The Spread of Protestantism
And the Catholic Reformation
Chapter 5 Sections 3, 4 and 5
The Germans, Swiss, and the English
influences…
Martin Luther
• The Protestant Reformation was begun by a German Monk
named Martin Luther in 1517. Breaks Christians into two
main sides: Catholics and Protestants .
• Luther and many others saw the Catholic Church of the 1500s
as corrupt and extravagant especially in it’s practice of selling
indulgences: paying the Catholic to have one’s sins absolved
and assure them entrance to heaven
•After much thought, on Oct. 31st 1517, Luther (now a
priest and professor) nailed a placard with his 95
Theses (or statements) criticizing indulgences and
other church policies on the Wittenberg Church door!
Printed copies quickly spread across Germany.
•Sales of INDULGENCES declined quickly, Luther was
excommunicated in 1521 and then was brought to the
Diet(meaning council) of WORMS to recant (take
back)his views in front of German princes. He refused!
Was labeled a heretic and an outlaw and goes into
hiding at a friendly Prince of Saxony.
Spread of Protestantism
• In the 1500s Protestantism spread throughout Europe but
divisions within it began to appear
• 1525: A Swiss priest named Zwingli in the city of Zurich set up
a theocracy: meaning a church run state. An army of Swiss
Catholics rose up to fight the folk of Zurich and defeated
them. (One of the many religious wars to take place between
European Catholics and the new Protestants)`
•John Calvin: 1541 Another Swiss church leader
in Geneva started his own brand of
Protestantism which became known as
Calvinism. Very democratic in nature. He spread
the belief of Predestination: That God alone
determines the fate of every person. Calvinism
urged peoples to overthrow “ungodly ” rulers.
Contributes to rise of later revolutionary
movements in the 1600 and 1700s.
England’s Church Turmoil
• Reformation ideas filtered into England in 1500s. A quarrel
occurred between the Pope and King Henry VIII and brought
these ideas into English politics.
• Henry VIII had first married a Catholic Spanish princess named
Catherine of Aragon who did bear him a daughter, MARY.
Henry, however, wanted a male heir to the throne, believed
Catherine too old to produce more kids, asked for a divorce so
he could marry the cute Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused.
•Henry, being king, then directed that a
series of laws be passed by Parliament
breaking the English church away from
Rome’s control. The Act of Supremacy in
1534, made Henry the head of the English
Church instead of the pope.
•The New Church of
England kept many of
the Catholic doctrines
and forms of worship.
Henry did close
monasteries, seized
Catholic lands etc. HE
NEVER did consider
himself a Protestant
Reformer however.
Some English Catholics,
like Sir Thomas Moore
did complain about the
change and were
beheaded! OOPs, don’t
complain to the KING!
Henry’s Wives: The good, naughty and the beheaded
Henry (as head of the Church) had the Church of England declare his divorce
from Catherine. After his second marriage to Anne, Boleyn did give Henry
a daughter, Elizabeth, but still no son.
• Henry, not happy, after a few years had Anne beheaded ( accused of an
affair with her brother, NEVER happened)
•
•
Henry married 4 more times to:
Jane Seymour
m. 1536 - 1537
Died after giving birth to a son : Edward
•
Anne of Cleves
m. 1540 Jan. - July
Divorced
•
Kathryn Howard
m. 1540 - 1542
Executed
•
Katherine Parr
m. 1543 – 1547 Widowed.
England’s journey to Anglicanism
• Bonus HISTORY!: After Henry VIII’s death Edward (son of
Jane Seymour)became Edward IV at age nine and ruled
England until he died in his late teens.
• replaced by Catherine’s daughter Mary who became
known as “Bloody Mary” for burning protestants to death
while trying to restore Catholicism to England by force.)
•After Catholic Queen Mary’s
death in 1558, her half sister
Elizabeth (daughter of Anne
Boleyn) becomes Queen
Elizabeth I and fully transforms
the English Church to
Protestantism with some Catholic
features, this blend becomes
Anglicanism and pleases most
Englishmen…
•(except the Puritans who want to
chop out all remaining bits of
Catholic ritual and flee to New
World later…)
The Catholic Reformation
• During the 1530s and 1540s Pope Paul III set out
reform the Catholic Church and stem the advance of
Protestant ideas.
• Council of Trent: met off and on for 20 yrs until 1563:
reaffirmed Catholic teachings that salvation would
come from faith and good works and declared that
church tradition was equal in importance to what is
written in the Bible. (must follow Papal decrees)
•Also said only Bible version to read is the LATIN version
(Protestants printed Bible in local tongues) also Mass in
Latin
•Started SEMINARY SCHOOLS to ensure a better educated
clergy
•Encouraged new art and architecture style called
baroque
Which stressed emotion complexity and exaggeration for
dramatic effect. Examples:
Baroque Art example
The Inquisition
• Started in 1232, as a church court, courts set up
across Europe, especially Spain.
• Used to convert heretics (those who spoke
against decrees of Catholic Church)
• courts used persuasion then if that failed torture!
Often accused people without evidence.
• To deal with Protestant threat, Inquisition
strengthened in 1500s by Pope Paul III
• Introduced censorship and Banned certain books
to curtail humanist and Protestant thinking
A Divided Europe
• 1555: Peace of Augsburg :signed between Catholic
Holy Roman Emperor and German Princes, allowed
each ruler to choose the religion of their subjects
• Catholicism: stayed popular in Southern Europe,
places like Italy, France, Spain Portugal and southern
Germany
• Protestantism: popular in Northern Europe, places
like Scotland, Netherlands, Northern Germany and
Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway)
•England had a blend of
Protestant and Catholic called
Anglicism
•Religious Wars between the
2 factions did break out in
1500s and early 1600s
•European Jews caught in the
middle and persecuted by
both sides (except in tolerant
Netherlands)