Section 3 : The development of Lutheranism 1521-46

Question 1

what was the turning point in the Lutheran movement

Answer 1

> 1521
Luther was excommunicated
more people were converting to his ideas
From now on the focus was on development of Luther’s ideas and the building of a new church

Question 2

The Diet of Worms

Answer 2

> October 1520 the new emperor, Charles V, arrived in Germany
He summoned the first diet to meet in Worms in Jan 1521
The highest in the land came, as well as Dr Eck and Cardinal Aleander, the papal representatives

Question 3

Reasons for meeting/ Agenda for the diet of worms

Answer 3

Everyone had their own agenda:

• Leo’s reps: wanted diet to condemn Luther
• Charles: preoccupied with the ottoman issue and the request for the money they needed for a crusade
• The princes; had a list of 102 grievances (or gravamina) yo fo with the church in Germany

Question 4

Luther and the diet of worms

Answer 4

> Luther was the last item to be considered

> On Feb 19th, the princess persuaded Charles to see Luther, over the protests of Aleander

> Charles agreed, not wanting to alienate the princes

> He especially needed Fred’s support and had an excuse as under empire law, no one of rank could be sent for trial outside Germany without a fair hearing

Question 5

Luther’s terms

Answer 5

• Luther was summoned to be ‘thoroughly investigated’
• He was promised a safe conduct, then set off on a month long triumphal procession, where he was cheered and honoured in every village they passed through
• In worms, upon arrival in April 16th, 2000 people escorted him to his lodgings in a local friary

Question 6

The hearing: Day One

Answer 6

> Luther’s books and pamphlet were on a table, and their tithes were read out
He was asked by an official if he had written them
Luther said he had, and when asked if he would recant his views, he requested time to consider

Question 7

The hearing: Day Two

Answer 7

> Luther was sent to speak at the imperial court
He made a speech agreeing that his books were agressive, yet saying they were all based on scripture
He was then interrupted, asking if he would recant or not, and Luther said no.
Charles permitted a delegation of 8 commissioners to reason with him, they failed

Question 8

Result of the diet of Worms

Answer 8

• April 26th, Luther was sent home (still under safe conduct) and declared an outlaw but he Edict
• All Luther’s works were to be burned, and in future all printers had to have the approval of a uni faculty theology before they could print anything even mentioning the christian faith

Question 9

The edict

Answer 9

• had the edict been put into action immediately, then perhaps that would have been the end to the matter
• however it was only promoted in a few places- i.e. Hasbsburg territories, Ducal Saxony and the city of Cologne

Question 10

Why did the edict fail?

Answer 10

• the structure of the empire meant that charles had to rely on the princes and the city authorities to enforce the edict
• From then on (8 years) the princes said they would only enforce the edict if Charles put pressure on the pope to call a general council to address their 102 gravamina

Question 11

Why didn’t Charles convince the princes to enforce the edict

Answer 11

• Charles could not force the princes, as he had given his word in the Capitulation he signed in 1519, not to bring foreign troops into Germany
• Didn’t have the time to stay and persuade them personally. He had other issues: spain was in revolt and France was acting aggressively. He left Germany and did not return for nine years

Question 12

Should Charles have executed Luther at Worms?

Answer 12

It is argued that Luther should have been executed on April 18th at Worms

Question 13

Why didn’t charles execute Luther at Worms?

Answer 13

> this went against his safe conduct and Chalres was a man of his word

> Charles also did not want to sour good relations with the Princes by backtracking on his word early on

> Luther was a national hero at the time - executing him would stir up even more anti- Rome feeling

> His ideas would not have been eliminated - around 300,000 copies of Luther’s works were in circulation

Question 14

How was Luther treated on his way back from Worms?

Answer 14

> On his journey back, he was (despite the edict) treated well/ like a hero

> He preached openly

Question 15

What then later happened to Luther on his way back from Worms?

Answer 15

> He was ‘kidnapped’ by 5 agents of Frederick the wise

> He was taken to the electors castle at Wartburg and put in care of the castle governor and two servants

Question 16

Luther’s disappearance

Answer 16

> His vanishing act was so convincing that artist Albretcht Durer wrote in his Diary that he feared he may have been murdered

Question 17

Luther’s time at wartubrg castle

Answer 17

1521-22
> He stayed for 10 months, changed his name to Junker George
> He wrote pamphlets and sent/ received letters (even to Albert of Mainz
> He finally had the materials he needed to embark on the translating of the bible into German - Erasmus’ Greek Testament and Reuchlin’s Hebrew Dictionary

Question 18

What was happening whilst Luther was at Wartburg?

