in Europe 1500: A Heirarchical Society 8-25-11
1.Two people who made a difference: Katharina von Bora and Charles V
German nun, left catholic church to marry Charles V, converted to Lutheranism
Daughter of a noble saxon family, put into a convent at age of 5
A. The world of Katharina von Bora
1. Her life
Born 1499
Lives in convent from age 5 until she leaves to join religious
reform movement in 1523
Marries Martin Luther in 1523
2. Her church
Importance of practice
Importance of sacrements(baptism, confirmation, confession,
communion, marriage, anointing of the sick, holy orders)
Importance of hierarchy
Importance of works and efficacy of prayer
Masses for the dead, purgatory, indulgences,
Monastic life
Pilgrimages and relics
a. a hierarchical church
b. a worldly church
Social and economic structures which replicate the hierarchical
society at large
Enormous amounts of land owned
Church officials governed by canon law, the law of the church,
generally not by law of the land
Privileges of the church:
-clergy pay no taxes on their land or income
-right to collect the tithe
clerical monopoly on conducting services, reading the Bible
-right to censor publications
-right to descipline and regulate its members according to
ecclesiastic or cannon law
- right to punish heretics
c. late medieval piety
Rituals
Saints
Imagery
Magic, demons, alchemists
Fear of Gods judgement, damnation for minor offenses
(ridiculed by Erasmus, in In Praise of Folly)
Or, confidence that al can be forgiven.
B. Charles V
Condems Luter as a heretic in 1521
Retires and splits his empire in 1554 in the wake of the Reformation
1. his inheritance
Inherited 3 kingdoms when born in 1500
Included lands of house of Hapsburg, Spanish throne and all of its holdings as it
began to take over the new world
2. what is the HRE
Became Holy Roman Emperor
Weak title, politically. HRE is an elected overseer of all kings, princes, elections.
3. what did it mean to be a king
Relatively weak position
Not a powerful state structure
Importance of the hunt
-a display of kingship
-seeking a symbolic reinforcement of their power
Spent a lot of time on ritual-who got do sit where, do and what
The importance of precedence-the order in which people are to be placed in
society
o Ranked by importance
Marriage Politics
o Dynasty and diplomatic alliances creates or destroys by marriage
o Not getting married or not having a male heir poses a problem
o In most royal families, the eldest male inherits, but sometimes women
inherit thrones, or at least carry them on
o Intermarriage of royal families makes for tangled web of royalty in Europe
Getting along with the curch
o Variable, but conflict is frequent, especially in northern and central Europe
o Conflict after 13th century over Papal Supremacy (in secular as well as
religious affairs)
o Popes much wealthier and more powerful than most secular rulers
o Church has right of excommunication over secular leaders
II. origins of the reformation
A. a corrupt church?
The wealth
The offenses
o The Renaissance Popes
o Alexander VI 1492-1503
o Leo X
The churchs internal conflicts and critics
o The Franciscans
o Savonarola
Leo Xs indulgences
o Definition: an indulgence was the forgivness of sins that could be
granted to those who were living or those who were already dead
and could shorten ones time in purgatory
o Leo Xs desire to rebuild St. Peters as a massive
B. The church and the non Christian world
Crusades, and relations with the Ottoman infidel
Relations with Jews
o The importance of court Jews
o Expulsion of muslims from spain after the Reconquista
o Origins of the ghetto
The church in the New World-humane and inhumane treatment of
indigenous Americans
C. The churchs internal critics
Heretics were Christians who adhered to forms of beliefs that the church
refused to accept
Heresy an opinion chosen by human perception, founded on the
Scriptures, contrary to the teaching of the Church, publicly avowed and
obstinately defended
Heretics were persued by inquisitors and made to show regret before
burned at the stake.
D. Humanism and its dangers
Desiderius Ersamus 1466-1536
Dutch humanists, objects to church rituals, condemnations
1516 New Greek version of the New Testament, and new Latin translation
which is critical of St. Jeromes Vulgate (version used by church since 4th
century