UNIT 1: The Renaissance and Reformation

The Upheavals of the Fourteenth Century:

By 1300, Europes population of 75 million was pushing up against its natural
boundaries
Then, the continent was hit by the Black Death (1348 - 1351)
One of the greatest natural disasters of history, the Black Death killed over 40% of
Europes population
The disease also had a tremendous psychological and social impact
Caused by fleas traveling on rats, the plague spread quickly along trade routes and
devastated urban areas
No one could explain the cause of the pestilence
o Flagellants took the disease to be Gods wrath upon mankind
o Many others believed that Jews had poisoned wells, leading to their persecution
in Nuremberg
Art reflected an intense obsession with death, ex: paintings of skeletons performing the
danse macabre
The Catholic Church could offer little solace as nearly 60% of the top clergy succumbed
to the disease
Most importantly, the Black Death caused a labor shortage that undermined the feudal
structure, as peasants bargained for improved labor conditions, winning lifetime tenures
and cash payments
However, these improved peasant conditions did not last long as governments and nobles
reasserted their power throughout the century, leading to rebellions in England and
France
Urban revolts even occurred in Florence (Ciompi Revolt, 1378), each of which was
eventually overturned, often with great violence
The result was another blow delivered to the feudal system in the west
National monarchies at this time were young creations and thus, fragile
Dynastic instability (ex: failure to produce male heir) plagued many states and led the
Hundred Years War (1337 - 1453), really a series of conflicts between England and
France over the French throne
The Hundred Yeats War dealt a blow to the medieval idea of warfare as time and time
again, the English longbowmen demonstrated the power of massed infantry to the French
feudal knights
However, French fortunes were revived by a divinely inspired peasant girl
In 1429, Joan of Arc believed it was the voice of God that told her to break the siege of
Orleans, effectively turning the tide in the French favor
By 1453, England held only the city of Calais on the continent
Afterwards, each nation turned inwards to resolve pressing political conflicts
o England:
o France:
The Catholic Church also stood in the midst of crisis:
o Since 1307, the pope had lived in exile in France during the Babylonian Captivity
o While in exile, the popes prestige declined while his administrative power and
wealth increased

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When an Italian crowd forced the mostly French cardinals to elect one of their
own, the Church plunged into the Great Schism (1378 -1417) in which rival
French and Italian popes forced the nations of Europe to pick sides
Advocates of conciliarism tried to use church councils to pick a pope and check
the power of the papacy but were unsuccessful
Reformers such as John Wyclif (Lollards, England) and John Huss (Bohemia)
attacked the institutionalism and material wealth of the church, while calling for
a simpler form of Christianity
Although Huss was burned at the stake in 1415 at the Council of Constance, his
and Wyclifs ideas set the foundation for the Protestant Reformation in the
sixteenth century

The Setting of the Renaissance:

Italy was the first area in Europe to experience the Renaissance due to:
o Geography: Italy was at the center of the Mediterranean which made it a
crossroads of trade, Italy also boasted ancient centers of culture, ideas followed
in the wake of trade especially in the form of the humanists fleeing the declining
Byzantine Empire
o Urbanization: In the rest of Europe, only 10% of people lived in cities, but in
Italy 25% of the population took part in the civic culture that was necessary to
Renaissance humanism, cities often acted as magnets for trade, culture, and ideas
o Social Factors: As in the rest of Europe, in Italy, nobles played a vital role though
they tended to be more oriented toward money-making and cultural achievement,
a common blending of an Italian family was a cash-strapped aristocrat and an upand-coming merchant, forming a new elite that cared more for wealth and
worldly achievement rather than simply status
o Political Variety: In the 14th century, Italy was a collection of small and large citystates, no centralized authority existed to stamp out potentially threatening ideas
which created a vibrant political atmosphere in which the Renaissance was
allowed to flourish
Italy, with its thriving city-states, imitated the ancient poleis of ancient Greece and the
Roman Republic:
o Major concern of Renaissance thinkers was a life of active civic engagement
o Reflection combined with action promoted virtu, or excellence, in the true
Renaissance man or woman
In Renaissance Italy, the family acted as the central social institution:
o Renaissance families were patriarchal, placing an enormous amount of power in
the male head of the family
o Fathers had to grant their sons political autonomy, independent existence might
not be achieved until a mans late 20s to early 30s
o At the same time, families married off their daughters in their midteens
o Marriages were arranged to benefit both families- economic concerns came first,
while the couples compatibility came second or was not even considered at all
o As a result of this marriage-age gap, Italy suffered predictable consequences:
Prostitution was rampant and so wide-spread that it was tolerated and
even regulated by the government
Incidences of rape and sexual violence were high, although lower class
men were punished more if their victims came from the upper class

