Mr.
Dunbar
AP
European History
Chapter
11: Age of Reformation Notes
Section One: Society and Religion
·
Section
Overview
o
In the second decade of the sixteenth century, a
powerful religious movement against practices in the Catholic Church erupted that attacked superstitions that
robbed people of both their money and peace of mind
o
The Protestant Reformation took place at a time
of sharp conflict between emerging nation-states bent on conformity and
centralization within their realms and the self-governing towns and villages
long accustomed to running their own affairs
o
By the late fourteenth century, territorial
ruler’s laws and customs began to supersede local custom; therefore, many
townspeople and villagers perceived in the religious revolt an ally in their
struggle to remain politically free and independent
·
Social
and Political Conflict
o
Reformation first broke out in cities of Germany
and Switzerland
§
some cities turned Protestant and remained so,
while others only embraced Protestantism for a short time
§
others developed mixed faiths
o
Groups and Individuals who supported the
Protestant Reformation
§
Guilds embraced the Protestant Reformation
·
guildsmen had a history of opposition to
governmental authority
·
members of the printers’ guild benefitted as they printed propaganda
§
People who were pushed around and bullied by
either local or distant authority often supported the reformation
·
religious freedom and toleration inspired people
who perceived themselves as subjects rather than free citizens
·
Protestantism= a priesthood of al believers vs. Catholicism= strict hierarchical
structure
·
Popular
Religious Movements and Criticism of the Church
o
Criticisms of the Catholic Church
§
Great
Schism or Babylonian Captivity
·
papacy moved from Rome to Avignon, France when a
conflict developed over whether the next pope should be Italian or French
·
the Avignon popes allied themselves closely with
the kings of France which alienated many other western European nations
·
the papacy returned to Rome in 1378 after the
election of an Italian pope
§
Decadence of the Catholic Church
·
the years in Avignon were characterized by
corruption and gluttony
·
lay people felt a sense of spiritual crisis in
the Catholic Church and subsequently experimented with new religious forms
§
Dissenters sought religious simplicity in 15th
century
·
Albigensians, Waldensians, Beguines, and
Beghards in the thirteenth century and Lollards and Hussites
o
The Modern
Devotion, or Brothers of the Common Life
§
religious group that promoted religious devotion
outside formal church offices and apart from religious vows
§
people lived communal lives devoted to
theological studies and prayer but took neither oaths or vows
§
Erasmus and Johannes Reuchlin were educated by
this order
§
began in the towns of Zwolle and Deventer in the
Netherlands
§
Thomas a Kempis wrote Imitation of Christ, a summary of the beliefs of the Modern
Devotion
·
Lay
Control over Religious Life
o growing sense of regional identity and secular
nationalism replaced loyalty to the papacy in Rome
o upper clergy (bishops and cardinals)—were
influential members of the nobility who
purchased their positions from the church’s benefice system
§
upper clergy rarely lived in the region that was
under their jurisdiction
§
most German towns had issued complaints to the
Vatican about clergy members
o sale
of Indulgences comes under attack
§
Luther was not the first to protest the selling
of indulgences
§
local rulers had permitted the selling of
indulgences as some of the proceeds were invested locally
§
local rulers and were not happy when money was
raised for distant interests like the construction of Saint Peter’s basilica in
Rome
o medieval
privileges of the clergy revoked
§
churches and monasteries were exempted from laws
and taxes that applied elsewhere
§
law also deemed it unnecessary for clergy to
participate in military service, compulsory labor, standing watch at city
gates, and other civil duties
§
clergy enjoyed immunity for jurisdiction of
civil courts
§
by the eve of Reformation governments had begun
the process of revoking the rights of the clergy
Section Two: Martin Luther and the German Reformation
·
Section
Overview
o Northern
humanists had set a sentiment of opposition to Rome in the German states which
provided a solid foundation for Luther’s movement
o Martin
Luther
§
son of a successful miner
§
educated in Mansfield, Magdeburg—where the
Brothers of the Common Life had been his teachers
§
earned a master of arts degree from the
University of Erfurt in 1505
§
entered the Order of the Hermits of Saint
Augustine in Erfurt
§
in 1512 he moved to Wittenberg where he earned
his doctorate in theology and became a leader in the monastery and the spiritual life of the city
·
Justification
by Faith Alone
o beliefs
of the Catholic Church regarding salvation
§
salvation is a joint venture , a combination of
divine mercy and human good works
·
Luther believed Christians were left counting
their merits and sins and struggled to maintain an inner peace of mind
·
Luther struggled with the idea that one must
live a nearly sinless life to be saved
·
“faith alone” (sola fide), Luther taught, was
all that was needed for salvation
·
The
Attack on Indulgences
o
Indulgence—a remission of the temporal penalty
imposed on the penitents by priests.
