Unit 2 Lecture Notes 1 Conditions of the Church 14

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Unit 2 Lecture Notes
Chapter 14: Reformation (p. 453-484)
I. Conditions of the Church 14th – 16th Centuries
A. Conflicts within the Church
1. Babylonian Captivity
2. Great Schism
a. damaged the prestige of the church.
3. Conciliar Movement
a. reflected the educate public’s opinion about a need for reforming the church.
4. Christian Humanist
a. Machiavelli – The Prince (corruption within government and society was caused by
the corruption within the Church)
b. Desiderius Erasmus – The Praise of Folly (condemned the absurd
superstitions of clergy and excessive rituals of monks)
B. Signs of Disorder (16th Century)
1. Three Disorders (Focus of criticisms)
1) clerical immorality
2) clerical ignorance
3) clerical pluralism & Absenteeism
* Pressure for moral and administrative reform
2. Clerical Immorality
a. Priesthood required a life of celibacy (difficult to enforce & often ignored)
b. Drunkenness, gambling, secular lifestyle
3. Clerical neglect
a. Illiteracy of clergy
b. Dilapidated churches and parishes
c. absenteeism (church officials neglecting to visit and monitor their parishes &
priest)
d. Pluralism
1) Officials neglected spiritual responsibilities of their office & instead collected
revenues and hired poor priest (paid low wages)
 Thomas Wolsey (Archbishop of York) “15yrs. before entering his own
diocese”
 Antoine du Prat (Archbishop of Sens) “first time he entered his Cathedral
was at his own funeral”
e. Nationalistic Resentment: Italian church officials collected revenues from diocese all over Europe
with only a small fraction of that money going to where it was intended for.
4. Secular emphasis in the offices of church officials
a. Secular offices: Most church served in various government positions throughout the monarchies of
Europe – jobs that had no spiritual emphasis or purpose.
b. Papal Abuses:
1) Pius II, Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII – used papal power & wealth to advance the material
interest of their own families.
2) Alexander VI (Rodigio Borgia) – became synonymous with moral corruption
C. Signs of Vitality within the Church
1. Calls for reform within the church (15th & 16th centuries)
a. Spain: Cardinal Francisco visited his monasteries encouraging monks to uphold
rules and to set high standards.
b. Holland: Brethren of the Common Life – Group that focused on living a lifestyle that
imitated the life of Christ, focused on educating future clergy (priest)
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c. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis – A book that urged
Christians to take Christ as their model and seek perfection in a simple way of life.
d. Papal Reform
1) Pope Julius II – summoned a Ecumenical Council (1512 – 1517)
i. The Council recommended higher educational standards for clergy, placed
responsibility for eliminating bureaucratic corruption on Papacy suggesting
doctrinal reforms.
II. Martin Luther (1483 – 1546)
A. Early Life & Education of Martin Luther
1. Youth
a. Born 1483: Eisleben in Saxony, son of a copper miner who became a mine owner.
b. Educated at University of Erfurt: Earned a Master’s Degree with distinction @ 21 yrs. of age.
2. Priesthood
a. Augustinian Friar: Entered the monastery in 1505 – ordained a priest in 1507.
b. Doctorate in b.Theology: Earned a doctorate in Theology and became a professor of Theology at
the University of Wittenberg where he taught for the remainder of his life (1512 – 1546)
B. Reformation
1. Luther’s Doubts
a. Anxiety about sin & abilities to meet God’s demands led Luther to doubt the monastic
life.
1) Church had taught that the monastic life was a certain road to salvation.
2) John Staupitz directed Martin Luther to the study of Saint Paul’s Letters. (Pauline Letters)
b. Luther developed a new understanding: Luther came to believe that
salvation comes NOT through external observances and penance, but through a simple faith in Christ.
1) Faith - means by which God sends humanity his grace (a free gift that can NOT be earned)
2. The Ninety-Five Theses
a. Pluralism of the archbishop Albert:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Beneficies included Magdeburg, Halberstadt, and Mainz by the age 27.
Beneficies required dispensation (monetary compensation for being rewarded an office)
Pope Leo X: construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica required greater funds.
Archbishop Albert: borrowed money from the Fugger banking family from the Netherlands to pay
dispensation to Pope Leo X.
5) Pope Leo X: authorized Albert to sell indulgences in Germany to repay the Fuggers.
b. Archbishop Albert hired Dominican Friar John Tetzel
1) Exploited the sell of indulgences by creating a marketing schem
* Slogan “as soon as coin in coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs”
2) Frederick of Saxony: Forbade the sell of indulgences within his duchy.
(woodcut pg. 455)
c. Indulgences
(Temporal Power - earthly powers of the church)
1) Catholic Theology –“ Individuals who sin alienate themselves from God & his love to be reconciled with God – the sinner must confess his or her
sins to a priest and do the penance assigned.
