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Aug 31, 1377
John Wycliffe and Jan Hus speak out against the Catholic Church
John Wycilffe was a theologian at Oxford University who started a movement which translated Bibles into English ones, copied by hand from a Latin Bible. Pope Alexander V burned all of Wycliffe's works. Jan Hus was interested by Wycliffe's works, and as a Czech scholar he complained about the immortality of the clergy. Hus was called before the Council of Constance to defend his views, and soon after on July 6, 1415, he was burned at the stake. Wycliffe and Hus sparked others to reform as well. -
Aug 31, 1440
Johannes Gutenburg invents the printing press
With the creation of this printing press, Bibles and books became easier to read, ideas spread faster than ever before, and people began to learn to read. The Gutenburg Bible was printed with the moveable type printing press in vernacular. -
Apr 21, 1509
Henry VIII becomes King of England
Henry VIII took the throne just shy of 18 after his older brother Arthur had died. He took Arthur's wife, Catherine of Aragon for himself on June 11, 1509 and was coronated on June 24,1509. -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther posts 95 Theses
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 Theses on the Church in Wittenburg attacking the sale of indulgences. This sparked the birth of the first Lutheran Church. -
Jan 3, 1521
Martin Luther is excommunicated
Pope Leo X excommunicates Luther from the Catholic Church for the publishing of the 95 Theses for his refusal of recanting his writings, and declared Luther an outlaw and heretic. -
Aug 31, 1524
Peasants' Revolt Begins
The Peasants' Revolt began in 1524 in some of the poorer towns of Germany, mainly Franconia, Swabia, and Thuringia. Hearing of Luther's publishing of his 95 Theses in Wittenburg, the peasants rebelled for a religious cause. However with lack of unity and leadership, in 1525 the army of the Swabian League crushed peasant forces and left 100,000 peasants dead. -
Aug 31, 1530
John Calvin breaks from the Catholic Church
Calvin breaks away from the church with the idea of predestination and the tow groups: The Elect and The Damned. He fled to Switzerland where Calvinism grew very popular, and eventually became larger the Lutheranism. -
Aug 31, 1534
England breaks away from the Catholic Church
Henry VIII decides to break away from the Catholic Church because they say he cannot anull his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, so he leaves and creates the Anglican Church. -
Aug 31, 1534
Society of Jesus formed
The Society of Jesus was formed to spread Catholicism around by the work of missionaries. Another name for the Society of Jesus is Jesuits. -
Aug 31, 1545
Coucil of Trent begins
The Council of Trent was a group of Catholic officials who met to discuss reforms of the Church. -
Sep 25, 1555
Peace at Augsburg
Peace at Augsburg was when Emperor Charles V said that Lutherans and Catholics could worship freely, though Calvinists and Anabaptists were excluded from the peace. Also, each German territory most worship the religion of it's prince, -
Aug 31, 1558
England defeats the Spanish Armada
Off the coast of Gravelines, France, the Spanish Armada was defeated by the naval army of England under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Frances Drake under Queen Elizabeth. The Armada returned to Spain with half it's original fleet and over 15,000 men lost. With the defeat of the Armada, England became a world-class power and introduced long-range weapons into naval warfare. -
Nov 17, 1558
Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England
Elizabeth I was the daughter of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, she succeeded Mary I (Bloody Mary) and she united the British Isles under the Anglican Church, and ended the bloodshed Mary started. -
Aug 31, 1564
Coucil of Trent ends
The Council of Trent ended because the majority of matters were discussed and the final session of the Council of Trent honored the Popes that were included in it. -
Aug 24, 1572
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France
King Charles IX of France ordered all Huguenot Protestant leaders in France to be assassinated, and Catholic Parisians then began a general massacre of Huguenots. Charles ordered a royal halt on the killing on August 25, however mobs began to spread and continue to massacre. It continued into October and nearly 3,000 French Protestants were killed in France, and an approximate 70,000 in all of France. -
Edict of Nantes issued
The Edict of Nantes was issued to let French Huguenots (French Protestants) worships freely, and Catholic King Henry IV let this happen because he promoted peace within France. -
30 Years Wars begins
The Thirty Years War began as a religious war between the Hapsburg Family (Catholics) and Protestants. It was a series of wars all over Europe. -
30 Years War ends (Treaty of Westphalia)
As a result of the Treaty of Westphalia, the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, Sweden gained control of the Baltic and France was acknowledged as the main Western power. The power of the Holy Roman Emperor was broken and the German states were again able to determine the religion of their lands. -
Edict of Nantes revoked
With the Edict revoked, as nearly as many as 400,000 protestants left France, and left France invulernable to neighboring territories with protestants. It also left France in a wreck from the loss of it's skilled workers.
