Module Number  EUO7

Date: 1 February 2005

Title: PROTESTANT REFORMATION

Introduction:

The Reformation of the sixteenth century was, in many ways, a watershed in the religious and political history of Europe. The medieval concept of “Christendom” which saw all European peoples united in one faith and symbolically under the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, gave way to a variously divided Europe that no longer aspired to be in unity. The Reformation, which had its beginning in Martin Luther’s protest against thought and practice of the Roman Catholic Church,  was a religious and theological reform movement that eventually led to divorce from the Catholic Church and formally established Protestant churches (Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican) throughout Europe.

 

This formal success of the Reformation movement had as its driving dynamic a new vision of the Christian religion, but was aided by a variety of other factors, such as the heterogeneity of the Holy Roman Empire, the independence of the Imperial Free Cities, etc.

 

The dynamic progress of the Reformation as well as the convergence of extraneous factors is well illustrated by the following maps.

 

In Section 1 we examine the spread of the Protestant movement across Europe. The Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century was both a theological controversy and the governmental decision to retain the Catholic Church as the official religion or introduce the new Protestant faith. In the Holy Roman Empire, which was largely contiguous with what is generally known as Germany, this determination was made by a large number of individual rulers, in contrast to places like France or England, where the determination of the king settled matters for the entire country.

 

In Section 2 we consider the structure of the Holy Roman Empire. The Empire was characterized by a unique governmental structure, where central authority (the emperor) was fairly weak and real power was exercised by the territorial rulers who in turn ruled either secular or ecclesiastical territories.

 

In Section3 we consider the alliances that were formed during this period

In Section 4, the focus is on the rise and expansion of universities and of centers of learning during the 15th and 16th centuries. After the initial wave of university foundations in the Middle Ages, there was a wave of new universities in the fifteenth century, all of them established with papal licence - since theology and philosophy were the most important subjects taught, and the guiding the principles of law and medicine, the remaining two important areas of study, were oriented by Christian principles. The several maps show intriguing geographic dimension of the proliferation of these institutions of higher learning, particularly in central and northern Europe. The maps show for the sixteenth century establishment of Protestant universities (without papal license) and the additional foundation of Catholic universities during that century. In sequence, these maps demonstrate the significant expansion of higher learning in Europe from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century.

 

In Section 5 we turn to the role of the Jesuits (the “Society of Jesus”) in what is called the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The Society of Jesus, founded in 1540,  quickly proved to be the most dynamic force in the Catholic Church for education and combating the Protestant heresy. This Protestant threat was taken seriously and the involvement of Jesuits throughout Europe may be taken as an indicator of the regained vitality of the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century. The sequence of maps shows the spread of residences and colleges (schools) (is this the right word?) operated by Jesuits from its establishment as an order to 1615. 

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Legend/key/instructions to artist.  Steve, the maps in this sections should be use the  tab/ button arrangements as they are not chronological

Section Title: eu07_1: The Spread of PRotestantism as state religion

Frame No EU07_1a

Caption: The Spread of the Reformation to 1530

Use:Protestantism1530

 

Frame No EU07_1b:

Caption: Spread of the Reformation, 1530 to 1560

Use: Protestantism1560

 

Frame No EU07_1c

Caption: Spread of the Refomation, 1560 to 1600

Use: Protestantism1600

 

Frame No EU07_1d

Caption: Spread of the Refomation, 1600 to 1650

Use: Protestantism1650

 

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Section Title: EU07_2: The expansion of Protestantism in the holy roman (german) empire

This section is divided into three subsections: instructions for the artist: Does the red denote cities and the blue denote church territories? What does the size of the dot denote? This will be information in the legend, there are some discrepancies namely Mainz, Munster, Salzburg, Magdeburg, problem: frame A; the shaded areas on the western side liege (is it viable to remain focused on germany over the empire) south switzerland, Alps austria

Subsection EU07_2.1 The Imperial Cities

Frame a:
Caption: Imperial Cities 1520-1529
Use: Reichstadt1520-1529

 

