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Martin's Day in Erfurt, Thuringia                                                 .                                                                                           

Reformation | I. New Confessions (1490-1540)

I.  New Confessions (1490-1540)   II.  Fights over Religion (1540-1600)   III. Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)

World

1492
Columbus in America

At the beginning of the Modern Age, the Habsburg dynasty was a European power. Emperor Maximilian I (1493-1519) had married Maria, the beautiful daughter of Charles the Bold of Burgundy, and she had brought her father's rich  territories into the Habsburg family. Two of their children married into the Spanish Royal family, two other favorable marriages got Habsburg the crowns of Bohemia  and Poland. 

A Time of transition

Maximilian lived in a time of transition between the Late Middle Ages and the Modern Age.  Courageous sailors discovered Africa, Asia and America, and soon trade linked Europe with those continents. Traders and bankers like the Fugger family in Augsburg made a fortune. The ideas of humanism spread throughout Europe, and in the city states of Northern Italy, Renaissance art flourished, just think of Botticelli, Michelangelo and  Leonardo da Vinci. They inspired the great German painter Albrecht Dürer. 

1509-1547
Henry VIII of England

The Roman Catholic Church  was a mighty institution.  As to moral leadership, however, it had hit the rock bottom.  Many high-ranking clergymen led a life of luxury, even excesses, the dues to the curia ( the papal court) were overwhelming and ecclesiastical positions were bought and sold (simony).  Yet, the church refused to reform. Another controversial practice  was the sale of indulgences. For the people back then, the purgatory was something very real, they firmly believed that the souls of their dear deceased ones suffered in the purgatory, and that they could release their pain by donating money to the church and buying indulgences. 

Germany, 1516-1517

Around 1509, the curia decided to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and to raise the necessary funds by selling indulgences. A well-known Dominican friar and papal commissioner for indulgences,  Johann Tetzel, was sent to Germany. Sale of indulgences must have been good business, since a "commercial" goes:  "as soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs". 

Martin Luther

In the city of Wittemberg, Martin  Luther (1483-1546), an Augustinian monk, theologian and university professor,  was outraged. He firmly believed that only the grace of God could grant forgiveness, and that Christians were mislead. 

In a letter to Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz and Magdeburg, he protested against the sale of indulgences and enclosed his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences" - better known as the 95 theses. The same day, October 31, 1517 he nailed a copy to the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg (allegedly).   

The 95 theses were soon translated from Latin into German, and, thanks to the new Gutenberg printing press, quickly distributed in Germany and Europe. Martin Luther had not intended to split the country or even cause wars over religion.  But  his theses questioned the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, in other words: they were dynamite. 

1519, Europe

Emperor  Maximilian died in 1519 and the Habsburg territories went to his grandson Charles of the Spanish Habsburg line. Thanks to the legendary financial support by the Fugger family, he was also elected  Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. 

1516-1806 
Argentina 
Spanish colony

1519-1521 
Conquest of the Aztec Empire

"The Empire in which the sun does not set" - Charles V

At the same times, his conquistadores set out to conquer the new world with its legendary gold and silver treasures for Spain. Soon, Charles V was one of the mightiest men of his time, ruling over an Empire in which "the sun does not set": extensive territories in Europe, inherited from his Spanish and Burgundian ancestors and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Philippines.  

Charles V was the only Habsburg Emperor who, at least for some years, united all the Habsburg power in his hand. Yet, Charles' whole reign was overshadowed by wars. Over years, he fought against France and the Ottoman Empire, and within the Empire, he fought reformation. 

1527-1546
Conquest of the
Maya Empire 

1526
Battle of Mohacs: Hungary falls to the Ottoman Turks

1527
 Charles' V. troops
sack Rome 

1520/21, Germany

After publicly burning a papal bull, Luther was excommunicated on January 3, 1521. Shortly after, he  was summoned to the Imperial Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521.  

