AP European History
AP European History
In a complex transaction, Pope Leo X (1513-1521) in 1517 allowed the sale of indulgences by the monk Johan Tetzel (a sort of medieval used car salesman) to finance the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Luther responded almost immediately with the Ninety-Five Theses, wherein he condemned indulgences as twisting the central mystery of Christianity – Jesus’ crucifixion as a once-and-for-all sacrifice wiping the human slate clean of sin and death. Previous to the indulgence controversy, Luther had been working out in his reading and lecturing a different conception of salvation. The decisive break became clear to him over the next few years, as Luther published pamphlets elaborating his ideas and denouncing what he considered false teachings. Luther’s new theology can be summarized in three Latin phrases:
Sola scriptura (“Scripture alone”) The only authority in Christianity is the Bible. While the Catholic Church had based authority on Scripture and the teaching function of the church (the magisterium) in the persons of the bishops, cardinals, and popes, Luther argued that doctrine or practice needed to be supported by the revealed word of God alone.
Sola fide (“Faith alone”) Salvation comes from faith alone. As Luther put it, “Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.” Faith is a free gift of God and cannot be earned through human activity, such as pilgrimages, relic veneration or indulgences.
Sola gratia (“Grace alone”) Salvation comes by the free gift of God’s grace. Grace is the spiritual quality that gives the sinner merit in the eyes of God. Since humans are incapable of acquiring this merit through their own sinful efforts, it must be God’s free gift. In contrast, the Catholic Church held that the primary instruments of grace were the sacraments; in short, that grace was mediated through the clergy.
Luther’s attack echoed many of the critiques made by Hus and even Erasmus. What made Lutheranism successful was the urgency and passion with which Luther conveyed his message and, more importantly, the printing press. It is hard to imagine the Protestant Reformation’s success without the tremendous propaganda instrument of the cheaply printed word. To illustrate, in the first 10 years of the Reformation, one-quarter of the books published in Germany were by Luther. In addition, many of the publications were not designed to appeal to theologians. Songs, sermons, and woodcuts mocking the Pope all appealed to a mass audience. Several of Luther’s publications that reveal his new interpretation of Christianity include:
“On the Freedom of the Christian” (1520) A short pamphlet in which Luther rejected the notion of free will over salvation. Why, Luther asked, would I want to be in charge of my salvation when God can effect it so much better? The work prompted Erasmus uncharacteristically to reply to Luther by defending free will.
On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520) This is a longer work, in Latin, for theologians. Here Luther condemned the Catholic conception of the sacraments as holding the faithful “in bondage” to the earthly power of the clergy. In addition, Luther retained only two sacraments – baptism and the Lord’s Supper-’:”because these had scriptural justification.
An Address to the Nobility of the German Nation (1520) Recognizing he needed political support in the Empire, Luther patriotically appealed to the German princes to support his cause and resist Roman taxation and power.
German translation of the Bible (1530s) Traditionally, Bible reading had been reserved for theologians or clergymen. By rendering the Bible into his native tongue, Luther made clear that the Bible was to be read by all, including women, and placed it front and center as an act of Christian worship.
It is often said that Luther demonstrated the fire of a theological revolutionary but the caution of a social and political conservative. No doubt, Luther was a complex figure who recognized that his attack on the Catholic Church held the potential to rip the whole of society apart. For Luther, the real church was the spiritual one of the next world; because perfection could not be reached on earth due to the sinful nature of humans, social and political revolution was self-defeating.
Luther’s message inspired a host of other reformers, many of whom interpreted it in more radical ways. German firebrands, such as Andreas Carlstadt and Thomas Müntzer, applied Luther’s idea of the “priesthood of all believers” more literally, to indicate a move toward social equality. These leaders supported the Peasants’ Revolt of 1524-1525, the product of long-standing economic grievances and the new religious ideals. Luther was incensed, denouncing the firebrands and the peasants in Against the Murdering and Robbing Horde of Peasants, in which he called for the death of all who challenged legitimate authority and who twisted the true Christian message, which was spiritual not political. Ultimately, the peasants were crushed at the cost of 100,000 lives, and Luther gained a reputation for intolerance that might have spent some steam from his movement in the 1530s. Another reason for Luther’s attitude toward social upheaval lay in his need for support among the German princes, the only force standing between him and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, before whom Luther in 1521 stood in defiance at the Diet of Worms. As a result of Luther’s attitudes, wherever Lutheranism became the dominant religion (much of Germany and Scandinavia), the church was placed under the control of the state
Through a series of timely marriages and untimely deaths, Charles V (1516-1556) stood in 1519 as the most powerful ruler in Europe, controlling Spain, the Low Countries, the Holy Roman Empire, significant parts of Italy, and the Spanish Empire in the New World. Charles recognized the need for reform in the church and continually pressured the pope to call a general council (unsuccessfully until 1545). At the same time, Charles believed it his duty to maintain the political unity of Catholicism. Unfortunately for him, Charles’s entire reign was spent on horseback attempting to keep his far-flung possessions together in the face of his many enemies:
Ottoman Turks The Ottomans killed Charles’ brother-in-law Louis in battle in 1526, taking Hungary, and moved to besiege Vienna (capital of the Habsburg empire) in 1529.
France (Valois) Francis I represented Charles’ most consistent rival. The perennial goal of France aimed to avoid encirclement by the Habsburgs and prevent the centralization of power in Germany. The Habsburg-Valois Wars (1494-1559) began in Italy but eventually intruded into the outcome of the Reformation in Germany, as Francis, though a Catholic, took the side of the German Protestants.
Algerian pirates Spain’s interests in the Mediterranean were continuously threatened by piracy based in North Africa. Charles launched an expedition in 1541 that temporarily helped the prblem.
The papacy Though both Charles and the Pope shared an interest in salvaging Catholicism, they differed over tactics and political goals, especially when Charles’s troops sacked Rome in 1527, effectively bringing the Renaissance to an end.
German Lutherans Due to other preoccupations, Charles was forced to compromise with Lutherans early in his reign. An imperial diet in 1529 at Speyer attempted to impose a religious settlement but failed when Lutherans protested (which accounts for the term “Protestant”). By 1546, Charles was prepared to solve the issue through force. The Lutheran princes formed the Schmalkaldic League and were prepared to resist with the aid of outside powers. After an initial victory in 1547 at Mühlberg, Charles was unable to follow up on his success.
To settle the religious conflict in Germany (sometimes termed the “First Thirty Years War”), Charles agreed in 1555 to the Peace of Augsburg, which employed the compromise formula cuius region, eius religion (“his the region, his the religion”) to divide the Empire between Lutheran and Catholic areas, as determined by the rulers of those states. It is important to note that this settlement did not endorse religious toleration, but recognized the relatively even balance of religious power in Germany. In addition, Charles V abdicated in 1556, splitting his realm between his brother Ferdinand (as HRE) and his son Philip II, who took everything else.