Since males often died before their spouses, widows often remarried due
to the difficulty of living independently which led to blended families
and numerous amounts of stepparents
Though the nuclear family acted as the norm, Renaissance Italy depended on African
slavery due to the labor shortage caused by the plague
o Slaves lived with families and performed domestic work
o By 1400, 10% of Italys population was composed of slaves, but the practice
generally declined in Europe with the recovery of the population in the 15 th
century

Renaissance Humanism and Art:

The tern Renaissance is the creation of the modern Swiss Historian Jacob Burckhardt
Though some might say the Renaissance was a distinct break from the Middle Ages,
history tells us otherwise
Humanists were fascinated with humans and their potential and consists of the following
ideals:
o Secularism: Humanists encouraged humans to focus on the here-and-now rather
than the afterlife, education as well as self-help manuals reinforced the notion
that humans stood to gain rewards in the temporal world, in religious paintings
humans took on an increased significance and the painting itself served to glorify
the artist not God
o Classics: Humanists looked to Ancient Greece and Rome as their moral center,
humanists took inspiration from the ancient way of life depicted in manuscripts
found in monasteries and ruins, ancient values told a story with humans at the
center from which humanists took inspiration
o Individualism: Humanists believed that the focus of learning and human affairs
should be the individual, which can be seen in Petrarchs verse and Castigliones
works
o Power: At its heart, the Renaissance was about human control of the
environment, humanists aimed to provide humanity with the intellectual tools to
master everything
Humanist Writers and Philosophers:
o Leonardo Bruni: Bruni studied under a Greek scholar who had escaped the
Byzantine Empire, translated Greek texts into Latin, was involved politically in
Florence and later wrote a Latin history of the city-state, most famous for his
admiration of Cicero
o Lorenzo Valla: Valla was an expert in the field of philology - the study of ancient
languages, through textual analysis he proved that the Donation of Constantine
was a forgery
o Pico della Mirandola: Embodied the revival of Platos philosophy in his Oration
on the Dignity of Man which is considered a classic statement of human
potential, Neo-Platonism held that humans had a spark of divinity that could be
recaptured through intellectual and spiritual regeneration
o Lorenzo deMedici: Also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, he ruled Florence
during its golden age, known as a famous patron of the intellectuals and arts, his
untimely death in 1492 led to the foreign invasion of Italy and the shift of
Renaissance culture from Florence to Rome
o Niccolo Machiavelli: His famous work is The Prince, which was a manual for
the realistic ruler who must be virtuous, wise, and courageous (lion) and cunning,

