The Reformation Begins
31.1 lntroduction
In the last chapter,you met 10 leadingfigures of the Renaissance.
At the height
westem Europewas still Roman Catholic. In this chapter,you
of the Renaissance,
will leam aboutthe beginningsof the Reformation. This historicmovement
led to the start of manv new Christianchurchesthat broke awav from the Catholic
Church.
The Reformationbeganin the early 1500sand lastedinto the 1600s.Until
therr,all Christiansin westernEurope were Catholics.But even before the
Reformation,the church'sreligious and moral authoritywas startingto weaken.
One reasonfor the weakeninsof the church was the humanismof the
Renaissance.
Humanistsoften were very secular(nonreligious)in their thinking. They believedin free thought
andquestionedmany acceptedbeliefs.
Problernswithin the church addedto this spirit of
questioning.Many Catholicswere dismayedby worldlinessand corruption(immoral and dishonestbehavior)
in thechurch.Bishops and clergy often seemeddevoted.
*-i
!
moreto comfort and good living than to servingGod.
Sometimes
they usedquestionablepracticesto raise
moneyfor the church. Somepopesseemedlnore concernedwith power and money than with spiritual matters.
Theseproblemsled a number of Catholicsto cry
outfor reform. They questionedthe authority of church
and someof the church'steachinss.Somebroke
from the churchentirelv.Thev becameknown
Protestants because
of theirprotestsagainst
CatholicChurch.The establishmentof Protesmnt
divided Christiansinto many separategroups.
In this chapter,you will learn more about the probthatweakenedthe Catholic Church.You'll meer
reformerswho tried to chansethe church.Then
will learn how a German priest, Martin Luther,
! the movementthat endedthe religious unity
ope.Finally,you'11read about other early leaders
Reformation.
The ReformationBegins 347
31.2The Weakening of the Catholic
indulgence a grantbythe
thatreleased
Catholic
Church
a person
frompunishment
for sins
s i m o n y t h eb u y i n ag n ds e l l i nogf
spiritual
or holythings
1fioPe
Wff,pe
Europeanmonarchs.
cluch a
plitical
problen
Worldliness and Gorruption Within the Church
theMiddleAges,theCatholicChurchunitedtheChristians
of
Europe in a single faith. But the church was a political and
institution as well as a religious one. By the 1300s,many Catholics
that the church had becomefar too worldlv and comrpt.
Too often, peoplewho were supposedlydedicatedto the church
failed to live up to their role as spiritual leaders.For example,priests,
monks, and nuns made vows, or solemnpromises,not to marry or
children.Yet many broke thesevows. Some seemedto ignore Christiaf.,T-i
e sa d ei t
T h es e l l i nogf i n d u l g e n cm
h e o p lceo u l db u y
s e e ma st h o u g p
forgiveness
fortheirsins.Thisand
practices
led
othermoneymaking
people
to distrust
thechurch.
valuesantl morals.Church leadersoften behavedlike royalty insteadoi ,
humble servantsof God. Popes,cardinals,and bishopslived in elegant
palacesand worejeweledrobes.
Peoplewere also troubledby the way many church officials tried
to get money to supportthe church. One practicewas the selling of
indulgences. An indulgencewas a releasefrom punishmentfor sins.
During the Middle Ages, the church grantedindulgencesin returnfor
gifts to the church and other good works.
Peoplewho receivedindulgencesdid not have
to perform good deedsto make up for their
sins. Over time, popesand bishopsbeganselling indulgencesas a way of raising money.This
practicemade it seemthat peoplecould buy
forgivenessfor their sins. Many Catholicswere
deeply disturbedby the abuseof indulgences.
The church also sold offices, or leadership
positions.This practiceis calledsimony.
Insteadof being chosentor their merit, buyers
simply paid for their appointments.Buying
6f4df--u
cbinred
Asl
theirov
conflicl
with th
therigl
offtces
otherP
Tht
ing of
led to
reputa
On
Franc
triedI
threal
respo
naPP'
soon
T
Clen
Avig
wer(
mOfl
now
lost
an office was worthwhile becauseit could be
a sourceof even more income. Often people
acquiredmultiple offices in different places
the
without actually going thereto perform their
Avi
duties.
ele,
Peoplequestionedother practicesas well.
Someclergy chargedpilgrirns to seeholy
on(
objects,suchas the relicsof saints.In addition.
all Catholicspaid taxesto the church. Many
peopleresentedhaving to pay taxesto Rome
as well as to their own sovernments.
