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The effect of the Protestant Reformation on Europe
The effect of the Protestant Reformation on Europe
The effect of the Protestant Reformation on Europe
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Around the mid- 1520’s, political and social upheaval was rampant in the wake of the onset of the Reformation. The greed and exploitation of the clerical lords were pushing the commoners to their limit. The hasty introduction of public taxation, private loans, and other revenue-enhancing devices on the commoners was seen as threatening not only to their political autonomy, but also to their communal spirituality. It is clear to see then, in the eyes of the commoners, that a profound societal disturbance was impending. However, I don’t believe many foresaw it as something that would have as great of an impact than it actually did. That being said, the Peasant’s War of 1512 was one of the greatest popular rebellions in European history. Around …show more content…
They composed and complied various lists of grievances and demands as the basis for negotiation with their lords. Possible the single most important political program of the Peasant’s War was The Twelve Articles, which not only brought together the commoner’s secular grievances, but also publicized the influence of the Reformation. The program was built around the overarching assumption that “Christians had the right to live according to the gospel and its godly law” (Baylor 21). The notion of God’s law as a general legal principle, valid for all, unified the uprising in several ways. For one, commoners were embittered by the church’s immense taxes and fees, many of which that came in the form of indulgences, which Luther protested (Document 4). Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses marked the onset of a sustained and public protest against the powers of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. He shines light on the dishonesties of these powerful figures, stating that penances, indulgences and rightful deeds would not guaranteed ones place in heaven- only by faith alone could one receive …show more content…
I think this point hit close to home for virtually all of the commoners. He begins by attacking the first wall: “it is pure invention that the pope, bishops, priests, and monks are called the spiritual estate while the princes, lords, artisans, and farmers are called the temporal estate”(Document 6). He declares that all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and that there is no difference between them except that of office. This topic of “one body” was one theme seen throughout all aspects of the commoners’ insurgent bands. First and foremost, they would swear to adhere together and regard one another as equals and brothers. This principle that all members were Christian equals was expressed in the form of their meetings- they would come together in a circle where no one had pride of place. In addition, Luther declares that the Romanists have no basis in Scripture for their claim that the pope alone has the right to call or confirm a council. When necessity demands it, the first man who is able should do what he can to bring about a truly free council. This is unmistakably seen in the “Poor Conrad” movement in Württemberg, when the commoners plead for a council “concerned only with advancing the honor of God and the common interest of our gracious sorrows and their country rather than seeking their own
The peasants desired “suitable compensation”. They argued that they should not be forced to labor without being rewarded, but will continue to assist lords at “proper times” in return. Thus, this document is held as a credible source. Lorenz Fries, chief advisor to the Archbishop of Wurzburg, also argues about economic equality in June of 1525 (doc 8). Unlike the preachers however, he wrote a secret report, which was not meant to be read by the public, specifically, the peasants. This fact makes the probability of the document more believable, increasing the liability of honesty displayed by Fries (doc 8). The intention of Lorenz Fries was to inform the archbishop of rumors among the peasants, which would claim to change his views on economic prejudice and biased
The importance and job of each class fail to function optimally. The castles were rooted economically in the countryside which was intimately connected with the villagers. These villagers were the “social and economic units of rural Europe” (147) which illustrates the importance of the various classes in medieval Europe. Undermining the lower social classes will cause political and social upheaval as they collectively dominate the economic force in the feudal system. Few individual commoners mask the
Kittelson effectively composed the book and created the biography to be an interesting look into the life of Martin Luther. His successful usage of primary source documents and information compounded with his personal literary explanation of Luther’s journey toward reformation and peace with God. Kittelson’s book is not without humor either, he includes direct quotes and dialogue between Luther and Zwingli debating the Lord’s Supper. The insults and demonstrative behavior show Luther as he was, a reformer, who wished to convince others of the power of the gospel. This engaging study is both informative and engaging. Luther the Reformer is a good biography for anyone interested in Martin Luther’s life and interested in learning more about why his journey impacted not only the Roman church then, but the entirety of the Christian Church to this
One of the reasons the serfs led an uprise against the government in the early 1520s was a wanting for economic equality. In a letter written from a Count to a Duke, describes the attacks the peasants were planning and executing in which they attacked the houses of the nobility (Doc 11). The peasants started with the most wealthy individuals and stealing possessions from wealthy areas (like consuming all that was available in the monasteries) and then continued to attack other rick noblemen is descending order of wealth. This systematic approach of attacking the wealthy, and the wealthiest first, shows the dislike by the peasants for the economic system at the time. In addition, in an article written by peasants, called Twelve Articles of the Swabian Peasants, the peasants demanded better compensations for the services they provided their lords (Doc 2). They believed that they were being severely underpaid and were suffering conditions almost equal of that to a slave. They believe that they are simply demanding what is, in their opinion, just. On another instance, in 1525, in a letter written to the Archbishop of Wurzburg by an unknown source, the peasants demand a wealth redistribution (Doc 8). Lorenz Fries, the chief advisor to the Archbishop, discusses that the secret lett...
The Black Death went through Europe in 1348-1351 which killed about 30% of the population. This really affected the English peasants because there was a labor shortage, and food was almost nonexistent. Even about thirty years later, life still wasn’t normal, the nice country life of the Middle Ages was gone, and unhappiness was common amongst the poor. The peasant’s revolt in medieval England was caused by unfair punishments, and treating the peasant’s like slaves.
