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My Notes
Reformations
Pre-Reformation

Pre-Reformation

Northern Renaissance (Christian) Humanism and the Church Before the Reformation

  • Christian Humanists studied classical works, similar to italian humanists
  • They focused on writings from early christianity and the bible
    • They thought that christianity was simpler than the church made it out to be
  • Believed that through studying classical antiquity and educating people about it, they could instill an inner piety that would bring about reform in the church.
    • As such, they supported schools, and the ability for everyone to be able to read the bible in their native language.
    • Erasmus, in his preface to his Greek translation of the New Testament, argued that women should be able to read as well
  • Believed very deeply in the power of education, some called them naive, but they were simply optimistic
  • Major Christian Humanists include Erasmus and Thomas More
  • Erasmus:
    • Emphasized Christianity as a “philosophy of Christ”
    • Translated the New Testament and wrote The Praise of Folly.
  • Thomas More:
    • Wrote Utopia in 1516
    • Argued for what is basically communism, but came face-to-face with corruption when he served Henry VIII
      • Was persecuted by the English for following the Catholic Church
  • Corruption in the Church made people want to reform
  • Failure of Renaissance popes to provide spiritual leadership affected all of Christendom
  • Focus on money led to nobles and the wealthy holding positions of power in the Church
    • To increase revenue, they would hold multiple offices in the Church, a practice known as pluralism.
    • Because they could only attend one office at a time, this lead to absenteeism, where officials hired other people, often unqualified, to do their work.
  • Complaints about the ignorance and ineptness of priests became widespread in the 15th century
  • With leaders failing to provide guidance, people struggled to find salvation
  • For some, this process became almost mechanical
    • Frederick the Wise, Martin Luther’s prince, amassed 19,000 relics to which were attached indulgences which could reduce one’s time in purgatory by nearly 2 million years.
  • Others sought certainty of salvation in a mystical movement known as the Modern Devotion, which downplayed dogma, stressed the need to follow the teachings of Christ.
    • Thomas a Kempis wrote The Imitation of Christ and argued that at the end of the day people will be judged solely on how religiously they lived.
  • Most of these movements stayed within the framework of the Catholic Church, but disillusionment with the Church would grow as the church did not keep up with their expectations.
  • Many sources of reform were already at work within the church in the late 15th and early 16th centuries
  • Notably, calls for reform came from Franciscan, Dominican, and Augustinian orders.
    • These orders placed an emphasis on preaching to laypeople
  • Johannes Geiler of Kaiserberg was a popular preacher who denounced the corruption of clergy.
  • The Oratory of Divine Love, founded in 1497, was not a religious order, but a group that worked to foster reform in the Church.
  • Emphasized personal spiritual development and outward acts of charity.
  • The philosophy of Christ (see Erasmus) was appealing to many of them.
  • Members included cardinals who favored church reform.
    • Cardinal Ximenes was especially active in using Christian Humanism to reform the Church, he had many spiritual writings, including The Imitation of Christ, translated into Spanish.
16th Century Politics