Answer 18

• In Luther’s absence, others had taken charge of the Reformation
• By winter, news was reaching Luther of an alarming level of extremism in Wittenberg
• In March 1522, he decided to leave his hiding place and return there

Question 19

Charles V

Answer 19

• Became emperor in 1519 at just 19 years old
• He was well connected: Heir to 3 of Europe’s largest dynasties (Hapsburg, Valois- Burgundy and Trastamara) Meaning he had a lot of land
• Ruler of spain since 1516, had land in Italy, ruler of Netherlnad and Burgundy since 1506, Ruler of Hapsburg lands in Austria

Question 20

Charles V: Inheritance

Answer 20

• such a large inheritance bought problems
• Italian wars defended Charles’ interests in Italy - especially from French comp
• Hspsburg laws in Europe were directly threatened by ottoman expansion
• The spread of protestantism in Germany and then elsewhere e.g. Netherlands and Burgundy
• Spain was his main source of power. There was little resistance to him in Spain after his first few years

Question 21

Charles V: issues

Answer 21

• Where would he spend his time?
• What would he be identified as? He spoke many languages (Spanish, Italian, French, German)
• Should taxes and armies raised in one country be used in another/

Question 22

Charles V: Apperance and Health

Answer 22

• short and puny, epilepsy
• Lower jaw, big nose, bulging eyes. Mouth constantly open + dribbled, couldn’t chew well causing indigestion (Hapsburgs were inbred)
• Probably suffered from depression (his mum went mad) Charles may have had a breakdown in the 1550s. Eventually he abdicated

Question 23

Why was Charles V’s appareance a bad thing

Answer 23

• This was the age of glamorous knifes who competed against each other
• No match for attractive kinds Henry VIII and Francis I

Question 24

Charles : Education and Interests

Answer 24

• Bought up very cultured
• Spoke many languages: primarily French and Flemish
• Bought up educated + to inherit affairs of the state
• Very devout catholic with a strong sense of duty and honour

Question 25

Charles: Imperial title

Answer 25

• Became emperor in contester election
• Didn’t arrive in Germany until october 1520
• Had to abide by the rules of the imperial constitution
• Diet of worms was his first meeting with German princes
• He needed money and support immeidtaley to deal with the ottomans

Question 26

Who took over Luther’s position whilst he was secluded at Wartburg?

Answer 26

• Senior colleague Andrew Carlstadt and Gabriel Zwilling, an Augustinian preacher
• They decided to speed up the reformation and put into practice (as they saw it) all that Luther had put only on paper

Question 27

Changes that Andrew Carlstadt and Gabriel Zwilling made

Answer 27

• The mass was denounced
• laity in Wittenberg offered communion in ‘both kinds,’
• Led by Zwilling, monks denounced their vows (decided they had been made redundant by sola fide)
• they wore secular clothing
• supported clerical marriage (Cardlstadt led the way by marrying a 15 year old girl

Question 28

What was Frederick stressed about at this time? (1521-1522)

Answer 28

Wittenberg was acquiring a reputation for extremism

Question 29

Who else was stirring things up in Wittenberg?

Answer 29

• The Zwickau prophets
• Arrived in Wittenberg in December 1521
• Came from the town of Zwickau in Saxony, where they had been radicalised by Thomas Muntzer

Question 30

What did the Zwickau prophets believe?

Answer 30

• Announced they were inspired by direct revelations from God and made bold prophecies:

> the turks would invade
Umarried preists would be slain
The end of the world was near

Question 31

What change did the Zwickau prophets enforce/advocate for?