§
first given to Crusaders who could not complete
their earthly penance because they had fallen in battle
§
by the late Middle Ages, indulgences had become
an aid to laypeople who were anxious about the time they may spend in purgatory
§
in 1343, Pope Clement VI proclaimed the
existence of a “treasury of merit”
§
Pope Sixtus IV extended indulgences to
the unrepented sins of all Christians in purgatory
o
Selling Indulgences
§
sales of indulgences became a joint venture
between Albrecht—the Augsburg banking house of Fugger—and Pope Leo X;
they split the money raised 50/50
§
John Tetzel was enlisted to preach—or
market—indulgences in Albrecht’s
territory
o
Luther began his public protest of indulgences
on October 31, 1517 when he posted the 95 theses to the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg
·
Election
of Charles V
o
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died on January
12, 1519
§
Two candidates to replace him: King Francis I of
France and Charles I of Spain, were the leading candidates
·
The pope supported the king of France
·
German states were tired of outside interference
in the Holy Roman Empire
§
Seven imperial electors chose Charles I of Spain
·
Frederick the Wise, Luther’s protector, was one
of the seven electors
·
Proved the power of the German princes over that
of the pope
·
Luther’s
Excommunication and the Diet of Worms
o
Luther debated Catholic doctrine against John
Eck Leipzig
§
Luther challenged the infallibility of the pope
and Church councils
§
contended that sole authority of the Church lies
in scripture alone
§
defended Jan Hus who had been condemned to death
for heresy at the Council of Constance
o
Luther published three famous pamphlets
§
Address to
the Christian Nobility of the German Nation
·
tried to convince the German nobility to the
political and economic power of the Church
§
Babylonian
Captivity of the Church
·
argued that baptism and Eucharist were the only
two sacraments mentioned in scripture
§
Freedom of
a Christian
·
belief in salvation through faith alone
o
Exsurge Domine
§
papal
bull issued by Leo X which condemned Luther for heresy and gave him sixty days
to recant
o
Diet of
Worms
§
meeting—which was overseen by Charles V—where
Luther was ordered to recant
§
Luther refused to recant and was placed under an
imperial ban, which made him an outlaw to both religious and secular authorities
o
Frederick the Wise protects Luther
§
remained in hiding for a year at the Wartburg castle
§
he
translated the New Testament into German using Erasmus’s new Greek text and
Latin translation
·
Imperial
Distractions: War with France and the Turks
o
Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor and
king of Spain who had other responsibilities to attend to
§
family (the Habsburg dynasty) fought four major
wars against France over territory in Italy
§
Charles V was responsible for stopping the
advance of the Turks into eastern Europe
o
Peace of
Augsburg which gave regional princes the authority to determine religious
matters in their lands
·
How the
Reformation Spread
o
Political leaders, who had sought religious
reform for decades, welcomed Luther’s message
o
Elector of Saxony and Prince of Hesse led the politicization of
religious reform within the territories
§
recognized the political and economic opportunities
if the Catholic Church failed
o
Schmaldkaldic League
§
a
powerful defensive alliance of Protestant states that prepared for war against the Catholic emperor
·
The
Peasants’ Revolt
o
German peasantry believed Luther to be an ally
§
recent tax increases and revocation of
traditional rights fueled peasant anger
o
peasant leaders solicited Luther’s support for
their cause and Luther initially sympathized with them
o
Luther later condemned them as unchristian and
urged princes to crush the rebellion
o
70,000-100,000 peasants were killed by the time
the revolt was suppressed
Section Three: The Reformation Elsewhere
·
Section
Overview
o
German Reformation came first but it quickly
caught on in Switzerland and France
·
Zwingli
and the Swiss Reformation
o
Political make-up of Switzerland
§
loose confederation of thirteen autonomous cantons, or states
§
strong nationalism
§
desire for church reform had been deeply
ingrained in Switzerland for about a century
o
Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)
