emotional divine
illumination. They claimed they had been illuminated by an inner light that
instead turned to the Classical World, the true source of virtue and wisdom.
• The breakdown of feudalism and the discovery and exploitation of the New
• Merchants and skilled workers living in cities were growing wealthy and
influential as they began to supply Europe with more and more "stuff."
• There was an awareness, thanks to the age of discovery, that there was a pagan
Luther was the son of Hans Luther, a copper miner from the district of Saxony. Hans was
a self-made man. As a youth he worked menial jobs in copper mines -- but by the time
Martin was born at Eisleben, he had risen to prominence and owned several mines. Hans
Luther wanted his son to do even more with his life so while Martin was in his teens, it
was decided that he would study law. So, after his preliminary education was complete,
at the age of 17 young Martin Luther entered the University of Erfurt. At the time, Erfurt
was the most important university in Germany. It was also the center of a conflict
between the Renaissance humanists and those people known as the Scholastics, who were
adept at combining medieval philosophy and theology. Luther enrolled in the Faculty of
Philosophy and studied theology and law as well. It was at this time that he read widely
in the classical authors, especially Cicero and Virgil. He obtained his Masters degree and
finished second in a class of seventeen students. In 1505, a promising legal career seemed
certain.
But at this point, Luther rejected the world. He was twenty-one at the time. In
1505, Luther tells us that he experienced the "first great event" of his life. In that year he
experienced some kind of conversion after having been struck by a bolt of lightning. He
cried out, "Help, St. Anne, I will become a monk." He was struck by the hand of God and
felt that God was in everything. He felt doubt within himself – he simply could not
reconcile his faith with his worldly ambitions. And so, Luther was plagued by an
overwhelming sense of guilt, fear and terror. To relieve his anxiety he joined the Order of
the Hermits of St. Augustine. There he would be shielded from worldly distractions.
There he would find the true path to heaven. He fasted, prayed and scourged himself
relentlessly. But he still felt doubts. One day, as he sat in his cell, he through his Bible on
the table and pointed at a passage at random. The passage was from the Epistles of St.
Paul: "For the justice of God is revealed from faith to faith in that it is written, for the
philosophy and quickly became the leader in the fight to make Wittenberg a center of
humanism rather than Scholasticism. In the end, Luther was more interested in preaching
himself to discovering God and during a trip to Rome on official business he acted more
the part of a pilgrim than humanist scholar. He climbed the steps of St. Peters, knelt
before the altars, and prayed. He was soon shocked by the apparent immoral life of the
priests and cardinals whom he found cynical and indifferent toward Church rituals.
Scholasticism of the Middle Ages and concentrated on the Psalms and Epistles of St.
Paul. By 1517, there would be no reason to think that Luther was a particularly
dissatisfied member of the Church. But 1517 is a very important year. Albert of
Hohenzollern was offered the archbishopric of Mainz if he would pay the required fee
(Albert already held two bishoprics, even though he had not yet reached the required age
to be a bishop!). Pope Leo X asked Albert to pay 12,000 ducats for the twelve apostles
but Albert would only offer 7,000 for the seven deadly sins. A compromise was reached
and Albert paid 10,000 ducats. Leo proclaimed an indulgence in Albert's territories for
eight years with half of the money going to Albert and the other half to construct the
The storm broke on October 31, the eve of All Saints Day. On that day Luther
nailed a copy of the NINETY-FIVE THESES to the door of the Castle Church at
Wittenberg. The Theses (actually 95 statements), all related to the prevalence of
indulgences and Luther offered to dispute them all. The day chosen by Luther -- All
Saints Day -- was important. All of Wittenberg was crowded with peasants and pilgrims
who had come to the city to honor the consecration of the Church. Word of Luther's
Theses spread throughout the crowd and spurred on by Luther's friends at the university,
many people called for the translation of the Theses into German. A student copied
Luther's Latin text and then translated the document and sent it to the university press and
from there it spread throughout Germany. It was the printing press itself, that allowed
Luther's message to spread so rapidly. [Note: Following the research of Erwin Iserloh,
Richard Marius has suggested that perhaps Luther never posted the Ninety-Five Theses.
We know, for instance, that Luther wrote a letter to his archbishop complaining about
indulgences. The story that Luther nailed the Theses to the church door comes from
However, Melanchthon did not arrive in Wittenberg until August of the following year.
