Chapter 13 Reformation and Religious Warfare in the Sixteenth Century

Christian Humanism

Also known as Northern Renaissance Humanism. This was the movement that sought to reform Christianity by returning to its early roots and it original, simple and they believed more pure religion. They supported the individual to be educated and use reason. They believed that this would bring true inner piety and religious faith.

Erasmus

The most influential of all the Christian Humanists. He believed humans had the power to reason and improve themselves. He is famous for writing an improved version of the Bible with many corrections and new translations from the earlier Greek copies. In fact, Martin Luther would use his book as the master when he translated the bible into German. He also pushed the idea of "The philosophy of Christ". He thought people should look at Christianity as a guiding way of life rather than a series of religious steps you follow because someone told you to.

The Praise of Folly

A book written by Erasmus in 1509 in which he used humor to effectively criticize the most corrupt practices in society in his time as well as the abuses within the clergy in the Catholic Church.

Thomas More

A friend and contemporary of Erasmus, he wrote the famous book 'Utopia' in 1516. This book was the account of the idealistic life and institutions of a community of Utopia, an imaginary island where reason and cooperation replaced greed and private property systems of the age. His work would be used by many in later centuries as the foundation for many of the concepts of socialism and / or Communism.

He would also famously be executed by King Henry VIII of England for refusing to recognize him as the leader of a new church he created so he could divorce his wife. He chose death willingly over compromising his faith.

Pluralism

This was the practice of many high ranking church officials where they took on too many jobs for multiple paychecks over a large area and did not of the jobs well or even at all. This lead to many of the common worshipers to lose faith in the church.

Martin Luther

A Catholic Monk that would view the Church as too corrupt to repair so he broke away and created his own church, Lutheranism, under the protection of the Princes in what is today modern Germany.

Ninety-Five Theses

List of complaints written by Martin Luther and nailed on the church door in Wittenberg. Originally written in Latin but soon translated into German, this document was mass copied and found its way all over Germany and found many Germans sympathetic to its attacks on what many believed to be the corruption of the Catholic Church.

Indulgences

A practice attacked by Martin Luther that the Catholic Church maintained as a way for the Church to get money. The Church would charge the masses money to buy or just to touch 'holy relics' as a way to wash away their sins.

Transubstantiation

The Catholic doctrine that teaches that the substance of the bread and wine consumed in the rite is miraculously transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. Various protestant faiths would argue, to varying degrees, that the blood and bread was more symbolic. Fierce arguments have been fought over this religious concept.

Peace of Augsburg (1555)

Treaty which ended religious warfare between Germany and the Holy Roman Empire, it acknowledged Lutheranism as a religion, and those states had the same rights at Catholic states; German states were free to choose the religion of their country, but individuals were not able to choose their religion.

Charles the V

Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire (1519 to 1556) at the time of Martin Luther's religious uprising and revolution. He oversaw a huge empire that consisted of modern day Spain, Austria, much of Germany and much of Eastern Europe. His empire was overextended however and he had endless conflicts with other powers trying to defend his lands and maintain order within his own empire. He spent a lot of effort and time trying to maintain the Catholic faith in all his lands thinking that would keep his holdings unified.

Francis I

He was the king of France from 1515 to 1547 and was the chief rival of Charles the V of the Holy Roman Empire. The two constantly fought to be the dominant power in Europe.

The Ottoman Empire

This Muslim empire occupied much of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. They were consistently at war with the European powers, namely the Holy Roman Empire and their invasions nearly drove into and conquered much of Europe. In this time period they were stopped at the gates of Vienna by a European army. They were a constant threat and concern to much of Europe.

Ulrich Zwingli

Lead a protestant reformation in what is now modern day Switzerland. He sought to purge his newly formed church and followers from the traditions and teachings of the Catholic church and focus purely on what was in the holy scriptures. He sought to make alliances with other protestant forces for the coming religious wars. He was wounded on the battlefield and killed by his enemies. Once friends, became bitter enemies with Martin Luther over a single religious matter, the interpretation of the Lord's Supper, Transubstantiation.

Anabaptists

A collective name for several radical religious groups that believed that people should voluntarily join and belong to a church, not through force. They also believed in adult baptism because they thought it should be your choice, so you should be old enough to understand what you were joining. They wanted to follow the early, more simple teachings of Christianity and often did not follow or respect worldly leaders and followed strict democracy. This unsurprisingly made them very unpopular with both Catholic and Protestant kingdoms.

King Henry VIII

An English king that famously split from the Catholic Church because of his desire to divorce his wife... who failed to produce a male heir... then later several of them... then when divorce was not convenient he had them beheaded, and formed his own church with himself and the head.

Act of Supremacy

This law made the formal break away from the power of Rome over England and made the king, Henry VIII the head of both the nation as well as the Church of England.

Treason Act

This law enforced the Act of Supremacy. It stated that the punishment was death for anyone who did not acknowledge that the king was the sole head of the nation as well as the church. Thomas More is one of the most famous people to die because of this law.

Bloody Mary

She was the daughter of Henry the VIII. She would later come to power as queen of England and try to restore Catholicism as the official religion of England. However, her policies and her ordering the burning of 3000 people at the stake for being Protestant heretics had the opposite effect. After her death Protestantism was even stronger in England.

John Calvin

He was the second generation of Protestant reformers. His book, Institutes of Christian Religion, published in 1536, made him a major figure of the period and leader of Protestantism. He would found the Calvinist Church.

Predestination

This is the Calvinist concept that people are already chosen by god to either go to heaven or hell even before they are born.

Counter-Reformation

This is also known as the Catholic Reformation. This was the Catholic churches attempt to combat and counter the Protestant movement. This was the Catholic churches attempt at reform and bringing back many people who had left the faith for Protestant churches.

Jesuits

This was one of the new orders of monks created with the Catholic Reformation. They would become the chief instrument of the reformation. They were formed by Spanish nobleman, Ignatius of Loyola who ran the order much like an army due to his soldier background. The order was known for answering directly to the Pope and carried out his policies and orders.

Council of Trent

This was a general assembly called on by Pope Paul III in 1542 to attempt to bring the Catholics and the Protestants back together in a unified church. It failed when hard line Catholic forces made it clear they would not work with Protestants and would not compromise.

Huguenots

This was the French name for Calvinists. They were the major Protestant faith in France and were in open conflict and at times warfare with the government forces led by the king who were Catholic. This group made up about 10% of the French population but interestingly about 40% of the Nobility.

Politiques

A group of public figures in France that placed politics and the nation above religious conflicts. They would eventually win out on the national stage in France but not before the two religious sides where exhausted and bloody from years of conflict, religious civil wars and killings.

Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre

A massacre of 3000 Huguenots in Paris in 1572. A weak monarch and zealous forces led to the slaughter that was seen as over the top and too far even for those living in that time period. It would discredit the Valois dynasty of France.

Edict of Nantes

This edict passed in France in 1598 helped end the open slaughter of people in France based on religious conflict that had been raging for years. The edict acknowledged Catholicism as the the official religion of France but guaranteed the Huguenots the right to worship in selected places in every district and let them keep a number of fortified towns for their protection.

Queen Elizabeth I of England

She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn who would come to the throne of England in 1558. She was known as a very successful queen in both her dealings with Parliament as well as in foreign affairs.

Puritans

A group of Protestants within the Anglican church in England. They wanted to remove all remaining connections and practices held over from the Catholic church.

The Spanish Armada

A giant sea based invasion of England planned and operated by Spain that ended in total failure. The fleet was heavily damaged by a storm at sea and those ships that did make it were defeated and driven back by the English fleet.