2) Doctrine of Indulgences rested on 3 principles:
a. God is merciful, but he is also just.
b. Christ and Saints, through their infinitive virtue established “Treasury of Merits”
on which the church, through its special relationship with Christ & the Saints, can
draw.
c. The Church has the authority to grant sinners the spiritual benefits of those merits.
* People widely believed that an indulgence secured remission of penalties for sin – swift
entry into heaven.
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d. Luther’s criticism (Oct. 31, 1517)
1) Luther prepared a list of criticisms of the sell of indulgences be practiced by John Tetzel and the
Archbishop of Mainz.
i. Ninety-Five Theses posted on the doors of the Cathedral at the U. of Wittenberg.
2) Luther argued that the sell of indulgences undermined the seriousness of the sacrament of
penance, completed with the preaching of the Gospel, downplayed the importance of charity in
Christian Life.
e. Response & Reaction to the Ninety-Five Theses
1) The Church & the Papacy:
i. “to deny the legality of indulgences was to deny the authority of the pope who
had authorized them.”
ii. condemned Luther’s positions, ordered his books burned, and gave Martin 2
months to recant or be excommunicated.
2) Debate b/w John Eck and Martin Luther at Leipzig – Martin Luther denied the authority of the pope
and the infallibility of a general council.
3) 1521 – Revolution spread throughout Germany.
4) Diet at Worms (an assembly of the Estates of the empire) – Summoned by Charles V – where he
ordered Luther to appear and recant his charges.
i. Luther refused to attend and was declared an outlaw (denied legal protection)
ii. Duke Frederick of Saxony offered Luther protection living at his manor.
(Picture: pg. 454)
5) Diet of Speyer (1529) – German princes who supported Martin Luther by protesting
the responses of the church. (Protest = Protestantism)
f.
Ulrich Zwingli: Swiss humanist who introduced the reformation in Switzerland.
Elected People’s Priest at the new ministry in Zurich (Jan. 1, 1519)
i. Preachers who were selected and paid by the community to preach from the New
Testament written by Erasmus (A to Z)
ii. Zwingli was convinced that Christian life rested on the scriptures (“pure words of God”)
iii. Attacked indulgences, the Mass, the institution of monasticism, and clerical celibacy.
1) Disagreed with Luther about the Eucharist:
i. The Colloquy of Marburg (1529) –
* Debate between Martin Luther & Zwingli - summoned to unite Protestant opinion – but failed
to resolve differences. (primary issue: Eucharist)
III. Protestant Theology
A. Luther’s basic theological tenets based on his answers to 4 old theological questions:
1. How is a person to be saved?
Church: Salvation is achieved by both faith and good works.
Luther: Salvation is achieved from faith alone.
2. Where does religious authority reside?
Church: authority rests both in the bible and traditional teachings of the church.
Luther: authority rests in the word of God as revealed in the Bible alone and
as interpreted by an individuals conscious.
3. What is the Church?
Church: identified the church with the clergy.
Luther: re-emphasized the Catholic teaching that the church consists of the
entire community of Christian believers.
4. What is the highest form of Christian life?
Church: stressed the superiority of the monastic and religious life over the secular.
Luther: all vocations have equal merit (ecclesiastic or secular) every person
should serve God in his or her own way. (Painting pg.458)
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B. Eucharist
1. Catholic Church: Transubstantiation – consecrating words of the priest during
Mass turned bread and wine to the flesh and blood of Christ.
2. Luther: Consubstantiation – after consecration the bread and wine undergo a spiritual
change not a physical one (the presence of Christ)
3. Zwingli: Lord’s supper is a memorial of the Last Supper – NO change during consecration
4. Calvin: Body and blood of Christ are spiritually present – but nor physically present in the
bread and wine.
IV. Social Impact of Luther’s Beliefs
A. Two Developments during the Middle Ages
1. Resentment of clerical privileges & immunities:
a. No taxes, exempt from civic responsibilities, held large amounts of urban property.
2. Condemnation of irregularity & poor quality of sermons:
a. Preacherships (preachers of superior education hired by prosperous Burghers to deliver a
set number of sermons for a 45 minute segment)
B. Peasant Revolts
1. Luther’s writing: On Christian Liberty (1520)
a. “a Christian man is the most free lord of all and subject to none.” – inspired German peasants to
revolt against the ecclesiastical lords and wealthy land lords.
2. Swabian Peasants: Twelve Articles
a. German Peasant Revolt: listed grievances against the church and land lords who committed
abuses that were compounded by the agrarian crisis of the 16th century.
3. Luther’s criticism of the peasant uprisings:
a. Against the Murderous Thieving Hordes of Peasant: Luther claimed that “The freedom of
Christians was to the freedom to obey the word of God and NOT to deny the authority of the state / government.
