The Catholic Reformation and Counter Reformation APEURO Lecture

The Catholic Reformation and Counter. Reformation APEURO: Lecture 2 B Mrs. Kray Some slides taken from Susan M. Pojer

Reformation Europe (Late 16 c)

Because a common religious faith had been the one element uniting all of Europe for almost 1, 000 years, the fragmentation of belief led to profound changes in European life and society

Social Impact of the Protestant Reformation

Family and Gender • Family was placed as the center of social life • Celibacy was abolished – many former clergy married – Marital bond was glorified • Early on women earned the limited rights of divorce and education • Preached women’s natural sphere was the domestic one – Religious vocations and female religious images (ex. Virgin Mary) removed from churches Martin Luther’s Wife, Katharina von Bora

The Burning Times: The Great European Witch Hunts • During the 15 th and 16 th centuries between 100, 000 and 200, 000 people were officially tried for witchcraft • 40, 000 to 60, 000 were executed • Elderly, widowed women were the most likely to accused of witchcraft

More on the Burning Times: The Great European Witch Hunts Reasons for Growth of Witch Hunts • Religious reformers stressed the great powers of the Devil which reinforced belief in witchcraft • Women were believed to be weak and thus susceptible to the Devil’s temptations • Religious wars and economic uncertainty caused great social and economic stress. – Older, widowed women usually lacked power and thus became convenient scapegoats Reasons for Decline of Witch Hunts • Religious wars finally ended, thus restoring political stability • Protestants emphasized the concept of a supreme God, thus making the Devil seem less threatening • Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment emphasized reason and uniform laws of nature – Looked for rational explanations of natural events

Protestant Reformation and Education • Spurred education because of emphasis on Bible-reading • Philip Melanchthon (1497 -1560) – “Teacher of Germany” – Advocated a basic system of schooling (Gymnasia) • Catholic Counter-Reformation will also place an emphasis on schooling (Jesuits/Ursuline Order)

Protestant Reformation and Social Classes • Few Protestant reformers argued for social equality – Ex. Luther’s attacks on the German Peasant’s Revolt • Protestant Work Ethic – Theory: spurred development of capitalism & strengthened the middle class? – Deferring gratification and building a godly city on earth led to an ethic of hard work and capital accumulation

Protestant Reformation and Religious Practices • For centuries European religious life had centered around the church calendar – Saints’ feast days, Carnival, Lent, sacraments, rituals, etc. • Protestant nations abolished these practices – Emphasized Bible-reading – Sought to eliminate externals like relics, pilgrimages, and festivals

The Catholic Reformation and the Counter. Reformation

Why was the Catholic Church so Slow to Respond to the Reformation? • Personalities of the popes themselves – preoccupation with political affairs in Italy (Renaissance Popes) – Idea of reform closely linked to conciliarism popes resisted this movement as threat to their power • Difficult to reform such a complicated bureaucracy • Catholic Reformation began before 1517 and sought renewal basically through the stimulation of a new spiritual fervor

The Council of Trent, 1545 -63 • Called by Pope Paul III • GOAL: reform church & reconcile w/Protestants • Lutherans & Calvinists invited

The Council of Trent, 1545 -63 The decisions of the council served as the basis for Roman Catholic faith, organization, and practice for 4 centuries!

Decision of the Council: No reconciliation with Protestantism • Reaffirmed Catholic doctrines – Salvation is achieved through faith and good works – Equal weight should be given to the Scripture and traditional Catholic teachings – Reaffirmed 7 sacraments • Reformed church abuses – Outlawed Indulgences; suppressed pluralism and simony – Bishops must live in the dioceses they served – Established a seminary for education and training of clergy – Clerics must give up concubines • Reasserted traditional practices – Veneration of relics and images are valid expressions of Christian piety – Confirmed Vulgate as the authoritative Catholic edition of the Bible – Latin would continue to be the language of worship • Resisted limiting papal authority – No act of a council could be valid unless accepted by the Holy See – Preserved the papacy as the center of Catholic unity

Ursuline Order of Nuns • First women’s religious order • Concentrated exclusively on teaching young girls Teresa of Avila • Sought to re-Christianize society by training future wives and mothers

The Society of Jesus • Ignatius Loyola was a Spanish soldier injured in battle who underwent a religious conversion – The Spiritual Exercises detailed a system of discipline meditation, prayer, and study • Jesuits were a spiritual army that emphasized iron discipline and absolute obedience • “The Ends Justify the Means”: Activities of the Jesuits – Catholic Education • founded hundreds of schools for middle- and upper -class boys -- these schools adopted humanist curricula and methods • Confessors and advisors to royal families Ignatius Loyola, 1491 -1556 – Missionary Work – Combating Protestantism

The Roman Inquisition • 1542 Pope Paul II est. the Office of the Holy See • Committee of 6 cardinals w/judicial authority over all Catholics • Had power to arrest, imprison, and execute – Only effective in Italy • GOAL: Attack heresy • Index of Prohibited Books

The Art of the Counter-Reformation: Baroque, 1600 -1750 • In an effort to revive Catholic spirituality, the church patronized this artistic movement • Emphasized grandeur, illusion, and dramatic religiosity • Colors were brighter than bright; darks were darker than dark. • Paintings & sculptures in church context should speak to the illiterate rather than to the well-informed. • Ecclesiastical art --> appeal to emotions. • Holland --> Real people portrayed as the primary subjects.

The Canopy in St. Peter’s Basilica By Gianlorenzo Bernini

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila, Gianlorenzo Bernini

Church of Santiago de Compostella, Spain

“The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, ” Egid Quirim Asam, 1692 -1750

Church of Veltenberg Altar, Germany

St. Francis in Ecstacy, Caravaggio, 1595

The Flagellation of Christ, by Caravaggio

David and Goliath, by Caravaggio

“Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, ” by Caravaggio

“The Dead Christ Mourned” Annibale Caracci, 1603

The Virgin Appearing to St. Hyacinthe Lodovico Carracci

“Joseph’s Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob, ” by Diego Velazquez

“Christ on the Cross” by Diego Velazquez

“Las Meninas” by Diego Velazquez 1565

“The Elevation of the Cross” by Peter Paul Reubens 1610 -1611

“The Lementation” by Peter Paul Reubens

“Battle of the Amazon” Peter Paul Reubens

“A Village Fete” Peter Paul Reubens

“The Garden of Love” Peter Paul Reubens

Baroque Furniture

A Baroque Room

Baroque Music Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685 -1750

Evaluating the Catholic Reformation • Catholic response was too little, too late – By 1560, religious division of Europe was an accomplished fact • Able to re-Catholicize certain parts of Europe – Southern Germany • Church emerged from reforms stronger and more militant • After Council of Trent is was clear no religious compromise was possible

Do the 16 th c religious movements represent continuity – a constant feature of the institutional faith or do those movements demonstrate revolution and radical discontinuity?