348 Chapter31
Polil
By the Late Middle Ages, two major problemswere
the Catholic ChLrrch.The first was worldlinessand comrption
the church.The secondwas political conflict betweenthe pope
I
anl
cla
40
Ct
pe
ch
Political Conflicts with
European Rulers ln medievaltimes,
the pope becamea powerful political
figure as well as a religious leader.The
:lng
;ern
ric
s felt
I
)StS.
r have
ristian
.eadof
church also accurnulatedvast wealth.Its
political and economicpower presenteda
problemfor monarchs,becausethe church
claimed to be independentof their control.
As kings and queenstried to increase
their own power, they often came into
conflict with the pope.They quarreled
with the pope over church propertyand
the right to make appointmentsto church
ofices. Popesalso becameentangledin
otherpolitical conflicts.
[egant
Thesedisputesaddedto the questioning of the pope's authority.At times they
ried
led to scandalsthat damasedthe church's
reoutation.
;of
r sins.
m for
S.
lt have
heir
rn sellreY.This
I buY
ics were
;ences'
lershiP
lY.
buYers
yrrrg
uld be
eoPle
laces
I their
s weu'
oly
addrgoo
YanI:
One dramaticcrisis unfolded in
Francein 1301.When King Philip IV
tried to tax the French clergy, the pope
th'reatened
to excommunicatehim. In
response.
soldiershired by the king kidnappedthe pope.The elderly pope was
soonreleased.but he died a few weekslater.
The quarel with the king endedunder PopeClementV. In 1309,
Clementmoved his headquaftersfrom Rome to the Frenchcity of
. Avignon.He appointed24 new cardinalsduring his reign, 22 of whom
:" wereFrench.The next six popesalso lived in Avignon and namedstill
ttroreFrenchcardinals.Many Europeansbelievedthat France'skings
WhenPopeClement
V movedhis
fromltalyto France,
headquafters
quarrel
the
between
KingPhiliplV
andthepopeended.
lpw controlledthe papacy (the office of the pope).As a result, they
respectfor the pope as the supremeheadof the church.
An evenworse crisis developedafter PopeGregory XI moved
papacyback to Rome in 1377.The next year, Gregory died, and
Italianwas electedpope. The new pope refused to move back to
A group of cardinals,most of them French,left Rome and
a rival pope.The church now had two popes,one in Rome and
.tnAvignon.Later a church council electeda third pope.Each pope
to be the real head of the church.
division in the church is called the Great Schism.For nearly
papacy the office,or position,
of popeasheadof theCatholic
Church
the variouslines of popesdenouncedeachother as impostors.
weredivided and confused.The Great Schismlessened
:s respectfor the papacyand sparkedcalls for reform.
The ReformationBegins 349
31.3 Early Galls for Reform
As you have seen,by the 1300sthe church was beginningto loro**;,i
some of its moral and religious standing.Many Catholics, including
clergy, criticized the corruption and abusesthat plagued the church.
They challenged the authority of the pope. Some began to question
church teachingsand expressnew forms of Christian faith.
heresy beliefsthat contradict
of a religion
the officialteachings
onewhoholdssuch
or church;
beliefsis calleda heretic
teachings
doctrine theofficial
or church
of a religion
Reformers wanted to purify the church, not destroy it. By challenging the church's practices and teachings,however, they helpedpavethe
way for the dramatic changesof the Reformation. In this section,you
will meet four of theseearly reformers.
JohnWycliffe wasa
John Wycliffe (About 1330-1384)
scholarin England.Wycliffe challengedthe church'sright to money
that it demandedfrom England.when the Great Schismbegan,he
publicly questionedthe pope's authority.He also attackedindulgences
and immoral behavior on the part of the clergy'
During the Middle Ages, church offrcialstried to control interpretationsof the Bible. Wycliffe believedthat the Bible, not the church,
was the supremesourceof religious authority.Against churchtradition,
he had the Bible translatedfrom Latin into English so that common
peoplecouid read it.
The pope accusedwycliffe of heresy, or opinions that contradict
were persecuted,and someof
JanHuswasan earlyreformer church doctrine. wycliffe's followers
Priest
writings
ideasand them were burnedto death.After his death,the church had his
withWYcliffe's
whoagreed
burned.Despitethe church'sopposition,wycliffe's ideashad a wide
Forthis,he
thePoPe.
spokeagainst
wasburnedatthestakeas a heretic. influence.