"Here I stand, I can do no other .." Luther on the Imperial Diet of Worms

Emperor Charles V demanded that he broke with his theses and books. Luther's answer has been handed down to us: "Unless I shall be convinced by the testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear reason ... I neither can nor will make any retraction, since it is neither safe nor honorable to act against conscience." Allegedly he added: "Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me. Amen."  The Emperor's verdict was hard: In the edict by the Diet of Worms, he  made Luther at outlaw, and forbade to all his subjects to read Luther's s writings.  

But Luther was not alone. His sovereign, Prince Elector Friedrich der Weise (Frederick the Wise) of Saxony,  rescued him and hid him on the Wartburg Castle in Thuringia. Here, Luther began to translate the New Testament  from Greek into German as people spoke it back then. So, for the very first time, they could read God's word themselves and did no longer need a clergyman to read and translate it for them. Moreover, Luther broke with another Roman Catholic rule for clergymen: he got married.

In defiance of the edict of the Diet of Worms, reformation spread in Germany. Some of the  princes converted, for instance the rulers of Hesse, Palatinate, Saxony and Wurttemberg. They did so for conviction, but also for political calculations: by  becoming a Lutheran, they did away with the Pope's authority and the overwhelming dues to the curia. Instead, they could build up their own Lutheran national churches and strengthen their position against the Catholic Emperor. Obviously, reformation was no longer a matter of theologians only.

1521-25, Switzerland

At the same time, reformation began in Switzerland under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli, yet differences about theological issues kept Zwingli and Luther apart.  

In Zurich, the Anabaptist movement began. It was very  complex and included people who would  consciously suffer  injustice done to them, but also militant and violent people to whom the aim justified the mains. The Anabaptists believed  that it was not right to baptize infants and accepted only adults being baptized. Moreover, they demanded freedom of worship and rejected all church authority  – a demand that led to them being heavily prosecuted by the Catholic and Lutheran authorities. 

1526-1529, Europe

Emperor Charles V. must have hated to see reformation spread, but he could hardly interfere as the continuous war against  France kept him abroad. It came even worse for him: after defeating the Hungarians in the battle of Mohacs in 1529,  the Ottoman Turks threatened the Empire. In 1529, the siege of Vienna began. 

1529, Speyer

On the Imperial Diet of Speyer,  the edict by the Diet of Worms was confirmed by the Catholic majority. The Lutheran minority protested against the decision, hence the name "Protestants". Moreover, the Diet  passed a resolution according to which Anabaptists refusing to recant could be executed  on the spot, without legal proceedings.

1534
 Henry VIII  forms the "Church of England"

1530-1532, Empire 

An Imperial Diet in Augsburg in 1530 should unite the Empire against the Ottoman Turks, but it failed as Emperor Charles V rejected the Lutheran princes'  "Augsburg Confession".  In 1531, they grouped  together in the Schmalkaldic League.  With the Turks threatening the Empire, a compromise was made: the Lutherans could  practice their religion until a general council on issues of faith would restore unity. Yet, the "Nuremberg Peace of Religion" of 1532 was an armistice rather than a peace.  

At first, Prince-Archbishop Hermann von Wied (1515-1547) had fought reformation vigorously. On the other side, he was a good Archbishop and sovereign, he saw things that were wrong and struggled to remedy them. Over the years, he realized that the Catholic Church would not reform, and eventually he called Lutheran theologians into his archbishopric. From Bonn, reformation spread in our region, in the villages on the right bank of the Rhine River. There was a peaceful side by side of confessions, of old traditions and reforms. Many people supported their Archbishop, because his reforms met their wishes and needs. In the cathedral chapter at Cologne and the high clergy, however, the Archbishop  made enemies.

1541, Switzerland 

In Geneva, John Calvin founded the "Reformed Church". His teachings quickly spread to France, the Netherlands, England and Scotland and later to North America. Also in Germany Calvinism found followers. 

