Section 4: Spread and survival of Lutheranism Flashcards
Diet of Worms
1521
- Charles issued the Edict of Worms: Luther was placed under the Imperial Ban and Lutheranism was declared a heresy
- With the exception of a few territories (including Dual Saxony) the Edict was not enforced
Diet of Nuremberg
1522-23
- The princes refused collectively to enforce the Edict of Worms
- They said they would do so until the Pope called a general council to reform the church in Germany + address their 102 gravamina
colloquy of Marburg
- Leading protestant prince, Phillip of Hesse, attempted to construct a Protestant alliance between the Zwinglians and Lutherans
- The attempt failed over the issue of the Eucharist
Diet of Augsburg
1530
- Charles V returned to Germany. Anxious to form a united German front against the Ottomans, he invited Lutherans to make a statement of their faith
- Melanchton presented the Augsburg confession which was moderate
- However, Charles refused to accept it and said he would enforce the Edict of Worms. He gave the Lutherans 6 months to return to the catholic church
Schmalkaldic League
1531
Concerned, Protestants formed the Schmalkaldic League, preparing to defend themselves against Charles’ threat
Religious Truce of Nuremburg
1532
- Charles was unable to carry out his threat because of an anticipated Ottoman invasion
- Instead, in return for men and money, he offered the League peace
- He then left Germany for 8 years, dealing with the recapture of Tunis in 1525 and the Third Habsburg- Valois War with France (1536-38)
The spread of Lutheranism accelerates
1530s
- Under Philip’s leadership, the Schmalkaldic League acquired new members, money and an internal organisation
- Charles periodically denounced heresy, while in practice tolerating it
- Simultaneously, he made repeated requests for the pope to urgently call a general council
Frankfurt Interim
1539
Charles made further concessions: he promised no action would be taken against the Protestants for six months
The league revives
1541-44
With Charles absent, dealing first with Algiers and then French aggression during the Fourth Hapsburg Valois War, Phillip of Hesse used the opportunity to spread Lutehranism even further in the empire
first diet of speyer context
- Religious crisis was causing serious instability and mounting tension
- the peasants revolt had alarmed everybody and Germany was diving in two
- 5 catholic princes had formed the league of Dessau and 8 Lutherans had formed the League of Torgau
- charles was absent in spain, therefore his bro Ferdinand took over
What happened at the first diet of Speyer
1526:
- Ferdinand began with a proposal to enforce the edict of worms to restore stability
- The diet rejected his propositions.The princes said they hoped to undermine Lutheranism peacefully by tackling the issues which bought him so much support
- once again demanding a council, though this time from a general to a national one
What was the result of the first diet of Speyer
The Recess of Speyer was passed which said each prince could decide religion for themselves
- ottoman conquest of Hungary ensured imperial support
Why did the princes reject the diet in the First diet of Speyer
- some princes had already converted
- Catholic princes doubted their ability to eliminate Lutheranism peacefully (and lacked the means to apply force)
- Applying force would also cause civil war
- Given the Ottoman advance on Hungary that year, plunging into turmoil was inadvisable
second diet of speyer
1529
-They revoked the recess pf Speyer and declared the Edict of Worms compulsory (due to alarm at the successful spread of Lutheranims)
- banned Zwmingilanism and condemned death to anyone convicted of performing adult baptism
- In response, the Lutheran minority withdrew from the diet and 14 cities and 6 princes published a ‘protestation’ declaring the diet had no right to do so
- fearing an imminent catholic attack, Philip of Hesse (leading Lutheran prince) attempted negotiations at Margburgm which failed leaving Lutherans vulnerable
What happened after the second diet of Speyer
- if ferdinand had intended to impose the edict by force, his plants were thwarted, due to ottoman threats to vienna
- ferdinand spent months following Speyer anxiously monitoring it rather than paying attention to the Lutheran problem
why did the colloquy of Regensburg happen
1541:
- tried to reunite the church by negotiating with Lutherans
- given the pope’s difficulty in convening a general council, he intended to supervise his own negotiated settlement
- reconcilliation was preferable to the alternative- force as Charles was short of funds and civil war was at risk
- when Phillip of Hesse was exposed as a bigamist, Charles was in a position to demand religious concession the protestant part
What happened at the Colloquy of Regensburg
- Debated for two months
- achieved early success: agreeing on the first 5/18 points of a draft doc, the ‘Regensburg book’ and even agreed on ‘double justification’ as a view of salvation
- other issues sadly could not be agreed on and thus failed
- luther and the pope were not present and refused to accept compromise such as this
what did charles decide after the Colloquy of Regensburg
- war was necceary
- however he deffered war, pending the completing of his camp gain to take Alfier, headquarters of the Barbary Pirates
- he granted Lutherans another 18 month reprieve
Why did charles’ actions fail to eradicate Lutheranism (timing)
- he was not commitd to his vow/ miscalculated its importance
- he arrived in Germany over 18 months after his election, missing the crucial period of 1519-20
- He then left the HRE immediately after the Diet of Worms and he was largely absent in the 1520s and 1530s
- In all, he spent only about a quarter of his 36 year reign in the empire
Charles was not simply a victim of circumstance, endlessly forced to react to events outside his control, there were times when he had choice and might have decided to focus on luther instead.
Why did Charles’ actions fail to eradicate Lutheranism? (council)
- his decision to rely on a general council to resole the German situation was naive. Until the mid 1530s, the papacy was unlikely to call a council and didn’t until 1545, when it was too late and ended with protestant condementation rather than resolving abuses
- He could have bypassed rome entirely and called an early national council to resolve german issues. There were examples in history e.g. Spain’s Archbishop of Toledo’s reforms) of reform being taken without papal backing