ruthless (fox), Machiavelli denied the traditional notion that the political realm
had to uphold the laws of God and instead said that politics had its own logic
(raison dtat) which is why the Prince is considered the first work of political
science, context in which Machiavelli was writing influenced certain topics in his
writings
o Petrarch: The father of humanism, Petrarch helped popularize the idea that the
Middle Ages were backwards (Dark Ages) and that Italy was entering a new age
of learning and individualism
o Baldassar Castiglione: Most known for his Book of the Courtier, which is a
manual on winning fame and influence among rich and powerful people,
describes the Renaissance man, and his characteristics, advocated education for
women but one focusing on an instrument, poetry, and literacy - abstract subjects
like science and math were left for men
Several trends in Renaissance art:
o Oil-based Prints: Using oil-based prints from the Low Countries, artists could
create startling effects of light and shadow by applying thin layer after layer
o Perspective: With the rediscovery of theories of optics and perspective geometry,
artists were able to produce a strikingly realistic view of a physical plane
o Naturalism - Painters and sculptors gave increased attention to musculature and
movement of the human body, seen in Michelangelos Sistine Chapel and da
Vincis anatomical dissections
o Subject Matter: While artists continued to focus on religious paintings, human
beings as well as natural landscapes and classical architecture took on an
increased significance in works
o Order and Symmetry: Renaissance artists placed great importance to orderly
composition as seen in the classical motifs of the column, dome, and arch
o Status of the Artist: Artists of the Middle Ages were largely unknown because
they were considered craftsmen, but the artists of the Renaissance were set apart
as creative geniuses
Key Renaissance artists:
o Donatello: Revived free-standing sculpture, his famous work is the David
which is a full-size statue cast in bronze
o Masaccio: Employed perspective geometry for the first time in his Holy Trinity
and in Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden
o Fillipo Brunelleschi: Primary achievement is the dome he created on the
Cathedral of Florence (Il Duomo)
o Leonardo da Vinci: Famous paintings are the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper,
and Madonna of the Rocks, introduced systematic observation in his notebooks
o Michelangelo: Excelled in sculpture (Pieta), architecture (The Laurentian
Library), and painting (Last Judgment), largely influenced by Neo-Platonic
philosophy
o Raphael: Considered Michelangelos rival, he bridged the classical world with
his own world in his School of Athens
Education
o Renaissance humanism spurred education and founded schools for boys and
girls, though schools for the latter focused on maintaining appearances
o Latin and Greek were emphasized but students were taught in all the liberal arts
o Renaissance schools had structure and the regular promotion of pupils from one
level to the next (like today)

Printing Press
o The Chinese first invented printing, but they did not capitalize on their success
o Johann Gutenberg perfected the skill of movable type in the 1450s, publishing
his Gutenberg Bible
o Books continued to be expensive luxuries that were only available to the upper
class, but nevertheless, the church and state could no longer exercise a monopoly
on intellectual life
o Printing press assisted in the spread of Renaissance ideas, but its most important
effect was it secured the success of the Protestant Reformation

Was There a Renaissance for Women?

Women faced significant barriers to their intellectual pursuits
Accepted notion was that women belonged in the domestic sphere
Famous female humanists and early feminists:
o Christine de Pisan: French noblewoman who is believed to have written the first
modern feminist work, The City of Ladies
o Isabella dEste: Married into famous Gonzaga family of Mantua, conducted
diplomacy after her husband left for war
o Laura Cereta: After her husband dies after just 18 months of marriage, instead of
joining a convent or remarrying, she wrote works advocating equality of
opportunity for women
Renaissance Politics and The New Monarchs
Politics were central to Renaissance views regarding power, status, and values such as
civic humanism
Machiavellis ideas played a major role in introducing a secular conception of politics
Due to the divided nature of the Italian peninsula, regular diplomacy emerged to maintain
the balance of power
Balance-of-power politics grew out of the five major Italian city-states jockeying for
power
o Peace of Lodi in 1454 established peace for the next 40 years (until the foreign
invasion of Italy)
o New Monarchs wanted to reassert their dynastic claims with centralizing
techniques after the horrors of the fourteenth century
Florence: A republic led my members of the many guilds, but really
dominated behind the scenes by the Medici family (which attained
wealth from banking), famous leaders include Cosimo de Medici who
was the patriarch of the family and a wealthy patron of humanism that
founded the Florentine Platonic Academy, his grandson Lorenzo de
Medici (previously mentioned), Savanarola preached against the secular
focus of art and pagan (non-Christian) philosophy and eventually took
over the city before being burned at the stake, Florence was the center of
banking and textiles on the Italian peninsula and with this wealth,
became the Queen City of the Renaissance until the French invasion of
Italy in 1494
Milan: A military dictatorship ruled by the Visconti family for many
centuries, famous leader us Francesco Sforza who seized control of the
city in the 1450s and proved how a reliance on mercenary soldiers
(condottiere) helped undermine Italys independence, Milan was the