4. Luther’s Theology:
a. exalted the state, subordinated the church to the state & everywhere championed – the powers
that be”
5. Influence of Luther’s words in Germany
a. Luther advocated a simpler, personal religion based on faith.
b. a return to the spirit of the early church & the centrality of the scripture in the liturgy and the
Christian life.
c. translation of the New Testament in German – established the official German dialect.
d. Works included catechisms, hymes, and the popular way of spreading Lutheranism.
e. Printing Press ( developed in Germany by Johan Gutenberg) – technology was used widely throughout
Germany = resulted in the mass circulation of Luther’s writings.
(Painting pg. 457)
C. Impact on Women
1. abolition of monasteries in Protestant territories led to the exaltation of the
home – emphasis on the role of the wife.
2. abolition of private confessions freed women of embarrassing explorations
of their sex lives.
3. Protestant schools educate girls and boys.
4. Allowed priest to marry – legitimizing relationships that existed b/w priest
and mistresses. (Woodcut pg.460)
a. Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora
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V. Habsburg Dynasty & the Holy Roman Empire
A. Holy Roman Empire
1. Golden Bull of 1356: Legalized the long existing government by aristocratic federation.
a. 7 Electors: 1) Archbishop of Mainz, 2) Archbishop of Trier, 3) Archbishop of Cologne,
4) Margrave of Brandenburg, 5) Duke of Saxony, 6) Count Palatine of the Rhine,
7) King of Bohemia. – elect the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
b. This agreement ended disputed elections in the Empire & reduced the central authority of the
emperor.
B. Habsburg Dynasty
1. 1477: Marriage of Maximilian I (Habsburg) to Mary of Burgundy (Duchy in
France and the Netherlands)
a. Joined rich Burgundian lands in France and the Netherlands to the lands of the Habsburgs in
Austria and the Holy Roman Empire.
b. Marriage was used politically to determine the diplomatic status of states.
c. The marriage angered Louis XI and France when the Habsburgs gained control of the Burgundy.
d. Treaty of Arras (1482): settled disputed b/w France and the Habsburgs by declaring French Burgundy a
part of the Kingdom of France.
i. Habsburgs never renounce claim to French Burgundy which Louis XI was not able to fully
subjugate.
ii. German princes who resented Austria’s pre-eminence recognized that they shared a common
interest with France.
C. Charles V (1500 – 1558)
1. Family lineage:
(Chart pg.463)
a. Maximilian & Mary = Philip of Burgundy + Joanna of Casitle = Ferdinand & Isabella
|
Charles V
2. Inheritance of Charles V
a. Mom = Spain, possessions in the New World, Spanish dominions in Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Naples
b. Dad = Habsburg lands in Austria, South Germany, Low Countries, Franche-Comte
c. Charles V Empire: diverse collection of states and peoples, governed in different manners, and
held together by the emperor.
d. Last Medieval Emperor - Charles believed that “God had set him on the path toward world monarchy.”
i. convinced it was his duty to maintain political and religious unity of Western Christendom.
e. 1519 – Charles secured the Imperial title of emperor
f. 1st Diet at Worms (1521): Charles ignored government reforms proposed by German electorates
and established himself as the uncontested authority.
(Map pg.464)
VI. Political Impact of Luther’s Beliefs
A. Religion and the state
1. Religious practice
a. Everyone participated in the religious life of the community.
b. Emperor, King, Prince, or Magistrate – determined the official form of religious practice within their
jurisdiction.
c. Common belief – presence of a different faith was believed to be a political threat to the security of
the state.
e. Anti-Roman sentiment ran high & Luther’s translation of the New Testament evoked a national pride.
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B. Luther’s words
1. Appeal to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation
a. unless the princes destroyed papal power in Germany – reform was impossible.
b. urged princes to confiscate ecclesiastical wealth and to abolish indulgences, dispensations,
pardons, and clerical celibacy.
c. He told them that it was their public duty to bring about the moral reform of the church.
d. Luther’s appeal to German patriotism gained him strong support, and a national feeling
motivated princes indifferent to religion to act on behalf of Luther.
C. Secular motivation of Protestant Princes
1. Legal confiscation of lush farmlands, rich monasteries, and wealthy shrines.
D. Wars of Charles V
1. 5 times from 1521 – 1555, Charles V went to war with the Valois Kings in France
2. French foreign policy 16th & 17th centuries to keep the German states divided
( Habsburg – Valois Wars )
3. Peace of Augsburg (1555) Each prince was permitted to determine his territory’s religion.
4. Most of northern & central Germany became Lutheran.
(Painting pg.466)
VII. Growth of the Protestant Reformation
A. Calvinism
1. John Calvin (1509 – 1564)
a. Born in Noyon in northwestern France
b. Studied law & converted to Protestantism in 1533 when he suffered from a religious crisis.
