period
(1580– 1640), followed policies similar to those of Spain. The country remained
untouched by the Reformation.
The Reformation had very little impact on Italy as a whole.
The only Protestant communities were those of the Waldensians, who lived in isolated
mountain valleys. These groups had existed before the Reformation but then, due
to common beliefs, they integrated into the Reformed Church.
Because Luther’s works were published in German, Church
censorship in Italy successfully kept his works from the literate public as
well as the general populace by banning preaching and reform ideas. There were
no city or state officials asking for reformed preachers as was the case in
German-speaking areas.
Church officials regarded any kind of reform as a threat to
their position, and high offices were controlled by powerful families. There
were a few isolated incidents in which followers of Luther or Zwingli tried to
make inroads in Italy, but even the mention of their names could be dangerous.
At one point in 1531, Lutheran ideas were discussed at the University of Padua,
but papal authorities wasted no time suppressing this activity.
EASTERN EUROPE
Protestant reformers cut deeply into the fabric of the
Catholic states of Poland under tolerant rulers. The teachings of the reform
movement found adherents throughout the country.
The most fervent Protestants were to be found in the cities
of Danzig, Thorn, and Elbing, which were still mostly German. The majority of
Poland’s nobility had converted to Protestantism, and the policy of tolerance
attracted many of the refugees from other lands. A new Protestant-dominated
nation was about to be born.
Then came the miscarriage. In 1550, the king, Sigismund
Augustus, announced he would remain Catholic and that heretics would be
expelled from the country. This did not happen as many of the nobility were
Protestant, and the common people were not affected by the religious split.
Following monarchs were thoroughly Catholic, and a divided Protestantism, while
not vigorously persecuted, just faded away.
WESTERN EUROPE
France
Assembled at Meaux by Guillaume Brigonnet was a group of
French evangelical humanists. There, Jacques Lefevre produced his French
translations of the scriptures. Lefevre did not attack the papacy or seek a
break with the Church, but the town gradually acquired many Protestant
residents. Similar small circles appeared in other towns such as Amiens and
Metz in Lyons and Grenoble. There was little coordination among the far-flung
groups that were inspired by Erasmus, Lefevre, Luther, Zwingli, Bucer, and even
the Anabaptists. Growth and expansion was inhibited by opposition from the
Sorbonne and the Parliament of Paris. King Francois I supported Lutheran
princes in the Holy Roman Empire in his struggle against Charles V but had no
axe to grind with the pope as did Henry VIII of England.
The citizens of France did not have the spiritual or
political need to embrace the new faith. The peasantry, especially, stuck to
their saints and pious practices. There was no rush into heresy, and the
powerful French bishops kept their dioceses under control.
In 1534, with the affair of the placards, the king clamped
down, then for a time relaxed the oppression, but at the end of his reign, some
3,000 Waldensians were massacred in Provence along with many Protestant
artisans at Meaux. Calvinism, however, was on the rise, but Catholics were
still in firm control.
England
Dissenters were not unknown in England and provided a small
nucleus for a Protestant foothold. The Lutheran movement was reinforced by the
trade with Antwerp whereby numerous heretical books and pamphlets invaded the
country. After about 1520, such ideas were discussed by students at Cambridge
under the auspices of the Augustinian friar, Robert Barnes, a disciple of
Luther (martyred in 1540). Ties with the Vatican were severed in the reign of
Henry VIII, and the Anglican Church
(1580– 1640), followed policies similar to those of Spain. The country remained
untouched by the Reformation.
The Reformation had very little impact on Italy as a whole.
The only Protestant communities were those of the Waldensians, who lived in isolated
mountain valleys. These groups had existed before the Reformation but then, due
to common beliefs, they integrated into the Reformed Church.
Because Luther’s works were published in German, Church
censorship in Italy successfully kept his works from the literate public as
well as the general populace by banning preaching and reform ideas. There were
no city or state officials asking for reformed preachers as was the case in
German-speaking areas.
Church officials regarded any kind of reform as a threat to
their position, and high offices were controlled by powerful families. There
were a few isolated incidents in which followers of Luther or Zwingli tried to
make inroads in Italy, but even the mention of their names could be dangerous.
At one point in 1531, Lutheran ideas were discussed at the University of Padua,
but papal authorities wasted no time suppressing this activity.
EASTERN EUROPE
Protestant reformers cut deeply into the fabric of the
Catholic states of Poland under tolerant rulers. The teachings of the reform
movement found adherents throughout the country.
The most fervent Protestants were to be found in the cities
of Danzig, Thorn, and Elbing, which were still mostly German. The majority of
Poland’s nobility had converted to Protestantism, and the policy of tolerance
attracted many of the refugees from other lands. A new Protestant-dominated
nation was about to be born.
Then came the miscarriage. In 1550, the king, Sigismund
Augustus, announced he would remain Catholic and that heretics would be
expelled from the country. This did not happen as many of the nobility were
Protestant, and the common people were not affected by the religious split.
Following monarchs were thoroughly Catholic, and a divided Protestantism, while
not vigorously persecuted, just faded away.
WESTERN EUROPE
France
Assembled at Meaux by Guillaume Brigonnet was a group of
French evangelical humanists. There, Jacques Lefevre produced his French
translations of the scriptures. Lefevre did not attack the papacy or seek a
break with the Church, but the town gradually acquired many Protestant
residents. Similar small circles appeared in other towns such as Amiens and
Metz in Lyons and Grenoble. There was little coordination among the far-flung
groups that were inspired by Erasmus, Lefevre, Luther, Zwingli, Bucer, and even
the Anabaptists. Growth and expansion was inhibited by opposition from the
Sorbonne and the Parliament of Paris. King Francois I supported Lutheran
princes in the Holy Roman Empire in his struggle against Charles V but had no
axe to grind with the pope as did Henry VIII of England.
The citizens of France did not have the spiritual or
political need to embrace the new faith. The peasantry, especially, stuck to
their saints and pious practices. There was no rush into heresy, and the
powerful French bishops kept their dioceses under control.
In 1534, with the affair of the placards, the king clamped
down, then for a time relaxed the oppression, but at the end of his reign, some
3,000 Waldensians were massacred in Provence along with many Protestant
artisans at Meaux. Calvinism, however, was on the rise, but Catholics were
still in firm control.
England
Dissenters were not unknown in England and provided a small
nucleus for a Protestant foothold. The Lutheran movement was reinforced by the
trade with Antwerp whereby numerous heretical books and pamphlets invaded the
country. After about 1520, such ideas were discussed by students at Cambridge
under the auspices of the Augustinian friar, Robert Barnes, a disciple of
Luther (martyred in 1540). Ties with the Vatican were severed in the reign of
Henry VIII, and the Anglican Church
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