Unit 2: Reformations and Religious Wars

Anti-clericalism

Definition:

• Opposition to the clergy

Significance:

• Such beliefs started to grow after the Church made mistakes (Avignon Papacy, Crusades)

• Led to people questioning the power of the Catholic Church (ex. Martin Luther, John Calvin)

Pluralism

Definition:

• The practice of a bishop ruling multiple dioceses at the same time for monetary gain

Significance:

• Spurred the growth of resentment against the church especially in Germany

Absenteeism

Definition:

• The practice of bishops never visiting their dioceses

Significance:

• Increase of negative opinions about the papacy and the clergy

Martin Luther

Definition:

• German theologian who wrote “95 Theses,” a series of grievances with the Catholic Church primarily about the practice of indulgences.

• Believes that faith alone could get a person into heaven

Significance:

• Ignited the Protestant Reformation

• Created Lutheranism

Indulgences

Definition:

• A monetary payment to the church in order to supposedly absolve past sins and release one from purgatory after death.

Significance:

• Many people thought this was problematic

• Whole point of the 95 Theses was to attack this

Charles V

Definition:

• Holy Roman Emperor

• Devout Catholic

Significance:

• Tried to crush the Protestant princes (Schmalkaldic League) but failed

Sola Fide

Definition: Only Faith

Significance:

• Martin Luther believes that faith alone could get you into heaven, disagreed with the sacraments

Sola Scripture

Definition:

“Only the scriptures:

Significance:

• Increased literacy for Protestants because of the idea that they had to read + interpret the Bible

• Bible translated into more languages

Ulrich Zwingli

Definition: Swiss theologist who followed most of Luther’s ideas

Significance:

• Didn’t believe in transubstantiation, which was a pillar of the Catholic Church

Eucharist

Definition:

The belief that the bread and wine served at communions literally turn into the body and blood of Christ.

Significance:

• Caused divide in Protestantism (Calvinists didn’t, Lutheranists sorta did)

Appeal of Protestant Ideas

• Humanists resonated with it because of the emphasis on “the self”

• Peasants liked it because it reduced their tax

Luther’s German Bible

Definition: Martin Luther translated the Latin Bible into German

Significance:

• Lay people could read the Bible

• People started to find discrepancies between the books and the Church

Anabaptists

Definition: A sect of Protestantism that argued that Baptism should only be done to adults.

Significance:

• Completely contradicted all other sects

• Had a much stronger division between Church and State

German Peasants’ War

Definition: An uprising of peasants against the HRE crown

Significance:

• Martin Luther supported the nobles in this war, arguing that the Bible doesn’t say anything about “wordly” matters + anyone who starts violence should be punished

Protestant Ideas about Marriage

• Marriage is NECESSARY

• No more clergical celibacy!

• Divorce was allowed

Argula von Grumbach

Definition: Female Protestant reformer inspired by Luther’s works

Significance:

• One of the few women involved with the Reformation

War in Switzerland

Definition: War between Catholics and Protestants (who followed Zwingli)

Significance:

• Zwingli was killed

• People started to think that it would be better if the Prince of a region chose the religion

Augsburg Confession

Definition:

A set of documents explaining the key principles of Lutheranism, defending it against the Catholics

Significance:

• Helped end the war

• Firm rejection by Charles V ignited more conflict

Peace of Augsburg

Definition: A treaty between Charles V and the Schmalkaldic league, recognizing Lutheranism

Significance:

• Lutheranism was accepted

• Princes could choose their own religion

• Unifying HRE would be harder

• Caused Charles V to step down

Scandinavian Reform

Definition:

The growth of Lutheranism in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Ireland)

Significance:

• Starting the growth of Protestantism outside of the HRE

Henry VIII

Definition: King of England who separated England from the Catholic Church

Significance:

• Adopted Protestantism in England

• Helped England get money and territory back from the Church

Act of Supremacy

Definition:

Doctrine which gave the king of England (Henry VIII) the right to be the supreme governor of the Church of England

Significance:

• Solidified Anglicanism

Thomas Cromwell

Definition: King Henry VIII’s advisor

Significance:

• Influence Henry VIII to mandate having an English Bible in every church

• Helped manage and dissolve monastic territory and centralized king’s power

Irish Catholicism

Definition:

The Irish remained Catholic even after the Irish Parliament severed tied with the church (under England’s force).