2. Believed God selects certain people to do his work & that God has
specifically selected him to reform the church.
a. 1536 – wrote The Institutes of the Christian Religion – embodied Calvin’s theology.
b. 1541 - he accepted an invitation to assist in the reformation of the city of Geneva.
c. Calvin wanted to establish a Christian society ruled by God through civil magistrates and
reformed ministers – the model of a Christian community for 16th cen. protestant reformers.
(Painting pg.467)
3. Calvin’s Theology:
a. cornerstone was the belief in the absolute sovereignty and omnipotence of God and the total
weakness of humanity.
b. did NOT subscribe free will to human beings b/c that would detract from the sovereignty of God.
c. Predestination: The belief that men & women cannot actively work to achieve salvation; rather
God in his infinite wisdom decided at the beginning of time who would be
saved and who damned (the elect)
d. The Calvinist believed in the redemptive work of Christ and was confident that God had elected
(saved) him or her.
4. Geneva, Switzerland:
a. God’s laws and man’s were enforced in Geneva.
b. Genevan Catechisms (1541) – children and adults memorized set questions and answers and
acquired a summary of their faith and a guide for daily living.
c. Theocracy – a government ruled by a religion.
i. Genevan Consistory: body of government that existed of 12 laymen plus the company of
Pastors, of which Calvin was a permanent member.
ii. The duties of the Consistory were “to keep watch over every man’s life – and to admonish
amiably those who they see leading a disorderly life.”
iii. Strict punishment for criminal and religious violations.
1) Spanish humanist – Michael Servetus was convicted and burned at the stake for his
belief that a person is incapable of a mortal sin before the age of 21 – threat to civic peace.
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B. Impact of Calvinism:
1. Refugees from Spain, France, England, Scotland and Italy visited Geneva taking the theology of
Calvinism back to their homelands.
a. Presbyterian Church in Scotland
b. Huguenot Church in France
c. Puritan Church in England and New England.
2. Benefits for women:
a. Congressional participation and vernacular liturgy helped satisfy the desire of women to belong
to and participate in a meaningful church organization.
b. Protestant’s exalted marriage – considered an outlet for a woman’s sexual urges.
c. most women prayed, recited the catechism, and read the Bible with their children.
C. The Anabaptist “to baptize again”
1. Believed that only adults could make a free choice about religious faith,
baptism, and entry into the Christian community.
2. Anabaptist theological beliefs:
a. Took the gospel and Luther’s teaching absolutely literally and favored a return to the kind of church that they
thought had existed among earliest Christians.
b. Only a few people would receive the inner light - a voluntary association of believers.
c. Believed in religious toleration. (Separation of Church & State)
3. Anabaptist Church & Community
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
each Anabaptist community was entirely independent of other Anabaptist churches.
admitted women to the ministry.
shared goods as early Christians had done.
refused all public offices and service in the armed forces.
good deeds were a sign of Christian faith & to imitate the meekness and mercy of Christ.
D. The English Reformation
1. 14th century: Lollards – stressed the individual’s reading and interpretation
of the Bible, influenced English middle-class.
a. didn’t value the sacraments and were vigorously anti-clerical.
b. opposed ecclesiastical wealth, the veneration of the saints, prayers for the dead, and all war.
2. Introduction of the Reformation in England
a. English humanist William Tyndale visited Luther at Wittenberg in 1524 – year later he began
printing an English translation of the New Testament.
b. The New Translation reached England through Dutch traders and were distributed by Lollards.
3. Principle Reason for the Reformation in England:
a. 1527 – Henry VIII wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled so he could marry
Anne Boleyn.
1) Henry had already received dispensation from Pope Julius II who eliminated all legal
technicalities about Catherine’s previous marriage with Henry’s dead brother Arthur.
2) Henry petitioned Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage to Catherine.
3) To allow Henry to divorce Catherine based on the argument that the marriage was never
official – would be to show the fallibility of the Papacy to the Luther and his followers.
b. Henry removed the English church from papal jurisdiction & used the Parliament to legalize the
Reformation in England.
1) The Act in Restraint of Appeals (1533) – declared the king to be the supreme sovereign
in England and forbade judicial appeals to the papacy, thus establishing the Crown as the
highest legal authority in the land.
2) The Act of the Submission of the Clergy (1534) – required churchmen to submit to the
king and forbade the publication of ecclesiastical laws without royal permission.
3) The Supremacy Act (1534) – declared the king the supreme head of the Church of
England.
* Thomas More was behead along with others who refused to pledge the Oath of Supremacy.
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4. Henry VIII (r.1509 -1547)
a. Married Six times, having wives executed or marriages annulled that did not produce male heirs.
b. 1536: Anne Boleyn was put to death when she was charged with adulterous incest.
1) Divorces of Catherine & Anne Boleyn resulted in the illegitimizing of daughters Mary & Elizabeth.
c. 1535 – 1539: under the advisement of Thomas Cromwell - Henry VIII dissolved the English monasteries for
their wealth.
d. Former church properties were sold to middle & upper classes and proceeds were spent on war.