Answer 31

• They preached for adult baptisms (since Jesus had been baptised as an adult)
  > Cardlstadt stopped batpsiting infants, going largely against what Luther believed, as he saw baptism as a way of welcoming a child into the church
• Further radicalism followed on x was day.
  > Service delivered in German
  > Clergy did not wear normal testaments
  > Luther’s teachings on the Real Presence were overruled in favour of the Eucharist as purely symbolic

Question 32

More radical change by Carlsdat and the Zwickau prophets

Answer 32

• Pace quickened when they announced all holy statues and images were the work of the Devil and symbols of materialism
• Zwilling led the iconoclasm, lighting a fire in the Augustinian friary and burning ‘images and banners, crucifixes and candles’ of the church
  > cut off heads of statues (Of christ, the virgin mary) and striped the walls of paintings

Question 33

Luther’s reaction to Andrew Carlstadt and the Zwickau prophets

Answer 33

• March 1522 Luther decided to return to Wittenberg (against Fred’s wishes)
  > This was both to stop the extremism and prevent the bloodshed which would have occured if Frederick had got his way
  > As frederick would have likely done, not wanting to give his cousin George any excuse to invade

Question 34

How did Luther restore order in Wittenberg

Answer 34

• Managed to do so in just 8 days. Reflection of his courage, charisma and persuasion
• Preached his 8 ‘Invocait semons’ where he insisted on slow, cautious change. Nothing should be imposed or forced
• He took back charge in Wittenberg, the prophets were expelled, Carlstadt was dismissed from the uni

Question 35

Why was the event with Andrew Carlsdat and the Zwickau prophets important?

Answer 35

1) Luther made clear his conservative approach to change, showed his disapproval to extremism
2) It opened Luther’s eyes to the fact that he had created a vacuum

Question 36

The Knights revolt

Answer 36

1522-23

• Little that Luther could do: took place on the other side of the empire + involved a social class much higher than his own
• However those involved said they had been inspired by his and acting on his behalf

Question 37

Who were the imperial knights?

Answer 37

• Men who used to be powerful and wealthy/ status. Now their position was almost pathetic
• Threatened by predatory princes and cities

Question 38

How did the knights revolt come about?

Answer 38

• In 1522 a large group of knights were stirred to action by Ulrich von Hutten, who had been inspired by Luther and German nationalism
• He wished to accelerate the pace of change with military force

Question 39

What happened in the Knights revolt?

Answer 39

• Led by Franz Von Sickingen, they targeted the city of Trier (as their archbishop had played a key role at the diet of worms)
• The knights believed his removal would trigger a political revolution, however it was misjudged
• The archbishop refused to surrender, his requests for help were met by local princes and they failed

Question 40

Luther’s reaction to the knights revolt

Answer 40

• Luther stayed completely silent
  > This is perhaps due to his friendship with Hutten’s friend Melanchton or due to Hutten’s reputation as a humanist
• In the eyes of the establishment, this silence was damaging
• It implied he was hostile to princes authority and in favour of gvm reform

Question 41

The peasants revolt

Answer 41

• From June 1524- May 1525 much of Germany was plunged into chaos by one of the largest mass revolts ever known

Question 42

How did the peasants revolt begin?

Answer 42

• Largely a rural revolt: In 1524, numerous local uprisings started in the south-west, allegedly beginning on the estate of the count von Lupfen
• Within months, the uprisings had spread to Austria and into central North Germany

Question 43

Who revolted in the peasants revolt?

Answer 43

• Armies of peasants up to 15,000 roamed the country, not connected with no central leadership or common agenda
• The only thing that connected the, was the Bundschun Symbol (or peasants shoe)

Question 44

What did the rebels in the peasants revolt do?

Answer 44

• Sacked castles and monastaries and plundered towns. Mob rule and terror replaced local authorities

Question 45

What caused the peasants revolt?

Answer 45

• In many respects, reflected the mounting hardships:
• for past decades, increasing financial demands made by landlords had been compounded by legal changes which undermined the traditional way that the peasants had made ends meet.

Question 46

What was the aim of many peasants in the revolt?

Answer 46

• Recovering the lost liberties

Question 47

Why was the peasants revolt different from previous ones?

Answer 47

• The grievances now coincided with the spread of new religious ideas
• The fact that many praisers joined the rebells (some being Lutherans) gave the impression that this was a religious rebellion

Question 48

How was Luther a cause of the peasants revolt?

