“The Reformation of the sixteenth century is, next to the introduction of Christianity, the greatest event in history. It marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times. Starting from religion, it gave, directly or indirectly, a mighty impulse to every forward move-ment, and made Protestantism the chief propelling force in the history of modern civilization”

(Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church).

In the end the reformers, like Luther, established their own religions

The Reformation caused a split in Christianity with the formation of these new Protestant religions

Early Attempts at Reform

Albigenses and Waldenses – Inquisition

John Wycliffe (1320-1384) – Died of apoplexy. John Huss (1360-1415) and Gerolamo

Savonarola (1452-1498) - burned at the stake as heretics.

Rome herself made some halfhearted attempts to reform at the Councils of Pisa (1409), Constance (1414-1418) and Basel (1431), but these were not successful.

Church Reforms

There was a group within the Roman Church called The Brethren of the Common Life that came into existence around 1350 for the specific purpose of bringing reform. Some famous men who belonged to this group were John of Wessel, Erasmus and Thomas à Kempis.

Prior to the Reformation all Christians were Roman Catholic

The [REFORM]ation was an attempt to REFORM the Catholic Church

People like Martin Luther wanted to get rid of the corruption and restore the people’s faith in the church

100 Years War and Black Death

Scientific Advances which contradicted the Church

Printing Press - Gutenberg

The Corruption within the Catholic Church

The Renaissance

Martin Luther

John Calvin

Henry VIII

THE DOCTRINAL UNITY OF THE REFORMERS

Bible Only (Sola Scriptura): The Reformers declared the Bible to be the only rule of faith and practice.

Christ Only (Solo Christo):Salvation is located not in the church, an organ-ization, but in the person Jesus Christ.

Grace Only (Sola Gratia): The Reformers believed that salvation was caused totally by God’s grace

Faith Only (Sola Fide): Faith alone is consistent with God’s grace in calling to salvation.

God’s Glory Only (Soli Deo Gloria): The underlying, foundational doctrine of the Re-formers was that God’s glory was the ultimate purpose of all things.

“Therefore, while we are unwilling simply to concede the name of Church to the Papists, we do not deny that there are churches among

them. The question we raise only relates to the true and legitimate constitu-tion of the Church, implying communion in

sacred rites, which are the signs of profession and especially in doctrine. . . . We do not at all deny that churches remain under his (Anti-Christ’s) tyranny; churches, however, which by sacrilegious impiety he has profaned, by cruel domina-tion has oppressed, by evil and deadly doctrines like poisoned potions has corrupted and almost slain; churches where Christ lies half-buried, the Gospel is suppressed, piety is put to flight, and the worship of God almost abolished; where, in short, all things are in such disorder as to present the appearance of Babylon rather than the holy city of God. In one word, I call them churches, inasmuch as the Lord there wondrously preserves some remains of His people, though miserably torn and scattered, and inasmuch as some symbols of the Church still remain - symbols especially whose efficacy neither the craft of the devil nor human depravity can destroy. But as, on the other hand, those marks to which we ought especially to have respect in this discussion are effaced, I say that the whole body, as well as every single assembly, want the form of a legitimate Church” (John Calvin, Institutes).

Lived from 1483-1546 in Germany

Father encouraged him to study law

A sudden religious experience inspired him to become a monk

He became troubled over the possibility of not going to heaven

He turned to the Bible, and confession for comfort

In the Bible he found the answer he was looking for

“The righteous shall by his faith.”

Luther realized that only faith (in the ultimate goodness of Jesus), not good deeds, could save a person. No good works, rituals, etc. would save a person if they did not believe.

A list of things he thought were wrong with the Catholic Church (95 Complaints)

He criticized:

The Power of the Pope

The Extreme Wealth of the Church

Indulgences (Catholic concept of Salvation)

Gutenberg’s Printing Press made it possible for Luther to spread his beliefs

Posted his 95 Theses on Church doors in Germany

Gained support from people and criticism from Church

•The first thing printed on Gutenberg’s press was the Bible.

•This is a picture of a page from one of Gutenberg’s Bibles.

The Diet of Worms1520 Pope Leo X order Luther to give up his beliefsLuther burned the order and was excommunicatedLuther went into hiding where he translated the New Testament into German – spreading his beliefs even further

He was the Pope during the height of the corruption

Some Local German Churches accepted Luther’s ideas

Lutheranism was formed

Supported by German Princes who issued a formal “protest” against the Church for suppressing the reforms

The reformers came to be known as [PROTEST]ants - Protestants

“May little chickens dig out your eyes 100,000 times.”

- Calvin speaking to another reformer whose ideas he disagreed with

Anti-Catholic

Influenced by Martin Luther

Disagreed with Luther’s “Salvation through faith alone.”

Created his own Protestant religion in Switzerland

Calvin believed in:

Salvation through Predestination

At birth it is decided if you will go to heaven or hell

Foreknowledge

God knows everything that will happen in your life

Purified approach to life:

No drinking, swearing, card playing, gambling etc..