1) didn’t result in a more equitable distribution of land and wealth.
2) did strengthen the upper classes and tied them to the Tudor dynasty.
e. 1536 – Pilgrimage of Grace: massive multi-class rebellion towards Henry VIII’s religious
reforms. Ended with the execution of rebellion leaders in 1546.
f. 1547 – Henry VIII convinced Parliament to reverse the 1536 decision – replacing daughters:
Mary & Elizabeth in line of the throne.
E. The Church of England & the State
1. Church was nationalized under the direct leadership of the King.
a. Theologically the Church of England retained: confession, clerical celibacy, transubstantiation
b. Created a new bureaucratic system of government to replace the monastic system that was dissolved and
liquidated.
c. Thomas Cromwell reformed and centralized the kings household, the council, secretariats, and
the Exchequer.
1) Reorganized the finances of the government by funneling surplus funds into a liquid fund that
could be applied to areas where there were deficits.
2. Edward VI (r.1547 – 1553) – sickly son of Henry VIII who was educated by
Lutheran Humanist scholars.
a. Protestant influence on the state: Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
1) wrote Book of Common Prayer : became the order for all services of the Church of
England.
3. Mary Tudor (r.1553 – 1558) – daughter of Catherine of Aragon
a. Devout Catholic who rescinded the Reformation legislation of her father’s reign and fully restored
Roman Catholicism.
b. Unpopular queen who married her cousin Philip II (son of Charles V)
4. Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603) – Daughter of Anne Boleyn and raised as a Protestant.
a. Settled disputes between Catholics and Reformist by taking a middle road that adopted portions of
both religions. (politique)
b. Titled herself: “Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Ect.” – allowing people to have their own
religious beliefs as long as they kept quiet about it.
c. Elizabethan Settlement: Required outward conformity in all ceremonies. Everyone had to attend Church of
England services or be penalized by a fine.
i. 1563: Thirty-nine Articles which summarized the basic tenets of the Church of England.
ii. Angelican Church: Latin translation of the Church of England
b) moved in a Protestant direction progressively throughout Elizabeth’s reign.
c) Services were conducted in English (vernacular language), monasteries were NOT reestablished, clergy were allowed to marry.
d) Remained Catholic in that it maintained the episcopate, Bishops as church officials, and
services were in the traditional Catholic form.
F. Church of Scotland: Presbyterianism
1. Established by John Knox (1505 – 1572)
a. 1559: Knox returned to Scotland after working and studying with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland.
b. 1560: Scottish Parliament enacted legislation ending papal authority and abolishing Catholic
Mass.
c. Presbyterian Church of Scotland (modeled after Calvinist Geneva) – named after the Presbyters
or ministers who would govern the church in the place of the bishops.
e. 1564: Knox wrote the Book of Common Order – which became the liturgical directory for the
church.
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VIII.
Counter Reformation / Catholic Reformation
A. Council of Trent
1. Called by Pope Paul III to reform the church and to secure reconciliation with the
Protestants & sought to initiate institutional reform
a. Protestants refused to attend unless the scriptures were the sole basis for
discussion making reconciliation impossible.
b. The Council met from 1545 – 1563
B. Achievements of the Council of Trent
1. The church gave equal validity to the scriptures and to tradition as sources of religious
truth and authority.
2. reaffirmed the 7 sacraments and the traditional teachings on transubstantiation.
3. Trident Decrees
a. required bishops to reside in their diocese.
b. ended pluralism, simony, and absenteeism.
c. forbade the sell of indulgences.
d. jurisdiction of Bishops over all the clergy of their diocese was made absolute
- requiring Bishops to visit the churches within their diocese at least every
two years.
e. required every diocese to establish a seminary for the education and training of the
clergy.
f. Trident Decree of Tametsi – required a priest to be witness to a marriage for
it to be official.
C. New Religious Orders
1. Ursuline Order of nuns
a. founded by Angela Merici in 1535 – to combat heresy through Christian education
b. first women’s religious order concentrating exclusively on teaching young girls
1) sought to re-Christianize society by training future wives and mothers
2. Jesuits (the Society of Jesus)
a. founded by Ignatius Loyola – wrote Spiritual Exercises (1548): directed the
individual imagination and will to the reform of life and a new spiritual piety
b. played a powerful international role in resisting the spread of Protestantism,
converting Asians and Latin American Indians to Catholicism, and spreading
Christian education all over Europe
c. as confessors and spiritual directors to kings, Jesuits exerted great political influence
D. The Congregation of the Holy Office
1. established by Pope Paul III in 1542 – with jurisdiction over the Roman Inquisition
a. Inquisition: committee of six cardinals with judicial authority over all Catholics
1) power to arrest, imprison, and execute
2. published the Index of Prohibited books a catalogue of forbidden reading which
Catholics should NOT read.
