CAUSES OF THE
REFORMATION

AP EURO

Mr. Buttell

CBHS
Martin Luther
and the Origins
of the
Reformation
Pope Leo X - St. Peter’s
Basilica
Vatican City,
Rome
Photo by Dennis Jarvis
This was not cheap.
Photo by Patrick Landy
SALE
OF INDULGENCES
Some rights reserved by 401(K) 2013
Albrecht von
Brandenburg
Archbishop
of Mainz
& Wittenberg
Purchased Office
Johann Tetzel
SALE OF
INDULGENCES
$$$
According to the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, “Purgatory is the state of those who
die in God’s friendship, assured of their
eternal salvation, but who still have need of
purification to enter into the happiness of
heaven.”
Tetzel
Purgatory
Imagine a
Waiting
Room
for heaven
(a very painful waiting
room)
Image of a fiery purgatory in the Très Riches
Heures du Duc de Berry
"As soon as a coin
in the coffer
rings...
“A soul from
Purgatory
springs.”
Indulgences

Indulgence sale
= huge success

People travelled
from miles
around to buy
indulgences

Promised full
forgiveness for
their own sins or
release from
purgatory for a
loved one
Martin Luther
German Monk
& Theologian
All Hallows' Eve
1517
Luther troubled
that people
believed they had
no further need for
repentance once
they had
purchased
indulgences.
Photo by Andrea
95
Theses
All Saints’ Church
Wittenberg Castle
Photos courtesy of Caleb Heavner (TCTC 2012)

Argued that indulgences
undermined seriousness of
penance.

Competed w/preaching of
Gospel

Downplayed the importance of
charity in Christian life
Photos courtesy of Caleb Heavner (TCTC 2012)
Printing
Press

Luther’s writings
circulated
throughout Europe
thanks to Printing
Press.

First in Latin, then in
German translation.

Luther ordered to
Rome (refused)

Then ordered
before Charles V
(HRE) in 1521
Holy
Roman
Empire
AN ASSOCIATION
OF GERMAN
PRINCIPALITIES
Map by Ziegelbrenner
House of Habsburg
or Hapsburg

In 1477, marriage of
Maximilian I of House of
Habsburg and Mary of
Burgundy united the
Austrian Empire with
Burgundy and
Netherlands.

Strongest ruling family in
Holy Roman Empire

Charles V (heir) inherited
Spain and Spanish
possessions in Italy, Sicily,
and Sardinia
Charles V (1500-58)
Habsburg Dynasty

King of Spain

Holy Roman Emperor

Archduke of Austria

Duke of Burgundy
Devout Catholic
Titian, Charles V
(1548)
The Politics of Reformation
1521
1555
Diet (council) of Worms
Peace of Augsburg
German Peasants’ War
1524–1525
Diet of Worms
(1521)
Luther defends his doctrines
before Emperor Charles V.
Diet of Worms
(1521)
OUTLAWED
Frederick
of Saxony
Luther relied on
his patron,
Frederick,
Elector of
Saxony, for
protection from
his enemies.
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Luther and the Wittenberg Reformers
Luther’s Protestant Thought

Maintained that God’s grace
alone, without any element of
individual good works, saved
people. (Though faith leads to
good work.)

Held that religious authority resided
in Scripture alone, not combination
of Scripture with traditional Church
teachings

Asserted that the Church consisted
of the whole community of
believers, not just the clergy

All vocations were equally holy,
and that monasticism was not a
higher vocation
Social Impact of Luther

Even before Luther, city govt.’s had
been expressing resentment of
clerical privilege and immunities

Luther’s writing that “a Christian
man is the most free-lord of all”
contributed to peasant unrest in
Germany

Following crop failures in 1523-24,
peasants demanded an end to
death taxes, new rents, and noble
seizures of village common lands

Luther initially backed the peasants
German Peasants’ War
(1524-1525)
Over 100,000
KILLED
Against the
Peasants
Martin Luther
condemned the
peasants’ revolt.
Social
Impact of
Luther

Lutheranism came to exalt the state
and subordinate church to the
secular rulers.

Luther owed his success to printing
press and own rhetorical skills

Luther’s claims:


That all vocations have equal
merit

Protestant rejection of
monasticism and celibacy

Insistence that all laity (including
women) should read the Bible

Acceptance of sexual desire
(within marriage)
All contributed to some improvement
in women’s circumstances.
Protestant Thought & Zwingli

Swiss humanist, admire of Erasmus,
Ulrich Zwingli, convinced that Christian
life rested on the Scriptures. Reformed
churches in Zurich with strong support
of city authorities.

Followers of Luther, Zwingli and others
came to be called Protestants.

Gradually = all non-Catholic western
European Christians

Held that salvation comes by faith
alone.
John
Calvin
Geneva, Switzerland
Reformed
Christianity
1509-1564
RADICAL
REFORMER
John Calvin’s doctrines
didn’t modify Catholicism
– they took an entirely
different direction.
Institutes of the
Christian Religion,
1536
The Foundation of Calvin’s
Theology

SOVEREIGNTY
OF GOD
and total weakness of
humanity

Predestination: God controls
all, including you
THE
ELECT
Salvation
However,
is God’s choice – not yours.
hard work, thrift and proper
moral conduct could serve as signs that
one was among the “elect”
ICONOCLASM
Removal of Statues & Paintings from
Churches
Destruction of Religious Icons in
Zurich
Interior of the Oude kerk in Amsterdam (south nave), by Emanuel
de Witte
PLAIN
CLOTHES
Fashion is a
sign of vanity.
Presbyterians
(John Knox)
Puritans
Separatists
Huguenots
Calvinism
Outside
Switzerland
Calvinists became
visible minorities in
France, England,
and Scotland.
Consistory (Geneva)

Body of laymen and pastors charged
with investigating and disciplining
deviations from proper doctrine and
conduct.

Geneva became model of a Christian
community attracting refugees from
Europe

Calvinism became most dynamic force in
international Protestantism.

In Scotland, Knox persuaded Scottish
parliament to end papal authority and
rule by bishops, instead establish
governance by presbyters or councils of
ministers

Presbyterian Church of Scotland was
strictly Calvinist in doctrine, adopted a
simple and dignified service, emphasized
preaching.
Charles V and
Holy Roman
Empire

Many German princes had
converted to Protestantism
because they could seize
church property

Charles V needed help
from Protestant princes to
fight off Turkish attacks

1521-55, Charles fought
series of wars with France
over Burgundy

French supported Princes in
Germany against Charles
Religion Determined by Local Ruler
Peace of
Augsburg
(1555)
Cuius regio, eius religio
Whoever reigns, his religion
Catholic OR Lutheran (Not Calvinism)
(status quo)
Peace
of
Augsburg
(1555)
Northern rulers
tended to choose
Protestantism
while Southern
rulers tended to
choose
Catholicism.
Map by Ziegelbrenner
Mostly Protestant
Mostly Catholic
Mostly Catholic