§
inspired by Erasmus
§
widely known for his opposition to the sale of
indulgences and religious superstition
§
he
advocated for the right of clergy to legally marry
§
disputed the notion of transubstantiation, the worship of saints,
pilgrimages, purgatory, certain sacraments, and fasting during Lent since they
are not mentioned in scripture
o
Zwingli transformed Zurich into the center of
the Swiss Reformation and made it a puritanical state
§
The Marburg Colloquy
o
Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli—differences
§
Disagreement over the Eucharist
·
Luther believed that Jesus’ physical body was
present in the Eucharist
·
Zwingli believed that Christ’s presence in the
Eucharist was symbolic or spiritual
·
Swiss
Civil Wars
o
Civil wars broke out between Catholics and
Protestants
·
Two major battles
·
June 1529—this battle was won by the Protestants
and forced the Catholic cantons to recognize the rights of Swiss Protestants
·
October 1531—Catholics victory and Zwingli lay
wounded on the battlefield and was
executed
Section Four: Anabaptists and the Radical
Protestants
·
Section
Overview
o
Some people accused Zwingli and Luther of not
promoting drastic change and these radicals desired a more thorough
implementation of Apostolic Christianity
o
Anabaptists, the sixteenth century ancestors of
the modern Mennonites and Amish, were the most important of the radical groups
that emerged who distinguished themselves by rejecting infant baptism and
insisted on adult baptisms since Jesus had been baptized as an adult
·
Conrad
Grebel and the Swiss Brethren
o
Conrad Grebel (1498-1526)
§
founder of the Anabaptists who were known as the
Swiss Brethren
§
he was initially a co-worker of Zwingli but favored
a more literal interpretation of scripture
o
Anabaptist Beliefs
§
Schleitheim Confession
·
outlines
the beliefs of Anabatists
§
believed
in pacifism, refused to swear oaths, and non-participation in the offices of
secular government
§
separated themselves from established society in
order to live communal lives in the imitation of Christ
·
secular authorities perceived this separatism as
a threat to basic social bonds
·
Anabaptist
Reign in Munster
o
Catholics, Lutherans, and Zwinglians all opposed
Anabaptism and they were persecuted in cities;
o
movement found a footing in the rural, agrarian
classes of people
o
Anabaptism in the German city of Munster
§
Jan Matthys of Haarlem and Jan
Beukelsz of Leiden established an Anabaptists stronghold in Munster
§
Catholics and Lutherans were forced to convert
or leave the city
§
Implemented an Old Testament theocracy in which
polygamy was the norm
§
these reforms shocked the rest of Europe and
Protestant and Catholic armies attacked Munster and executed the radical
leaders
o
Menno Simons (1496-1561)
§
established a non-provocative separatist
Anabaptism which became the historical form in which Antabaptist sects survived
down to the present
·
Spiritualists
o
Protestant dissenters who scorned institutional
religion
o
Significant spiritualists
§
Thomas
Muntzer—died as leader of the peasants’ revolt in Germany
§
Sebastian Franck—a critic of all dogmatic
religion who proclaimed religious autonomy and freedom of every individual soul
§
Caspar Schwenckfeld—prolific writer and wanderer
who established a Church
·
Antitrinitarians
o
advocated for a commonsense, rational, and
ethical religion
o
notable Antitrinitarians
§
Michael Servetus—a Spaniard who was
executed in Geneva at the encouragement of John Calvin who found his teachings
blasphemous against the trinity
§
Lelio and Faustus Sozzini—two Italian men
who were the founders of Socinianism
and were strong opponents of Calvinism and in particular the ideas of original
sin and predestination
§
Section Five: John Calvin and the Genevan Reformation
·
Section
Overview
o
Calvinism replaced Lutheranism as the dominant
form of Protestantism in the second half of the sixteenth century
o
Calvinism was the religious ideology that
inspired massive political resistance in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and
Scotland
o
Calvinist beliefs
§
divine predestination
§
it is the individual’s responsibility to reorder
society according to God’s plan
o
John Calvin (1509-1564)
§
born into a wealthy French family
§