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Chapter 15: Religious Wars (p. 489-502/ 512-524)
FRQ: What were the causes and consequences of the religious wars in France,
the Netherlands, and Germany?
I.
Politics & Religion replace Dynastic War
A. Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559)
1. Ended the Habsburg-Valois Wars
a. France acknowledged Spain’s dominance in Italy where the wars were
predominantly fought.
b. Ended an era of strictly dynastic wars and initiated a period of conflicts in which
politics and religion played dominant roles.
B. Wars of the late16th century & 17th century
1. Continuations of struggles b/w centralizing monarchs and feudalistic nobility.
2. Crusading battles b/w Catholics & Protestants.
3. Struggles for national independence or international expansion
a. These wars differed from earlier century wars in that the armies were larger and the
weaponry was more advanced (gunpowder)
b. Larger armies required greater financing and a reorganization of administration.
II.
Political & Religious conflicts in France (1515 – 1598)
A. Recovery & growth following the Hundred Years’ War in France
1. Labor shortage improved the conditions of the peasantry virtually ending serfdom.
2. Domestic and foreign trade expanded & mercantile centers expanded.
3. Francis I (r. 1515 – 1547) & his son Henry II (r. 1547 – 1559)
a. centralized the government by issuing an ordinance that placed the whole of
France under the jurisdiction of the royal law courts & made French the official
language of those courts.
b. taille (land tax) provided the strength of the monarchy and a strong standing army.
c. Extensive spending by the Valois on Renaissance art and architecture created a
debt for the monarchy. ( picture: Duchess of Etampe’s Chamber pg.489)
d. financing the Habsburg-Valois Wars drove the monarchy into deeper debt.
4. Two methods Francis I used to raise revenues besides raising taxes & borrowing:
( painting: Francis I pg.488)
a. the sale of public offices & a treaty with the papacy
1) Offices were tax-exempt and hereditary which only provided a temporary form
of income
for the monarchy.
2) The Concordat of Bologna (the monarchs treaty with the papacy) Francis I
agreed to recognize the supremacy of the papacy over a universal council & in
return the French crown gained the right to appoint all French bishops and
abbots.
a) established Catholicism as the state religion.
b) Ecclesiastical offices were used primarily to pay & reward civil servants.
 Church leaders failed to elevate the intellectual & moral standards
of the clergy – which resulted in a growing interest in the
teachings of Luther & Calvin.
5. Calvinism attracted the reform minded members of the Catholic clergy & the middle
classes within major cities of France.
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B. Religious Riots & Civil War in France (1559 – 1598)
1. Weakness of the monarchy under the 3 sons of Henry II resulted in a rise in Calvinism
among the nobility of France.
a. French nobles (like those of Germany under Charles V) adopted the reformed
religion as a religious cloak for their independence.
b. Armed clashes b/w Catholic royalist lords & Calvinist antimonarchial lords erupted
throughout France.
2. At lower social levels religious differences b/w Protestants & Catholics resulted in
violent attacks instigated by preachers & pastors.
a. Calvinist believed that the Catholic emphasis on symbols in religious ritual
desecrated what was truly sacred & promoted the worship of images.
b. Catholic mobs attacked Huguenots (French Calvinist) torturing and murdering
them.
3. Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (August 24, 1572)
a. The marriage of the King’s sister Margaret of Valois to the Protestant Henry of
Navarre intended to reconcile Catholics & Huguenots.
b. The night before the wedding the leader of the Catholic aristocracy, Henry of Guise
had Admiral Gaspard de Coligny (leader of the Huguenot party) murdered.
c. Rioting and the murder of thousands of Huguenots throughout France followed
between August 25 and October 3.
4. The War of the Three Henrys
a. Catholic Henry of Guise, Protestant Henry of Navarre, and King Henry III.
b. “The Holy League” an alliance of Catholic nobles led by Henry of Guise who
wanted to destroy Calvinism & to replace king Henry III with a member of the Guise
family.
1) 15 years of religious riots resulted in the destruction of agriculture and failure of
commerce.
c. Politiques (moderates of both faiths) believed that only the restoration of a strong
monarchy could solve the religious differences that separated France.
1) politiques favored accepting the Huguenots as an officially recognized group.
d. Henry of Navarre (Henry IV) became king following the assassination of Henry III.
1) To unite France, Henry IV converted to Catholicism (“Paris is worth a mass”).
5. Edict of Nantes (1598) granted the Huguenots liberty of conscience & liberty of public
worship in 150 fortified towns.
a. The Edict of Nantes helped pave the way for French absolutism in the 17th cent.
III. The Netherlands (Low Countries)
A. Low Countries consisted of 17 provinces which were inherited by Charles V
Who ruled from (r. 1519 – 1556).