1540-1543, Rhineland 

Since the Late Middle Ages, large parts of our region including the villages of Oberdollendorf, Niederdollendorf, Küdinghoven, Oberkassel and Honnef with the Löwenburg mountain belonged to the Duchy of Berg. By the time of the reformation, the duchies of Jülich, Cleves (on the left bank of the Rhine river) and Berg (on the right bank) were united in one family, and the ruling Duke Wilhelm (William, 1539-1592) was a mighty man.  The Duke was  an open-minded Humanist, in his lands lived Catholics and Protestants,  and he met reformation and Prince-Archbishop Hermann von Wied with tolerance.

Henry's VIII's brother-in-law: Duke Wilhelm of Jülich-Cleves-Berg 

He is probably better known as brother of Anne of Cleve, the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England from January till July 1540.  After the death of his third  wife Jane Seymour, the King had to marry again and hope for more healthy sons to be born. Yet, it was difficult to find a suitable candidate, since of course the European courts knew what had happened to Henry's first three wives. 

Political aspects spoke in favor of the house of Cleves: Anne's father, a Protestant,  sided with the Schmalkaldic league. Her brother Wilhelm argued with Emperor Charles V over the region of Gelderland. So Anne was sent to England, but she did not please the Henry VIII at all, and the marriage was annulled right away. Anne agreed, got a generous settlement and spent the rest of her life in England, on good terms with the King and his court, and eventually she outlived them all.  

1543, Rhineland 

Duke Wilhelm's claim on Gelderland brought Emperor Charles V into the arena. After his long absence from Germany, he could now impose his will on a German Prince.  When the Imperial troops marched through the town of Bad Honnef, they got into fights with the Duke's men, and many houses were destroyed. Finally, Duke Wilhelm was defeated. In the treaty of Venlo of 1543, he was forced not only to give up Gelderland, but also to vigorously proceed against reformation. 

1544, Europe

At last, peace was made between Charles V, France and the Ottoman Sultan. Meanwhile, reformation had spread further, only Austria, Bavaria and the three ecclesiastical states (under the control of a bishop)  Cologne,  Mainz and Trier had "officially" remained catholic, yet also here the Reformation found followers. 

1545/1547, Rhineland

Prince-Archbishop Hermann von Wied of Cologne had made mighty enemies. In 1545, he was summoned to appear  before the Pope and the Emperor in Brussels. In 1547, he was dismissed.

Finally, the Council of Trent (1546-1563) came together on the Emperor's urging. Yet, it was dominated by the Pope, and it was not a German council as the Lutherans had demanded, so they refused to participate. Now, there was no way that the Council could restore unity, and Charles V did not longer feel obliged to seek a peaceful solution but took up arrns.  In the Schmalkaldic War,  Charles troops, enforced by Spanish and Italian mercenaries, defeated the League in the Battle of Mühlberg.  After that victory, Charles V. was at the height of his power.  A year later, at an Imperial Diet in Augsburg he "dictated" a religion  to the Lutherans, the Augsburg Interim (1548). 

1556-1598
Philip I. of Spain

1558-1603
Elizabeth I 
of England

1552-1558, Germany 

But the Lutherans mostly resented the interim, and also the Catholic princes feared the increasing dominance of the Emperor and Spain. When Charles suggested his son Philip II of Spain as his successor,  the princes, supported  by the French King, rebelled against him. After a devastating defeat, Charles V had to retreat (1556). Wearily,  but with good grace he abdicated and retired to a monastery in the Spanish Extremadura, where he died in 1558.  His son Philip II of Spain inherited the Spanish empire, his younger brother Ferdinand the Austrian lands.

The new Emperor Ferdinand I (1556-1564) made peace with the Lutherans. The Augsburg Peace of 1555 stated that the princes could choose the religion in their lands (in Latin "cuius regio, eius religio),  in other words: the prince could freely decide to be either a Catholic or a Lutheran, and his decision was binding for his subjects, they had no freedom of religion.

The Augsburg Peace also stipulated that  bishops could convert, in that case, however, they had to give up their ecclesiastical territories.  Whereas  the Catholic and the Lutheran confession were recognized, the Calvinist was not. 