'"rng'6nt;4'*-
"', **.do-r-r.rt
": Jttl
grestil
ffYctifl
fluscri
6uta9a
cburcb'
flus
poPle'
clerq!'
offered
ofLati
Inl
InIulY
Lik'
reform
suppor
Ca'
of Siet
devote
Event
Cal
about
pleasI
to Ror
Great
Ca
heral
lives t
mysti(
obser'
peoPl,
Dt
a hun
the m
In
mean
inclur
retun
Et
that l
vidui
corn
Cath
and
Jan Hus (About 1370-1415)
JanHus was a
priest in Bohemia (today's CzechRepublic).He read
Wycliffe's writings and agreedwith many of his ideas.
Hus criticized the vast wealth of the church and spoke
out againstthe pope's authority.The true headof the
church. he said. was JesusChrist.
)nge the
/ou
a
ey
t
,nces
prerch,
rdition,
ron
'adict
ne of
vritings
wide
Hus wanted to purify the church and return it to the
people.He called for an end to comrption among the
clergy.He wantedboth the Bible and the massto be
offered in the common languageof the peopleinstead
of Latin.
In 1414,Hus was arrestedand chargedwith heresy.
ln July 1415,he was burnedat the stake.
Like Wycliffe, Hus had a major influence on future
reformers.Martin Luther would later say that he and his
supporterswere "all Hussiteswithout knowing it."
Catherine of $iena (1347-13801 Catherine
of Sienawas an Italian mystic. She was extraordinarily
devotedand felt that shehad a direct experienceof God.
Evenas a child, shehad visionsof Jesusand promisedto be his "bride."
Catherinespentlong hoursdeepin prayerand wrote many letters
aboutspirituallife. Shealsoinvolvedherselfin churchaffairs.Her
pleashelpedconvincePopeGregoryXI to move the papacyback
priestErasmus
of Holland
Catholic
perperhaps
was
the mostinfluential
sonin spreading
theideasof reform
beforethe Reformation.
to Rome from Avignon. Later she traveled to Rome to try to end the
GreatSchism.
Catherinewas a faithful Catholic, and in 1461the church declared
hera saint.Yet her exampleshowedthat peoplecould lead spiritual
livesthat went beyond the usual nonns of the church. She and other
mysticsemphasizedpersonalexperienceof God more than formal
observanceof church practices.This approachto faith helped prepare
peoplefor the ideas of the Reformation.
Desiderius Erasmus {1466-15361 Desiderius
Erasmus
was
,humanist
from Holland.A priestanddevotedCatholic,he wasoneof
mystic a personwho is
to religion
andhas
devoted
experiences
spiritual
most outspokenfigures in the call for reform.
In 1509,Erasmuspublisheda book called The Praise of Folly. (Folly
"foolishness.")The book was a sharplyworded satireof society,
udingabusesby clergy and church leaders.Erasmusarguedfor a
to simple Christiangoodness.
Erasmuswanted to reform the church from within. He ansrilv denied
he was really a Protestant.Yet perhapsmore than any other indihe helped to prepareEurope for the Reformation. His attackson
in the church contributedto many people'sdesireto leave
ism. For this reasonit is often said that "Erasmuslaid the egg,
r hatchedit."
The ReformationBegins 351
31.4 Martin Luther
Away from the Ghu
By the early 1500s,there was
able turmoil in the church.In Ge
part of the Holy Roman Empire, a p1j
namedMartin Luther becameinvolved
a seriousdisputewith church authoriti
Condemnedby the church, Luther brokd
away and began the first Protestantc
The Reformationhad besun.
Luther's Early Life Lutherwas
in Germanyin 1483.Raisedas a devout i,.T,ifff
Catholic, he planned acareerin law. A, a .* t
young man, he was badly frightenedwhen
he was caughtin a violent thunderstorm.
As
lighting flashedaroundhim, he vowed thatif
he survived,he would becomea monk.
Luther kept his promiseand joined an
order of monks. Later he becamea priest.
He studiedthe Bible thoroughly and earned
a reputationas a scholarand teacher.
Luther Pushes for Change in the
Like many Christians
Catholic Church
of his time, Luther askedthe question,"What
must I do to be saved?"The church stressed
Luther
nailedhislistof 95arguments, that keeping the sacramentsand living a good life were the keys to
salvation.Luther's studiesof the Bible led him to a different answer.
to a
Theses,
calledtheNinety-Five
No one, he believed,could earn salvation.Instead,salvationwas a gift
churchdoorin Wittenberg.
