Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance . Renaissance . Counter Reformation
Throughout the middle ages the Catholic Church sunk deeper into a pit of scandal and corruption. By the 1520s, Martin Luther's ideas crystallized opposition to the Church, and Christian Europe was torn apart. In response, the Catholic Church set in motion the counter-reformation. An era of strict conformity and accompanying terror had begun. During the reign of Pope Leo X, discontent amongst Catholics in Europe was at an all-time high. The challenge from Luther caught the Pope by surprise. In 1545, the leaders of the Catholic Church gathered in the Northern Italian city of Trent for an emergency conference. After 20-years of debate, the Council of Trent established the basis for a Catholic counter-attack. The “Index of Forbidden Books” was published, naming and shaming 583 heretical texts, including most translations of the Bible and the works of Erasmus, Calvin and Luther. A new agency of obedience was created.
The Reformation Brings New Approach to Sacred Music
The Reformation Brings New Approach to Sacred Music As the Protestant Reformation swept across Europe, those who rebelled against Catholicism cast their new forms of worship in opposition to the Catholic Mass—including its music. How sacred music developed as part of the Reformation was explored in a presentation on Sept. 22 by Jane Dawson, Ph.D., the John Laing Professor of Reformation History at Edinburgh University’s School of Divinity. By the late Middle Ages, Dawson said, the performance of sacred music was relegated mainly to professionals who could understand its elaborate polyphonic structure. "They also stipulated that words should be audible and that the language must be comprehensible," Dawson said. This "triumph of the word," as the Protestant Reformation has been traditionally regarded, marked a decisive shift from a visual and sensual culture to a logocentric and literary one. For the first time, Scots were singing together in church.
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) was a series of wars principally fought in Central Europe, involving most of the countries of Europe.[10] It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history, and one of the longest continuous wars in modern history. Initially, religion was a motivation for war as Protestant and Catholic states battled it out even though they all were inside the Holy Roman Empire. Changing the relative balance of power within the Empire was at issue. Gradually, it developed into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers of Europe.[11] In this general phase, the war became less specifically religious and more a continuation of the Bourbon–Habsburg rivalry for European political pre-eminence, leading in turn to further warfare between France and the Habsburg powers.[12] A major consequence of the Thirty Years' War was the devastation of entire regions, denuded by the foraging armies (bellum se ipsum alet). Origins of the War[edit]
Counter-Reformation
A copy of the Vulgate (the Latin edition of the Catholic Bible) printed in 1590, after many of the Council's reforms had begun to take place in Catholic worship. The Counter-Reformation (also the Catholic Revival[1] or Catholic Reformation) was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War (1648), and was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort composed of four major elements: Ecclesiastical or structural reconfigurationReligious ordersSpiritual movementsPolitical dimensions Council of Trent[edit] A session of the Council of Trent, from an engraving. Pope Paul III (1534–1549) initiated the Council of Trent (1545–1563), a commission of cardinals tasked with institutional reform, addressing contentious issues such as corrupt bishops and priests, indulgences, and other financial abuses. Religious orders[edit] Politics: The Netherlands[edit]
Black Death
Spread of the Black Death in Europe (1346–53) The Black Death is thought to have originated in the arid plains of central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road, reaching the Crimea by 1343.[6] From there, it was most likely carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships. Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30–60% of Europe's total population.[7] In total, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million down to 350–375 million in the 14th century. The aftermath of the plague created a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history. Chronology Origins of the disease Plague was reportedly first introduced to Europe at the trading city of Caffa in the Crimea in 1347. European outbreak There appear to have been several introductions into Europe. Middle Eastern outbreak Symptoms Naming
Protestant Reformation
Although the core motivation behind these changes was theological, many other factors played a part, including the rise of nationalism, the Western Schism which eroded people's faith in the Papacy, the corruption of the Curia, and the new learning of the Renaissance which questioned much traditional thought. On a technological level the invention of the printing press proved extremely significant in that it provided the means for the rapid dissemination of new ideas. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent and spearheaded by the new order of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) specifically organized to counter the Protestant movement. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, turned Protestant. Southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of fierce conflict, escalating to full-scale war. Religious situation in Europe[edit] History and origins[edit] Earlier schisms[edit] Literacy[edit]
English Reformation
The English Reformation was a series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church. These events were, in part, associated with the wider process of the European Protestant Reformation, a religious and political movement that affected the practice of Christianity across most of Europe during this period. Many factors contributed to the process: the decline of feudalism and the rise of nationalism, the rise of the common law, the invention of the printing press and increased circulation of the Bible, the transmission of new knowledge and ideas among scholars, the upper and middle classes and readers in general. However, the various phases of the English Reformation, which also covered Wales and Ireland, were largely driven by changes in government policy, to which public opinion gradually accommodated itself. Church taxes were paid straight to Rome, and the Pope had final say over appointment of bishops.
