Reformation

Context of the Reformation:
Holy Roman Emperor:

• Often associated with Hapsburg/sometimes spain, but he’s weak

• Emperor (Charlemagne) was elected by several german electors

• IMPORTANT: german nobility want to keep him weak

  • Couldn’t enforce religious unity in the empire; more fragmented

Problems that the Catholic Church faced at the beginning of the Reformation:

• The printing press allowed the Bible to be printed in vernacular languages, leading to challenges

  • Heresy: if you challenge the catholic church, you get burned

• Renaissance ideas, exploration, humanists, and individualism.

John Wycliffe (1330-84) Theologian at Oxford

• Believes that if the Church is bad, the state should take over (criticizing)

• Bible should be vernacular, read by anyone (argued against the pope)

• Saints are made-up; they don’t exist

• Influences later reformers like Jan Hus and Martin Luther

• Believed in consubstatntiaion, which made cahotlics church angry

Jan Hus (1369-1415)

• Marriage Richard II and Anne of Bohemia: creates a cultural bridge between England and Bohemia

• Cultural exchange: likes and translates wycliffe’s ideas

• Bohemia slavic, dominated by german church

  • Jan Hus pushes for Bohemian Identity with religious reform

    • After he dies, Hussite Wars to make Bohemia independent

• 1415 Council of Constance: Jan Hus gets burned for challenging the Church

Erasmus (1469-1536) dutch

• Christian humanist: be educated and be like Jesus

• Named “The Beloved” as he was the best writer of Latin in his generation

• Critic of the Church

  • Wrote Praise of Folly (1511)

    • Highlights moral decay and hypocrisy in the clergy (Criticizing)

    • Emphasizes on inner piety (personal connection with God)

  • Praise of Folly called for reform. Ideas in it fueled the Reformation.

Reformation:

Martin Luther (16th century monk):

• Challenges Catholic belief

  • Believes that all you need is faith: Justification of Faith Alone

  • Does not believe in Indulgence because it’s not in the Bible

    • Indulgence is pay the pope to get out of purgatory for some time (this was a way to control the population and gain money for the government)

• First to create a new religion in Europe: Lutheranism

  • Writes the 95 Theses in 1517 to spread his religion Lutheranism and his challenges of Catholic Church. 

    • Spread by the Printing Press (translated in other languages)

  • Diet of Worms 1521 was a meeting of the holy roman empire for challenges,

    • called by Charles V.

    • Martin Luther admits he wrote all these challenges and stays true to them and gets kicked out and was supposed to be burned to death

      • Frederick of Saxony: supported Luther and prevented his death

  • Debated with Johann Eck on Jan Hus, vernacular vs. latin, and substantiation

    • Johann Eck sided with Catholicism (against Jan Hus’ burning, supports latin, transubstantiation (bread and wine change  into christ’s body and blood))

    • Luther sided with Lutheranism (believes Jan Hus is right, supports vernacular, consubstantiation (symbolic of body and blood of christ, does not transform))

Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)

• Initiated radical reforms in Zurich, switzerland

• Rejected some Catholic practices (like indulgence)

• Sparked Anabaptist movement

• Rejected transubstantiation: zwingli thought the bread and wine were just symbolic

  • Luther and Zwingli couldn’t agree with their views on substantiation

    • Prevented unified Protestants

• Started the first reformed Protestant church separate from Lutheranism

Anabaptists (group of radical protestants)

• Believe in the baptism of adults, not at birth.

• Contrary to Catholics, so they were hated and killed

  • Persecuted because other religions thought they were dangerous

    • Rejected infant baptism: against traditional Catholicism & Protestantism

    • Threatened religious unity as they believed Church should be completely separated from the state

• Conrad Grebel was the father of Anabaptism

• Anabaptism was spread through the Printing Press

• An example for religious tolerance and radicalism, state vs church

Calvinism

• Religion started by French theologian Jean Cauvin

• Believed in everything with Lutherans and Predestination, Consubstantiation

• Invited to reform Geneva into a Theocracy (God has full power)

• Predestination: elected go to heaven, reprobated go to hell. Your fate is determined before birth

  • Calvinists believed that being rich and well-off meant it was a sign that they were the elect or predestined to heaven. 

