13 - The Reformation and European Wars of Religion (abridged)

Roman Catholic Church

branch of Christianity following the leadership of the pope in Rome

Spanish Inquisition

Catholic church court established in 1478 by Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile; originally intended to identify heretics among recent Jewish and Islamic converts to Catholicism; used torture to force confessions

indulgence

paper pardon given by the Roman Catholic Church in return for repentance for sins; could be purchased, a practice criticized by Martin Luther

Christian humanism

intellectual movement in northern Europe combining a revived interest in classical learning and the nature of humanity with the Christian faith; considered principles like universal human dignity, individual freedom and the importance of happiness as essential and principal components of the teachings of Jesus

Lutheranism

branch of Christianity founded by Martin Luther in Germany; the first Protestant denomination

Martin Luther

(1483-1546) German monk; initiated Protestant Reformation in 1517 by publishing 95 theses opposing church doctrine; emphasized primacy of faith over good works stressed in Catholic church; accepted state control of church

95 Theses

Martin Luther's arguments questioning doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church; posted to door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517 initiating the Reformation

Protestantism

wave of religious dissent against Catholic church; began with Martin Luther's attack on Catholic beliefs in 1517; included many varieties of religious belief; three main new splinter groups were Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican denominations

Calvinism

Protestant sect founded by John Calvin; emphasized a strong moral code and belief in predestination; supported constitutional representative government and the separation of church and state

John Calvin

French Protestant who stressed doctrine of predestination; established center of his group at Swiss canton of Geneva; encouraged ideas of wider access to government, wider public education; ideas spread from Switzerland to northern Europe and North America

predestination

Calvin's religious theory that God has a person's life and afterlife planned; only a few Elect will receive heavenly salvation while most are condemned to damnation

Presbyterianism

branch of Calvinism brought to Scotland by John Knox

Huguenots

French name for Calvinists

Anglicanism

English form of Protestantism established in 1534; Henry VIII appointed himself as head of the Church of England, at least in part to nullify his marriage to his first wife; became increasingly Protestant following Henry's death

Henry VIII of England

(r. 1509-1547) Tudor dynasty king of England; his desire for a male heir led six marriages; the refusal of the pope to annul his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, led him to sever ties with the Catholic Church and found his own Church of England

Catherine of Aragon

Henry VIII's first wife; mother of Mary I; her lack of a son provoked Henry VIII's attempt to annul their marriage

Act of Supremacy

1534 law establishing Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church of England

Mary I of England

(r. 1553-1558) Tudor dynasty queen of England; daughter of Henry VIII and first wife Catherine of Aragon; persecuted Protestants and attempted to return England to Catholicism

Elizabeth I of England

(r. 1558-1603) Tudor dynasty queen of England; daughter of Henry VIII and second wife Anne Boleyn; passed a moderate religious settlement establishing a conservative Protestant Church of England retaining many Catholic traditions; supported the Dutch Revolt and defended England against the Spanish Armada

Anabaptists

Protestant sect that believed only adults can make free choices regarding religion; advocated pacifism, separation of church and state, and democratic church organization

Catholic Reformation

restatement of traditional Catholic beliefs in response to Protestant Reformation; established councils that revived Catholic doctrine and refuted Protestant beliefs; emphasized emotional connection to God

Council of Trent

meeting of church leader called by Pope Paul III to reform the church; reaffirmed traditional Catholic teachings, forbade the sale of indulgences; Lutherans and Calvinists did not attend

Index of Forbidden Books

list of books which Catholics were forbidden to read

Ignatius of Loyola

(1491-1556) former Spanish soldier who became a priest and founded the Society of Jesus, or Jesuit order

Jesuits

highly disciplined new religious order founded during the Catholic Reformation; active in politics, education, and missionary work; sponsored missions to South America, North America, and Asia; aka Society of Jesus, the "soldiers of the Counter-Reformation"

Francis Xavier

Spanish Jesuit missionary to India, Japan, Borneo, the Maluku Islands, and elsewhere

Peace of Augsburg

1555 treaty granting legal recognition of Lutheranism in the Holy Roman Empire; declared that the religion of each German state would be decided by its ruler

Dutch Revolt

(1568-1648) war of independence of the Calvinist Netherlands from Catholic Spain

Spanish Armada

fleet sent by Philip II of Spain that failed its mission of crushing the Dutch Revolt and invading England to return it to Catholicism in 1588; defeated by the terrible winds and English fire ships

French Wars of Religion

(1562-1598) civil wars between Huguenots and the Valois dynasty Catholic monarchy of France; Henry IV of Navarre, leader of the Protestant faction, won but converted to Catholicism to restore peace and issued the Edict of Nantes to grant religious toleration to Protestants

Thirty Years' War

1618-1648 war within the Holy Roman Empire between German Protestants and their allies (Sweden, Denmark, France) against the Austrian Hapsburg emperor and his Spanish Hapsburg ally; ended in 1648 after great destruction with Treaty of Westphalia; resulted in the destruction of northern Germany and the death of up to 1/3 of Germany's population

Peace of Westphalia

ended Thirty Years' War in 1648; granted right to individual rulers within the Holy Roman empire to choose their own religion - either Protestant or Catholic