Protestant Reformation Dbq

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The Protestant Reformation, a critical, strict development in the sixteenth century, driven by figures like Martin Luther, emphatically changed the direction of Western Christianity. The printing press, an invention that enabled the rapid dissemination of ideas, was fundamental to its success. This paper argues that without the printing press, the Reformation may not have succeeded. By contrasting Martin Luther's prosperity with that of prior reformers, for example, John Hus, the mechanical headways in correspondence assumed an essential part in the Reformation's effect. The printing press was developed by “Johann Gutenberg of Strasbourg and Mainz in the mid-1450s” (Noll, 1997, p. 174). The printing press made it possible to make texts in large …show more content…

John Hus, a Czech reformer, “who after agitating from the Prague pulpit for spiritual reforms and more local church autonomy, was lured to Constance by the offer of safe conduct” (Noll, 1997, p. 176). He called for a return to a faith that is more personal and based on scripture, criticized the clergy's moral lapses, and opposed the sale of indulgences. Hus’s “safe conduct was revoked, under the troubling principle that it was unnecessary to keep one’s word to a heretic” (Noll, 1997, p. 176). Hus's movement did not have the same broad appeal as Luther’s. To spread his ideas, Hus used handwritten manuscripts and oral dissemination. This restricted the range and speed at which his investigations could spread. The absence of a print machine implied his thoughts were restricted to a more modest geographic region and didn't accomplish the fast expansion that Luther's compositions did. While Hus gained critical help in Bohemia, his thoughts did not spread as well as Luther's, somewhat because of the restricted method for

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