most tied to trading interests in central Europe out of the city-states and
disputes over its control of trading posts led to foreign invasion of Italy
and the ultimate end of the Italian Renaissance
Papal States: An elective monarchy that had trouble managing the noble
factions of its diverse territories, major leaders are Alexander VI who
represented the height of corruption in the Renaissance Papacy and used
his children (through marriages) to regain power on the peninsula, and
Julius II who was known as the Warrior Pope and also sponsored great
works of art in the Sistine Chapel (patron of Michelangelo), the period
from 1417 to the 1540s is known as the Renaissance Papacy in which
popes were involved in politics and luxury, art, and rebuilding Rome
which became the center of the high Renaissance, a large line of popes
ignored cries for reform thus letting ideas fester ultimately leading to the
Protestant Reformation
Venice: An oligarchy ruled by wealthy merchant families that was
nicknamed the Serene Republic due to its stability throughout the era,
famous leaders include the doge, the leader of the Venetian government
elected by the Great Council and Senate, bodies that consisted of wealthy
merchants, the Book of Gold was the complete registry of the leading
families in Venice and membership implied full citizenship rights, Venice
was the major trading power of the Italian city-states due to its contact
with the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires
Naples: A relatively backward feudal monarchy claimed and eventually
captured by Ferdinand of Aragon, though Naples was the largest city in
Europe in 1500, the kingdom participated little intellectually and
artistically in the Renaissance
To rebuild after the devastation of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, the New
Monarchs engaged in similar centralizing policies:
o Taxation: securing access to consistent revenue
o Taming the aristocracy: monarchs tried to establish themselves above the nobility
and thus made alliances with the middle class in towns, essentially forming new
nobles, called nobles of the robe
o Codifying laws and creating courts: most nations were a patchwork of different
traditions, laws, and customs so in 1500, monarchs attempted to establish royal
courts with more uniform laws
o Controlling warfare: medieval armies were private affairs and thus unreliable, the
New Monarchs worked to make armies and war the sole resource of the state,
which made sense due to the ever more complex nature of war
o Early bureaucracy and officials: early states lacked the resources to enforce their
will and keep track of their affairs, thus the New Monarchs began to employ
agencies, committees, representative bodies, and councils to assist in the
implementation of royal authority
o Religious control: monarchs attempted to assert increased control over the clergy
and the functions of religion within their national boundaries
New Monarchs:
o England
Following the Hundred Years War, England plunged into the Wars of the
Roses, a civil conflict between two rival noble factions
In 1485 the Tudors set about rebuilding the power of the state

Henry VII and Henry VIII tamed the nobles, reducing the number of
dukes from 9 to 2, and created a new aristocracy
Star Chamber, a royal system of courts, was established
Ended livery and maintenance, the private armies of the nobles
Build Englands first navy
Henry VIII took control of the Catholic Church in England and
confiscated its lands
The Tudors established the basis of English political and commercial
power
However, Henry VIIIs obsession with obtaining a male heir
demonstrated the continuing fragility of royal rule and also created a
religious issue that would not be easily resolved