The particular indulgence which attracted Luther's attention was being sold
throughout Germany by Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar. Tetzel was trying to raise
money to pay for the new Church at St. Peters in Rome. In general, an indulgence
released the sinner from punishment in Purgatory before going to Heaven. The system
was permitted by the Church (since 1215) but had been abused by the clergy and their
sale of indulgences in his letter to the Archbishop of Mainz in 1517. According to the
Church, indulgences took their existence from the surplus grace that had accumulated
through the lives of Christ, the saints and martyrs. The purchase of an indulgence put the
buyer in touch with this grace and freed him from the earthly penance of a particular sin,
but not the sin itself. But Tetzel's sales pitch implied that the buyer was freed from the sin
as well as the penance attached to it. Tetzel also sold people on the idea that an
indulgence could be purchased for a relative in Purgatory – this meant the relative's soul
would now fly to Heaven. For Tetzel: "As soon as pennies in the money chest ring, the
souls out of their Purgatory do spring." Luther answered in the following way: "It is
certain that when the money rattles in the chest, avarice and gain may be increased, but
Luther claimed that it was not only Tetzel but the papacy itself which spread the
false doctrine of the indulgence. By attacking the issue of the indulgences, Luther was
really attacking the entire theology and structure of the Church. By making salvation
dependent on the individual's faith, Luther abolished the need for sacraments as well as a
clergy to administer them. For Luther, faith alone, without the necessity of good works,
would bring salvation. This was obviously heretical thinking. Of course, Luther couched
his notion of "justification by faith alone" within a scheme of predestination. That is, only
God knows who will be saved and will be damned. Good works did not guarantee
salvation. Faith did not guarantee salvation. God alone grants salvation or damnation.
This discussion all begs the question: why did people follow Luther? It is simply
amazing that within a relatively brief period of time, that so many people turned their
back on the Roman Church, and followed Luther. For the wealthy, becoming a Lutheran
was one way to keep their wealth yet still be given a chance for salvation without paying
homage to Rome. In other words, it can be said that the wealthy followed Luther as a
form of protest against the Church. For the very poor, Luther offered individual dignity
and respect. Not good works or servitude to Rome could guarantee salvation. Instead,
faith held out the possibility of salvation. For most Germans of the mid-16th century,
Lutheranism was a way to attack the Holy Roman Empire and Charles V (1500-1558).
Voltaire once wrote that the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor truly
an Empire. Therefore, Germany became Lutheran for reasons other than religion or
theology. The bottom line is this: Luther told people exactly what they want to hear.
Luther appeared as an alternative to the Roman Church. Whereas the Roman Church
appealed to men and women as members of a group (i.e., members of the Church),
Lutheranism meant that faith was now something individual, and this would have
profound consequences.
Reformation. Although Luther and Calvin were more less contemporaries of one another,
Calvin was an entirely different man. John Calvin acquired his early education in Paris --
here he learned to develop a taste for humanism. In the mid-1520s he studied law at the
University of Paris and then left to study law at Orleans and Greek art at Bourges. I
mention all this simply to show that Calvin was indeed a humanist scholar in his own
right. He studied Hebrew, Greek, and Latin and thrived on the humanist texts of the
classical world and his own. By 1533, Calvin fell under the influence of the New
Testament translation by Erasmus as well as certain writings of Martin Luther. So, before
On All Saints Day in 1533, Calvin delivered an address at Paris which clearly
Calvin settled at Basel, in Switzerland, and there wrote a draft for his book, the Institutes
of the Christian Religion, a book which contains more than 80 chapters and took him
almost the rest of his life to complete. The core of what became known as Calvinism, was
that man was a helpless being before an all-powerful God. He concluded that there was
no such thing as free will, that man was predestined for either Heaven or Hell. Man can
do nothing to alter his fate. It was Calvin, and not Luther, who gave to the Swiss and
French reformers of this time a rallying point for Church reform. So, it was almost
natural that when a few men were trying to convert the town of Geneva to their reformed
discipline and order. The people of Geneva groaned under his repressive measures but
they also felt that Calvin was good for them and their children. Calvin was kicked out of
the city for three years but eventually returned -- those who objected to his terms left the
rigorous ideals of a religious life. In this way his career at Geneva is remarkably similar
to that of Girolamo Savonarola in Florence. Genevan men and women were told to wake
up early, work hard, be forever concerned with good morals, be thrifty at all times,
abstain from worldly pleasures, be sober, and above all, serious. There was, then, very
little laughing in Calvin's Geneva. What we're talking about here can only be called a
"worldly asceticism," that is, the denial of all worldly pleasure while living in this world.
is, the idea that all of mankind is assigned to either Heaven or Hell at birth. There is
nothing you can do that would change or destiny since it was the hands of all-powerful
God. Such an opinion logically leads to anxiety -- after all, no one knew just what to do.
While Calvin would not argue, as did the Church, that good works were one needed to go
to Heaven, he did admit that good works served a purpose. Good works, then, became a
divine sign, a sign that the individual was making the best of their life here on earth. It
Calvin also introduced his concept of the "calling." Some men and women
seemed ill-fitted for life on earth. They were avaricious, slothful, and amoral. However,
there were others who seemed to work happily in their lifetime, accomplishing much and
in the right spirit. In other words, they had been "called" to do a certain thing here on
earth.