Church
leaders
condemned
theideasin this
document.
from God that peoplereceivedin faith. People,he said, were savedby
their faith, not good works.
Luther's views broughthim into conflict with the church over
In 1517,PopeLeo X neededmoneyto finish building
indulgences.
St. Peter's,the grand cathedralin Rome. He sentpreachersaround
Buyerswerepromisedpardonsof all of
Europeto sell indulgertces.
their sins and thoseof friends and family. Luther was outraged.He
felt that the church was selling false salvationto uneducatedpeople.
Luther posteda list of arguments,called theses,againstindulgences
and church abuseson the church door in the town of Wittenberg.He
also sent the list, called the Ninety-Five Theses,to church leaders.
Luther's thesescausedconsiderablecontroversy.Many peoplewere
excitedby his ideas,while the church condemnedthem. Gradually,he
with church authorities.
was drawn into more seriousdisagreements
In responseto critics,Luther publishedpamphletsthat explainedhis
thinking. He arguedthat the Bible-not the pope or churchleaders-was
352 Chapter31
Filirnal'
satd,were
bas
badno
I
a[ should
'4d the el
In the e
tl
mrthsof
ed(nolon:
pressured.
In APn
in
leaders,
backhis tt
andforbat
wentinto
Luthe
asa hero'
Soonhe I
asLuther'
translated
mass'anc
Havin
princestc
therebelt
nomicch
therulers
Germanl
churchg
risingwi
of peasa
Many pe
Sevel
Luther,i
t0 grow.
Lutherat
at war i]
warsen
of Angs
eachprr
Empire
of his s
The
Christii
learn n,
sprung
aks
idery, then
est
din
ies.
rke
hurch.
rasborn
/out
,Asa
when
orm. As
ed that if
,nk.
ed an
priest.
J earned
rf.
r in the
)hristians
,on,"What
r stressed
.eysto
answer.
wasa gift
savedbY
)ver
rilding
round
fa[of
)d.He
PeoPle'
rddgences
rcrg.He
aders. I
>oPle
duallY'
the uitimate sourceof religious authority.The only true sacraments,he
said.were baptismand the Eucharist.The church'sother five sacraments
had no basisin the Bible. Moreover,all Christianswere priests,and
iill should study the Bible for themselves."Faith alone," Luther wrote,
"and the efficacious[effective] use of the word of God bring salvation."
In the eyesof church leaders,Luther was attackingfundamental
denomination a particular
grouping
religious
withina larger
faith;for example,
theLutheran
churchis a denomination
of
Christianity
truthsof the Catholicreligion.In January1521,he was excolnmunicated (no longerallowedto be a memberof the church).The churchalso
pressuredthe authoritiesin Germanyto silencehim once and for all.
In April, Luther was brought before the Diet, an assemblyof state
leaders,in the city of Worms.At the risk of his life, he refusedto take
back his teachings.The Holy Roman emperordeclaredLuther a heretic
anclforbadethe printing or selling of his writings. For a time Luther
went into hiding. But the movementhe had startedcontinuedto spread.
Luther Starts His Own Ghurch Many Germanssaw Luther
as a hero.As his popularity grew, he continuedto develophis ideas.
Soonhe was openlyorganizinga new Christiandenomination known
asLutheranisrn.The new church emphasizedstudy of the Bible. Luther
translatedthe Bible into German.He also wrote a baptismservice,a
mass.and new hymns (sacredsongs)in German.
Having rejectedthe church'shierarchy,Luther looked to German
princesto supporthis church.When a peasants'revolt broke out in 1524, At theDietof Worms.
Charles
V
therebelsexpectedLuther to supporttheir demandsfor social and eco- declared
Luther
a heretic
andforbade
nomicchange.Instead,Luther denouncedthe peasantsand sided with
theprinting
of hiswritings.
therulers.He neededthe help of
Germany's
rulersto keephis new
churchgrowing. By the time the uprisingwas crushed,tens of thousands
of peasants
had beenbrutally killed.
ManypeasantsrejectedLutheranism.
Severalprinces,however,supported
Luther,and Lutheranismcontinued
to grow.Over the next 30 vears.
ns and Catholicswere often
war in Germany.Thesereligious
endedin 1555with the Peace
Augsburg.According to this treaty,
Princewithin the Holy Roman
could determinethe relision
subjects.
Peaceof Augsburgwas a major victory for Protestantism.
unlty was at an end, and not only in Germany.As you will
next,by this tirne a numberof other Protestantchurcheshad
uPin northernEurope.