he earned a degree in law from a university in
Paris
§
he believed that humans must conform to God’s
will
·
Political
Revolt and Religious Reform in Geneva
o
People of Geneva revolt against the ruling
Catholic bishop
o
Guillaume Farel and Antione Froment arrived in
Geneva shortly after the revolt and implemented religious reform
o
Some thought Calvin and Farel had gone too far
and they were exiled from Geneva
o
Calvin wrote Institutes
of the Christian Religion
·
Calvin’s
Geneva
o
Calvin was invited back to Geneva when his
supporters were elected to government positions
o
Calvin organized cooperation between the secular
leaders and the clergy in matters of internal discipline
o
Four
Offices in Geneva
§
There were five
pastors
§
teachers
or doctors to instruct people in
doctrine
§
elders,
a group of twelve lay people chosen by the people of Geneva to “oversee the
life of everybody”
§
deacons
to dispense church goods and services to the poor and sick
o
Predestination was at the center of Calvin’s
beliefs
§
controversial as it denies the existence of
human free will
§
living as the Bible instructed them to do is
presumptive evidence that they were among God’s elect
o
Calvin implemented strict moral order in Geneva
§
5,000 refugees from France, England, and
Scotland fled religious persecution and moved to Geneva
§
considered a “woman’s paradise” because there
were strict laws against men beating their wives
Section Six: Political Consolidation of the
Lutheran Reformation
·
Section
Overview
o
Several attempts were made to eradicate
Protestantism
o
The political triumph of Lutheranism in the Holy
Roman Empire validated that it would remain in Europe as a competing ideology
with Catholicism
·
The Diet of Augusburg
o
Conference in the Holy Roman Empire
§
presided
over by the Catholic emperor Charles V
§
assembly of Catholic and Protestant leaders
within the empire met to discuss the issue of faith
§
Charles V, and his Catholic supporters, demanded
that all Lutherans revert to Catholicism
o
The Schmalkaldic
League
§
an alliance of Lutherans who opposed Charles V’s
policy
§
the league produced two documents, the Augusburg Confession and Schmalkaldic Articles, that advocated a
moderate form of Protestantism
·
Expansion
of the Reformation
o
regional judicial bodies composed of theologians
and lawyers oversaw the Protestant churches and replaced the old Catholic
bishops
o
education reforms in Germany provided compulsory
primary education based on humanist curriculum
o
King Christian II of Denmark promoted
Protestantism
o
King Gustav I of Sweden embraced
Lutheranism so he could confiscate church lands
o
Many people in Poland adopted Protestant views
·
Reaction
Against Protestants
o
Charles V’s Catholic army crushed an army
assembled by the Schmalkaldic League
§
Protestant leaders John Fredrick of Saxony and
Philip of Hesse were captured
o
Protestant leaders went into hiding and
Magdeburg became a refuge for persecuted Protestants
·
Peace of
Augsburg (1547)
o
Charles V realized that Protestantism was too
deeply entrenched in the Holy Roman Empire to eradicate it
o
Peace of Passau (August 1552)
§
Protestant forces defeated the army of Charles V
and forced negotiations
§
at this meeting, Charles V reinstated Protestant
leaders and promised Lutherans religious freedom
o
Peace of Augsburg (September 1555)
§
declared that the ruler of a land would
determine its religion
§
people discontented with the religion of their
region were permitted to migrate to another
§
religious freedom did not extend to Calvinists
and Anabaptists
Section Seven: The
English Reformation
·
Section
Overview:
o England
maintained relative freedom from papal influence throughout the late medieval
period
§
Edward I had rejected efforts by Pope Boniface
VIII to prevent secular taxation of the clergy
§
rejected papal appointments to positions
o
Lollards
in England
§
followers of John Wycliffe
§
believed the extravagance of the Catholic Church
interfered with proper worship
§
basic beliefs
·
iconoclasts
·
church leaders should not pursue secular power
or wealth
·
looked to scripture for religious truth
·
consubstantiation
·
The
Preconditions of Reform
o
some Cambridge theologians formally debated
Luther’s beliefs
§
William Tyndale translated the New
Testament of the Bible into English
o
