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Period: Oct 16, 1300 to Oct 16, 1550
Italian Renaissance (Intellectual/social)
The Italian Renaissance could be argued as the catalyst to the whole Reformation due to the fact that people of the era such as da Vinci, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and so on promoted the intellectual and individual growth of man to his highest apex as possible, to l'uomo universale. In a neoteric notion for the time, it did not stress piousness but rather secularism. When France acquired Italian areas, the I. Renaissance's theories catalyzed the N. Renaissance, a colossal factor in the Reformation. -
Period: Oct 11, 1309 to Oct 11, 1376
Avignon Papacy (Political)
Pope Boniface VIII denied France the right to tax clergy, so France countered by creating their own subservient pope to liberate them from the confines of the Holy Roman Empire. Consequently, this Gallican church ruptured the Catholic church and thus blazoned the concept of divorce from orthodox Catholicism, a key factor to the Reformation, and made France, a considerable force, capable of contradicting the HRE. -
Period: Oct 16, 1347 to Oct 16, 1351
Black Death (Religious)
The Black Death was the plague that ravaged Europe, killing a third of its population. During such severe times, people sought for the Catholic church to stop the plague and trusted that they would. Because the Death continued to raze the population, faith in Catholicism depleted greatly; family and friends continued to perish. Thus people were much more amenable with contemporary, more reliable paths. -
Period: Oct 16, 1400 to
Northern Renaissance (Religious)
After the French acquired Italian land, ideas of the Renaissance spread amidst Northern Europe. Contrasting from Italy, N. Europe's Renaissance was all ecclesiastical in that many questioned aspects of Catholicism (i.e. indulgences, transubstantiation, etc.). Such contemporary notions catalyzed the heart of the Reformation, ecclesiastical reform. Thus, from the ideas, what the people required the most for Protestantism arose in the form of bold leaders such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, etc. -
Oct 17, 1439
Invention of the Printing Press (Intellectual/Religious)
The printing press, invented by Johann Gutenberg, proved to be a revolutionary method in the book production. And, in such a pious time, what book was more prominent than the Bible? The Bible could then be produced much more swiftly and efficiently than befor. Thus, when authors/philosophers/theologists composed books with neoteric theories, imbedded or blatant, the notions could spread through the public like wildfire. Theories from these thus caused the plebeians to stir with liberalism. -
Period: Oct 17, 1465 to Oct 17, 1519
Johann Tetzel's Lifetime (Religious)
Johann Tetzel was a Catholic priest who popularized the selling of indulgences among the Catholic church. The bourgeois and lower class purchased these indulgences as tickets for them and deceased family members and friends to go to heaven out of hysteria that without them, they would all remain in purgatory. Such buffoonery catalyzed Martin Luther, a leader of the Reformation, immensely to decry the Catholic church. -
Oct 17, 1480
Spanish Inquisition founded (Religious)
Though it was initially founded to expel the Jews and Islamic from the staunchly Catholic Spain, the Spanish Inquisition played a key role in the Counterreformation, utilizing macabre methods against Protestants. Several primary uses of them was to dispose of the Calvinistic movement in the Netherlands and the small Protestant movements in Spain. These events were propelled by the Reformation, which frightened the adamantly Catholic Spain. No one expected them. -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther nailed the "95 Theses" to the Wittenberg Church door (religious)
This is the theoretical genesis of the Reformation, for there was no definite conception date for the Reformation. Discontented with many properties of Catholicism and its church, Martin Luther took to formulating his ecclesiastical theories and nailing them to the Wittenberg church door. Like wildfire, his notions were supported by dissenting plebeians as an escape from the Catholic church, and Lutheranism, the most primary Protestant religion, formed and breathed life into the Reformation. -
Oct 18, 1524
Peasants' Rebellion in Germany (Economic)
This uprising stated that it was for Protestant purposes, but ultimately, it appeared as though the revolt possessed little more reason than dissent betwixt the proletariats and bourgeois and the aristocratic and nobles. The peasants’ rights were being slowly suppressed by the upper classes, and they yearned for more equality, therefore, they retaliated violently on the justification of Protestant religion. Martin Luther condemned this movement, calling them nothing but “filthy swine”. -
Oct 16, 1534
Creation of Anglicanism (Social)
Despite Anglicanism being a popular religion today, it wasn’t founded due to honorable means. Henry VIII, the infamous king of England during 1485-1509, abhorred his matrimony with Catherine of Aragon due to her inability to conceive a male child, and thus asked for consent from the Pope to divorce her. The Pope denied him, but Henry VIII devised a plan: he formed the Church of England, the Anglican church! Henry VIII drew this boldness from the popularity of the Ref. Protestantism. -
Oct 17, 1536
"Instititutes of the Christian Religion" by John Calvin published (Religious)
John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion was a centerpiece of his religion, Calvinism (2:05). John Calvin carefully sculpted his religion from the clay of ecclesiastical and Catholic studies, kilned it with personal philosophy, and painted it with Reformation and Protestant theories, and ended up with a unique, religious creation. Through his creation, he composed a book expressing all the concepts of the religion. This started the third most prominent religion in Europe in the era. -
Period: Oct 16, 1546 to Oct 11, 1555
Civil war amidst German states (Religious/political)
