The Age of the Reformation

Chapter I. the Old and the New . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1. The World. Economic changes in the later Middle Ages. Rise of the bourgeoisie. Nationalism. Individualism. Inventions. Printing. Exploration. Universities.

2. The Church. The papacy. The Councils of Constance and Basle. Savonarola.

3. Causes of the Reformation. Corruption of the church not a main cause. Condition of the church. Indulgences. Growth of a new type of lay piety. Clash of the new spirit with old ideals.

4. The Mystics. The German Theology. Tauler. The Imitation of Christ.

5. The Pre-reformers. Waldenses. Occam. Wyclif. Huss.

6. Nationalizing the churches. The Ecclesia Anglicana. The Gallican Church. German church. The Gravamina.

7. The Humanists. Valla. Pico della Mirandola. Lefevre d'Etaples. Colet. Reuchlin. Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum. Hutten. Erasmus.

Chapter Ii. Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

1. The Leader. Luther's early life. Justification by faith only. The Ninety-five Theses. The Leipzig Debate. Revolutionary Pamphlets of 1520.

2. The Revolution. Condition of Germany. Maximilian I. Charles V. The bull Exsurge Domine burned by Luther. Luther at Worms and in the Wartburg. Turmoil of the radicals. The Revolt of the Knights. Efforts at Reform at the Diets of Nuremberg 1522-4. The Peasants' Revolt: economic causes, propaganda, course of the war, suppression.

3. Formation of the Protestant Party. Defection of the radicals: the Anabaptists. Defection of the intellectuals: Erasmus. The Sacramentarian Schism: Zwingli. Growth of the Lutheran party among the upper and middle classes. Luther's ecclesiastical polity. Accession of many Free Cities, of Ernestine Saxony, Hesse, Prussia. Balance of Power. The Recess of Spires 1529; the Protest.

4. Growth of Protestantism until the death of Luther. Diet of Augsburg 1530: the Confession. Accessions to the Protestant cause. Religious negotiations. Luther's last years, death and character.

5. Religious War and Religious Peace. The Schmalkaldic War. The Interim. The Peace of Augsburg 1555. Catholic reaction and Protestant schisms.

6. Note on Scandinavia, Poland and Hungary.

Chapter Iii. Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

1. Zwingli. The Swiss Confederacy. Preparation for the Reformation. Zwingli's early life. Reformation at Zurich. Defeat of Cappel.

2. Calvin. Farel. Calvin's early life. The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Reformation at Geneva. Theocracy. The Libertines. Servetus. Character and influence of Calvin.

Chapter Iv. France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

1. Renaissance and Reformation. Condition of France. Francis I. War with Charles. The Christian Renaissance. Lutheranism. Defection of the humanists.

2. The Calvinist Party. Henry II. Expansion of France. Growth and persecution of Calvinism.

3. The Wars of Religion. Catharine de' Medicis. Massacre of Vassy. The Huguenot rebellion. Massacre of St. Bartholomew. The League. Henry IV. Edict of Nantes. Failure of Protestantism to conquer France.

Chapter V. the Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

1. The Lutheran Reform. The Burgundian State. Origins of the Reformation. Persecution. The Anabaptists.

2. The Calvinist Revolt. National feeling against Spain. Financial difficulties of Philip II. Egmont and William of Orange. The new bishoprics. The Compromise. The "Beggars." Alva's reign of terror. Requesens. Siege of Leyden. The Revolt of the North. Division of the Netherlands. Farnese. The Dutch Republic.

Chapter Vi. England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

1. Henry VIII and the National Church. Character of Henry VIII. Foreign policy. Wolsey. Early Lutheranism. Tyndale's New Testament. Tracts. Anticlerical feeling. Divorce of Catharine of Aragon. The Submission of the Clergy. The Reformation Parliament 1520-30. Act in Restraint of Appeals. Act of Succession. Act of Supremacy. Cranmer. Execution of More. Thomas Cromwell. Dissolution of the monasteries. Union of England and Wales. Alliance with the Schmalkaldic League. Articles of Faith. The Pilgrimage of Grace. Catholic reaction. War. Bankruptcy.

2. The Reformation under Edward VI. Somerset Regent. Repeal of the treason and heresy laws. Rapid growth of Protestant opinion. The Book of Common Prayer. Social disorders. Conspiracy of Northumberland and Suffolk.

3. The Catholic reaction under Mary. Proclamation of Queen Jane. Accession and policy of Mary. Repeal of Reforming Acts. Revival of Treason Laws. The Protestant Martyrs.

4. The Elizabethan Settlement 1558-88. Policy of Elizabeth. Respective numbers of Catholics and Protestants. Conversion of the masses. The Thirty-nine Articles. The Church of England. Underhand war with Spain. Rebellion of the Northern Earls. Execution of Mary Stuart. The Armada. The Puritans.

5. Ireland.

Chapter Vii. Scotland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Backward condition of Scotland. Relations with England. Cardinal Beaton. John Knox. Battle of Pinkie. Knox in Scotland. The Common Band. Iconoclasm. Treaty of Edinburgh. The Religious Revolution. Confession of Faith. Queen Mary's crimes and deposition. Results of the Reformation.