1. Low countries were the center of economic wealth and trade during the 16th & 17th
centuries. ( map: The Netherlands pg.494)
a. The port city of Antwerp located at the intersection of several trading routes
became the chief intermediary of international commerce and finance.
i. bourse (exchange) where commerce and trade was conducted daily.
b. French speaking southern towns (Ghent, Bruges, Brussels and Antwerp) –
produced fine linens & woolens.
c. Dutch speaking northern towns (Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam) – fishing,
shipping, and international banking.
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2. The 17 provinces possessed historical liberties & a limited federation:
a. each was self-governing.
b. each enjoyed the right to make its own laws and collect its own taxes.
c. the provinces were united through economic connections and the recognition of a
common ruler Charles V.
3. States General – where delegates from each province met together, but all important
decisions had to be referred back to each province for approval.
4. Protestantism & Charles V in the Low Countries
a. Corruption of the Roman Catholic church combined with Lutheran writings & Dutch
translations of the bible attracted many to Protestantism.
b. Charles V was Flemish - born in Ghent & raised in the Netherlands which helped to
secure the loyalty of most people in the Low Countries.
c. 1556 – Charles V abdicated his throne before the States General at Brussels
dividing his empire b/w his brother Ferdinand & his son Philip II. ( Illustration –
Spanish & Habsburg Successions, 1493 – 1637 pg.492)
1) Philip II (Spanish) inherited Spain, the Low Countries, Milan, Kingdom of Sicily,
& the Spanish Americas.
2) Ferdinand received Austria and the Holy Roman Empire.
B. The Revolt of the Netherlands (1566 – 1587)
1. 1560’s – growth of Calvinism in the middle-class populations with in the cities of the
Netherlands.
a. Calvinism appealed to the middle classes b/c of its intellectual seriousness, moral
gravity, and emphasis on any form of labor well done.
b. Calvinist encouraged opposition to “illegal” civil authorities.
2. 1559 – Philip appointed his sister Margaret as regent of the Netherlands (r.1559-1567)
a. Margaret carried out Philip’s order to wipeout Protestantism in the Low Countries
by introducing the Inquisition.
b. Increased taxes in the Low Countries by Margaret united the opposition to the
government’s fiscal policy with the opposition to official repression of Calvinism.
3. August 1566 – Calvinist attacked the religious images and symbols within Catholic
churches throughout the Low Countries. (sketching: To Purify the Church pg. 493)
4. Philip II sent twenty thousand Spanish troops under the duke of Alva to “pacify” the
Low Countries.
a. Alva interpreted “pacification” to mean the ruthless extermination of religious &
political dissidents.
b. “Council of Blood” tribunal used by Alva to persecute and murder over 1,500 men
on March 3, 1568.
c. Alva resolved the financial crisis by levying a 10% sales tax on every transaction
creating widespread confusion and hardship in the Low Countries.
5. 1568 – 1578: civil war in the Netherlands raged b/w Catholics & Protestants and b/w
the 17 provinces and Spain.
a. 1576: the 17 provinces united under the leadership of Prince William of Orange
“the Silent.”
6. 1578: Philip sent his nephew Alexander Farnese, duke of Parma, to crush the revolt
in the Low Countries.
a. As the general of a German mercenary army: Farnese avoided pitched battles and
fought by patient sieges.
1) One by one, the cities of the southern Low Countries fell to Farnese including
the economic capital – Antwerp.
2) Calvinism was forbidden & Protestants were compelled to convert or leave.
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7. Religious division of the Netherlands (map: The Netherlands pg.494)
a. The 10 southern provinces (today’s Belgium) remained under the control of the
Spanish Habsburgs.
1) flat terrain dominated by the landed nobility & predominantly Catholic.
b. The 7 northern provinces (today’s Netherlands) led by Holland, formed the Union
of Utrecht.
1) land was strewn with canals and controlled by commercial aristocracy who were
Protestant.
2) 1581 – declared their independence from Spain as a result –
the United Provinces of the Netherlands was born.
C. Queen Elizabeth I of England supports the Protestants in the Netherlands
1. Elizabeth wanted to avoid war with Philip, but had to prevent the fall of the Protestant
Netherlands to avoid a future invasion of England by Catholic Philip.
( picture: The Milch Cow pg.497)
2. Three developments that forced Elizabeth’s hand:
1) Wars in the Low Countries affected the wool trade and the English economy.
2) The murder of William the Silent (July 1584) removed the chief military check to the
advance of Farnese.
2) The collapse of Antwerp appeared to signal a Catholic sweep through the
Netherlands.
3. Fearing a future invasion of England, Elizabeth pumped 250,000 £’s & 2,000 troops
into the Protestant cause in the Low Countries b/w 1585 & 1587.
D. The Spanish Armada
1. Philip II – devout Catholic who lived most of his life at the Escorial (royal palace in
Madrid, Spain).
a. On the issues of the Inquisition & religious toleration – Philip was completely inflexible.
b. Philip controlled ecclesiastical appointments & revenues with in Spain.
