Die Reformation

Reformation, Die, the 16th-c. Reformation which affected the whole of Europe, emanated from Germany. Attempts at reforms within the Roman Church had already been made in the preceding centuries, and the age which became known as the Reformation was one of revolt as well as reform. It opened when Martin Luther publicly protested against the sale of indulgences (see Ablasskram) by the Dominican monk Tetzel (c.1465-1519), who was active near Wittenberg after having been barred from Saxon territory by Friedrich der Weise. Luther expressed his protest in a manner traditionally adopted to open a dispute: on 31 October 1517 he pinned 95 theses to the door of the castle church. The conflict became inevitable when Luther refused to revoke his views at the Diet at Worms in January 1521 (see Wormser Reichstage). He had indeed, against his original intention, sparked off a radical reappraisal of the Church and the word of the Bible, which resulted in the division of Christendom. The close of the age is marked by the peace of Augsburg (1555, see Augsburger Religionsfriede), which in turn opened the age of the Counter-Reformation (see Gegenreformation) culminating in the Thirty Years War (see Dreissigjähriger Krieg).

The Reformation marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern history. It may be divided into three stages, the first leading to the Peasants' War (1524-5, see Bauernkrieg), the second up to the peace of Nuremberg (see Nürnberger Religionsfriede) in 1532, and the last up to the peace of Augsburg, which Luther did not live to see. He had in any case lost control over the course of events. By this time, too, the Emperor Karl V whose long reign was marked by largely frustrated efforts to check the Reformation, had retired into a Spanish monastery.

The non-Catholic states (and individuals) became known as Protestants (see Protestantismus) after those secular heads who, at the Diet of Speyer in 1529 (see Speyer, Reichstag zu), protested against their dependence on Rome; they proclaimed their confession at the Diet at Augsburg (1530, see Augsburg, Reichstag zu), and in 1531 formed the League of Schmalkalden (see Schmalkaldischer Bund) in defence against Karl V. The Reformation established Luther's own Evangelical Church and paved the way for the Reformed Church, which was initiated by the German-speaking Swiss Zwingli and the French-speaking Swiss Calvin. The Reformed Church (see Reformierte Kirche) was, however, not officially recognized in the empire until the peace of Westphalia (1648, see Westfälischer Friede).

This age of ‘reform’ would have been stillborn, and Luther might well have been burnt at the stake as a heretic like Jan Hus, had it not drawn German rulers into action, who from the start were alert to the political implications of Luther's revolt of conscience against the Church of Rome. It is only since the end of the 1914-18 War that the Roman Catholic Church has recognized the Protestant Church by no longer viewing it as heretical, and since the second Vatican Council (1962-5) it has begun to reconsider Protestant theology in order to discover common ground.

The dark chapter in German history which resulted from the Reformation in the following century makes readily understandable the yearnings of some later spirits for the original unity of the medieval Church (e.g. Novalis's essay Die Christenheit oder Europa), but in fact, for better or for worse, this was an age of change and of scientific, technical, and cultural progress and emancipation. The printing machine (see Gutenberg) became a decisive feature of modern and popular communication and propaganda through pamphlets and broadsheets (though books remained for a long time to come the privilege of the wealthy). The Reformation prepared the ground for modern philosophy, for Rationalism and Idealism, and even promoted Erasmus's humanism (see Humanismus) in spite of the dispute between Luther and Erasmus in 1524-5. Since religion determined trends in art and culture the Reformation inspired new styles in painting (notably Dürer) and music. It has been said that Luther might in another time and position have embodied his spiritual vision in an epic instead of a new Church. No comment could pay greater tribute to Luther's poetic gifts, and it may be added that he did indeed create the epic in his translation of the Bible (see Bible, Translations of), which sums up the maker of the Reformation as the maker of the modern German language.

Nuremberg (Dürer's birthplace) was the first important city to accept the new teaching. Others followed: Ulm, Nördlingen, Strasburg, Magdeburg, Hamburg, Bremen, and other north German cities, as well as Königsberg in East Prussia; among the first principalities were the members of the Schmalkaldischer Bund, Württemberg, the Palatinate, Brandenburg, and Hesse.