Section Overview |
Differing conceptions of salvation |
Late medieval reform movements in the church - including lay piety, mysticism, and Christian humanism - created a momentum that propelled a new generation of 16th-century reformers, such as Erasmus and Martin Luther. After 1517, when Luther posted his 95 Theses criticizing ecclesiastical abuses and the doctrines that led to them, Christianity fragmented, even though religious uniformity remained the ideal. Some states, such as Spain and Portugal, which had recently expelled Muslims and Jews, held fast to this ideal. Others did not, notably the Netherlands and lands under Ottoman control, which accepted Jewish refugees.
In central Europe, the Peace of Augsburg (1555) permitted each state of the Holy Roman Empire to be either Catholic or Lutheran at the option of the prince. By the late 16th century, northern European countries were generally Protestant and Mediterranean countries generally Catholic. To re-establish order after a period of religious warfare, France introduced limited toleration of the minority Calvinists within a Catholic kingdom (Edict of Nantes, 1598; revoked in 1685). Jews remained a marginalized minority wherever they lived.
Differing conceptions of salvation and the individual’s relationship to the church were at the heart of the conflicts among Luther, subsequent Protestant reformers such as Calvin and the Anabaptists, and the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church affirmed its traditional theology at the Council of Trent (1545–1563), ruling out any reconciliation with the Protestants and inspiring the resurgence of Catholicism in the 17th century. Religious conflicts merged with and exacerbated long-standing political tensions between the monarchies and nobility across Europe, dramatically escalating these conflicts as they spread from the Holy Roman Empire to France, the Netherlands, and England. Economic issues such as the power to tax and control ecclesiastical resources further heightened these clashes.
All three motivations—religious, political, and economic—contributed to the brutal and destructive Thirty Years’ War, which was ended by the Peace of Westphalia (1648). The treaty established a new balance of power with a weakened Holy Roman Empire. The Peace of Westphalia also added Calvinism to Catholicism and Lutheranism as an accepted religion in the Holy Roman Empire, ensuring the permanence of European religious pluralism. However, pluralism did not mean religious freedom; the prince or ruler still controlled the religion of the state, and few were tolerant of dissenters.
Source: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-european-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf
In central Europe, the Peace of Augsburg (1555) permitted each state of the Holy Roman Empire to be either Catholic or Lutheran at the option of the prince. By the late 16th century, northern European countries were generally Protestant and Mediterranean countries generally Catholic. To re-establish order after a period of religious warfare, France introduced limited toleration of the minority Calvinists within a Catholic kingdom (Edict of Nantes, 1598; revoked in 1685). Jews remained a marginalized minority wherever they lived.
Differing conceptions of salvation and the individual’s relationship to the church were at the heart of the conflicts among Luther, subsequent Protestant reformers such as Calvin and the Anabaptists, and the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church affirmed its traditional theology at the Council of Trent (1545–1563), ruling out any reconciliation with the Protestants and inspiring the resurgence of Catholicism in the 17th century. Religious conflicts merged with and exacerbated long-standing political tensions between the monarchies and nobility across Europe, dramatically escalating these conflicts as they spread from the Holy Roman Empire to France, the Netherlands, and England. Economic issues such as the power to tax and control ecclesiastical resources further heightened these clashes.
All three motivations—religious, political, and economic—contributed to the brutal and destructive Thirty Years’ War, which was ended by the Peace of Westphalia (1648). The treaty established a new balance of power with a weakened Holy Roman Empire. The Peace of Westphalia also added Calvinism to Catholicism and Lutheranism as an accepted religion in the Holy Roman Empire, ensuring the permanence of European religious pluralism. However, pluralism did not mean religious freedom; the prince or ruler still controlled the religion of the state, and few were tolerant of dissenters.
Source: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-european-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf
The Church Before the Reformation
Main facade of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome
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Lutheranism
The burning of Little Jack (Jacklein) Rohrbach, a leader of the peasants during the German Peasants' Revolt.
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Calvinism
Anglicanism
Henry VIII and his six wives: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.
- Henry VIII (r. 1509–1547)
- annulment
- Catherine of Aragon
- Anglican Church/Church of England
- Thomas Cranmer (Book of Common Prayer)
- Thomas Cromwell
- Act of Supremacy (1534)
- Edward VI (r. 1547–1553)
- Edward Seymour
- John Dudley
- "Bloody" Mary I (r. 1553–1558)
- Elizabeth I (r. 1558–1603)
- English Religious Settlement
- Acts of Supremacy (1558)
- Act of Uniformity (1558)
- Hampton Court Conference (1604)
Anabaptists
The burning of a 16th-century Dutch Anabaptist, Anneken Hendriks, who was charged by the Spanish Inquisition with heresy.
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The Catholic (or Counter-)Reformation
Jesuits at the court of the Mughal emperor of India, c. 1605
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Wars of Religion in the 1500s
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants (1572). It was the climax of the French Wars of Religion, which were brought to an end by the Edict of Nantes (1598).
The Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648
The Lion of the North: Gustavus Adolphus depicted at the turning point of the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) against the forces of Count Tilly.
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Bohemian Phase
Danish and Swedish Phases
French Phase |
Minority Religions
Sultan Mehmed II allowed Orthodoxy to remain active after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
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NEXT: 1.4: Economic Expansion