2. 1586 – Mary Queen of Scots (cousin & heir of Elizabeth of England) became
implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth.
a. Philip gave the conspiracy his backing in hopes of reuniting Catholic Europe through Mary.
b. Mary’s plot was discovered and she was beheaded on Feb. 18, 1587.
3. News of the execution motivated Pope Sixtus V to urge Philip to invade England and
remove Elizabeth from the throne, promising 1 million gold ducats to Philip the moment
Spanish troops set foot on English soil.
4. Philip’s plan for invasion of England (May 9, 1587)
a. A Spanish fleet (Spanish Armada) “la felicissima armada “ the most fortunate fleet –
consisting of 130 ships and 30,000 men sailed from Lisbon, Portugal to the English
Channel to protect the invading troops under Farnese as they crossed the channel into
England.
b. A combination of bad weather, spoiled food & water, and superior tactics used by the
English navy resulted in the defeat of the Spanish Armada & the cancellation of a Spanish
invasion of England.
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IV. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)
A. Failure of the Peace of Augsburg (1555)
1. Catholics were alarmed at the Lutherans who violated the peace terms by continuing
to acquire German bishoprics.
2. Calvinist (not included in the peace terms) ignored it and continued to convert German
princes
3. Militant Jesuits reconverted several Lutheran princes to Catholicism.
4. Lutherans princes formed the Protestant Union (1608) & Catholics retaliated with the
Catholic League (1609).
B. The Habsburg Dynasty
1. Grandson of Ferdinand I – Matthias (had no male heirs when he inherited the empire)
a. Matthias promoted the candidacy of his Catholic cousin Ferdinand of Styria
(Ferdinand II)
1) 1617 – Ferdinand of Styria secured election as king of Bohemia giving him
jurisdiction over Silesia, Moravia, and Bohemia (religiously diverse territories)
2) Ferdinand closed some Protestant churches which resulted in protest.
b. May 23, 1618 – “defenestration of Prague” where Protestants threw two of
Ferdinand’s officials out of a castle window marking the beginning of the Thirty
Years’ War.
C. Four Phases of the Thirty Years’ War (map: pg.500)
1. First Phase (1618 – 1625) Bohemian Phase
a. Civil War in Bohemia b/w the Catholic League & the Protestant Union – headed by
Prince Frederick of the Palatinate.
1) 1620 – Battle of White Mountain Catholic forces defeated Frederick and the
Protestants.
2. Second Phase (1625 – 1629) Danish Phase
a. King Christian IV of Denmark (r. 1588 – 1648) led the Protestant forces against
the Catholic Imperial army led by Albert of Wallenstein.
1) Protestants suffered further defeat by the Catholic forces.
b. Edict of Restitution (1629) the Jesuits persuaded the emperor to issue the edict
which restored Catholic properties lost to Protestantism since 1552.
3. Third Phase (1630 – 1635) Swedish Phase
a. Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus (r. 1594 – 1632) led Protestant forces
subsidized by Cardinal Richelieu of France against the Catholic armies.
1) Victories at the battles of Breitenfeld (1631) and Lutzen (1632) ended the
Habsburg
ambition of uniting all the German states under imperial authority.
b. The death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632 followed by the defeat of the Swedes at
the battle of Nordlingen in 1634 – resulted in the French entering the war on the
side of the Protestants.
4. Fourth Phase (1635 – 1648) French / International Phase
a. 1635 Cardinal Richelieu of France declared war on Spain – sending financial &
military assistance to the Swedes and the German Protestant princes.
1) neither side had the resources to win a quick, decisive victory.
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D. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended the Thirty Years’ War
1. Treaties signed at Munster & Osnabruck
a. recognized the sovereign, independent authority of the German princes.
b. each ruler could govern his particular territory & make war and peace as well.
c. the independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands was acknowledged.
d. the international stature of France and Sweden was greatly improved.
e. the Holy Roman Empire as a real state was effectively destroyed.
f. allowed France to intervene at will in German affairs.
g. Sweden received a large cash indemnity and jurisdiction over German territories
along the Baltic Sea.
h. denied the papacy the right to participate in German religious affairs.
i. stipulated that the Augsburg agreement of 1555 should stand permanently.
j. Calvinism along with Catholicism & Lutheranism would be legally permissible.
k. North German states remained Protestant & the south German states remained
Catholic.
E. Germany after the Thirty Years War
(painting: Soldiers Pillage a Farmhouse pg.501)
1. The war resulted in the devastation of the German economy & society
a. one-third of urban residents & two-fifths of the rural inhabitants died.
b. entire areas of Germany were depopulated due to war & disease.
c. inflation due to the influx of Spanish silver from the Americas.
d. a rise in new serfdom due to the fact that Nobles and landlords bought up most of
the land following the war.