France
France had experienced warfare for over 100 years on its soil, while its
eastern neighbor Burgundy aimed to replace French leadership on the
continent
Louis XI the Spider added new territory to the royal domain through
strategic marriages and conquering Burgundy territories
Francis I was a Renaissance king that gained control of the French clergy
by agreement with the Pope (Concordat of Bologna)
Established taille (direct tax) and the gabelle (government salt
monopoly)
Claimed lands in Italy
Russia
The duchy of Muscovy barely resembled modern Russia
Ivan III the Great: drove out the Mongols, claimed Russia the third
Rome, by marrying the niece of the last Byzantine ruler, and created the
strelsty, a military service class
Ivan IV the Terrible was nicknamed so because of his hatred of the
boyars, the Russian nobility and also continued expansion
Russia emerged as a great power but was still plagued by issues of
cultural and technological backwardness
When Ivan IV killed his heir in a fit of rage, Russia was plunged into
civil chaos and foreign invasion for 30 years
Spain
Spain did not even exist until the marriage of Isabella of Castile and
Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469
Even then, Spain had to complete the Reconquista, kick out the Moos,
and establish a national identity among its diverse kingdoms
Isabellas and Ferdinands marriage did not produce a stable, unified
nation
They made alliances with towns to establish law and order, personally
visiting each area
Completed the Reconquista establishing strict religious orthodoxy with
the Spanish Inquisition
Sponsored voyages of exploration
Charles I (of Spain, same guy as Charles V of the HRE) inherited diverse
lands and became the most powerful monarch in Europe

Spain emerged as the strongest nation in Europe as access to the New

World combined with Charles Is large inheritance established Spains
Golden Age
However, its crusading mindset, heavy taxes, and persecution of talented
minorities had already sapped some of the nations strength by the end of
Charles Is rule

Northern Renaissance and Christian Humanism:

Renaissance culture began in Italy but spread to the rest of Europe via the printing press
and along trade routes
Though northern humanists employed the same textual analysis and criticism as their
Italian neighbors, their emphasis tended to be more on Christian writings, such as the
Bible as well as the writings of early church fathers including St. Augustine
For this reason, northern humanism is often termed Christian humanism
For the most part, Christian humanists were critical of the Churchs many abuses, and
wanted to maintain the unity of the Church by reforming from within
Years before Luther, Christian humanists urged a reform, primarily through education,
that would recue the church form its worldliness and corruption
Late medieval spirituality was characterized by:
o Anxiety
o Amidst the death from the plague, Great Schism, and political breakdown,
European Christians became obsessed with securing eternal life
o Negatively, this fear fed the spread of indulgences, relic veneration (worshipping
statues), and pilgrimages
o Positively, many Christians desired a more personal relationship with God
Mysticism - Christians can bridge the gap between themselves and God
through meditation, prayer, and acts of devotion
Thomas a Kempis Imitation of Christ served as a manual consisting of
exercises one could perform to get closer to God
Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life was an organization of
laypersons in the Low Countries/Benelux (BElgium, NEtherlands,
LUXembourg) that supported each other in living a Christian life
Desiderius Erasmus
o Stood as the most famous intellectual of his day and his name today is a symbol
of tolerance and scholarship
o Raised in a monastic environment, Erasmus never took vows, claiming he had a
Catholic soul but a Lutheran stomach (cant fast)
o Poked fun at the clergy and its abuses in his Praise of Folly, which was
eventually placed on the Index of Prohibited Books
o Erasmuss primary message was in the power of education to promote a true love
for God and to live out the Gospel message
o Protected by powerful patrons, Erasmus condemned fanaticism of all kinds
o Erasmus, a moderate, was drowned out by extremists on both sides
o Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched
Thomas More

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Represents the bridging of the medieval and modern worlds

More was a man of deep piety and was especially astute at recognizing the game
of life in the world, where one seeks fame and position but always keeps an eye
on the future
Mores talents brought him to the attention of the monarchy, and he served in
Parliament and was the first nonclerical Lord Chancellor of England
Mores most famous literary work is Utopia, which is a satire of 16 th century
European society and envisions a better life based on communal living
Unlike Erasmus, More was not a moderate and was willing to die for his beliefs
which occurred in 1535 when he opposed Henry VIIIs takeover of the Catholic
Church in England