Started in Switzerland – Calvinists

England = Puritans

Scotland = Presbyterians

Holland = Dutch Reform

France = Huguenots

Germany = Reform Church

PuritanHugeunots

Presbyterian

The Results of the Reformation

It is impossible to understand modern history apart from the Reformation.

The Reformation has profoundly affected the modern view of politics and law.

In the realm of science, it is generally granted by modern historians that there never would have been modern science were it not for the Reformation.

The Reformation laid down once and for all the right and obligation of the individual conscience, and the right to follow the dictates of that individual conscience.

Religious Wars

The religious wars began with overt hostilities in 1562 and lasted until the Edict of Nantes in 1598.

The First War (1562-1563)

Provoked by the Massacre at Vassy in 1562. Duc de Guise men fired ont eh unarmed hugeunots Set the Church on Fire Killed a number of the congregation

Leadership of the Huguenots moves away from the pastors towards the noble “protectors.”

Royal forces of England and Germany are slow to respond.

Catherine de’ medici turns to the Guise faction

Guise seeks help from the Pope and Phillip II of Spain.

At Orleans, the Duc de Guise was killed by an assassin.

Result – Edict of Amboise 1563

Eliminated the first generation of Catholic leadership

The Huguenot heartland in the south virtually untouched

The royal treasury hemorrhaging The crown’s position was weak. Catherine bent her efforts towards a

settlement. Restricted Protestant freedoms

The Second War (1567-1568)

Catherine begana two year tour – to establish unity between the nobility

Huguenots attempt a coup at Meaux This plan failed and provoked the the second

war

Result Montmorency was dead, the crown was more in

debt, and the Peace of Longjumeau was pretty much the same as the Peace of Amboise.

The Third War (1568-1570)

The Cardinal de Lorraine hatched a plot to overturn the peace and capture Conde and Coligny.

The Cardinal also saw Mary Stuart, Queenof Scots, as a tool for unseating Elizabeth and putting a Catholic monarch on theat throne as well.

The third war was more protracted, and brought the war to the rural areas in central and southern France, spreading the suffering to the pop. And raising the cultural tension between Catholics and Protestants.

Peace at St. Germain ended the war.

The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572) Catherine exerts more effort to create harmony

between Catholic and Protestant leadership. Tension between the two groups grows until

August 23, 1573. An attempt on Admiral de Coligny life is taken on

the 22nd – Huguenots are outraged. King Charles IX decides to kill Coligny and all

Huguenot leadership around him. The Massacre lasted 3 days – stories of

atrocities, courage, and compassion were rampant.

Result

Experience radicalised many of the survivors

A distrust of the king Upsurge in the political rhetoric of

resistance.

Churches organized themselves into an efficient hierarchy for communications and self-protection.

The Fourth through the Seventh Four more wars took place between 1572 and 1580.

The War of the Three Henries (1584-1589) Henry III (King of England) Henri de Navarre (Presumptive heir to the throne of France) and his cousin

Henri Prince de Condé - excommunicated. The royalist, Protestant, and Leaguer forces, all led by men named Henri,

were to engage in the bloodiest and longest of the civil wars.

The Wars of the League (1589-1598) A fight with Spain over the capital of Paris.

1598 saw the publication of the Edict of Nantes, which granted Huguenots freedom of worship and civil rights for nearly a century, until Henri IV's descendent Louis XIV revoked it in 1685. It is not the end of the Huguenot story in France, but it closes this chapter of the Wars of Religion.

The Age of Absolutism1550-1800

Setting the Stage for Revolution & Enlightenment

What is Absolutism

Absolutism means that the ultimate authority in the state is rested in the hands of a king who claims to rule by divine right.

Under absolutism the king has the power to make laws, administer justice, control the state’s administrative system, and determine foreign policy.

Imperial Spain and Philip II

Charles V

Charles V was king of Spain and ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. He became embroiled in wars with the Ottoman empire as it advanced on central Europe and also in religious conflicts with the Protestants in the German states. He abdicated both thrones and split them between his brother, Ferdinand, and son, Philip.

The Wars of Philip II, 1571–1588

How Did Spanish Power Increase Under Charles V and Philip II?Charles V•In 1519, Charles V inherited a hugeempire. He became king of Spain and wasalso the heir to the Hapsburg empire.

•Ruling two empires involved Charles inconstant warfare.

•Eventually, Charles gave up his titles anddivided his empire.

Philip II•During his 42-year reign, Philip worked toexpand Spanish influence, strengthen theCatholic Church, and make his own powerabsolute.

•Philip reigned as an absolute monarch –a ruler with complete authority over thegovernment and lives of the people.

•He asserted that he ruled by divine right –belief that authority to rule comes directlyfrom God.

•Philip saw himself as guardian of theRoman Catholic Church.

•Philip fought many wars as he attemptedto advance Spanish Catholic power.