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and Sir Thomas
More guided royal opposition to Protestantism in England
o
Henry VIII had been declared “defender of the faith” by Pope Leo X
for his opposition to Protestantism
·
The
King’s Affair
o
Henry VII had arranged the marriage of his
eldest son Arthur to Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand and
Isabella of Spain
o
Prince Arthur died shortly after their marriage
so Henry took Catherine as his wife
§
Pope Julius II issued a special dispensation
that allowed Henry to legally Mary his deceased brother’s wife
o
the marriage of Catherine and Henry produced
only one child, Mary, and Henry was concerned of the political implications of
leaving only a female heir
o
by 1527, already married to Catherine for
eighteen years, Henry fell in love (or
lust) with Anne Boleyn and sought to marry her and attempt to produce a son
§
shortly before Henry sent a plea to Rome for an
annulment of his marriage to Catherine, Charles V’s army had sacked Rome and
held Pope Clement VII hostage
·
since Charles V was also Catherine’s nephew, it
was not in his interest to let the pope annul her marriage to Henry
§
since Thomas Wolsey was unable to broker Henry’s
annulment from Catherine, Henry dismissed him and promoted two Lutheran sympathizers—Thomas
Cranmer and Thomas Cromwell—as his close advisors
·
The
Reformation Parliament
o
series of meetings which set the precedent that
changes in religion must receive approval of Parliament and monarch before
enactment
o
Convocation,
or leg assembly representing the English clergy, publicly recognized Henry VIII
as the head of the church in England
o
Submission
of the Clergy
§
placed cannon law under royal control
o
Henry appointed Thomas Cranmer as
archbishop of Canterbury
§
he led the Convocation in invalidating Henry’s
marriage to Catherine of Aragon
o
Henry then married the pregnant Anne Boleyn
o
Two important pieces of legislation
§
Act of Succession—declared the children
of Henry and Anne the rightful heirs to the throne
§
Act of Supremacy—declared Henry the only
supreme head of the Church of England
o
Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher
of Rochester refused to accept these acts and Henry had them executed
o
Parliament dissolved England’s monasteries and
nunneries
·
Wives of
Henry VIII
o
Catherine of Aragon—marriage ended in divorce or
was invalidated; they had one daughter, Mary
o
Anne Boleyn—beheaded on allegations of treason
and adultery; they had a daughter, Elizabeth
o
Jane Seymour—died after giving birth to the
future Edward VI
o
Anne of Cleves—marries her to establish an
alliance with the Protestant princes of Germany; Henry found her repulsive and
had the marriage invalidated
o
Katherine Howard—executed for adultery
o
Catherine Parr—remarried for a fourth time after
Henry’s death
·
The
King’s Religious Conservatism
o
Church of England split from Catholicism on only
very few issues
o
Six
Articles of 1539
§
reaffirmed transubstantiation
§
denied
the Eucharistic cup to laity
§
upheld celibacy of clergy
§
continuation oral confession
o
England
had to wait for Henry’s death until it could enact genuine Protestant reform
·
The
Protestantism of Edward VI
o
Henry’s son Edward VI took the throne at age ten
§
royal advisors Edward Seymour, the Duke of
Somerset and the duke of Northumberland ruled the country
o
major reforms
§
clerical marriage
§
communion wine shared with laity
§
Act of
Uniformity (1549)
·
images were removed from churches
·
Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer was
imposed on the people of England
§
Second Book of Common Prayer issued by Cranmer
·
taught justification by faith and the supremacy
of Holy Scripture
·
denied
transubstantiation
·
recognized only two sacraments: baptism and
eucharist
o
Bloody Mary repealed Protestant reforms and imposed
strict Catholic rule on the people of England
o
Elizabeth I succeeded Mary and worked out a
lasting religious settlement for England
Section Eight: Catholic Reform and the
Counter Reformation
·
Sources
of Catholic Reform
o
Several reform groups emerged within the
Catholic Church that emphasized apostolic piety
§
Theatines—a
group who trained reform-minded leaders in the higher level of the church
hierarchy
·
Bishop Gian Pietro Carafa, who founded this
group, would go on to become Pope Paul IV
