1517 - From Reformation to Enlightenment Flashcards
What did the Reformation end with? Was it a turning point?
Reformation led to toleration and persecution.
Not meant to be a turning point.
Led to the break up catholic church.
What did Martin Luther do?
Wrote 97 theses and sent a letter to the bishop of Mainz protesting the sale of indulgences – series of complaint that demanded Church reform.
Reformation of church predates ML.
What were the complaints?
Concubinage (priests breaking vows of celibacy, children without marriage).
Simony (sale of religious offices, brought income in, purchased multiple offices which leads to absenteeism)
Absenteeism (hold more churches, services not conducted/disrupted as churches fail in duties/to turn up).
Sale of indulgences (grants from pope, reduce time in purgatory quicker to heaven, sold to anyone able/willing to pay regardless virtues).
What was the opinion of the church?
These were longstanding complaints, luther not first to attempt to address/reform.
Church seen as corrupt and reformation/renovation constant themes in church.
Renaissance led to greater scrutiny of religious texts, and the impact of the printing press spread Luther’s ideas and so awareness.
What happened in 1517? How did Luther respond?
Tetzel (preacher) selling indulgences and treated them as a financial transaction in return for service.
Luther was angered by this mercenary behaviour and sent complaint to bishop of mainz who sent it to pope leo X.
The Pope justified sale of indulgences as fundraising for the church.
Luther criticized the sale of indulgences.
Luther was expelled and excommunicated and so, no longer going to heaven.This radicalised him and his views spread and drew in ordinary clergy and rulers.
Did Luther intend to break away? What did he create?
No, he intended to reform.
But the hostile response made it a inflammatory response.
He quickly became a leader of a new movement and so created a new religious tradition.
Protestantism emerged as a distinct ideology.
What were Luther’s ideas?
Sola fide (justification by ‘faith alone’, the idea that only through faith can you be saved/go to heaven.)
This meant you are no longer dependent on the clergy to get to heaven (this undermined the authority of the pope, the institution church no longer held the keys to heaven because the protestant view implied everyone spiritually equal in eyes of god).
Sola scriptura (‘scripture alone’ or primary of the word’)
Luther had to backtrack and tell people how to read bible through catechisms. This dictated the conclusions that were meant to be made. This led to religious services/bibles being vernacular bibles.
Was the printing press important? Particularly for Luther?
The printing press caught on in Europe.
No longer word of mouth, people disseminate messages quickly and larger geographically.
Luther ideas spread throughout EU.
Lower costs, printing press made items accessible in own language a possibility.
Pamphlets, debates permeate into EU popular/ elite culture.
How different was Protestantism from Catholicism in terms of practises and beliefs?
Transubstantiation vs consubstantiation
No saints or relics (divine power could not be vested in objects)
No monks/nuns (no special class, all equal in eyes of god).
Married instead of celibate priests.
Only two sacraments not Seven (only baptism/communion)
Focussed on a Individual relationship with God.
Secular authority over secular matters (government without interference of the church).
Women no longer seen as corrupters in priests marriage., women same relationship to god as men.
What did the Reformation involve? What happened on st Bartholomew’s day?
Pluralisation and confessionalisation.
Religious disunity led to a culture of persecution/ in tolerance.
St Bartholomew day massacre 1572 – 5000+ protestants slaughtered, a response to religious diff.
This led to greater climate of tolerance
1555 Peace of Augsburg established the principle of cuius regio, eius religio (whose realm, his religion)
Religion was practised in separate territories and boundaries would be fixed.
What did the reformation contribute to?
A new culture of learning/self awareness (enlightenment, new period on learning enquiring)
Renaissance humanism accelerated by reformation but it didn’t start it.
Secularisation led to doubt, question beliefs
enlightenment: E.G Voltaire late 17th/18thc who attacked the church.
Why do historians need to be modest in relation to the reformation?
Historians need to be modest for claims of significance of reformation, other factors also led to modernity, not a simply a cause and effect
The reformation was a turning point in EU, it didn’t cause it but significant in the development of Christianity as a powerful political and spiritual force.
