Important People Flashcards
Savonarola
A catholic priest who preached about the corruption of the Catholic Church in the Reformation. He encouraged a pure Christian life. Pope Alexander VI had him killed three times as a result and excommunicated him.
Erasmus
Founder of Christian humanism. Wrote the famous book “In Praise of Folly”. Encouraged a simple Christian life away from the politics of the church. He encouraged educating children. His books were later banned.
Sir Thomas More
Author of famous book, “Utopia”. He was a leading humanist in England and was friends with Erasmus. He was the first to introduce the concept of a perfect society. In “ Utopia”, he criticized the English government. He was an advisor of Henry VIII for a while. More was later executed by Henry VIII.
Johannes Gutenberg
Inventor of the printing press in Western Europe around the mid-1400’s. Book printing became cheaper so more people can afford them. This also raised the literacy rate and increased the spread of humanism and Protestant Reformation. First production was a 1,282 page Bible.
Martin Luther
He was the main leader in the Protestant Reformation. He was born in 1483 and died in 1546. He posted ninety-five theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany criticizing the Catholic Church of the sale of indulgences in 1517. In 1520 Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the church. In 1521, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, summed the Diet of Worms. There, he issued the Edict of Worms in 1521. This didn’t stop Luther though.
John Calvin
Founder of Calvinism. He wrote a very good book on Christian faith. In this religion, the Bible was the book of law and very strictly followed. Calvinists were encouraged to lead strict and hard working lives. Predestination and foreknowledge were two main beliefs of the Calvinists.
Ignatius Loyola
Founder of the Jesuits. He made sure the Catholic priests were very well educated and made sure that they could read. He was discussed with the corruption in the RCC at that time. He established prestigious schools all around the world. Some include Notre Dame, Boston College, etc. He was a counter reformer.
John Knox
Once a Calvinist, John Knox moved to Scotland. After all of the religious turmoil there, Knox’s reformed church replace the RCC. He is regarded as the founder of Presbyterianism.
Henry VIII
He was the KIng of England. He had six wives. His first, Catherine of Aragon, only produced one girl. Henry wanted a male heir, so he tried to get his marraige annulled. Pope Clement VII declined this since Charles V was Catherine of Aragon’s nephew. Henry then broke away from the RCC and started the Church of England (Anglican). He then remarried to Anne Boleyn. He only had one son, Edward VI with his third wife, Jane Seymour. He asked Parlaiment to pass the Act of Supremacy in 1534 forever swaying the power from the King to parliament.
Catherine of Aragon
1st wife of Henry VIII. Had one daughter, a girl named Mary. Henry VIII had his marraige to Catherine of Aragon annulled. He secretly married Anne Boleyn in 1533 and had the marraige to Catherine annulled in 1534.
Charles V
The Holy Roman Emperor at the time of Pope Leo X and Pope Clement VII. He declined the annulment of Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon in 1527 and issued the Edict of Worms to Martin Luther in 1521. Went behind Pope Clement VII’s back to to stuff. He was a counter reformer.
Ann Boleyn
The second wife of Henry VIII. She only produced one daughter, Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth I
She ruled after Queen Mary I died. She drafted
a new Supremacy Act in 1559 restoring Protestantism to England. Almost replaced by Mary, Queen of Scots. Outlawed any worship of Catholicism.
Mary Tudor
Mary I. Queen of England after Edward VI’s death. She earned the title “Bloody Mary” after she turned England back to Catholicism and burned and executed thousands of Protestants in England. Elizabeth I ruled over England following her death.
Alexander VI
A very horrible Pope. He had mistresses and illegitimate children. He killed Savonarola three times and excommunicated him in 1498 in Florence just for speaking against the Catholic Church.