Chapter Viii. the Counter-Reformation . . . . . . . . . . 371

1. Italy. The pagan Renaissance; the Christian Renaissance. Sporadic Lutheranism.

2. The Papacy 1521-90. The Sack of Rome. Reforms.

3. The Council of Trent. First Period (1545-7). Second Period (1551-2). Third Period (1562-3). Results.

4. The Company of Jesus. New monastic orders. Loyola. The Spiritual Exercises. Rapid growth and successes of the Jesuits. Their final failure.

5. The Inquisition and the Index. The medieval Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition. The Roman Inquisition. Censorship of the press. The Index of Prohibited Books.

Chapter Ix. the Iberian Peninsula and the Expansion

OF EUROPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

1. Spain. Unification of Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella. Charles V. Revolts of the Communes and of the Hermandad. Constitution of Spain. The Spanish empire. Philip II. The war with the Moriscos. The Armada.

2. Exploration. Columbus. Conquest of Mexico and of Peru. Circumnavigation of the globe. Portuguese exploration to the East. Brazil. Decadence of Portugal. Russia. The Turks.

Chapter X. Social Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

1. Population.

2. Wealth and Prices. Increase of wealth in modern times. Prices and wages in the Sixteenth Century. Value of money. Trend of prices.

3. Social Institutions. The monarchy, the Council of state, the Parliament. Public finance. Maintenance of Order. Sumptuary laws and "blue laws." The army. The navy.

4. Private life and manners. The nobility; the professions; the clergy. The city, the house, dress, food, drink. Sports. Manners. Morals. Position of Women. Health.

Chapter Xi. the Capitalistic Revolution . . . . . . . . . 515

1. The Rise of the Power of Money. Rise of capitalism. Banking. Mining. Commerce. Manufacture. Agriculture.

2. The Rise of the Money Power. Ascendancy of the bourgeoisie over the nobility, clergy, and proletariat. Class wars. Regulation of Labor. Pauperism.

Chapter Xii. Main Currents of Thought . . . . . . . . . 563

1. Biblical and classical scholarship. Greek and Hebrew Bibles. Translations. The classics. The vernaculars.

2. History. Humanistic history and church history.

3. Political theory. The state as power: Machiavelli. Constitutional liberty: Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Hotman, Mornay, Bodin, Buchanan. Radicals: the Utopia.

4. Science. Inductive method. Mathematics. Zooelogy. Anatomy. Physics. Geography. Astronomy; Copernicus. Reform of the calendar.

5. Philosophy. The Catholic and Protestant thinkers. Skeptics. Effect of the Copernican theory: Bruno.

Chapter Xiii. the Temper of the Times . . . . . . . . . 641

1. Tolerance and Intolerance. Effect of the Renaissance and Reformation.

2. Witchcraft. Causes of the mania. Protests against it.

3. Education. Schools. Effect of the Reformation. Universities.

4. Art. The ideals expressed. Painting. Architecture. Music. Effect of the Reformation and Counter-reformation.

5. Reading. Number of books. Typical themes. Greatness of the Sixteenth Century.

Chapter Xiv. the Reformation Interpreted . . . . . . . 699

1. The Religious and Political Interpretations. Burnet, Bossuet, Sleidan, Sarpi.

2. The Rationalist Critique. Montesquieu, Voltaire, Robertson, Hume, Gibbon, Goethe, Lessing.

3. The Liberal-Romantic Appreciation. Heine, Michelet, Froude, Hegel, Ranke, Buckle.

4. The Economic and Evolutionary Interpretations. Marx, Lamprecht, Berger, Weber, Nietzsche, Troeltsch, Santayana, Harnack, Beard, Janssen, Pastor, Acton.

5. Concluding Estimate.

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819

{3}

THE AGE OF THE REFORMATION

CHAPTER I. The Old and the New

THE OLD AND THE NEW

SECTION 1. THE WORLD.

Though in some sense every age is one of transition and every generation sees the world remodelled, there sometimes comes a change so startling and profound that it seems like the beginning of a new season in the world's great year. The snows of winter melt for weeks, the cold winds blow and the cool rains fall, and we see no change until, almost within a few days, the leaves and blossoms put forth their verdure, and the spring has come.

Such a change in man's environment and habits as the world has rarely seen, took place in the generation that reached early manhood in the year 1500. [Sidenote: 1483-1546] In the span of a single life--for convenience let us take that of Luther for our measure--men discovered, not in metaphor but in sober fact, a new heaven and a new earth. In those days masses of men began to read many books, multiplied by the new art of printing. In those days immortal artists shot the world through with a matchless radiance of color and of meaning. In those days Vasco da Gama and Columbus and Magellan opened the watery ways to new lands beyond the seven seas. In those days Copernicus established the momentous truth that the earth was but a tiny planet spinning around a vastly greater sun. In those days was in large part accomplished the economic shift from medieval gild to modern production by capital and wages. In those days wealth was piled up in the coffers of the merchants, and a new power was {4} given to the life of the individual, of the nation, and of the third estate. In those days the monarchy of the Roman church was broken, and large portions of her dominions seceded to form new organizations, governed by other powers and animated by a different spirit.

Continue reading The Age of the Reformation free in the Wunder reader →