history

A multitude of circumstances led to the Religious Reformation. By the end of the 15th century, monarchs such as Louis XI of France, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and Henry VII of England, were creating powerful centralized governments. In trying to refocus patriotism from a local to national level, monarchs needed to control religious life. In some countries, rulers broke with Rome and established national churches of their own. Those monarchs who remained Catholic used the church to buttress their own power.

With the growth of these national states, the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy declined in power. The Pope's one advantage was on the ecclesiastical front. He could grant dispensations from church law, such as the annulment of marriages or the pardoning of sins. He could sell indulgences, often at a great price, which could shorten a person's time in purgatory after death. In short, heaven went to the highest bidder. (Note: Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses)

The rise of these new monarchies upset the economic balance that had existed during most of the Middle Ages. Although the medieval economy had not been highly productive, it was fairly stable. In the 15th and 16th centuries, however, a series of economic problems developed which caused social unrest and often open revolt.

Some of this social discontent took the form of religious revolt, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, where the cities were hardest hit with economic difficulties. On October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther proposed the Ninety-Five Theses on the powers of the church as a subject of debate, he found a willing audience.

In fact, conflict between Catholics and Protestants broke out all over Europe. Germany was torn by religious wars until the 1550s. France and the Netherlands suffered throughout the 1500s. Indeed, vestiges of this conflict can be seen today in Ireland. The age just prior to the Reformation was a time of flamboyant piety. The cult of the Virgin Mary was especially strong. Pious works were widely produced in art and literature. The piety of the age tried to bring religion closer to daily life. Whether in Flemish domestic scenes showing religious practice at home or in images of a suffering, human Christ. The Reformation bridged the gap between man and God, taking out the middleman as a conduit to Heaven. This empowerment, while less about religion than economics, vastly influenced European culture in every aspect.