Answer 48

• Inadvertently and inderctly

- Ambiguity in some of his theology, self- promotion as a holy man and aggressive language can be blamed

Question 49

How was Luther a cause of the peasants revolt? : Ambiguity in some of his theology

Answer 49

• Since the bible made no mention of tithes, and Luther preached Sola Scripture, they thought he would support them in denouncing Tithes
• Luther also stressed ‘Preisthood of all believers’ which they took to mean the social equality of all men, rather than religious
• They also took the emphasis on christian liberty to be a licence to act as they pleased

Question 50

How was Luther a cause of the peasants revolt? : self- promotion as a holy man

Answer 50

• From 1519, woodcuts had been in circulation which showed Luther with a halo and dove over his head, representing the Holy Spirit, as if he were a prophet from God
• Luther did not reject this (one even appeared on the cover of one of his 1520 pamhplets) and he used the prophecy of a holy man as a means to gain support
• The peasants took him literally and assumed he would help them

Question 51

How was Luther a cause of the peasants revolt? : aggressive language

Answer 51

• Luther was very agressive against opponents. Insulting princes and papists
• Peasants may have argued they were carrying out his wishes through aggressive means

Question 52

Why can we withhold Luther from a bit of blame from the peasants revolt?

Answer 52

• Much of the anti-clericaosm was deep rooted and pre dated 1517

Question 53

Luther’s reaction to the peasants revolt

Answer 53

• Initially sympathetic. Pamphlet appealing for calm
• Then became horrified at the level of violence and way his ideas were being misinterpreted
• In April 1525 he toured the Mansfeld valley and Thuringia, where he preached to the peasantry trying to pacify the revolt with reason.
• This however made no impact, he was received with hostility, booed and spat at

Question 54

What did Luther decide after the tour in 1525 (peasants revolt)

Answer 54

• He made up his mind, the peasants were ‘robbers and murdered’ who used the Gospel to cover their wickedness, and compelling good people to join them

Question 55

Luthers pamphlet in response to the peasants revolt

Answer 55

• May 1525 he wrote famous pamphlet: ‘Against the robbing and murdering Hordes of peasants’
• This called on princes to ‘stab, smite, slay’ the peasants, saying they had gods approval
• Luther said the authorities could execute peasants without trial and that god was on their side

Question 56

How did the peasants revolt eventually diffuse

Answer 56

• After Luthers pamphlet, the princes eventually defeated the peasants with ease
• Through men such as Phillip of Hesse, using forces like the Swabian League
• Around 100,000 peasants were executed out of hand

Question 57

negative consequences of ‘against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants’

Answer 57

• luther was blamed for the violence and savagery of repression
• his tone shocked even close supporters, lost him mass support, certainly from peasants, saw him as a traitor

Question 58

positive consequences of ‘against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants’ - princes

Answer 58

• the pamphlet gained him princely support, at least from those already contemplating religious reform.
  > Confirmed he was respectable and conservative.
  > He supported rulers’ rights and property.
  > In the long term, it was much more valuable for Lutheranism to have the princes support rather than the peasants

Question 59

positive consequences of ‘against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants’ - secular authorities

Answer 59

• ensured that secular authorities fairly immediately started taking initiative in imposing religious reform
• e.g. in aug 1525, the Margrave Gerorge of Brandenburg- Ansbach issued an edit to remove all ‘unlearned and unsuitable preachers’ anyone who had preached rebellion was arrested. The remainder were given clear instructions on what to preach

Question 60

what happened post ‘against the robbing and murdering hordes of peasants’

Answer 60

from then on there was a clear-cut distinction between a respectful magisterial reformation and the radical one (which both luther and princes agreed should be destroyed)

the following year at the Diet of Speyer, it was agreed that each prince should enforce the faith ‘as he would have to answer to God and to the emeror’

Question 61

marriage of Luther

Answer 61

In June 1525, Luther married ex-nun Katherine Von Bora

• she had escaped a convent in Ducal Saxony with eight fellow nuns and run to Wittenberg
• they had a happy marriage ad six children

Question 62

Luther’s views on sex

Answer 62

• it was normal, no guilt
• only possible in marriage. Lutheran reformers therefore demanded the closure of all brothels in the interest of creating a godly society

Question 63

luther’s views on women

Answer 63

• role was in the home

- god given physical differences between men and women declared their different roles

Question 64

Luthers views on family

Answer 64

• a family was like a well-run society, each member had their roles and responsibilities
• te wife role was to control domestic maters and raise children, she owed her husband absolute obedience