Merriman Teacher Notes 23 Summer 2023 PDF
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Uploaded by MarvelousCynicalRealism2045
2023
Merriman
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Summary
These notes from Merriman provide context for the social background of the Protestant Reformation in German states. The notes describe religious, political, and social issues, covering urban centers of reform, the process of religious change, and the impact of the Peasants' Revolt. The notes highlight the complexities and connections between religious reform, political factors, and economic issues.
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## Social Background of the Reformation in the German States - Religious upheaval / social/ political upheaval - Condemned by Luther - Urban Centers of Reform - Decentralized political structure in HRE - Tradition of popular participation in urban government - It helped the Reformation flo...
## Social Background of the Reformation in the German States - Religious upheaval / social/ political upheaval - Condemned by Luther - Urban Centers of Reform - Decentralized political structure in HRE - Tradition of popular participation in urban government - It helped the Reformation flourish - Each German town had elite burghers very open to Luther’s ideas. - Long-standing frustration with incompetent/unfaithful clergy. - German towns believed all people in town shared a common experience in the material world – translated somewhat to communal salvation. - Luther emphasized individual relationship with God - could lead to better citizenship - Southern German States remained staunchly Catholic - The Process of Reform - Clergy that supported religious reforms were drawn from wider classes: - Some lower class - Spontaneous singing of Lutheran hymns during Mass - Bishops and Archbishops tended to stay Catholic - Reform clergy carried Bibles, instead of clergy “vestiments", including the “pall” and “stole”. - Believers = former priests & former nuns married (Luther & Katharina von Bora) - 1524 HRE: Imperial Diet declared up to each ruler to determine religion in their land. - National church council convened - The Peasants’ Revolt - 1524-25 peasants rose against lords in central & southern German states. - Denounced tax increases - Demanded return of right to hunt freely/pasture animals - Asked for abolition of serfdom - Demanded abolition of tithe - Spread of the Reformation - Spiritual movement intertwined with political & economic issues - Divisions within Christendom - Augsburg Confession: summary of Lutheran Church beliefs. - Some humanists applauded Luther - Going back to ancient docs - 1527 Marburg: 1st Reformed University - Erasmus chose to remain loyal to the Catholic Church - Humanists left Luther because for them, knowledge is an end in itself, but for Luther, it was a means of teaching Bible/salvation. - Uprisings - Asked lords to act rationally and try kindness. - When accused by nobles and churchmen for fomenting rebellion, Luther denounced peasants in pamphlet: “Against the murdering, thinning hordes.” - Nobles (Protestant & Catholic) crushed - Bands of peasants burned castles & monasteries - Spread into Austria, Carinthia, Thuringia, Saxony. - Reformer Thomas Müntzer merged religious reform + political/social change. - Led peasant army in Thuringia - 1505: some northwestern German states rose in revolt against Catholic princes - Swabian peasant – 12 Articles - Some crowds mocked/interrupted Mass: - Cowbells - Heckling - Smashed stained-glass, broke statues, iconoclasm - Peasant Revolt - 100,000 peasants killed - Münzer captured, tortured, killed. - For Social & Spiritual equality - Luther’s teachings as means of resistance - Asked for: - End double taxation - End “death” tax. - End serfdom, access to forest, etc.