The ReformationBegins 353
31.5 Other Early Leaders
of the Reformation
The movementbegunby Martin Luther soon sweptacross
of Europe.Many people who were dismayedby abusesin the
remainedloyal Catholics.Others,however,were attractedto
of the Christianfaith. The printing pfess helpedspreadnew i
well as translationsof the Bible, fasterthan ever before.In
governmentleadershad learnedfrom Luther's experiencethat
could win religious independencefrom the church.The Ref
succeededmost where rulers embracedProtestantfaiths.
Many reformerscontri
the spreadof Protestantism.
take a look at four earlv
of the Reformation.
Huldrych Zwingli
(4a4--15311 Huldrych
Zwingli wasa Catholicpriestin
Zurich, Switzerland.Zwingli was
influencedby both Erasmusand
Luther.After readingLuther's
work, he persuadedthe local
government to ban any form of
worship that was not basedon the
Bible. In 1523,Zuich declaredits
independencefrom the authority
of the local Catholic bishop.
Booksellers
helped
to spread
the
ideasoftheBeformation
by selling
booksandpamphlets
in public
marketplaces.
Zw ingli wantedChristians
to fbcus solely on the Bible.
He attackedthe worship of relics, saints,and images.In Zwinglian
churches,there were no religious statuesor paintings.Serviceswere
very simple,withoutmusicor singing.
Zwingli took his ideasto otherSwisscities.In 1531,war broke
out betweenhis followers and Swiss Catholics.Zwinsli died in the
war, but the new church lived on.
John Calvin (1509-15641
In the late 1530s,JohnCalvin,
a Frenchhumanist,startedanotherProtestantbranchin Geneva,
Switzerland.His book, Institutesof the Christian Religion, became
one of the most influential works of the Reformation.
Calvin emphasizedthat salvationcame only from God's grace.He
said that the "saved" whom God elected(chose)lived accordingto
strict standards.He believedfirmly in hard work and thrift (the careful
useof money).Successin business,he taught,was a sign of God's
grace,Calvin tried to establisha Christian statein Genevathat would
be ruled by God through the Calvinist Church.
354 Chapter
31
I
f
much
church
rew forms
,eas,as
dition,
t theY
'mation
Calvin influencedmany other reformers.
One of them was John Knox, a Scotsman
who lived in Genevafor a time. Knox led
the Protestantreform that establishedthe
PresbyterianChurch in Scotland.
King Henry Vlll (1491-15471
England'sProtestantReformationwas led
by King Henry VIII. In 1534,Henry formed
the Churcli of England(also called the
Anglican Church), with himself as its head.
tributedttr
ism.Let's
' leaders
ti
fch
priestin
wingli was
smus and
,uther's
: local
r form of
rasedon the
declaredits
: authoritY
rishop.
rristians
Bible.
vinglian
ices were
u broke
:d in the
Unlike Luther and Calvin, King Henry
did not have major disagreements
with
Catholicteachings.His reasonsfor breaking
rvith the church were personaland political.
On a personallevel. he wantedto end his
first mariage, but the pope had deniedhim a divorce.On a political
level,he no longer wantedto sharepower and wealth with the
church.In 1536,Henry closeddown Catholicmonasteries
in
Englandand took their riches.
WilliamTyndale (About 1491-15361 William Tyndale
wasan English priest,scholar,and writer. Tyndaletraveledto
Germanyand met Martin Luther. His views becamemore and more
Protestant.He attackedcorruption in the Catholic Church and
defendedthe English Reformation.After being arrestedby Catholic
authoritiesin the city of Antwerp (in present-dayBelgium), he spent
overa year in prison. In 1536,he was burned at the stake.
Tyndalewas especiallyimportant for his translationsof books
fromtheBible. To spreadknowledgeof the Bible, he translatedthe
NewTestament, and partsof the Old Testament, into English.
In theearly 1600s,his work was usedin the preparationof the King
Iames,or Authorized, Version of the Bible. Fameclfor its beautiful
language,
the King JamesBible had an enorrnousinfluenceon
Writerandscholar
Tyndale
was
burnedat thestakefor hisProtestant
views.
New Testament the second
partof theChristian
Bible,
which
includes
theGospels
andother
writings
of theearlyChristian
church
Old Testament thefirstpartof
theChristian
Bible,corresponding
to theJewishBible
lnglish worship and lirerature.
r Calvin'
ieneva'
, became
's glace:
ording
t (the
of
r that
The ReformationBegins 355