Of course, we wake up early, work at your calling, are thrifty, sober and abstain
from frivolity, there is an unintended consequence. That consequence was the acquisition
of wealth. So, while Calvin did not invent free enterprise, nor did he invent capitalism, or
the desire for wealth, he did rationalize that desire by arguing that certain men are imbued
with the spirit of acquisition, the correct spirit. That spirit has often been called the
Protestant Work Ethic. In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904), the
German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920) asked why it is that the world's most
wealthy men were of Protestant origin. His answer was that it was these men who were
also Calvinists, men who had internalized the religious code set down first by Calvin and
then by the Puritans of 17th century England. In other words, the ethic says to work hard,
save what you have made, and reinvest any profit in order to increase wealth. That is
capitalism in a nutshell. Calvin does not invent this idea, he simply rationalizes it by
ascribing a certain spirit or calling to certain men of his own age, all of whom just
happened to be Calvinists. Of course, such a scheme could and did lead to tension,
conflict and anxiety. How much of a calling was a good thing? When did one know when
enough was enough? Anxiety and its sister guilt, then, seemed to become one of the
other Protestant faith at the time. The Institutes spelled out faith and practice in fine
detail. Tight discipline within each cell, or synod, held the entire system together.
Calvinist
Ministers traveled throughout Europe winning adherents and organizing them into new
cells. From the city of Geneva flowed an endless wave of pamphlets, books and sermons
whose purpose was to educate the Calvinist congregation. By 1564, the year of Calvin's
death, there were more than a million French Calvinists or Huguenots, Scotland had been
won over to Calvinism, and the religion also found a home in England, the Low
Timeline:
1486 - Henry VII (Tudor) married Elizabeth of York uniting houses of York and
Lancaster.
1487 - Battle of Stoke Field: In final engagement of the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII,
defeats Yorkist army "led" by Lambert Simnel (who was impersonating Edward, the
nephew of Edward IV, the only plausible royal alternative to Henry, who was confined in
the Tower of London).
1496 - Henry VII joins the Holy League; commercial treaty between England and
Netherlands.
1515 - Thomas Wolsey, Archbisop of York, is made Lord Chancellor of England and
Cardinal
1517 - The Protestant Reformation begins; Martin Luther nails his "95 Theses" against
the Catholic practice of selling indulgences, on the church door at Wittenberg
1520 - Field of Cloth of Gold: Francois I of France meets Henry VIII but fails to gain his
support against Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V
1521 - Henry VIII receives the title "Defender of the Faith" from Pope Leo X for his
opposition to Luther
1529 - Henry VIII dismisses Lord Chancellor Thomas Wolsey for failing to obtain the
Pope's consent to his divorce from Catherine of Aragon; Sir Thomas More appointed
Lord Chancellor; Henry VIII summons the "Reformation Parliament" and begins to cut
the ties with the Church of Rome
1532 - Sir Thomas More resigns over the question of Henry VIII's divorce
1533 - Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn and is excommunicated by Pope Clement VII;
Thomas Cranmer appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
1534 - Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII declared supreme head of the Church of England
1535 - Sir Thomas More is beheaded in Tower of London for failing to take the Oath of
Supremacy
1536 - Anne Boleyn is beheaded; Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour; dissolution of
monasteries in England begins under the direction of Thomas Cromwell, completed in
1539.
1537 - Jane Seymour dies after the birth of a son, the future Edward VI
1539 - Dissolution of Glastonbury Abbey; buildings torched and looted by king's men;
Abbot Richard Whiting is executed by hanging atop Glastonbury Tor.
1540 - Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves following negotiations by Thomas Cromwell;
Henry divorces Anne of Cleves and marries Catherine Howard; Thomas Cromwell
executed on charge of treason
1543 - Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr; alliance between Henry and Charles V (Holy
Roman Emperor) against Scotland and France
1549 - Introduction of uniform Protestant service in England based on Edward VI's Book
of Common Prayer
1553 - On death of Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey proclaimed queen of England by Duke of
Northumberland, her reign lasts nine days; Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine
of Aragon, Queen of England (to 1558); Restoration of Roman Catholic bishops in
England
1555 - England returns to Roman Catholicism: Protestants are persecuted and about 300,
including Cranmer, are burned at the stake
1558 - England loses Calais, last English possession in France; Death of Mary I;
Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, becomes Queen; Repeal of
Catholic legislation in England
1563 - The Thirty-nine Articles, which complete establishment of the Anglican Church
1567 - Murder of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots, probably by Earl of
Bothwell; Mary Queen of Scots marries Bothwell, is imprisoned, and forced to abdicate;
James VI, King of Scotland
1577 - Alliance between England and Netherlands; Francis Drake sails around the world
(to 1580)
1584 - William of Orange is murdered and England sends aid to the Netherlands; 1586
Expedition of Sir Francis Drake to the West Indies; Conspiracy against Elizabeth I
1587 - Execution of Mary Queen of Scots; England at war with Spain; Drake destroys
Spanish fleet at Cadiz
1588 - The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English fleet under Lord Howard of
Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Hawkins: war between Spain and England
continues until 1603
1597 - Irish rebellion under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (finally put down 1601)
1601 - Elizabethan Poor Law charges the parishes with providing for the needy; Essex
attempts rebellion, and is executed
1604 - Hampton Court Conference: no relaxation by the Church towards Puritans; James
bans Jesuits; England and Spain make peace
1605 - Gunpowder Plot; Guy Fawkes and other Roman Catholic conspirators fail in
attempt to blow up Parliament and James I.