The Council of Trent (1546-1563) failed to restore unity and is rather considered as the beginning of the Catholic Counter Reformation, as it founded the  Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) and established inquisition. 

1550-1650, Rhineland 

Calvinists and Anabaptists in the Rhineland 

After the defeat of Charles V. and the Augsburg Peace, reformation in our region grew stronger again. However, now it was characterized by John Calvin's teachings, not Luther's.  In many villages Calvinist parishes were founded, also in in Niederdollendorf and above all Oberkassel. But is was dangerous to confess to Calvinism, and these people could only meet secretly  As mentioned above, the Augsburg Peace did not recognize the Calvinist confession. 

Moreover, since 1566 the Calvinist Netherlands fought for their independence from Spain, which was ruled by the Spanish line of the Habsburg dynasty, so there was no way that the Habsburg authorities in Germany would tolerate Calvinist parishes  within the Empire, right at the border to the Netherlands. 

Even more than Calvinism, Anabaptism as preached by Menno Simons had gained ground in the villages on the right bank of the Rhine river: in Limperich,  Limperich, Küdinghoven, Oberdollendorf and Niederdollendorf, Oberkassel, Honnef and above all in Königswinter. These Anabaptists were non-violent, even pacifistic, but nonetheless they were prosecuted. Since the Diet of Speyer of 1529, Anabaptists who did not recant could be executed on the spot, without legal proceedings. In the Rhineland, that was handled in a milder way, one tried to convert them and deported them if they refused. But also here arrests and executions occurred. 

1550-1650

Witch Hunts 

Another dark chapter of those days are the witch hunts throughout the Empire. In the territories of the Archbishops of Cologne and the Counts of Berg, hundreds of people were arrested for being witches or sorcerers, tortured and sentenced to death on a stake. 

1572, France
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre

One the courageous fighters again the witch trials was  Dr. Johannes Weyer, the personal physician of Duke Wilhelm  of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Protected by the Duke, Dr. Weyer accused the outrageous injustice and the cruelties of the witch trials in his books. 

Years later, the  Jesuit priest Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld fought against the witch hunts. He had been father confessor to countless women and had accompanied them on their way to the stakes. And yet, he had no other way to help than to decry again and again the cruelties in his writings. All the time, he risked to be accused and burned himself.

1587, UK
Execution of
Maria Stuart

1588, UK
Defeat of the 
Spanish Armada 

1583-1588, Rhineland

War of Cologne

Prince-Archbishop  of Cologne Gebhard I Truchsess von Waldburg had  converted to Calvinism and married the woman he loved, Agnes von Mansfeld. According to the Augsburg Peace, that was his right, but he had to give up his territories. Yet, he refused to, and that was not only against the law, but also a highly political issue. As Prince-Archbishop of Cologne, he was an Imperial Elector, and his now Calvinist vote could have led to a Protestant majority in the the Electoral College. The Cologne cathedral chapter replaced him by Ernst of Bavaria of the Wittelsbach dynasty.  Both sides took up arms.  Gebhard was supported by troops from the Palatinate, the cathedral chapter by troops from Bavaria and Spain. Also the Lord of the Drachenfels sided with him. 

During the next years violent fights occurred. In vain Gebhard entrenched on the Godesburg Castle close to Bonn, it was besieged and in 1583 conquered and blown up. The same year,  Königswinter was occupied and pillaged until it was finally rescued by Bavarian troops.  Gebhard had to flee. Supported by Dutch troops, he took up the fight once again and conquered Bonn in 1587. But when the Dutch withdraw their troops in 1588, he had to give up.

1598, France
Edict of Nantes

With Archbishop Ernst von Bayern,  a series of Archbishops coming from the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty began (1583-1761). 

In the course of the War of Cologne, many medieval castles and villages had been destroyed, the Augsburg Peace, the peaceful  side by side of confessions had been violated.  Moreover, both sides had called foreign troops into the country. About 50 years later, it should become much worse in the Thirty Years War.