This civil war was catalyzed by the spike of Lutheranism in Germany. Since Germany was many states at the time with many controlled by the HRE, Catholicism ruled omnipotently over them. Due to this, the HRE discouraged and expunged German Protestant movements, which might take away from their power. They also inhibited the Lutherans from gaining any power. Civil war between Catholicism and Lutheranism soon exploded in retaliation, and was ceased due to the Peace of Augsburg. -
Oct 11, 1555
Peace of Augsburg (Religious/Political)
This ceasefire was to end the German Civil War of 1548-1555 and formed to bequeath unto the Lutherans equality to Catholics. In this, each German state was to adopt either Lutheranism or Catholicism, no other religion, and that state worshipped only that, possessed only that religion in politics, and the unadopted was to be eradicated from those lands. This could only be a temporary resolution to a blossoming schism due to the spiking ecclesiastical turmoil betwixt the two. -
Period: Oct 11, 1562 to
French Civil War (Religious/Political)
Catalyzing this war were the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre and all the ecclesiastical schism between the Huguenots, the French Calvinists, and the Gallicans, French Catholics. They warred over who was to receive the crown of France and rule omnipotently as opposed to the two-piece system prior. Despite the immense numerical leverage of the Gallicans, the Huguenots won, thus placing Henry of Navarre as the French king. Henry endeavoured to and succeeded in uniting France. -
Period: Oct 16, 1568 to Oct 16, 1571
Morisco Revolt in Spain
This revolt occurred during the period of the Netherlands’ schismatic war, thus Spain was even more apprehensive with Protestantism. When Morisco’s religious minorities rebelled for equality, the Spanish government, being obstructively Catholic, trampled the revolt underfoot, killing many of the rebels. This thus injured Spain’s merchant business, for Morisco was a key Spanish merchant city and many of the merchants were killed. The boom of Protestantism due to the Reformation was essential t -
Aug 24, 1572
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (Religious/Political)
This onslaught in France occurred after the wedlock of Margaret of Valois, a Gallican, and Henry of Navarre. a Huguenot. Many Huguenots of distinct and lower positions were in the obstinately Catholic Paris at the time, so it was opportune for the schism to discharge its wrath. Gallicans murdered over 20,000 innocents in order to intimidate the Huguenots from political jurisdiction and their religion. Thus the tension of the French Reformation schism erupted and war ensued. -
Edict of Nantes (Religious)
This effect of the Reformation was created under Henry of Navarre and endeavoured to relinquish equality and freedom to the Huguenots. Along with the liberal ideas, it granted them political liberties as well, and perhaps most crucially, ended the schismatic French, religious civil war. Such a tolerant act was thus an archetype for ecclesiastical tolerance assumed by other European nations later on. -
Period: to
Bohemian Phase of Thirty Years' War (Religious/political)
This phase was the first phase and thus, the catalyst of the Thirty Year’s War. As mentioned by the paragraph for the Thirty Years’ War, the primary catalyst of this phase was the ecclesiastical, political conflict between the Catholics and Lutherans interrupted by Ferdinand II with the Defenestration of Prague. The primary SPRITE factor of this phase was religion and rights to politics due to suppression of Protestants. -
Period: to
Thirty Years' War (Religious, then Political)
Religious turmoil from the German civil war prior and the Peace of Augsburg still remained betwixt the Catholics and Lutherans of Germany. This chaotic combat catalyzed due to conflicts between the Catholic and Lutheran of Bohemia, and when Ferdinand II intervened and demanded Catholicism, war burst out yet again, and many countries thus intervened to empower their religion by ascending their respective religions to higher powers. Thus, this caused extreme ecclesiastical disarray to arise yet -
Period: to
Danish Phase of Thirty Years' War (Political)
The Spanish crushed the Bohemians and decided to ravage on through the German states in order to utilize this as a platform for the Counterreformation, “liberating” Protestant states of Germany all the way up to the very north. The Danish, terrified of being conquered by Spain, retaliated against them unsuccessfully. After this onslaught, Spain issued the Edict of Restitution (1629), restoring Catholic lands lost and depriving most Protestants of ecclesiastical and political rights. -
Period: to
Swedish Phase of Thirty Years' War (Political)
After all hope seemed to have vanished for the Protestants in the war, Sweden joined to retaliate for Protestantism and push back the Spanish; this may have been since the Spanish, from Denmark, could launch a naval attack on the highly Protestant Scandinavia. Catholic France supported the Protestants, much to the surprise of all of Europe, due to the fact that the HRE and Spain could remove power from France if they succeeded in overtaking Germany. -
Period: to
French Phase of Thirty Years' War
The Swedish weakened after the death of their ingenious military leader, Gustavos Adolphus. The French, impassioned with the weakening of Spain and the HRE, thus went on a rampage throughout the German states to slaughter any and all traces of their opposers. Towns were decimated, as well as their agriculture, thus catalyzing the agricultural collapse and famine. Over eight million were killed in this hellish climax to the Thirty Years’ War. This caused France to overtake Spain as the primar -
Peace of Westphalia (Political)
This was the official end of the Thirty Years’ War. It basically ended all of the altercations and rewarded land to the victors (France, Sweden, etc.) and catalyzed Spain and the HRE to fall from power. The Netherlands and Switzerland became independent, the German nobility were liberated from the HRE, and Calvinism was accepted as an official religion. This treaty catalyzed decisions globally for years to come by reducing deaths in war, secularizing countries, and being an archetype for inte