1607 - Parliament rejects proposals for union between England and Scotland; colony of
Virginia is founded at Jamestown by John Smith; Henry Hudson begins voyage to eastern
Greenland and Hudson River
1611 - James I's authorized version (King James Version) of the Bible is completed;
English and Scottish Protestant colonists settle in Ulster
1614 - James I dissolves the "Addled Parliament" which has failed to pass any legislation
1620 - Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the "Mayflower";
found New Plymouth
1622 - James I dissolves Parliament for asserting its right to debate foreign affairs
1624 - Alliance between James I and France; Parliament votes for war against Spain;
Virginia becomes crown colony
1625 - Charles I, King of England (to 1649); Charles I marries Henrietta Maria, sister of
Louis XIII of France; dissolves Parliament which fails to vote him money
1628 - Petition of Right; Charles I forced to accept Parliament's statement of civil rights
in return for finances
1639 - First Bishops' War between Charles I and the Scottish Church; ends with
Pacification of Dunse
1640 - Charles I summons the "Short " Parliament ; dissolved for refusal to grant money;
Second Bishops' War; ends with Treaty of Ripon; The Long Parliament begins.
1641 - Triennial Act requires Parliament to be summoned every three years; Star
Chamber and High Commission abolished by Parliament; Catholics in Ireland revolt;
some 30,000 Protestants massacred; Grand Remonstrance of Parliament to Charles I
1642 - Charles I fails in attempt to arrest five members of Parliament and rejects
Parliament's Nineteen Propositions; Civil War (until 1645) begins with battle of Edgehill
between Cavaliers (Royalists) and Roundheads (Parliamentarians)
1645 - Formation of Cromwell's New Model Army; Battle of Naseby; Charles I defeated
by Parliamentary forces
1647 - Scots surrender Charles I to Parliament; he escapes to the Isle of Wright; makes
secret treaty with Scots.
1648 - Scots invade England and are defeated by Cromwell at battle of Preston Pride's
Purge: Presbyterians expelled from Parliament (known as the Rump Parliament); Treaty
of Westphalia ends Thirty Years' War
1651 - Charles II invades England and is defeated at Battle of Worcester; Charles escapes
to France; First Navigation Act, England gains virtual monopoly of foreign trade
1653 - Oliver Cromwell dissolves the "Rump" and becomes Lord Protector
1655 - England divided into 12 military districts by Cromwell; seizes Jamaica from Spain
1658 - Oliver Cromwell dies; succeeded as Lord Protector by son Richard; Battle of the
Dunes, England and France defeat Spain; England gains Dunkirk
1659 - Richard Cromwell forced to resign by the army; "Rump" Parliament restored
1664 - England siezes New Amsterdam from the Dutch, change name to New York
1667 - Dutch fleet defeats the English in Medway river; treaties of Breda among
Netherlands, England, France, and Denmark
1670 - Secret Treaty of Dover between Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France to
restore Roman Catholicism to England; Hudson's Bay Company founded
1672 - Third Anglo-Dutch war (until 1674); William III (of Orange) becomes ruler of
Netherlands
1673 - Test Act aims to deprive English Roman Catholics and Nonconformists of public
office
1677 - William III, ruler of the Netherlands, marries Mary, daughter of James, Duke of
York, heir to the English throne
1678 - 'Popish Plot' in England; Titus Oates falsely alleges a Catholic plot to murder
Charles II
1679 - Act of Habeas Corpus passed, forbidding imprisonment without trial; Parliament's
Bill of Exclusion against the Roman Catholic Duke of York blocked by Charles II;
Parliament dismissed; Charles II rejects petitions calling for a new Parliament; petitioners
become known as Whigs; their opponents (royalists) known as Tories
1685 - James II of England and VII of Scotland (to 1688); rebellion by Charles II's
illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, against James II is put down
1686 - James II disregards Test Act; Roman Catholics appointed to public office
1688 - England's 'Glorious Revolution'; William III of Orange is invited to save England
from Roman Catholicism, lands in England, James II flees to France