The Causes of Protestant Reformation, Term Paper Example

The protestant reformation was mainly sparked by Martin Luther, a monk who studied the bible and then attacked the catholic church leadership regarding their religious practices. One of the major arguments that Luther put forth was that the major religious authority mainly lay on the bible, but not on the church traditions, bishops nor the pope. The bible was thus the standard measure for the teachings, and he highly condemned the church teachings that were against the bible. Relatively, he insisted that the bible as well as worship be translated from Latin to English, a language that could be understood by all. After reading the new testament, Luther noted that salvation was only possible through God’s grace rather than works of merit. He condemned the indulgences that were sold by the church to offer assurance of their well being in the afterlife (Walsham 19).

In 1517, Luther published 95 theses condemning the selling of the indulgences and nailed them to the church door. The indulgences spread quickly and reached a large audience who later on began protesting against the catholic church (Walsham 13). Considering the teachings of Martin Luther, prominent personalities such as John Calvin, the German Princess, and Henry VIII decided to break away from the catholic church and joined the protestant church movement. This group was known as Lutherans and they largely spread the gospel according to Martin Luther. The translation of the Bible from Latin to English also enabled a number of people to be able to read and understand what was written hence leading to their easy conviction.

Evaluating pre-modern kings

1226-1270 – King Louis IX – France experienced great prosperity, peace, and brilliant cultural advances. He increased the royal powers in regards to the French nobility. Rooted out corruption within the royal administration.

1355 – Edward (the Black Prince) – this was the eldest son of King Edward III. Was successful and mainly carried out profitable raids in Languedoc. During his reign he captured King John of France resulting in the payment of a large royal ransom. Furthermore the signing of the treaty of Bretigny (1360) was under his leadership, hence making English possess Dutch Aquitaine (Mignolo 34).

1272-1307 – Edward I of England – He was the son to Henry III. Considered great for bringing in a number of changes. He reissued the magna carta and promulgated the statute law. He then established the parliament a body that represented communities and nobility of the realm. The parliament’s main role was to grant the king taxes. Edward also conquered Wales, consolidating the conquest by constructing various castles. He further extended his lordship to Scotland through diplomacy and later on by military.

1266   King Henry III of England: Was not very successful. Granted the merchant of Lubeck and Hamburg the right to form their association. Trade mainly involved importation to England, and the trade was mainly controlled by Germans rather than the English merchants.

1328 – King Louis IV of Germany. He was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite being crowned a king, the Pope John XXII refused to recognize him as a legitimate king. This mainly stemmed from his pledged support of Spiritual Franciscans and also due to the outbreak of the political warfare  in Rome between the papal supporters and the imperial party. He ruled for only one year, and his reign was not highly successful (Mignolo 34).

1302   Boniface VIII – Issues a papal bull which brings about the papal supremacy both in church and state. However, the political reality of the papal position uncovers and he is charged with heresy among other crimes. He is rendered unfit to be pope and an army sent to capture him. He is later arrested by King Philip IV and dies due to mistreatment.

Works Cited

Mignolo, Walter. Local histories/global designs: Coloniality, subaltern knowledges, and border thinking. Princeton University Press, 2012.

Walsham, Alexandra. The Reformation of the Landscape: religion, identity, and memory in early modern Britain and Ireland. OUP Oxford, 2011.