Significance:

• Caused the English to look down upon the Irish

• Start of strife between the two countries

Book of Common Prayer

Definition: Written by Thomas Carnmer about Protestant prayers and rituals

Significance:

• Solidified Anglicanism

Elizabeth 1

Definition:

Daughter of King Henry VIII who brought religious stability to England.

Significance:

• Religious toleration

• Purified the church from Catholic values

• Her reign was the height of exploration and literature

• Dealt with the Spanish Armada!

Act of Uniformity

Definition: Doctrine which laid the groundwork for the English Church

Significance:

• Restored the Book of Common Prayers

• Allowed for two interpretations of communion

Spanish Armada

Definition:

Spanish fleet that tried to invade England and LOST

• Phllip II sad he got rejected (rip)

• Phillip wanted to bring back Catholicism to England

• Mad that Queen Elizabeth killed Queen Mary of the Scotts

Significance:

• First time England became a “superpower” since they beat the biggest naval fleet in the world

• More standing armies

John Calvin

Beliefs:

• Predestination: God already decided whether you’re going to heaven or hell

• Churches should be bare and have minimal decoration

• Lead a strict life

Significance:

• His beliefs spread to several regions (England, France, Scotland)

• Geneva was an example of his beliefs

Predestination

Definition: Belief that god already decided whether you go to heaven or hell.

Geneva

Definition: A city in Switzerland based completely on Calvinist ideals

Significance:

• Became the paradigm of a proper Protestant country

Denominations of Calvinism

Presbyterian (Scotland)

Huguenots (France)

Puritans (England)

Protestant Work Ethic

Definition: Protestants believed that your wealth is indicative of god’s blessing (ESPECIALLY IN CALVINISM)

Significance:

• idk people would work hard ????

John Knox

Definition: Scottish theologian, devout Calvinist

Significance:

• Led the Scottish Reformation

• Started the first Presbyterian church in Scotland

Reformation in Poland

• Diverse population with conflicting interests

• People were interested in Calvinism with its appeal to elders

• Didn’t have reform because it failed, so it remained Catholic

Breakup of Hungary

• Lutheranism brewing

• Catholic nobles disapproved and wanted to crush the coalition

• Ottoman Turks ended up conquering Eastern Hungary primarily for land, ending the religious wars.

Simony

Definition:The buying or selling of some spiritually related

Significance:

• It was one of the primary reasons why the Catholic Church split

• Corrupted the church

• Ended after the Council of Trent

The Holy Office

Definition: A group of Cardinals who made regulations

Significance:

• Index of Prohibited Books: banning all Protestant books

• Explained Catholic teachings

Index of Prohibited Books

Definition: A list of books the Holy Office banned in order to revive Catholicism

Significance:

• Consolidated Catholicism

• Increased the divide between Catholicism and Protestantism

Council of Trent

Definition:

Catholics got together to renew and make changes to Catholicism

Significance:

• Scriptures were given importance

• No more pluralism!

• No more nepotism!

• Marriage had to be done in public

Teresa of Avila

Definition: Female nun who tried to restore Catholicism by encouraging people to to revert to past methods

Significance:

• One of the few women to be considered a “Saint”

• Helped usher the Catholic Reformation

• Was a published author

Ursuline Order

Definition:

A group of nuns who were aiming to re-Christianize young women

Significance:

• Allowed more education for women

• Device for the Reformation

Jesuits

Definition:

A group aiming at re-Christianizing people within Europe + introducing Catholicism to colonies

Significance:

• Allowed for the spread of Catholicism into Japan, China, as well as South America

Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis

Definition:

Treaty ending the dispute between Spain and France over Northern Italian territory; Spain wins

Significance:

• Resulted in more fights between Protestants and Catholics

• Didn’t really end the war between Spain and France

Huguenots

Definition:

French word for Calvinists

Significance:

Heavily persecuted under the Valois reign

Catherine de Medici

Definition: Wife of King Henri II of France, gave birth to 4 children.