• So they want too work to become rich so education is very good to them so government good

• It spread all the way through europe becoming the largest branch of protestantism

• CALVIN writes Institutes of the Christian Religion: book for protestants on calvinism very good! Says the stuff on top 

• Ecclesiastical Ordinances was written by Calvin and acted as Geneva’s constitution

Wars of religion: series of conflicts between protestants and Catholics in Europe

1. In France, spread of French Calvinists create tensions to Catholics, so war.

   1. Huguenots become 50% of French nobility

   2. First French War of Religion started when Duke of Guise massacres a random calvinist church (massacre of Vassy)

   3. Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre left 3000 huguenots dead (happened during Henry III’s reign, who struggled to manage religious animosities)

2. Now the war of the 3 henries happen (Henry III, Henry duke of Guise, Henry Navarre/IV)

   1. Henry III (catholic) kills Henry of Guise (ultra catholic) for claiming the throne

   2. Tried to make alliance with Henry of Navarre, but was assassinated so Henry of Navarre takes the throne)

      1. Henry IV keeps switching between Calvinism and Catholicism to avoid death

3. Henry IV/navarre tries his best to tolerate religion: creates the Edict of Nantes 1598.

   1. French is Catholic, but Huguenots can worship with peace (no massacres)

• In Spain, Philip II hates Protestants so much (english and dutch)

  • William of Orange, a calvinist, fights the Spanish Habsburgs to gain independence for Netherlands: creates Union of Utrecht in 1579 that unified dutch provinces.

• Thirty years war was ended by peace of westphalia

Catholic Counter Reformation

• 1545-63 Catholics are very sad from people breaking from the church because of all the corruption.

• Establish the Council of Trent by Pope Paul III

  • Wanted peace and only one religion in Europe

  • lessened corruption of clergy members and abuses of power

  • Basically self reform

• Ignatius of Loyola

  • Read the bible and decided to become Catholic 

  • Created the Jesuits

  • Established many missionary trips around the world with emphasis on education

English Reformation

• Henry VII splits from pope and makes Act of Supremacy 1534 because he wanted a heir

• Elizabeth I saves an England on the verge of civil war.

  • Wanted religious piece-Act of Uniformity 1559 that revised protestant book of common prayer

  • Act of supremacy: made her governer of church and England

• Peasant War

  • Peasants are unhappy about their 0 rights

  • Thomas Muntzer, an ex. Follower of Luther tells peasants to fight for their rights

  • Luther, a conservative, is scared and writes “Against the Thieving + Murdering Hordes of Peasants”

  • Nobles kill 100,000-120,000 peasants

• The Schmalkaldic Wars

  • 1526 Diet of Speyer tries to remove diet of worms; nothing is accomplished

  • 1530 Diet of Ausburg: Charles V of holy roman empire demands German to become Catholic again, resulting in Schmaldick wars. 

  • Both sides, protestant and catholic become broke

  • 1555 peace of Augsburg is created for peace, but it says princes can determine religion of their state

  • Problem: only 2 relgions are allowed

  • EFFECT: More WAR.

• Hierarchies

  • Nobles of the Robe: ranked gained by holding a high state office; position is bought.

  • Nobles of the Sword: older, earned their titles through military service, so considered higher status than nobles of the robe. 

  • Elizabethan CHain of Being:

    • You cannot change your social status, otherwise society falls.

    • Ex. Macbeth, who tries to become King, and many evil things happen.

• Leisuire Activities

  • Carnival happens in days leading up to lent(religious sacrifice of something)

  • Sin is legalized and people become crazy

  • Strengthended communities and decreased tensions

Ex. Calcio storic: fighting carnival in florence before Lent

• Cities and public morality

  • Stocks: put person in a board with holes for some days as a punishment

  • Charivar: entire town parades and makes noise at the punished person.

• Economic trend

  • 80% is agriculture

  • Rise in Trade and market 

  • Joint stock exchange-Bank of Amsterdam

  • Creates Dutch East India Trading company, then English East Indian Trading COmpany.

    • Extreme profit

  • Rise of mercantislism: maximize exports and minimize imports

Hierachies, witchcraft, etc.

• Burn witches in times of crisis

• WItches are expected as evil beings

• Hammer ofr withches: pamphlet on how to spot withces

• Querelle des femmes: Debate on the role of women

• Most people believe women don’t have roles in society, except maybe household (  inferior to men)

NEW ART

• Mannerism:

  • Reaction to northern and italian renaissance art

  • Slightly distorts the form

  • Unatural

  • Ex. Madonna with long neck 1535 and El greco.

• Baroque 1600:

• Uses light and dark for contrast to emphasize emotion

• More realistic, not glorified like renaissance.

• Ex. Caravaggio, conversion of St. Paul 1600.

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