The Early Reformation

Hans Suess von Kulmbach’s

caricature (1508), “The Sinking

Ship of the Catholic Church”

Martin

Luther

(1520)

Erasmus of Rotterdam, Prince of Humanists

- Monk, then a scholar

and professional writer

-Wrote In Praise of Folly

-Prepared critical edition

of the New Testament

-Supporter of simple

piety, Christian

humanism

-Influence on Luther,

Reuchlin, others

Philipp Melanchthon - nephew of Reuchlin,

friend of Luther and a humanist; later a

Protestant leader; wrote Loci Communes

Luther’s “Here I Stand” speech at the

Imperial Diet of Worms (1521)

Frederick the Wise, Luther’s

Protector (1496 Duerer Portrait)

Wartburg Castle, “Luther’s hideout”

Luther’s

Room in

Wartburg

Castle

“Junker Joerg” (by Lucas Cranach)

Katherina “Katie” von Bora,

Luther’s Wife by Cranach (1526)

Luther’s House in Wittenberg

Luther’s Main Ideas

• Salvation (or justification) by faith alone

• The Bible is the only guide that Christians need; no need

for the Papacy or its magisterium and traditions

• Emphasis on the role of an individual’s conscience

• The Bible needs to be translated into the vernacular

• Marriage of clergy (ministers) is acceptable

• Desire to return to the simplicity of the primitive early

Church

• Only TWO sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion)

instead of SEVEN (as with the Roman Catholic Church)

Johann Eck, Luther’s principal

Catholic opponent in debates

Protestant propaganda – Luther’s

opponents ridiculed

Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), the Swiss Reformer

Zwingli was a humanist and former army chaplain; some

of his views resemble Luther’s, others are more radical;

some of his ideas are listed below

• The Bible was the sole source of religious authority

• Indulgences and pilgrimages were without value

• Fasting and praying to saints were likewise worthless

• Purgatory didn’t exist

• Mass was merely symbolic, as was the Eucharist (and

thus not a literal recreation of the Last Supper or of

Jesus’s sacrifice)

• Images and pictures of saints should be destroyed so as

to avoid idolatry

• Priests and nuns can marry

Zurich’s Great Minster (church), where Zwingli

preached

The Marburg Colloquy (1529) – an attempt by Luther,

Zwingli and other reformers to reach a compromise among

themselves, mostly about the Eucharist; this effort fails

12 Articles

of the

Swabian

Peasants

(during the

Peasants

War 1524-

1526)

John Calvin (1509-1564), Swiss Reformer

Geneva, the “Protestant Rome”

Predestination – one of Calvin’s key ideas

Sebastian Castellio, defender of the right to

freedom of conscience

The Consistory in Geneva

-The Consistory was a means by

which Calvin and his supporters

could maintain order in Geneva

-The Consistory regulated the

behavior of its citizens in

connection with marriage,

divorce, children’s welfare, etc.

-The Consistory was sometimes

used to crack down on

dissidents, esp. suspected

heretics (e.g., Michael Servetus)

Michel Servetus (1511-1553), a Spanish physician and Unitarian;

burned as a heretic by Calvinists in Geneva