Causes of the Protestant Reformation:

Previously mentioned causes: Christian humanism, late medieval spirituality, state of the
Catholic Church
In 1500 the Catholic Church stood amidst a crisis as the papacy, desperate to recapture its
former glory and influence, seemed to focus more on artistic patronage and
Machiavellian politics rather than the spiritual state of Europe
Abuses that began during the Babylonian Captivity festered and produced a general cry
for reform, which was largely ignored by popes:
o Simony - the buying and selling of church offices
o Nepotism - favoritism, granting of offices to relatives (ex: Alexander VI putting a
cardinal hat on his 16 year old son)
o Pluralism - holding more than one church office
o Absenteeism - often caused by pluralism, a church official is not able to attend to
the needs of his many offices (cant be in two places at the same time)
o Indulgences - most controversial, belief that one can buy a portion of the grace of
God and the clergy to reduce their own or a relatives time in purgatory
The Protestant Reform Movements:
Luther and Lutheranism
o How can I be saved?
o Luther questioned not only the practices of the church, but the teachings of the
church, which would eventually bring the entire sacramental system into the
spotlight in terms of providing salvation
o In 1517, Pope Leo X allowed Johann Tetzel to finance the building of St. Peters
Basilica in Rome using indulgences
o Luther immediately responded with his Ninety-five Theses, wherein he
condemned indulgences with twisting the true message of Christianity
o Luthers new theology can be described in 3 Latin sayings:
Sola scriptura: The only authority in Christianity is the Bible, while the
Catholic Church based authority on the Bible and the teaching authority
of the clergy (magisterium), Luther argued that doctrine and practice
needed to be supported by the word of God in scripture (only scripture)
Sola fide: Salvation comes from faith alone and no good work,
indulgence, or any human activity can earn it (only faith)
Sola gratia: Salvation comes from the free gift of Gods grace, Grace is
the spiritual merit that gives the sinner merit in Gods eyes, since humans

are imperfect they cannot achieve this merit -it is Gods gift, the Church
however taught that grace can come through the sacraments (only grace)
Luthers attack, in some ways, only repeated the ideas of Wyclif, Huss, and even Erasmus
What made Luther successful was the passion with which he conveyed his message and
more importantly, the printing press - which served as a tremendous propaganda
instrument
Many of Luthers publications (pamphlets, songs, sermons, woodcuts all mocking the
Pope) were not designed to appeal to a group of theologians, but rather, to the large
crowd (mass appeal, mass audience):
o On the Freedom of the Christian - Luther rejects free will, God can do it so
much better, Erasmus, uncharacteristically, responded defending free will
o On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church - Luther rejected all but 2 of the
sacraments which were in Scripture, baptism and the Lords Supper
o An Address to the Nobility of the German Nations - Luther patriotically
appealed to the German princes to get political support
o German translation of the bible - Bible reading was traditionally reserved for
members of the clergy, now the common people could read the Bible which was
placed by Luther as the central act of Christian worship
Luther was a theological revolutionary but a political conservative whose message
inspired a number of reformers may whom misinterpreted his saying priesthood of all
believers
o German firebrands (radicals) took Luthers message literally as a call for social
revolution and supported the Peasants Revolt of 1524-1525
o Luther was enraged, denouncing the firebrands and peasants in his Against the
Murdering and Robbing Horde of Peasants in which he called for the death of
all that opposed legitimate authority and perceived the true Christian message,
which was spiritual, as political
o Luther also attacked the peasants due to his need of German noble support which
was the only thing standing between him and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles
V, whom Luther in 1521 stood defiantly against in the Diet of Worms
o As a result, wherever Lutheranism gained control, the church was placed under
the control of the state
Through a series of timely marriages and untimely deaths, in 1519, Charles V stood as
the most powerful ruler in Europe
Charles V recognized the need for reform in the church and pressured the pope to call a
general council (unsuccessful till 1545)
Regardless, Charles V believed it was his duty to preserve the unity of his vast Empire,
although he had many enemies:
o Ottoman Turks
o France (Valois)
o Algerian pirates
o The Papacy- Pope and Charles V disagreed in policies especially when Charles
Vs troops sacked Rome in 1527, bringing the Renaissance to an end
o German Lutherans - Schmalkaldic League formed by peasants to fight against
Charles V s troops, after his initial victory, Charles V could not follow up on his
success
To settle the dispute in Germany, Charles agreed in 1555 to the Peace of
Augsburg which employed cuius regio, eius religio (whose rule, his

