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Slide Notes
The Protestant Reformation spread quickly throughout Europe after beginning with Luther's posting of the 95 Theses. There were three main areas of pervasive reform: Lutheranism in the Northern German Provinces and Scandinavia, Calvinism in Switzerland and France, and the Church of England (Anglican Church) in England with Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. These religious changes and reforms were often violently contested by Catholic nobility and monarchs and by the Holy Roman Emperor himself because there was much more at stake then ecclesiastical questions. Property, taxes, and control of wealth from trade as well as political sovereignty were all intertwined in these conflicts.
AP European Religious Wars, Skepticism, Politiques
Published on Nov 18, 2015
Protestant Reformation, Reformation, Wars of Religion, Politiques, War of Three, Huguenots, Henry IV, Edict of Nantes, Montaigne, Skepticism
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The Reformation Spreads
Wars of Religion 1520s - 1590s
The Protestant Reformation spread quickly throughout Europe after beginning with Luther's posting of the 95 Theses. There were three main areas of pervasive reform: Lutheranism in the Northern German Provinces and Scandinavia, Calvinism in Switzerland and France, and the Church of England (Anglican Church) in England with Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. These religious changes and reforms were often violently contested by Catholic nobility and monarchs and by the Holy Roman Emperor himself because there was much more at stake then ecclesiastical questions. Property, taxes, and control of wealth from trade as well as political sovereignty were all intertwined in these conflicts.
The German Peasant's War
- 1524-1525
- Luther condemned it
- Catholic and Protestant Princes cooperated to end it
- The Reformation was limited in its impact on social structure
Calvin and Switzerland
- Institutes of the Christian Religion and the Geneva Catechism
- Geneva - combined church and state laws, outlawed Catholicism, swearing, gambling
- Predestination - God's elect on Earth
- Created Puritans, Huguenots, and Presbyterians
Zwingli began preachng against fasting during certain Catholic holidays. This would be a main feature of Protestantism especially among its more puritanical (purifying) denominations that sought to cleanse the Church of everything not based in scripture. This would come to include Saints Holidays, the deification of Mary, and purging the church of its lavish decorations (iconoclasm). Zwingli and Luther met at the Marburg Colloquy to attempt to synthesize their beliefs but were unable to. This was largely due to their differences in the interpretation of the bread and wine of Holy Communion. For Luther, Christ's flesh and blood existed in tandem with the bread and the wine (consubstantiation sort of). For Zwingli the bread and the wine were merely symbols. Catholics believed in transubstation. The Marburg Colloquy was a failed attempt to create a larger alliance of Protestant states and provinces and would prove indicative of the failure of the German provinces until the late 1800s.
Key Concept
- Some Protestants, including Calvin and the Anabaptists, refused to recognize the subordination of the church to the secular state.
Untitled Slide
The light blue and striped areas in Switzerland were areas of Catholic majority. The solid orange are areas of Protestant majority. There were common territories in the middle that the major cantons would alternate control of. This caused conflict when the switch involved going from a Catholic canton of control to a Protestant one.
Schmalkaldic Wars
German Provinces 1546-1547
See your Religious Wars Sources - Document 1
Schmalkaldic Wars
- Charles V and Duke of Alba (Spain) v. Schmalkaldic League
- Catholics victorious but too eager to end Protestantism
- Sparked further revolt in 1552 backed by Henry II of France
- Led to the Peace of Augsburg
- Demonstrated the political nature of the Reformation
The Catholic Reformation
- Jesuits - Ignatius Loyola
- Council of Trent - 1545-1563
- Affirmed Catholic beliefs
- Condemned Protestantism
- Re-energized Catholic Monarchs in France and Spain
The Counter-Reformation was formed in response to the Protestant Reformation starting with the Council of Trent and ending after the 30 years war. The Catholic Church while affirming their central beliefs regarding the practice of indulgences, good works, and the necessity of clergy to interpret the Bible sought to make some reforms. The most visible reforms came with a new emphasis on inner spirituality and a personal relationship with Christ and the establishment and reform of seminaries (place of theological education) to train priests. At the same time the Counter Reformation officially condemned Protestant beliefs and practices. New religious orders were founded that sought to make the Catholic Church more relevant in society including the Capuchins in France who sought to care for the poor and the sick and the Ursulines that advocated for the education of girls. The most energetic of the new spiritual orders were the Jesuits who spread Catholic reforms around Europe and founded schools and universities. While the Catholic Church would never recover from the losses sustained from Protestantism, the Counter Reformation strengthened the Papacy within the church, gained millions of followers in the Americas and Asia, and clarified and reformed the central beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church.
Key Concept
- The Catholic Reformation, exemplified by the Jesuit Order and the Council of Trent, revived the church but cemented the division within Christianity
English Reformation
Henry VIII - Elizabeth I
The English Reformation would start with Henry VIII, continue with Edward VI, be interrupted by Mary I (an energetic Catholic Monarch) and be finalized by Elizabeth I in the Elizabethan settlement. The issues raised in the English population and government would not be fully settled, however, until after the English Civil War and Glorious Revolution.
