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The Printing Press developed in 1450, and printing pamphlets containing unbound essays on current topics could spread new ideas quickly to other people.
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The birthdate of Martin Luther.
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Caught in a terrible storm, Luther vows to become a monk if St. Anne saves him. Surviving the storm, he gives up his career as a lawyer and joins the monastery at Erfurt.
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When Luther read St. Paul's letter to the Romans, he understood that his message was quite clear; faith is the only path to God. A person could be made just/good by his or her faith in God. His belief in this theory lead him to question the church's practice of selling indulgences. Luther taught that salvation could be achieved only through Gods mercy.
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Luther's Ninety-Five Theses spread widely across Europe. Encouraged with this success, he wrote hundreds of essays in which he stressed justification by faith and criticized church abuses.
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Luther's ideas that challenged the Catholic church succeeded because many people recognized the widespread corruption within the church and were eager for reform. Luther also spoke and wrote with conviction; his words were immensely appealing to the people.
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During that time, the church was authorized by the pope to sell indulgences, but Martin Luther saw the practices as proof of how greedy and corrupt the Catholic church had become. He protested by nailing papers to the All Saints Church door. These papers contained his Ninety-Five Theses, which Luther used to explain his objections.
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Pope Leo X issued a bull - condemning and banning Luther's works. When Luther publicly burned the bull, the break with the church was complete and in 1521, Luther was excommunicated.
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Luther was given a second chance at a meeting in Worms, Germany, that demanded that he take back his teaching. When refusing to do so, a near riot broke loose. His triumph was shortlived when the emperor declared him an outlaw, but because he had good connections with Frederick the Wise, Prince of Saxony, he was hidden away for about a year inside the castle. There, he continued to translate and write works in which he attacked the church. His teaching inspired a new religion; Lutheranism.
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As the Reformation spread, it gained support of European peasants. A group of poor German peasants took up arms against their landowners. A very badly organized revolt occurred, crushing the uprising.
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Luther's idea became popular amongst German princes. He did not believe that the church should own property. Many German princes wanted freedom from the pope's authority, so they favored Protestantism. Others remained Catholic because they depended on the pope's support. These differences erupted in a war, causing a rage lead by Catholic and Protestant princes.
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A compromise permitting German princes to decide which religion would be allowed in each one's state was reached. Northern germany chose Protestantism, and southern germany remained Catholic.
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By 1560, the Reformation was established in Germany and in much of Europe.