The Corruption of the Church• By the late 15th century the position of pope and even of cardinal

had become an incredibly powerful and wealthy position• Many ambitious individuals, little concerned with spiritual issues,

saw the church as an opportunity to amass a fortune and to advance their family’s position in Europe

• Indulgences had become a major source of revenue for the church and despite being criticized by many Catholic theologians the practice was far to lucrative to end

• St. Peter’s Basilica typified the extravagance of the Catholic church and was funded by the sale of indulgences

Early Reformers• There had been earlier reformers that had attempted to

reform the church and its practices• The Lollards – existed in the mid-14th century in England.

Followers of John Wycliffe who was a prominent theologian dismissed from the University of Oxford in 1381 for his criticism of the Church.

• The Hussites – existed in early 15th century in Bohemia (modern day Czech Republic). Followers of Jan Hus who was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in 1415. The Hussite Wars were fought from 1420-1434 and strengthened Czech national awareness

The Borgia• The Borgia papacy came to personify the

corruption of this period• Rodrigo Borgia of Spain became Pope

Alexander VI in 1492• Charges of bribery, blackmail, assassinations,

adultery, extreme decadence, and even incest were attributed to his family

• His reputation is mostly drawn from his enemies including his successor and bitter rival Cardinal Giuliana della Rovere who would become Pope Julius II in 1503

• Regardless of the truth, the reputation of corruption and excess spread throughout Europe and tainted the image of the Church

Pope Leo X• Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici become

Pope Leo X in 1513• Under Leo the sale of indulgences reached

unprecedented levels as he attempted to reconstruct St. Peter’s Basilica

• He borrowed and spent heavily• Like other Medici, he was a great patron of

the arts employing artists such as Raphael to decorate the Vatican rooms

• It was during his papacy that Martin Luther would write his 95 thesis

St. Peter’s Basilica• St. Peter’s Basilica is the most

renowned work of Renaissance architecture

• There had been a church on the site since the time of Constantine the Great

• The current St. Peter’s began construction in 1506 and was completed in 1626

• The construction of St. Peter’s cost a tremendous amount of money and lead to the belief amongst many in the Christian world that the Church had lost its way

Martin Luther• Lived 1483 – 1546• German monk, Catholic priest,

and professor of theology• Strongly disagreed with the

claim that one could purchase an indulgence to erase one’s sins

• 1507 – Luther was ordained to the priesthood

Wittenberg, Saxony• 1508 – Luther began

teaching theology at the newly founded University of Wittenberg

• Wittenberg was a small German town in the region of Saxony

German States• In the early 16th century Germany remained

only loosely united in the Holy Roman Empire• The Prince-elector’s held considerable power

over their realms which included Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover, Brandenburg, etc.

• They answered to the Holy Roman Emperor but could be unruly and difficult for the Emperor to control

Johann Tetzel• Lived 1465 – 1519• Roman Catholic German Dominican

friar and preacher• Grand Inquisitor of Heresy to Poland• Became the Grand Commissioner

for indulgences in Germany• His arrival in Wittenberg and his

claims of what an indulgence could achieve was the catalyst for Luther’s Reformation

Luther’s 95 Thesis• Oct. 31, 1517 Luther posts his 95 thesis on

the door of the castle church in Wittenberg• These thesis challenged the sale of

indulgences and other excesses of the Catholic Church

• Luther argued that:– Salvation is achieved by faith alone– Bible is the only authority for Christian life, not

the church– Argued against papal supremacy, clerical

celibacy, and transubstantiation (the belief that the bread and wine of communion literally turn into the body and blood of Christ)

Luther’s Criticisms of the Church• Luther appealed to Pope Leo X to correct the abuses of indulgences –

the Pope refused• Called for a general church council to assemble which would have an

authority even higher than the pope• Came to believe that neither the pope nor any council would have the

authority to define true Christian belief and that individuals might read the Bible and freely make their own interpretations

• Luther soon rejected purgatory, reduced the seven sacraments to two (baptism and communion), declared clergy should marry, demanded that monasticism be eliminated

• Initially he had only wanted to eliminate the corruption of the Church • He would not break away from it until after he was excommunicated

The Church’s Response• Initially the Pope paid little attention to Luther• Several attempts were made to reconcile