Henry VIII
- Wanted divorce but forbidden by Pope
- Acts of Supremacy - 1534
- Became Head of Church and of State
Praeminure, the crime for which Cardinal Wosley and many others were accused of and tried for, is the recognition of an authority other than the monarch of England. After Wolsey's death Cromwell, a Protestant, and More, a Catholic would compete for influence over Henry VIII and the direction of reform within the English church. The Acts of Supremacy, passed by the Reformation Parliament in 1534 made Henry VIII the supreme head of the state and the church, officially rejecting the authority of the Pope. Thomas More was executed for his refusal to let go of papal authority and recognize Henry VIII as the head of the Church and for his opposition to the marriage between Henry and Anne Boleyn.
Pilgrimage of Grace
1536
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular Catholic uprising in Yorkshire over three issues surrounding Henry VIII's reign. Common people and devout Catholics were opposed to the dissolution of monasteries and the rejection of Papal Authority. The King had lost respect as well with the divorce and execution of Catherine of Aragon on suspiciously inflated charges of treason and adultery. The nobility were upset that Thomas Cromwell, a common-born man, held undue influence over Henry VIII and matters of state. This was all aggravated by a particularly poor harvest and high food prices. The revolt was put down swiftly and violently but was able to postpone the collection of taxes and have some of the more Protestant leaning sections of the Book of Prayer removed ensuring that the Reformation in England would remain fairly conservative.
Elizabethan Settlement
Elizabeth as a Politique
Pragmatism and Toleration
- Excluded Catholics loyal to Pope
- Excluded Radical Reformers
- Act of Supremacy - Gov. of the Church of England
- Acts of Uniformity - mandatory attendance at Anglican Church
Key Concept
- Monarchs and princes, such as the English rulers Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, initiated religious reform from the top down in an effort to exercise greater control over religious life and morality.
French Wars of Religion
Catholics v. Huguenots 1562-1598
Politics in France
- Bourbon - Huguenot
- Guise - Catholic
- 40-50% of nobility converted to Protestantism
- Valois - Royal Family - Catholic
Some areas of France were under the influence of Calvinism while those closest to Paris and the monarchy remained staunchly Catholic. The Catholic Valois royal family would control the throne until the mostly Protestant Bourbon family with Henry IV would eventually see an end to the religious wars with the Edict of Nantes. The Guise family were ultra-Catholic and were responsible for much of the Catholic aggression in France during this time period.
Catherine De' Medici
Regent Queen of France for Charles IX
Catherine was the daughter of Lorenzo Medici. After the death of her husband Henry II, she ruled as regent queen for her son Charles IX and upon his death for her next son Henry III. While she attempted to find a middle line between Protestants and Catholics she ultimately failed and her sons ruled over a period of constant civil war and violence as they resorted to increasingly aggressive tactics to control the Protestants who they saw as a political threat. She is still considered along with Isabella of Spain and Elizabeth I of England as one of the most powerful women in Europe during this time period.
Photo by mharrsch
Massacre of Vassy
Duke of Guise - 1562
This event marks the beginning of constant civil war in France. The Duke of Guise as he was passing through the area on his way to a Catholic mass happened upon a group of Protestants worshiping in a barn. He ordered his men to attack and sparked outrage across the Protestant community.
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre - 1572
- Henry Navarre was marrying a Valois princess
- The Guise family instigated the massacre
- Feared a Huguenot takeover
- 3,000 Deaths in Paris
Henry Navarre, a protestant and the future King, Henry IV was marrying a Catholic Princess and thousands of Protestant supporters filled Paris. The Guise family, seeing a potential threat, instigated a wave of political assassinations and mass violence that killed thousands in Paris and more in the surrounding countryside. This event deprived Protestants of many of their most effective leaders and others fled to Switzerland, England, and the Netherlands.
War of the Three Henrys
- Royalist-Huguenots vs. Catholic League
- Spain involved on the side of the Catholic League
- Henry III assassinated by a monk
- Henry IV (Navarre) converted to Catholicism and united France
Fought between King Henry III (a moderate), Henri I Duke of Guise (an ultra-Catholic and member of the Catholic league, allied with Spain) and Henry Navarre the Huguenot heir to the throne. The Royalists would eventually ally themselves with the Huguenots and manage to defeat the Catholic League and the Spanish. Henry III was killed and under Henry IV under political pressure and out of practical necessity converted to Catholicism and became King Henry IV.
Key Concepts
- Religious conflicts became a basis for challenging the monarchs’ control of religious institutions
- Issues of religious reform exacerbated conflicts between the monarchy and the nobility, as in the French wars of religion.
Edict of Nantes - 1598
See your Sources for Religious Wars.
Key Concept
- A few states, such as France with the Edict of Nantes, allowed religious pluralism in order to maintain domestic peace.