Frame b:
Caption: Imperial Cities 1530-1554
Use: Reichstadt1529-1554

 

Frame c:
Caption: Imperial Cities 1555-1599
Use: Reichstadt1555-1599

 

Frame d:
Caption: Imperial Cities 1600-1650
Use: Reichstadt1600-1650

 

Subsection EU07_2.2: Ecclesiastical Territories

Frame a:
Caption: Ecclesiatical Territories 1520-1529
Use: Reichstadt1520-1529

 

Frame b:
Caption: Ecclesiatical Territories 1530-1554
Use:

 

Frame c:
Caption: Ecclesiatical Territories 1555-1599
Use:

 

Frame d:
Caption: Ecclesiatical Territories1600-1650
Use:

 

Subsection EU07_2.3: Secular Territories

Frame a:
Caption: Secular Territories 1520-1529
Use:

 

Frame b:
Caption: Secular Territories 1530-1554
Use:

 

Frame c:
Caption: Secular Territories 1555-1599
Use:

 

Frame d:
Caption: Secular Territories 1600-1600
Use:

 

SECTION TITLE: EU07_3 Alliances ... in five frames??

Section Title: EU07_4: The Rise of Universities

Frame No EU07_4a:

Caption: Universities established between 1200 and 1400

Use Map inventory number(s):EU07_3a.jpg In this map, the national boundaries are denoted in lighter lines; they should be deleted. The stronger unbroken lines denote rivers and should be retained.

Text: Learning and education during the Middle Ages were located in the novel institution of the university which from its beginings in Italy spread throughout Europe. The map shows the location of universities established by 1400.

 

Frame EU07_4b:

Caption: Universities established between 1400 and 1500

Use Map inventory number(s):EU07_3b.jpg Remove the lighter black lines and retain the stronger ones (rivers). As in 3a jpg.

Text:
The fifteenth century brought a stunning increase in university foundations. Their geographic distribution suggests judgments about the centers of learning and education in late medieval Europe, since universities were now more evenly distributed over Europe.


Frame No EU07_4c

Caption: Universities established by Protestants in the sixteenth century

Use Map inventory number(s):EU07_3c.jpg As in 3 a and b

Text:

The Protestant Reformation may be said to have been a university movement in that most of the Protestant reformers were university faculty. The course of the Reformation movement brought the establishment of many new Protestant universities, mainly to assure the proper supply of clergy. Their geographic distribution also allows judgments about the spread of Protestantism in Europe.

Frame No EU07_4d:

Caption: Universities established by Catholics in the sixteenth century

Use Map inventory number(s):EU07_4d.jpg Delete strong black lines; leave broken lines (rivers)

Text:

Catholicism responded to the challenge of the Protestant Reformation by establishing new universities, much for the same reason, as did the Protestants. Geographically, these new Catholic universities were concentrated in Southern Europe.

Section Title: eu07_5 the expansion of the society of jesus (jesuits)

 

Frame No 1:

Caption: Jesuit stations to 1540 -1556

Use Map inventory number(s):EU07_4a.jpg Remove the unbroken black lines

Text:

The concentration of Jesuit houses in Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal) is significant; it demonstrates nicely the sources of Catholic renewal.

Frame No 2:

Caption: Jesuit stations to 1557 - 1580

Use Map inventory number(s):EU07_4b.jpg As 4a

Text:

The first generation of Jesuit activity brought a dramatic expansion of schools and residences throughout Catholic Europe.

Frame No 3:

Caption: Jesuit stations to 1615

Use Map inventory number(s):EU07_4c.jpg

Text:

By the early seventeenth century, Jesuit stations had increased significantly throughout Europe, expressing the vitality of the Catholic Church in dealing with the challenge of the Protestant Reformation.

 

Summary:

In many ways, the Reformation of the sixteenth century marked dramatic changes in European Christianity. It became a divided house between Catholics, on the one side, and Protestants, on the other. These religious changes occurred in the context of the institutional and educational characteristics of early modern
Europe. In Germany this religious division entailed the rise of German particularism,even as it anticipated the important support of science and learning in Protestant states.