Luther with the religious authorities• Luther’s ideas had been published by this

point on the new printing presses of the era and were gathering a larger following throughout Germany and beyond

• The Church put pressure on the Prince-Elector of Saxony, Frederick III (aka Frederick the Wise) to deliver Luther to Rome

Frederick III, Elector of Saxony

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor• 1519 – King Charles of Spain,

would become Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

• A devout Catholic but mindful of his unruly German subjects, it would be very early in the reign of the young Charles that he would be caught in the middle of Luther’s Reformation

‘I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse.’ Charles V

Imperial Diet at Worms• Frederick III was able to convince Emperor Charles V to try

Luther at Worms in front of the Emperor himself• 1521 Luther was brought

before the Imperial Diet (Parliament) of Worms and asked to recant his views

• He refused, already excommunicated by the Pope, he was outlawed by the Emperor

The appeal of the Protestant movement begun by Luther was different for different sections of society

• Peasants/Commoners:– endemic dissatisfaction with the church– associated the bishops and abbots as part of the wealthy and oppressive ruling class– Religious ideas were mixed with protest against the whole social order

• Merchants/Middle Class:– more educated with broader world views, mostly lived in cities– Cities which were emerging, especially in Italy and central Europe, as autonomous little

republics – Wished to manage their religion as they did their business – free of foreign interference

• Kings/Princes– long disputed with the church over taxes, legal jurisdiction, and political influence– Wanted to be Masters in their realm, the new protestant movements gave those rulers a

golden opportunity

Worldwide Appeal

Conversion of the German Princes• The Elector-Princes of the German States saw in Luther’s

movement an opportunity to gain a considerable measure of sovereignty from the Emperor

• Those Princes that protected Luther and the emerging Lutheranism were just as likely to be motivated by political reasons than any religious reasons

• Many imperial free cities and most of the dynastic states of north Germany used Lutheranism to increase their own political power

Societal Upheaval• Lutheranism quickly spread

throughout Germany• Became mixed with all sorts of

political and social revolution• 1524 – the peasants of a large

part of Germany revolted being stirred up by preachers who went beyond Luther in asserting individuals could readily understand between right and wrong

• The rebellion, which Luther opposed, was crushed

Societal Upheavals• Various religious leaders became extremist

and attracted many followers• 1534 – tens of thousands of religious radicals

descended on the German city of Münster• Proclaimed the reign of the saints, abolished

property, and introduced polygamy• A Dutch tailor, John of Leyden, claimed that

authority came to him directly from God• Surrounded by besieging armies, he ruled

Münster by a revolutionary terror• Münster stood for a year before finally falling,

John of Leyden was executed

Lutheranism• Luther had been horrified with how his religious

revolution had become mixed with social revolution• Luther saw Christian liberty as an internal freedom• Lutheranism became more submissive to the state• In worldly matters a good Christian owned

obedience to established authority• Lutheranism came to view the state with more

deference and respect than governments were use to under Roman Catholicism or the Calvinism which arose later

Political Response• Emperor Charles V was bound to uphold

Catholicism – only in Catholic world did the Holy Roman Empire mean anything

• Charles V tried to suppress Lutheranism across his realm but was resisted when a group of Lutheran princes and free cities formed the League of Schmalkald

• Catholic France, concerned with the power of the Emperor, supported the league – politics became more important than religion

• Threatened by Francis I of France in the west and Turkish armies led by Suleiman the Magnificent in the east, Charles could not control his German princes

• Civil war erupted throughout Germany and would not end until the Peace of Augsburg of 1555

‘I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse.’ Charles V

Peace of Augsburg• 1555 – the terms signified a complete victory

for the cause of Lutheranism and states’ rights• Each state of the Empire received the liberty to

be either Lutheran or Catholic - no individual freedom of religion was permitted

• The effects on German politics was that Germany became even more disintegrated into a mosaic of separate states

Religious Division• By the late 16th century

Lutheranism was established in Northern Germany and Scandinavia

• Southern Europe remained Roman Catholic

• Calvinism would be the third major form of Christianity in Western Europe

Ulrich Zwingli• Lived 1484-1531 in Switzerland• Converted the city of Zurich along

