The Protestant Reformation And Catholic Reformation

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The Protestant Reformation and Catholic Reformation included various individuals who each had an impact throughout the 16th and 17th century. Such figures included Machiavelli, Pope Leo X, Henry VII, Martin Luther, and others contributed at this time also. Machiavelli wrote The Prince, a novel on political power on how a prince should use his authority. He dedicated his work of literature to the Medici family, specifically to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici . Machiavelli wrote The Prince at the time he was exiled from Italy which proves he took advantage of the time which made him an effective writer. In Machiavelli’s work he presents his beliefs of what an ideal prince should have as traits. Some qualities Machiavelli states are that man is flawed, a prince needs to be prepared for any circumstance, and a prince must be respected . Pope Leo X was a controversial figure at the time for his decision of selling indulgences. This action caused various consequences including the Protestant Reformation. Using Machiavelli’s theories, the statement “The Catholic Reformation was outwardly Machiavellian in its response to the Protestant Reformation while the actions of Protestants was implicitly Machiavellian” is valid when viewing Martin Luther, Henry VIII, and the Council of Trent.
Martin Luther established in 95 theses against the Catholic Church in reference to indulgences in October 1517. Lutheranism falls under the Protestant Reformation against the church however, any person who left the Catholic Church was known as a protestant. The corruption of the Church began when priests had concubines and the papacy required money. To make the Christians confident that they were forgiven of their sins the papacy began to sell indulgences...

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...sthetics when speaking about the Catholic Church. Martin Luther knew man was flawed with sin but implicitly is Machiavellian when Pope Leo X did not represent the proper aesthetics to meet the 5 qualities of being a prince. Henry VIII was also implicitly Machiavellian since he gained respect of Europe by breaking off from the papacy. This created fear amongst European countries as England was ruled all under one ruler. The Council of Trent was outwardly Machiavellian by being prepared for the Protestant Reformation and maintaining its political gain. With rewriting the Church doctrine the Council answered the Protestant’s criticism which led to the Vatican having more power of Europe. Overall, Machiavelli had an important impact to the way government was seen in the 16th and 17th century till today where his concepts apply to the modern day government.

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