The Protestant Reformation EQ What were the causes

The Protestant Reformation

EQ: What were the causes of the Protestant Reformation

What was the Protestant Reformation? ■ ■ 16 th c. split in Catholic Church PROTEST against C. C. w/ intent to REFORM it Germany Martin Luther

What event marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation? ■ 1517 – Luther’s 95 Theses It is legend that Luther nailed the 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg.

What were the long-term religious causes? DISORDERS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: ■ clerical immorality ■ simony ■ clerical ignorance ■ sale of indulgences ■ pluralism ■ absenteeism Simony: Buying or selling of church offices Indulgences: granting of forgiveness of sins with payment of monetary fines

The Passion of Christ & Antichrist (woodcuts by Lucas Cranach the Elder) Christ washing feet of the disciples People kissing the Pope’s feet

The Passion of Christ & Antichrist (woodcuts by Lucas Cranach the Elder) Christ driving the userers out of the Temple Pope selling indulgences

What was the immediate cause? ■ Tetzel’s sale of indulgences Above: St. Peter’s Basilica – reason for this sale of indulgences.

How did Luther’s ideas appeal to all social classes in Germany? ■ ■ For all classes: priesthood of all believers Nobility: show independence from Catholic emperor; opportunity for land/$$ gain from confiscation of Catholic holdings Middle class: educated group that liked direct access to Scripture … appealed to their intelligence Peasantry: direct access to Scripture … found biblical support for their demands for better economic/social conditions

Additional factors in the appeal and spread of Lutheranism: ■ Luther’s powerful language skills, plus: �use of vernacular (Bible in German) �appeal to German nationalism �use of pictures (illiterate gain access) ■ printing press

German Peasants’ War of 1525 ■ ■ unhappy peasants – life was never good (remember the 14 th c. rebellions? ), and it just kept getting worse Twelve Articles (1525) – document expressing peasant grievances in Swabia �more crop failures �blamed lords for land seizure, unfair rents, service requirements, and taxes

German Peasants’ War of 1525 ■ ■ peasants found biblical support for their demands and called on Luther for support Luther flip-flopped: � 1 st: sided w/ peasants – condemned lords for harsh treatment, though did not affirm biblical support (Bible has nothing to do with material gain on earth, which is what peasants wanted) � 2 nd: turned against peasants once revolts broke out – did not support rebellion against secular authority … feared disorder

German Peasants’ War of 1525 ■ Outcome: peasants lost �secular authority strengthened �peasants eventually did see moderate improvement in economic conditions

Who are the Habsburgs? ■ ■ major European dynasty, 15 th-20 th c. ruled the HRE

How did the Habsburgs rise to power? ■ strategic marriages!

How did the Habsburgs rise to power? ■ Key marriage in 1477 made the Habsburgs an international power: � Maximilian (Habsburg, ruler of Austria, Holy Roman emperor) + � Mary of Burgundy (Netherlands, Luxembourg, Burgundy) → France was NOT happy (considered Burgundy to be French) → centuries of conflict b/t Habsburgs and France

How did the Habsburgs rise to power? ■ Maximilian married off his children to the children of Ferdinand Isabella (Spain, southern Italy, New World)

How did the Habsburgs rise to power? European Holdings of Charles V

Religious Division in the HRE ■ HRE became religiously divided: � Catholics: Emperor Charles V + some rulers � Lutherans: some rulers adopted Lutheranism to exert political power and for financial gain ■ Fighting began in 1546 – Charles V successful at first … but this worried Catholic France and the pope, who were concerned about growing Habsburg power � Hence Catholic France supported Lutheran princes – political rather than religious reasons

Religious Division in the HRE ■ Peace of Augsburg (1555) – each German leader chooses Catholicism or Lutheranism for his territory Map: Religious Situation of Europe, ca. 1560