religion) to divide the empire into Lutheran and Catholic areas, to be

determined by individual leaders
This settlement did NOT endorse religious toleration, only recognized
the relatively even balance of power in Germany
Charles V abdicated in 1556, his brother Ferdinand became the Holy
Roman Emperor while his son Phillip II took everything else
Calvins Second Wave
o By 1540, the Protestant Reformation required a boost, provided by John Calvin
o Calvin was a second-generation reformer born in France who received a strong
humanistic education
o Unlike Luther, Calvin studied to become a priest but switched into legal
profession, which may account for his images of God as an omnipotent sovereign
and law-giver
o Calvin set up his reform movement in Switzerland and was recognized as the
leader of Geneva
o He accepted much of Luthers ideas (justification by faith alone, 2 sacraments)
but was focused more on predestination, God already knows who will be saved
(the elect) contained in his Institutes of the Christian Religion
o Geneva was governed according to the Ecclesiastical Ordinances
o Calvinism spread quickly among the nobility and middle class, many of whom
believed they were part of the elect
o Calvin founded the Genevan Academy in 1559 to teach people about his religion;
most famous graduate is John Knox who brought Calvinism to Scotland
o Calvinists represented the forefront of a militant Protestant movement dedicated
to battling Catholicism
Evangelical Reformers
o Reform from the bottom where people would travel spreading the reform gospel
o Debates would occur between a reformer and Catholic and the town would
decide which faith to pick
o Ulrich Zwingli
In Zurich, Zwingli established a more radical reform than Luthers
Like Luther, he accepted 2 sacraments but disagreed over the meaning of
the Lords Supper
Luther - consubstantiation, real presence of Jesus coexists with bread and
wine
Zwingli - Symbolic, Jesus could not be in the room as he was up with
God, act is only symbolic
Church - Transubstantiation, bread and wine become literal body and
blood of Jesus
Zwingli and Luther met to discuss their differences in the Marburg
Colloquy, but failed to agree - Zwingli killed on 1531 in Swiss Civil War
Zwingli laid basis for new type of worship - followers smashed statues,
broke organs, painted churches white in an effort to focus people onto the
word of God
o Catherine Zell, preached to husband
o Anabaptists
Magisterial Reformers
o Most well-known example of magisterial reform occurred in England