Looking at one of these Hymns called, “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word” by Luther himself, written somewhere in between 1541 and 1542. Here it is written in the very first verse that, “Lord, keep us steadfast in thy Word, and curb the pope’s and Turk’s vile sword, who seek to topple from the throne Jesus Christ, thy only son.” (Discovering, 275). In the first verse of this hymn Luther drops that gauntlet by saying that the Pope must be stopped and Luther then accuses the Roman church as wanting to overthrow God the Son,
He was the man that formed the base of the Protestant Reformation. Luther knew he had to take action on this convictions immediately. So on behalf of the rebellion against indulgences and other Catholic doctrine, Luther created a “ Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” or more commonly known as “The 95 Theses.” The 95 Theses were a list of topics to discuss and propose the idea of indulgences. Or as some people would say to protest the sale of the indulgences of the Roman Catholic Church. The main seller of these indulgences was a man named John Tetzel who had promised the Christians that by paying they were “instantly” saved from sin. Legend says that on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were nailed onto the doors of the Wittenberg Castle Church. Luther knew that this revolt was not violent, but was only intended to educate
For example, two of the largest peasant rebellions in 1381 and 1549 occurred in Norfolk. Both these struggles were mainly concerned with the growing political power of the Lords in Norfolk and local grievances such as enclosure. He also states continuity from the Medieval and Early Modern period because society was structured in a similar way, which means that there is some cross-over in the causes of the rebellions. It is unclear as to how many of those involved in the Kett’s rebellion understood it’s connection to the Peasant’s Revolt, but a main similarity is that they show that peasants could revolt and form an uprising equal in size to those which had gentry involvement. Furthermore, Wood draws attention to the traditional nature of popular protest and rebellion between the Western Rebellion 1549 and the Pilgrimage of Grace 1536 due to the shared religious grievances. This would suggest that the subordinate groups in Early Modern England had similar grievances which could be found in various rebellions, supporting the belief that rebellion and popular protest was the only way for them to get their voices heard. It also suggests that members of authority did not pass legislation to help deal with grievances such as taxation, enclosure and religious instability which may imply that they did not perceive these issues as being particularly serious
From 1524 through 1526, peasants were revolting in the German states. The peasants felt mistreated and no longer wanted to be under the rule of landlords. There were many causes and responses to the Peasant Revolt, but ultimately, the reasons that the peasants said that they revolted because of were not valid. They believed that they should not only be in better circumstances, but also that the wealth of the people should’ve been distributed evenly, and they should’ve been solely under the authority of lords and other forms of authority that were anointed by God. While these might seem like good reasons for revolting, in reality, they were not. The peasants in the German states were not being mistreated in the ways that they claimed.
The 16th century was a time of social, political, and religious change in Europe. The Protestant
German peasants faced monetary injustices and oppression from their lords during the 16th century which sparked revolts to occur in 1524. The peasants sought to overthrow the feudal system as they realized that they were being treated unjustly by their lords with the unsuitable compensation they were receiving for their labor and the heavy taxes that were being placed on them. Religious teachings such as of those of Martin Luther were also a motive behind the revolts. The primary causes of the German peasants’ revolts were based off of economic and religious factors. These revolts provoked many responses by figures of nobility and citizens that varied from disapproval to those of sympathy.
Martin Luther’s view on indulgences appears in many of his writings including Luther’s 95 Theses and The Statement of Grievances. Martin Luther believes that the Papacy should not have a role in collecting taxes, indulgences, or any ways of drawing income from the German nation. On number twenty-three in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther states “The brotherhoods, and for that matter, indulgences, letters of indulgences, and everything of that kind, should be snuffed out and brought to an end”. Martin Luther wants the German nation to get rid of indulgences since the indulgence sellings can harm the integrity of the church. Indulgences were not new to the German nation during the 16th century. Indulgences have been around for three centuries prior to 1520 even before Martin Luther’s Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation was published. With indulgences, the German nation pays for their sins to be forgiven. The church makes most of its profits from the public by selling these indulgences. In Carter Lindberg’s The European Reformation, Carter Lindberg states “An indulgence, then, drew on the treasure of the church to pay off the debt of the penitent sinner who would otherwise be obligated to pay off the penance by works of satisfaction either in life or in purgatory”. For example, in
Martin Luther was a friar very devoted to the Church but after analyzing all these aspects he decided to do something about it. On October 31, 1517 he attached to the door of Wittenberg Castle a list of 95 theses or propositions on indulgences. These theses criticized papal policies and were objections about he church put on hold for discussion.
During the Age of Reformation people were greatly against the abuses that existed in the Roman Catholic Church. A couple of abuses that were greatly stressed were the selling of indulgences, simony, and nepotism. It was some of these same abuses that prompted German reformist Martin Luther to write his 95 Theses. And for the Council of Trent to later address them in a series of meetings.
European society drastically changed from the 14th through the 16th centuries. The Thirty Year’s War was drastically significant to reformation and it winded great majority of European Powers involved in constant warfare. In times like these, struggles were of course inevitable, thus igniting a rebellion of religious controversy that eventually led to political complications, clashes between dominating powers, along with the raised spike of conflict due to greed. Wars of religion and the clash of worldviews also ignited rapid social changes along with a just as rapid rapid population increase; these reformations convicted the changes in religion, economic conditions, and the overall disposition of the populace were the main substantial factors