The Thirty Years War 1618-1648

Preconditions

Religious Division

Calvinism and the Palatinate

Maximilian of Bavaria and the Catholic League

Four Periods of War

The Bohemian Period The Danish Period The Swedish Period The Swedish-French Period

The Treaty of Westphalia

a collective name given to the two treaties concluded on the 24th of October 1648 by the empire with France at Munster and with Sweden and the Protestant estates of the empire at Osnabruck, by which the Thirty years’ War was brought to an end.

The treaties resulted from the first modern diplomatic congress, thereby initiating a new political order in central Europe, based upon the concept of a sovereign state governed by a sovereign. In the event, the treaties’ regulations became integral to the constitutional law of the Holy Roman Empire.

The treaties did not restore the peace throughout Europe, however. France and Spain remained at war for the next eleven years, making peace only in the Treaty of Pyrenees of 1659.

Some Background about France

• From the 1560s to the 1590s, religious wars between Huguenots(French Protestants) and the Catholic majority tore France apart.• To protect Protestants, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes, whichgranted Huguenots religious toleration and let them fortify their owntowns and cities.• Henry then set out to heal the shattered land. Under Henry, thegovernment reached into every aspect of French life.• By building the royal bureaucracy and reducing the power of thenobility, Henry laid the foundations for royal absolutism. He reducedthe power of the nobles and strengthened the monarchy.• After his death, Cardinal Richelieu served as chief minister to LouisXIII. Richelieu held great influence and orchestrated the furtherdecline of the powers of nobles and Protestants.

France under“The Sun King”• Louis XIV ruled with absolute power

and took the sun as a symbol. An army of 300,000 soldiers stood ready to enforce his will. His finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert, instituted mercantilist policies, which helped France to become the richest European state.

• Louis XIV lived a lavish lifestyle at the Palace of Versailles, which was a symbol of France’s wealth. There, nobles became courtiers who posed no threat to the monarchy. The arts flourished with the support of Louis XIV..

• Louis expanded the bureaucracy and appointed intendants, royal officials who collected taxes, recruited soldiers, and carried out Louis’s policies in the provinces.• Louis created the strongest army in Europe, which he used to enforce hispolicies at home and abroad.

“L’etat, c’est moi”—“I am the state.”

Successes and Failures of Louis XIV

• European alliances were formed to keep French expansion in check. The War of the Spanish Succession ended with France agreeing not to unite with Spain. The flight of the Huguenots from France when the Edict of Nantes was revoked left the state without many of its best and brightest.

Success•Louis greatly strengthened royal power.•The French army became the strongest

inEurope.•France became the wealthiest state inEurope.•French culture, manners, and customsbecame the European standard.•The arts flourished in France.

Failures•Louis engaged in costly wars that haddisastrous results.•Rival rulers joined forces to check

Frenchambitions.•Louis persecuted the Huguenots,

causingmany to flee France. Their departure

wasa huge blow to the French economy.

England

• Tudor monarchs Henry VIII and Elizabeth I sought the approval of Parliament on important matters. Parliament tended to vote as the monarchs wished.

• After the Tudors, the Stuarts came to rule England. James I tried to claim absolute power, and dissolved Parliament. Charles I followed in his father’s footsteps, but had to summon Parliament to raise taxes. Parliament forced him to sign the Petition of Right. He then dissolved Parliament and didn’t summon them for 11 years, until he needed funds to put down a rebellion in Scotland. Parliament and Charles I then went to war with each other.

England under Charles I

• Absolute monarch – had no problem with putting his enemies in prison without trial

• Ran up a huge debt• Dissolved Parliament in 1629• Touched off massive English

Civil War between his supporters (“cavaliers”) and supporters of Parliament (“roundheads”) led by Oliver Cromwell.

• Parliament put Charles on trial and condemned him to death as “a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy.” Charles I was beheaded in 1649.

Absolute Monarchs in RussiaPeter the Great Modernizes & Expands Russia• Peter the Great traveled through W.

Europe and brought technical experts, teachers, and soldiers back to Russia. He forcefully pushed Russians to adopt Western ideas, technology and culture.

• He made himself the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and gave the landowning nobles (boyars) jobs working for the state. He adopted mercantilist economic policies to pay for his reforms and he ruled in a very autocratic manner.

• Peter tried to defeat the Ottomans to gain a warm-water port, but was unsuccessful. He was able to win the Great Northern War and take Swedish territory on the Baltic Sea, where he built his magnificent capital city of St. Petersburg.

Absolute Monarchs in RussiaCatherine the Great follows Peter’s Lead

Catherine the Great also embraced Western ideas and

allowed the boyars to impose serfdom on the peasants.

She won a warm-water port in the Russo-Turkish war and

also seized territory from Poland.

Mercantilism

• Defined – An economic philosophy thatinternational commerce should primarily serveto increase a country's financial wealth; usingthe economy to enrich the state, mercantilismencouraged exports and discouraged imports(unless they lead to even greater exports) toamass a surplus of gold and foreign currency.

• Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations was written asan anti-mercantilist argument.