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Henry VIII tolerated little opposition to Catholicism and earned the title
Defender of the Faith when he penned a response to Luthers attack on the
sacraments
However, matters of state intervened: Henry VIII had no male heir and blamed
this on his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
Normally Henry VIIIs appeals for a divorce would have been granted by Pope
Clement VII, but he was under the control of Charles V, who happened to be the
nephew of Catherine
After years and numerous appeals, Henry VIII was desperate since he had
already declared his love for and impregnated Anne Boleyn
In 1533, Henry VIII acted with the support of Parliament:
Parliament declared Henry VIII the head of the Catholic Church in
England with the Act of Supremacy
The Act of Succession made Henry VIIIs and Anne Boleyns children
legitimate (future Elizabeth I)
With the help of his prime minster Thomas Crowell, Henry VIII also
moved to confiscate the lands of the church
However, Henry VIII had not interests in religious reform, getting
Parliament to confirm distinctive Catholic practices such as clerical
celibacy in the Six Articles
Many reformers, such as Thomas Cranmer, wished to take the reform
further but would have to wait until Henry VIII died and his sickly son,
Edward VI succeeded him in 1547
Under Edward VI, the reform moved in a Zwinglian direction, with a
new Book of Common Prayer and Act of Uniformity providing a simpler
interpretation of worship
Edwards early death in 1553 turned England back onto the Catholic side
under Mary I, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and Phillip II, king of
Spain
Marys persecution of Protestants and pro-Spanish policy gave her the
nickname bloody Mary and did little in the long run to reestablish
Catholicism in England
Elizabeth I, who came into power in 1558, had the most success in
forming a compromise, called the Elizabethan Settlement
Elizabeth I was a politique, and placed political unity above conformity
with religious dogma
She did not marry (matriarch of England), did not attack religious
minorities - except Catholics - and engineered a new Book of Common
Prayer, that was vague enough in its language that it would satisfy all
The compromises were set in stone with he Thirty-Nine Articles
Elizabeth could also play the role of lion when she executed her cousin
for plotting against her as well as successfully defending England form
the Spanish Armada in 1588
By the end of her reign, called the Golden Age, Elizabeth I had
established England as the leading Protestant power of Europe

Social Impact of the Protestant Reformation:

Family and gender - family was placed at center of social life, celibacy was abolished and
many former clergy like Luther took spouses, Luther, Calvin and other reformers
advocated that womens natural sphere was the domestic
Education - Bible-reading was emphasized, and thus literacy was ensured for boys and
girls
Social classes - other than firebrands, few reformers called for social change, Protestant
work ethic spurred development of capitalism strengthened middle class
Religious practices - church calendar was modified, sought to eliminate externals (only
Bible-reading), curb prostitution

Catholic Revival and Reform:

Even before 1517, many Catholics recognized the need for reform
Under Cardinal Ximenes de Cisneros, Spain had already addressed many clerical abuses
and had tightened regulations for the training of priests
However, the institutional church fiddled while Rome burned
Finally, under Paul III, the hierarchical church responded to the Protestant Reformation
This response was complex and multipronged
Catholic Reformation - actions designed to revive Catholic spirituality
Counter-Reformation - actions designed to stop the spread of the Protestant Reformation
New Religious Orders: For most Catholics, connections to Church were through a parish
priest, thus church needed to revive religious orders and implement new ones, Society of
Jesus, Jesuits, founded by Ignatius Loyola in the 1540s, Spiritual Exercises, troops of
the Pope, brought Catholicism to Eastern Europe including Poland and Hungary after
1560
Council of Trent (1545-1563): Though tardy and poorly attended, the council finally got
the churchs house in order, Cardinals (mainly from Italy and Spain) eliminated churchs
many abuses and provided for better regulation and training of priests, church refused to
compromise on certain religious doctrines (clerical celibacy, importance of good works,
authority of papacy, transubstantiation)
Strengthening the Papacy and Inquisition (1542) - To better meet the challenge of
unorthodox belief, the Papal bureaucracy was centralized and strengthened, major feature
of this revamping was the Roman Inquisition (not the Spanish Inquisition) designed to
root out perceived heresies, had chilling effect on intellectual life in Italy as seen in the
Galileo affair in 1633
Index of Prohibited Books - Under the conservative Pope Paul IV (unlike Paul III), the
church decided to clamp down on any printed materials that threatened to mislead people
from orthodox interpretations of magisterium, continued until 20 th century (little impact
by then)

Baroque Art - In an effort to revive Catholic spirituality, the Church patronized an artistic
movement that emphasized grandeur, illusion, and dramatic religiosity, Palestrina in
music, Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini rebuilt Rome as showplace of Catholic piety
By the completion of the Council of Trents work in 1563, no religious compromise was
possible as a militant Calvinism and revamped and rearmed Catholic Church were about
to butt heads soon

~FINIS~