# The Protestant Reformation ## The Protestant Reformation In the Middle Ages the Church had a lot of power[^1]. Wars like the Crusades were expensive and the Church was also supporting expensive projects. They needed the money to come from somewhere... This is where simony emerged. Simony is the act of selling jobs/positions. People could pay their way into a position of high power in the Church. Because of this, many priests ended up as uneducated. ### Indulgences Indulgences were basically a "get out of Hell free card." If you knew you committed a grave sin, you could pay the Church money to get a place in Heaven. One of the many to do this was the Medicis. Johann Tetzel, a popular friar was appointed by the archbishop in Germany in 1517 to sell indulgences. Even though this is from 1517, the same practice was used in the Middle Ages. ### Martin Luther Martin Luther was a German monk and theologian who became disillusioned with the church. When Luther heard Tetzel’s speech, it was the final straw. Luther wanted to reform the Catholic Church, not do away with it. His movement, though, caused a radical split in Christianity. Specifically, Luther believed that an individual believer can interpret the Bible with help from the Holy Spirit and that humans are saved for purgatory by faith alone. ### The *95 Theses* Luther wrote the *95 Theses*, which detailed his beliefs on true Christianity. He then nailed to the local Church’s door. {% hint style="info" icon="circle-question" %} In those days, the Church door was like the town bulletin board. {% endhint %} Luther’s *95 Theses* were a sensation. Within one day everyone in town knew what he had wrote, within one week all the surrounding villages knew, within one month the country knew, and within six months he was running for his life. | The Three Solae | | :-------------------: | | Only Scripture | | Only Faith | | Only the Grace of God | {% hint style="info" icon="circle-question" %} The Three Solae were the only things necessary to reach heaven. {% endhint %} The Church, however, was not happy in the slightest. ## Luther vs. The Catholic Church Luther's claims questioned the powerful Church officials, but even worse, they questioned the morals of the Pope himself. In response, the Church said that Luther’s ideas threatened the unity of Christianity and could lead to violence. Luther was not the first to bring these idea up. Individuals like Jan Hus and John Wycliffe also believed in such notions. In response, Hus was burned to death and Wycliffe was forced into hiding. The only reason Luther was successful was because of the printing press. The ability to quickly copy and spread information led to a high increase of Luther's supporters. In fact, people—including the nobility—were getting more and more fed up with the practice of indulgences. ### Luther's Excommunication Eventually, in 1521, Luther is ordered to recant his views by the Church. > "I have in my simple way foreseen What Luther’s teaching promises to bring: Great rebellion and bloodletting, much hatred and strife. The fear of God will vanish forever; together with the whole of scripture, and authority will everywhere be despised." > > — Anonymous Catholic author The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V demanded that Luther come to the Diet of Worms for his public recant. Good money was also on him renouncing. Even so, he refused and was ultimately excommunicated. At the time of Luther, "Germany" was collection of principalities that were loosely connected by the Holy Roman Emperor. In other words, each area had its own ruler, but each ruler had to listen to the Emperor. On the trip home, Prince Friedrich the Wise allowed Luther to be kidnapped on May 4 (Luther knew about it beforehand). This let Luther sneak into hiding, where he lived for the rest of his life. While hiding in seclusion, Luther translated the bible into German. His translation is printed at Wittenberg in September 22, 1522. During Luther's absence, however, drastic changes began to take place. Priests begin to get married and Church services begin to take place in German; both of which were not allowed in Catholicism. ### Causes of The Protestant Reformation 1. Humanism. 2. Increasing power of kings. 3. People dismayed by wealth of the Church. 4. The practice of Indulgences. 5. Early reformers like Wycliffe and Hus. 6. Martin Luther’s *95 theses*. 7. The printing press (to spread Luther’s ideas). 