§
Capuchins—sought
to return to the ideas of Saint Francis
§
Barnabites
and Somaschi—worked to repair
moral, spiritual, and physical damage done to people in war-torn Italy
§
Ursulines—a
new order of nuns that established several convents in Italy and France
o
Saint Teresea of Avila and Saint John
of the Cross
§
Spanish mystics
§
encouraged apostolic piety
·
Ignatius
of Loyola and the Jesuits
o
The
Jesuits, or Society of Jesus
§
organized by Ignatius of Loyola
§
launched aggressive missions in India, Japan,
and the Americas
o
Ignatius wrote Spiritual Exercises which
contained mental and emotional exercises designed to teach one self-mastery
over one’s feelings
o
Jesuits fought against the Reformation
§
Taught that good Catholics deny themselves and
submit without question to higher church authority
§
perfect discipline and self control were
essential
§
Jesuits helped counter the Reformation and win
many Protestants back to the Catholic persuasion
·
The
Council of Trent
o
Emperor Charles V advised Pope Paul
III to call a general council of the church to reassert church doctrine
§
Council of Trent included three sessions spread
over the course of eighteen years due to war, plague, and politics
o
Reforms produced by the council
§
end the sale of church offices
§
bishops were forced to move to their dioceses
§
required bishops to say mass and preach in their
dioceses
§
seminaries were to be established in every
diocese in order to better train priests
o
Conservatism at the council
§
Catholic Church reaffirmed its conviction in
·
good
works were necessary for salvation
·
all seven
sacraments
·
transubstantiation
·
withholding of the Eucharistic cup from the
laity
·
clerical celibacy
·
purgatory
·
the veneration of saints, relics, and sacred
images
Section Nine: The Social Significance of
the Reformation in Western Europe
·
Section
Overview
o
Luther, Zwingli and Calvin are often referred to
as “magisterial reformers” which means that they were religious reformers who’s
successes were dependent upon the magistrate’s sword
·
The
Revolution in Religious Practices
o
Religion in Fifteenth-Century Life
§
clergy dominated both the secular and spiritual
lives of the people
§
church calendar regulated daily life as nearly
one-third of the year was given to some type of religious observance; there
were frequent periods of fasting
·
on almost one hundred days out of the year, a
pious Christian could not eat eggs, butter, animal fat, or meat
§
monasteries and nunneries were powerful
institutions
§
religious shrines were everywhere and images of
saints were paraded around towns and cities
§
many clergy walked the streets with concubines
and children although they were sworn to celibacy
§
townspeople were unhappy that the clergy was
exempt from paying taxes
§
people were concerned with the church’s influence
over culture and education
o
Religion in Sixteenth-Century Life
§
after the Reformation took hold in these cities,
few changes in politics and society were evident
·
the same aristocratic families were still in
power and the rich continued to get richer and the poor, poorer
§
the number of religious feast days were
noticeably reduced
§
most cloisters were shut down
§
indulgence preachers no longer traveled through
the towns
§
clergy paid taxes and were tried in civil courts
§
whereas one-half of Europe could be counted in
the Protestant camp in the mid-sixteenth century, only one-fifth would be there
by the mid-seventeenth century
·
The
Reformation and Education
o
Protestant reformers in England, Germany, and
France were humanists; therefore humanism was implemented as the focus of the
curriculum in many of these areas
§
Philp Melanchthon
·
a young humanist and professor of Greek at
Wittenberg University
·
scorned scholasticism
o
Catholic Church—and in particular the
Jesuits—believed that scripture should be read through the lens of the scholastic teachings of the Church
fathers
o
John Calvin, and his successor Theodore
Beza, established the Genevan
Academy
§
created to train Calvinist ministers and the
curriculum was similar to that established by Melanchthon
·
The
Reformation and the Changing Role of Women
o
Protestant reformers favored clerical marriage,
opposed monasticism, and worked to eradicate the model of woman as temptress
§
