Chapter 2 - Reformations and Religious Wars Flashcards
Martin Luther
Martin Luther, who had originally attended law school, was convicted to become a Monk, and after receiving his doctorate in theology, he recognized the utter exploitation and misuse of scripture occuring in the Church. In 1517, he published his 95 theses of critique, which since the advent of the printing press were able to be widely distributed in the vernacular, the common language of the people.
Protestantism
Luther was not the first to criticize the Catholic Church. Others such as John Wycliffe, publisher of the Wycliffe Bible, and Jan Hus openly and publicly challenged the church, specific officials and policies, for being unscriptural and supressing the common people in submissive and dependent roles. However, Luther would bring critique to its climax by commencing the Reformation with his 95 theses. He did not intend to create a new denomination, he only wanted to correct the deeply corrupted Church of the religion he loved. However, the corruption ran too deep and he was ordered to recant by the Pope. This resutled in his exile and the commencment of several religious wars that concluded with the Peace of Ausburg, allowing for the self-determination of the nation states. Potestantism derived from protest against the Catholic Church. It denied the necessity of the of Catholic sacraments and canon of tradition. Instead, summed by Martin Luther end-all, “faith alone, grace alone, scripture alone,” Protestants believed that faith in Christ alone was the means to salvation, as opposed to faith and good works.
Anticlericalism
Commoners dissatisfaction with the Church began to grow around the time of the Renaissance, as its hypocrisy and abuse of the Church’s role in the state came at the expense of the congregants. There were three main grievances:
- Simony: The practice of buying and selling Church offices or privliges.
- Nepotism: The passing down of church offices through family lines.
- Pluralism: The practice of holding two or more offices simultaneously with the incentive of adopting various salaries. This would lead to the corresponding problem of absenteeism, in which a priest would not be present for his dependent congregants.
Hasburg Dynasty
The Hasburg Monarchy, also known as the House of Hasburg, originated in Austria and came to rule over the Holy Roman Empire. At the time of Charles V’s rule, the empire was a collection of independently governed nation-states, and Charles’ attempts to create a more strictly unified nation to gain power eventually led to the Pope’s break. The Hasburgs were notorious for their inbreeding, which would cripple the family and cause their descent.
Indulgences
Perhaps the most evident abuse of the Catholic church which convicted Martin Luther to post his 95 theses in admonition of it. Indulgences were documents sold by Catholic clergy to the laypeople as a subtitute for penance. They not only paid for the sin of the individual, but for the souls of the individual’s family who according to the clergy were suffering in purgatory. The use of indulgences were first permitted by Pope Urban II who distributed them to crusaders in the Holy Wars. The practice was continued and later use to fund the construction of St. Peter’s Basicila in Rome.
Anabaptists
A branching Protestant denomination percieved as radical for their denunciation of infant baptism. They believed that baptism had to be a person’s own choice if it was to be truly transformative. Anabaptists means “re-baptizer.”
Religious Wars in Switzerland and Germany
Peace of Ausburg
Henry VII and the Tudor Dynasty
The Reformation in England
Queen Elizabeth I
Calvinism
Papal Reform and the Council of Trent
Jesuits
Ursuline Order of Nuns