8. People have increased access to the Bible. ## Henry VIII After Luther refuses to recant his heretical beliefs at the Diet of Worms, Henry VIII responds against him immediately. In 1521 he publishes *In Defense of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther*. The message is very clear: heresy will not be tolerated in England., and all heretics will be burned. Not only were the messages published, but they were taken seriously, too. William Tyndale was an English scholar who studied the Bible. However, he was also a protestant. He translated the Bible into English. In 1536, Tyndale was strangled and burned for heresy. For this reason and many others, the Pope awards him the title Defender of the Faith for this. However, Henry VIII would soon turn against the Pope. ### Henry VIII's Six Wives
:rectangle-list: Quick Overview 1. Catherine of Aragon (Divorced) 2. Anne Boleyn (Executed) 3. Jane Seymour (Death from Childbirth) 4. Anne of Cleves (Divorced) 5. Catherine Howard (Executed) 6. Katherine Parr
{% stepper %} {% step %} #### Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon was the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain—the couple who completed the Reconquista of Spain and the Spanish Inquisition. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, was her nephew , and she was *extremely* Catholic. Before her marriage to Henry, Catherine had married his brother, Arthur. Henry fell in love with her and married her when Arthur died. This went against Church law and the Pope had to issue a special allowance for it. He didn’t mind, as Catherine’s family was a very good friend of the Church. Henry and Catherine’s marriage only produced a daughter, Mary. Henry wanted a son and heir—he blamed Catherine! Henry wanted to divorce Catherine so he could find a new wife. But divorce goes against church teachings, so the Pope refused to grant an exception. {% endstep %} {% step %} #### Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn caught the King’s eye. He fell madly in love with her but she refused to have an affair with him. He had to put a ring on it. The problem was his ring was on Catherine’s finger and he needed to get it off.
:note: Henry's Solution Henry VIII has Parliament issue the Act of Supremacy. He enlists a reformer, Thomas Cranmer to help him push it through. He and all his future heirs was named the head of the State and head of the new [Anglican Church](#user-content-fn-2)[^2]. So begins the Reformation in England... He makes himself the head of the Church of England (rejects the Pope) using the Act of Supremacy and splits with Rome. Anglican practices are almost the same as the Roman Catholic Church, however... * Still needed sacraments . * Priests couldn’t marry. * Confession was necessary.
Thomas Cranmer becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury and grants Henry a divorce. Catherine of Aragon and her daughter Mary are sent away, and Henry marries Anne Boleyn. Like Catherine of Aragon, Anne also failed to give Henry the son he longed for. Anne and Henry only had one daughter Elizabeth. Henry became convinced Anne was having an affair with her brother and had her executed for treason. There is no evidence to support that she had an affair, so it is believed she was framed. Anne was executed at the Bloody Tower in London. {% endstep %} {% step %} #### Jane Seymour Henry married Jane Seymour only 11 days after the execution of Anne Boleyn. She births a son named Edward, but she died right after the birth. Edward was sickly and died young. {% endstep %} {% step %} #### Anne of Cleves King Henry needs new alliances and he is lonely so he seeks a new wife. Why would he need an alliance and where would the logical place be for him to look? Much of Europe is still Catholic, and Spain and its allies were still furious at Henry. He decides to marry a German Princess. Henry met Anne of Cleves through a painting of her, and had never laid eyes on her. When he does see her her, he divorces immediately, calling her the "Flanders Mare". {% endstep %} {% step %} #### Catherine Howard Henry VIII falls in love again—this time with Catherine Howard, the first cousin of Anne Boleyn. She was much younger than he and she is accused of having an affair. She is tried for treason and executed just like Anne. {% endstep %} {% step %} #### Katherine Parr Henry next selected Katherine Parr to marry. She was a dutiful wife who took excellent care of him while he was sick. Once he died, however, Katherine *immediately* married another man. {% endstep %} {% endstepper %} [^1]: They had the ability to excommunicate, interdict, and collect tithes (money that went to Rome). [^2]: Otherwise known as the Church of England. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://rss-industries.gitbook.io/learn/ss/fundamental/global-history/global-1/the-protestant-reformation.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.