Europe in Crisis, 1560-1650

Predestination

God predestined some people to be saved (the elect) and others to be damned (the reprobate); Calvin's idea based on God's absolute sovereignty

Consistory

Geneva's court that enforced moral discipline, daily behavior, and doctrinal orthodoxy

Act of Supremacy (1534)

Declared the king the only supreme head of the Church of England; gave Henry VIII control of doctrine, clerical appointments, and discipline

Anabaptists

Radical reformers who wanted adult baptism, a voluntary church of believers, and separation of church and state

Jesuits

Society of Jesus; founded by Ignatius of Loyola and recognized in 1540; based on absolute obedience to the pope, strict hierarchy, and education

Council of Trent (1545-1563)

Catholic council that reaffirmed traditional teachings against Protestant beliefs

Huguenots

French Calvinists

Edict of Nantes (1598)

Made Catholicism France's official religion but guaranteed Huguenots the right to worship and hold public office

Spanish armada (1588)

Fleet Philip II sent to invade England; battered by the English and by storms, so England stayed Protestant for the time being

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

Ended the Thirty Years' War in Germany; German states, including Calvinist ones, could choose their own religion

Marburg Colloquy (1529)

Luther and Zwingli debated the Lord's Supper and failed to reach agreement

Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536)

John Calvin's synthesis of Protestant thought that secured his reputation as a Protestant leader

Battle of Lepanto (1571)

Spain's "holy league" defeated the Turkish fleet

United Provinces

The seven northern Netherlands provinces; core of the modern Dutch state

Military revolution

Historians' term (debated) for warfare changes from 1560 to 1650, such as conscript armies, salvos, and mobile cavalry

Little ice age

Fall in average temperatures after the mid-1500s that reduced harvests and caused food shortages and social tension

Dowry

Money presented by the bride's family to the groom upon marriage

Mercantilism

Seventeenth-century economic practice: a nation's prosperity depends on a supply of gold and silver, so aim for a favorable balance of trade

Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)

Zürich reformer; city council reforms he influenced abolished relics, images, and the Mass; killed in the 1531 Swiss war

Martin Luther

Said Christ is really present "in, with, and under" the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper

John Calvin (1509-1564)

French humanist who fled to Switzerland and reformed Geneva from 1536

King Henry VIII (1509-1547)

Wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn; broke with the pope

Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop of Canterbury who ruled in 1533 that Henry's marriage to Catherine was void

Edward VI (1547-1553)

Under him the Church of England moved in a more Protestant direction

Mary I (1553-1558)

Catholic queen who tried to return England to Catholicism and burned 300+ Protestants

Catherine Zell (c. 1497-1562)

German woman who preached beside her husband; her letter defended persecuted Anabaptists

Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Spanish nobleman who founded the Society of Jesus

Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

Jesuit who took Catholicism to India and Japan

Matteo Ricci

Italian Jesuit in China who drew parallels between Christian and Confucian ideas

Pope Paul III (1534-1549)

Appointed a reform commission, recognized the Jesuits, and summoned the Council of Trent

Henry of Navarre (Henry IV)

Huguenot Bourbon leader who became king in 1589 and converted to Catholicism

King Philip II of Spain (1556-1598)

The "most Catholic king" and champion of militant Catholicism

William of Nassau

Prince of Orange; led the northern Dutch provinces' resistance to Spain

Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

Ruled England with a policy of moderation and compromise; her Church of England was moderate Protestant

Tilbury speech (1588)

Elizabeth rallied her troops against the armada, saying she had "the heart of a king"

King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1611-1632)

Developed the first standing army of conscripts; entered the Thirty Years' War

Nicholas Remy

French witchcraft judge in the 1590s who thought it reasonable that witches came chiefly from women

Suzanne Gaudry

Tried for witchcraft in France in 1652; confessed, recanted, was tortured, and confessed again; court advisors recommended death

1517

Luther's Ninety-Five Theses

1521

Excommunication of Luther

1523

Zürich city council sides with Zwingli

1529

Marburg Colloquy

1531

Zwingli killed in war between Swiss Protestant and Catholic states

1533

Cranmer rules Henry's marriage to Catherine void

1534

Act of Supremacy in England

1536

Calvin's Institutes published; Calvin begins reforming Geneva

1537

Reform commission's report blames popes and cardinals

1540

Jesuits recognized as a religious order

1545-1563

Council of Trent

1555

Peace of Augsburg

1562-1598

French Wars of Religion

1566

Violence erupts in the Spanish Netherlands

1571

Battle of Lepanto

1588

Spanish armada defeated

1589

Henry of Navarre becomes Henry IV

1594

Henry IV crowned; the Wars of Religion end

1598

Edict of Nantes

1609

Twelve-year truce virtually recognizes Dutch independence

1618-1648

Thirty Years' War

1648

Peace of Westphalia

1652

Trial of Suzanne Gaudry

How did Zwingli and Luther differ on the Lord's Supper?

Zwingli said the words "This is my body" are figurative; Luther said Christ is really present in the bread and wine

Why was the English Reformation political?

Henry VIII wanted a divorce and a male heir, and the pope would not grant an annulment

What did Mary I's reign do to England?

Her burning of Protestants aroused anger, and England ended up more Protestant than before

Why did Protestants put the family at the center of life?

They rejected special holiness for celibacy and abolished monasticism and the celibate clergy

Did the Reformation change women's place in society?

No; it did not noticeably change women's subordinate place

Catholic Reformation vs. Counter-Reformation

Catholic Reformation stresses reform that existed before Luther; Counter-Reformation stresses reaction to Protestants; both have some truth

What did the Council of Trent say about authority and salvation?

Scripture and tradition are equal, only the church interprets Scripture, and both faith and good works are needed

Why were Huguenots a political threat?

About 7% of the population but 40-50% of the nobility, including the Bourbons

What else besides religion fueled the French civil wars?

Towns, provinces, and nobles who resisted growing royal power

Why did the Netherlands revolt against Philip II?

Nobles opposed his efforts to strengthen control, and his attempt to crush Calvinism made religion a catalyst

Why was Spain weaker than it seemed in 1600?

Empty treasury, obsolescent armed forces, and an inefficient government

What caused Europe's economic contraction?

It began in the 1620s; in the 1630s-40s falling silver imports from the Americas intensified the recession

Why did Europe's population decline by 1650?

War, famine, and plague, especially in central and southern Europe

How many witch trials were there, and how many ended in execution?

About 100,000-110,000 trials (1450-1750); about 50% ended in execution

Who was most often executed for witchcraft?

75-80% of those executed were women, many of them older

Who was most often accused of witchcraft?

Poor people without property; more than 75% were women, most single or widowed and many over 50

Why did witch hysteria subside?

Stronger governments were less willing to accept divisive trials, and later people questioned belief in evil spirits

How did the Thirty Years' War start?

Protestant (mainly Calvinist) nobles in Bohemia rebelled against Catholic Habsburg authority

How did the Thirty Years' War become political?

Denmark, Sweden, France, and Spain entered; Bourbon vs. Habsburg rivalry was an important factor

What happened to Magdeburg?

The Protestant city fell to imperial forces, was burned, and thousands of civilians were killed or taken prisoner

How did larger armies affect states?

They required heavier taxes and large bureaucracies, which increased state government power

What results did the Peace of Westphalia have?

The 300+ Holy Roman Empire entities became independent, Germany stayed disunited, and France became dominant

What did Westphalia show about European affairs?

Political motives, not religious convictions, had become the guiding force