AP Euro Chapter 13

anticlericalism: opposition to the clergy

indulgence: a document issued by the Catholic Church lessening penance or time in purgatory, widely believed to bring forgiveness of all sins

protestant: the name originally given to followers of Luther, which came to mean all non-catholic western christian groups

spanish armada: the fleet sent by philip II of spain in 1588 against England as a religious crusade against protestantism. weather and the english fleet defeated it

the institutes of the christian religion: calvin’s formulation of christian doctrine, which became a systematic theology for protestantism

predestination: the teaching that god has determined the salvation or domination of individuals based on his will and purpose, not on their merit or works

holy office: the official roman catholic agency founded in 1542 to combat international doctrinal heresy

jesuits: members of the society of jesus, founded by ignatius loyola, whose goal was the spread of the roman catholic faith

huguenots: french calvinists

politiques: catholic and protestant moderates who held that only a strong monarchy could save france from total collapse

edict of nantes: a document issued by henry iv of france in 1598, granting liberty of conscience and of public worship to calvinists, which helped restore peace in france

union of utrecht: the alliance of seven northern provinces (led by holland) that declared its independence from spain and formed the united provinces of the netherlands

What were the central ideas of the reformers and why were they appealing to different social groups?

the babylonian captivity, the great schism, and papal conflict with german emperor fredrick II led to damage to the church leaders prestige and the church’s actions of supporting worldly matters and art instead also angered people. People also criticized the church and started to challenge the authority of the catholic church. these people, reformers, suggested reform to the church and doctrines and tried to emphasize individual faith and the centralization of the scriptures. they believed the scriptures should be the sole basis of christianity because god’s words were only revealed in the scriptures and not in church traditions. They also believed salvation was achieved through faith and not through sacraments like the indulgences. Educated people and humanists were drawn to this because they liked the fact that reformers emphasized interest on intellectuality and the Scriptures. Wealthy classes were attracted to it because they liked the idea of reducing the church’s power and wealth while peasants and urban dwellers were attracted by the idea of equality and oppression of the church’s corruption.

How did the political situation in Germany shape the course of the Reformation?

Martin Luther appealed to Germans through his sense of nationalism, so many people became Protestant. However, this led to religious wars since the ruling habsburg family and the then king Charles V was catholic. the reformation eventually led to religious wars between protestants and catholics. When Zwingli died in Switzerland, Charles V called for the Imperial Diet in Augsburg to stop the spread of religious division. He invited the lutherans and protestants but the lutherans made the augsburg confession and gave it to charles. Charles declined it which led to the Habsburg-Valois Wars. Charles became very successful in this war, so the pope and France started supporting lutheran troops. This led to the Peace of Augsburg by Charles which officially recognized Lutheranism as a religion and gave each territory the right to pick what religion they wanted to practice. The south stayed catholic and Germany became lutheran.

How did Protestant ideas and institutions spread beyond German-speaking lands?

Protestantism spread to various parts of Europe like England, Bohemia in Eastern Europe, and Denmark-Norway. Denmark-Norway became the first territory outside Germany to accept the reformation because danish scholars studied in wittenberg and brought Luther’s ideas with them. In england, Henry VIII wanted to break away from the Catholic Church because the Pope didn’t accept his divorce with Catherine of Aragon. (Pope Clement VII). He established his own church (the Anglican Church) which originally had Catholic ideas but then went on to become Protestant. In Eastern Europe in Bohemia, the population of majority Czechs were attracted to Lutheranism. Luther’s ideas came to German towns in Bohemia through the diversity of the territory and many bohemian germans converted.

What reforms did the Catholic Church make, and how did it respond to Protestant reform movements?

The catholic church started the counter-reformation which opposed Protestantism intellectually, politically, and institutionally. Popes like Pope Paul III also started to reform the Catholic Church by supporting improvements in clergy education and stricter control of clerical life. He also established the Holy Office which played a powerful role in the catholic reformation by destroying heresy and banning books that supported it (like erasmus). He also established the council of trent which tried to reconcile with lutherans and calvinists, gave equal validity to the scriptures and church practices as sources of religious truth, reaffirmed the seven sacraments, forbade indulgences, and emphasized preaching to the uneducated.

What were the causes and consequences of religious violence, including riots, wars, and witch hunts?

In france and the netherlands, religious conflicts started because protestants and catholics each believed the other was unholy and would anger God since they were with Satan. In france, the weak monarchy led to nobles taking advantage and adopting protestant ideas but catholic royal lords and calvinists antimonarchial lords clashed and religious violence erupted. This caused thousands of people to be killed and also led to agriculture decline, starvation, and more death. In the netherlands, spanish authorities tried to suppress calvinists by taxing the, so calvinists responded by attacking catholic churches. spanish authorities executed fifteen hundred men ruthlessly which angered calvinists and caused them to split the seventeen provinces (union of utrecht). The witch-hunts increased because of the extreme beliefs of the devil’s powers and the insecurity caused by religious wars. this eventually led to 100,000 to 200,000 people being tried (75-80% were women) for witchcraft and 40,000-60,000 people being executed.