Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution

Vocabulary practice flashcards defining central terms, historical figures, events, and treaties associated with the European Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution based on the lecture text.

Indulgence

A document issued by church officials and signed by the Pope that served as a papal statement granting remission and acting as a substitute for repentance.

St. Peter's Basilica

A church of Italian High Renaissance construction located in Vatican City that is the largest church in the world by interior measure, whose construction was financed heavily through the sale of indulgences.

Martin Luther

A German monk and professor of theology who initiated the Protestant Reformation in 1517 by challenging Catholic practices and authority.

95 Theses

A set of 95 statements formulated by Martin Luther in 1517 and posted on the doors of the Wittenberg Cathedral, arguing that indulgences undermined penance and misinterpreted the gospel.

Three Principles of Luther's Reform

The core theological tenets of Martin Luther's movement: faith alone saves, scriptures alone provide Christian truth, and the belief in the priesthood of all believers.

Gutenberg's Printing Press

A mid-fifteenth-century innovation combining movable pieces of metal type with a press, capable of printing about 200 sheets per hour to rapidly disseminate texts.

Offset Printing

A modern printing method where a plate cylinder inks an image on a rubber cylinder that transfers the image to paper, printing about 70,000 sheets per hour.

September Testament

Martin Luther's German translation of the New Testament published in Wittenberg in September 1522, containing visual woodcut illustrations criticizing the Pope and papacy.

John Calvin

A French and Swiss Protestant reformer who emphasized moral regeneration through church teachings and formulated the doctrine of predestination.

Predestination

The theological doctrine laid out by John Calvin asserting that each person is predestined by God for salvation or damnation prior to birth.

Counter-Reformation

The Catholic Church's period of internal renovation and response to Protestantism, aimed at reaffirming Catholic doctrines and combating clerical corruption.

Council of Trent

A series of 25 sessions held by Catholic leaders between 1545 and 1563 to reaffirm church doctrine and enact reforms against clergy corruption.

Ignatius of Loyola

The Spaniard who founded the Jesuits, a Catholic religious order dedicated to reviving the Catholic Church through cultural adaptation, education, and global missions.

Index of Prohibited Books

A list of books and theological treatises banned by the Catholic Church as part of its effort to suppress heretical ideas during the Counter-Reformation.

Wikiana

A major sixteenth-century collection of news reports, broadsheets, prints, and drawings documenting current events, such as the execution of accused witches.

German Peasants' War

A series of uprisings in the 1520s across Central Europe where mobile bands of peasants resisted feudal landlords, hoping Luther's ideas on authority would support their liberation.

Schmalkaldic War

A 1546–1547 war in the Holy Roman Empire pitting Catholic Emperor Charles V against an alliance of Lutheran princes and cities.

Augsburg Interim

A temporary religious decree imposed by Charles V on May 15, 1548, restoring Catholic practices while granting minor concessions such as clerical marriage and communion in both kinds.

Peace of Augsburg

A treaty signed on September 20, 1555, that officially recognized Lutheranism and brought temporary peace to the Holy Roman Empire through territorial religious choices.

Cuius regio, eius religio

A Latin principle established in the Peace of Augsburg meaning 'whose realm, his religion,' giving rulers the authority to determine the religion of their territory.

French Wars of Religion

A series of civil conflicts in France from 1562 to 1598 fought between Catholics and Protestant Huguenots.

Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre

A 1572 event during the French Wars of Religion in which Catholic mobs slaughtered thousands of Protestant Huguenots in Paris and provincial towns.

Edict of Nantes

A royal decree issued by King Henry of Navarre declaring France officially Catholic while granting religious tolerance to Protestants.

Thirty Years' War

A major conflict from 1618 to 1648 that originated as a religious dispute in the Holy Roman Empire and escalated into a Europe-wide political struggle.

Peace of Westphalia

A series of 1648 treaties ending the Thirty Years' War that reasserted territorial sovereignty and established foundational principles for modern international relations.

Scientific Revolution

A period lasting roughly 150 years beginning around 1540 that created a complete overhaul in how people understood and studied the natural world.