Significance:

• Ruled France through her sons

• Very very very Catholic b/c she’s from Florence

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

Definition:

Massacre of the Huguenots in France during the wedding between Henry of Navarre and Margaret de Valois

Significance:

• Start of religious wars in France

• Shows clear opposition towards the Calvinists

Politique

Someone who puts the country before themselves

Examples of politiques

Henry of Navarre, Cardinal Richelieu, Queen Elizabeth I

Henry IV

Definition: Born to the Protestant family of the Bourbons, became the King of France through his wife

Significance:

• Enacted the Treaty of Nantes, giving religious toleration towards all types of Christians

• Converted to Catholicism to secure the French crown + stop warfare

• POLITIQUE

Phillip II

Definition: Inherited Spain and the Dutch Netherlands through his father, Charles V.

Significance:

• Tried to manage Protestant reform

• Led the Spanish Armada

Pacification of Ghent

Definition:

A treaty that aimed to unify the northern and southern provinces of the Netherlands against Spanish rule, asserting their autonomy and seeking religious tolerance.

Significance:

• The treaty marked a moment of unity among the Dutch provinces, both Protestant and Catholic, against the oppressive policies of the Spanish crown.

• Beginning of the Netherlands gaining independence from Spain

Union of Utrecht

Definition:

• A group of Protestant states within the Spanish Empire that tried to secede from Spain

Significance:

• Laid the foundation for the union of the Dutch Republic later

• Resolved Spanish succession problems

United Provinces

Group of protestant states that broke apart from Spanish rule

Witch Hunts

Definition: The search for a witch, typically leading in execution

Significance:

• Led to the development of new legal systems

• frequently intertwined with religious conflicts, such as the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. They provided a means to target perceived heretics and enemies of the state or church.

Gender Roles in Witch Hunts

Typically women were targeted in witch hunts because

1) Perceived as "weaker” and more likely to “give into the devil”

2) Easier to extract information from women

Legal Changes

• Originally accusers would be held accountable if the case was false

• Later, people could just accuse without being reprimanded

Great Chain of Being

Definition:

Social hierarchy

King → Clergy → Noble → Peasant

Significance:

• Played a major part with social roles

Patriarchy in Family

Definition: Father rules the family, everyone else after him

Significance:

• Fathers would often be abusive and use this social standard to defend themselves

Little Ice Age

• Period of low temperature in Europe

• Food shortages

• Food price went up

Bread Riots

Definition: Little Ice age made it more difficult to harvest wheat, resulting the price of bread to increase, causing riots

Significance:

• Women starting to lead riots

• Led to more riots around Europe

Moral Economy

Definition: Inspired by the Bread Riots, some economists believed that the community should control competition, prices, and profits

Significance:

• More equality in transactions

Thirty Year’s War

Definition: A war fought in the HRE as a result of tensions after the Peace of Augsburg, resulting in some religious tensions

Significance:

• Other nations got involved

• Let the Dutch Netherlands free

Gustavos Adolphus

Individual who led the Protestants during the 30 Year’s War

Significance:

• Helped change the tide from the Catholics to the Protestants

Cardinal Richelieu

• Catholic Cardinal from France

• Helped French monarch centralize power

• Despite being Catholic, he supported the Protestants in the HRE primarily for land reasons → became a politique

Peace of Westphalia

Definition: Treaty ending the 30 Year’s war and the END OF PERIOD 1 IN EURO

Significance:

• Ended the 30 Year’s War

• Gave freedom to German princes to choose their own religion

• Dutch Netherlands became free!

• Created new ideas of sovereignty

Fiscal Military State

Definition: A form of state building that advocated for a more centralized state

Significance:

• Creation of standing armies

• Greater taxation

• more wars!

Baroque Art

Definition: Art style that was used for state consolidation and counter-Reformation

Characteristics:

• Often times religious

• Huge difference between light and dark

• Geometry

• Portrays the wealthy

Bernini

Baroque sculptor who created Saint Teresa in Ecstasy

• Aided with Counter Reformation

Rubens

Roman Catholic painter of “Prometheus Bound”

Bach

Baroque composer, Fugues + Polyphony + Counterpoint