Lutheran lines• A pastor and humanist who was

influenced by Erasmus• His 67 theses of 1523 were adopted by

the city council as official doctrine• Became more radical than Luther leading

the church in an anti-hierarchical direction

• Killed in 1531 while defending Zurich against the Catholic cantons (provinces) of Switzerland

John Calvin• Lived 1509-1564• Frenchman trained as a priest and a

lawyer with a Humanist’s knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew

• At 24 he had a religious conversion and became swept up in the reform movements begun by Luther

• Became involved in the reform of the church in Geneva Switzerland

Calvinism• Agreed with Lutheranism in many of its criticisms of the Catholic

church• Disagreed with Lutheranism in two major ways:

– Believed in predestination – God already knew who was saved and who was damned, God controlled all human actions

– Believed that church and state should act together to create a “godly society” in which religious beliefs and strict codes of conduct would shape every aspect of daily life

• Rejected the institution of bishops • Church to be governed by elected bodies made up of ministers

and devout laymen – broke the monopoly of priestly power• Church rules and thus Calvinist living was strict; all loose, light,

and frivolous living was suppressed

Calvinism• Priests wore black gowns – colour, music, incense

were all rigidly subdued• Images of the saints, Mary, or Christ were taken

down or destroyed as they were seen as a form of idolatry

• Calvinism had difficulty establishing itself because of its views on authority

• Only in Geneva, the Dutch Netherlands, and Scotland would the Calvinists establish a society based on their religion

Calvinism in France• In France the Huguenots would

attempt to establish Calvinist beliefs and overthrow Catholicism

• This would lead to years of religious wars culminating in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572 when the French regent, Catherine de Medici authorized the killing of 200 Huguenot leaders meeting in Paris

• A Catholic mob went on a rampage killing thousands more Huguenots

• Religious wars in France ended with the Edict of Nantes in 1598 which granted religious toleration

Calvinism in England• For a brief period of time during the

17th century Calvinism was established by the puritans under the rule of Oliver Cromwell

• Most Calvinists would leave for the New World to escape religious persecution – the most famous being the pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Rock Massachusetts

Catholic Counter-Reformation• Initial response of the Catholic Church was to excommunicate

those who rebelled against it• As it became clear they could not crush the Reformation, the

Catholic Church began to reform itself• Meeting in three sessions at Trent in the Italian Alps from 1545-

63, the Catholic Church initiated a Counter-Reformation• It strengthened the spiritual institution of the papacy, reformed

old and formed new religious orders, most notably the Jesuits– The Jesuits set up schools and missions to preach Catholic virtues

• Congregations were lured back into church through increased use of ornament and spectacle

St. Ignatius Church in Rome

• Baroque style churches in Austria and Italy personified the glorious new Counter-Reformation• The Ceiling of St. Ignatius Church in Rome shows the work of the Jesuits

Wars of Religion• The wars of religion that would be sparked by the Reformation would

be the most violent that Europe had seen• Civil wars erupted in Germany, France, England, and elsewhere• Political factors would often be the underlying reasons and the leaders

would simply use religion as an excuse to gain support• The Thirty Years War of 1618-1649 began as a religious conflict

between Catholic Austria and Protestant Bohemia and would and would turn into a struggle of political supremacy between Catholic France against Catholic Spain and the Catholic Holy Roman Empire based in Austria

• These wars would devastate Europe, upwards of 1/3 of the population of the Germany states would be killed through war or famine

Peace of Westphalia• 1648 – the Peace of Westphalia

would end the war that had become intolerable

• Calvinists were granted the same privileges which the Lutherans had received in the Peace of Augsburg

• Freedom of religion was permitted in a number of German lands but not those controlled by the Habsburgs in the Holy Roman Empire

Impact of the Reformation• Germany was politically weakened and fragmented• Right of Rebellion introduced by both Jesuits and Calvinists• A century of Religious wars devastated Europe• Political stability became more valued than religious truth leading to an

era where monarchs would rule with absolute power – Age of Absolutism

• Society became even more individualistic and secular• Protestantism changed ideas about work and business – work was a

virtue in Protestant societies• Profits and money lending were no longer frowned upon• Persecuted religious minorities would immigrate to the Protestant

English colonies where they would enjoy a far greater degree of religious and political freedom for an extended period of time