believed that women should not be degraded as
Eve but rather exalted as virgins on the model of Mary
§
wives remained subjects of their husbands but new
laws gave them greater security and protection
o
Protestant women gained the right to divorce and
remarry
o
encouraged education of girls in literacy of
vernacular so they could read and model their lives after the Bible
§
women found passages in the Bible that declare
woman’s equality with man
Section Ten: Family
Life in Early Modern Europe
·
Section
Overview
o
Changes in the timing and duration of marriage,
family size, and infant and child care suggests that family life was under a
variety of social and economic pressures in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries
·
Later
Marriages
o
Between 1500 and 1800 men and women married at
later ages than they had in previous centuries
§
men in their mid-late twenties and women in their
early to mid-twenties
§
late marriages were due to the fact that couples
found it increasingly difficult to support themselves independently
o
Protestants and Catholics required parental
consent to legalize marriage
o
delayed marriages increased premarital sex and
the number of illegitimate children
§
growing number of orphanages
·
Arranged
Marriages
o
Marriage tended to be arranged in that the
parents met and discussed the terms of the marriage before the preparations for
the wedding became official
o
Men and women could legally resist a marriage
that they were coerced into by their parents
·
Family
Size
o
western European family was nuclear consisting
of a father and mother and two to four children who survived into adulthood
§
women
produced six to seven children but one-third died as infants and one-half by
their teens
o
the larger household included in-laws, servants,
laborers, and boarders
·
Birth
Control
o
very few methods, other than abstinence were
effective
o
church condemned male withdrawal before
ejaculation
o
church opposed birth control methods
·
West
Nursing
o
practice of hiring wet nurses to suckle newborn
children was common with the nobility because it was convenient
o
infant mortality was higher in infants who were
wet nursed because often times the woman providing the service was not in as
good of health as the infant’s own mother and because the wet nurse’s milk
supply was shared
o
lactating women were not considered fit for
sexual activity according to the church
·
Loving
Families
o
Relationships in families in Western Europe
sometimes seemed cold and distant
§
children between the ages of eight and thirteen
were routinely sent from their homes into apprenticeships, school, or
employment in the homes or businesses of family friends or relatives
§
widowers and widows often remarried within a few
months of the passing of their spouses
Section Eleven: Literary Imagination in
Transition
·
Miguel de
Cervantes: Rejection of Idealism
o
Spanish literature reflects the religious and
political history of Spain in this period
o
Influences on Spanish literature
§
traditional Catholic teaching
§
piety of Spanish rulers
·
Spain’s leaders attempted to coalesce piety and
political power and emphasized honor, loyalty, and chivalric virtues
o
in most Spanish works of literature from this
period, the hero goes through a series of tests of character
§
literature remained more Catholic and medieval
than in England or Germany
o
Cervantes (1547-1616)
§
considered Spain’s greatest writer
§
wrote Don Quixote in 1603 while imprisoned
for money laundering
·
satire of the chivalric romances then popular in
Spain
·
protagonist, Don
Quixote, is an unstable middle-aged man who becomes crazy from reading too
many romances
o
he comes to believe he was an aspiring knight
who had to prove his worthiness through great deeds
·
Don Quixote’s squire, Sancho Panza, watches with skepticism as his lord does battle with
a windmill that he mistakes for a Dragon
·
Cervantes juxtaposed the down-to-earth realism
of Sancho Panza with the old-fashioned religious idealism of Don Quixote and
o
the reader is left with the impression that
Cervantes admired both sensibilities
·
William
Shakespeare: Dramatist of the Age
o
Shakespeare blended the styles of classical
comedies and tragedies, medieval morality plays, and contemporary Italian short
stories in order to develop English drama
