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Unit 2
10–15% of examIn 1517, Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church, and within a few decades Western Christianity had split into rival churches. You'll see how religion mixed with politics to fuel more than a century of wars, from France to the Holy Roman Empire, until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Meanwhile, daily life for most Europeans was still shaped by family, village, the church calendar and strict social ranks.
Longer videos that cover the whole unit. Good for a first pass or a final review.
By 1500 many Europeans resented Church corruption, like the sale of indulgences and poorly trained clergy, and earlier critics such as John Wycliffe and Jan Hus had already demanded reform. Growing cities, stronger monarchs and the printing press meant that a religious dispute could quickly become a political one.
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In 1517 Martin Luther, a German monk and professor, published his Ninety-Five Theses against the sale of indulgences. He taught that people are saved by faith alone, that the Bible is the only final authority, and that all believers are priests; his ideas also inspired radicals like the Anabaptists and rebels in the German Peasants' War (1524–1525), whom Luther condemned.
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John Calvin made Geneva a model Protestant city and taught predestination, the belief that God has already chosen who will be saved; some of his followers came to see hard work and wealth as signs of God's favor. In England, Henry VIII broke with Rome in the 1530s, partly to end his marriage, and created the Church of England, while Calvinist groups like the French Huguenots and English Puritans challenged their rulers' control over religion.
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Habsburg emperor Charles V fought both the Ottomans and the Lutheran princes, and the Peace of Augsburg (1555) let each German prince choose Lutheranism or Catholicism. In France, Catholics and Huguenots fought until Henry IV granted limited toleration in the Edict of Nantes (1598), and the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) devastated the German lands before the Peace of Westphalia gave the Holy Roman Empire's princes control over religion.
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The Catholic Church fought back with reforms of its own. The Council of Trent (1545–1563) reaffirmed Catholic teaching and cracked down on abuses, the Jesuits founded by Ignatius of Loyola built schools and sent missionaries worldwide, and the Roman Inquisition and the Index of Prohibited Books targeted heresy.
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Most people lived in villages where birth, land and gender set their place, and families worked together as economic units. City governments passed new rules on public morals, communities enforced their norms through festivals like Carnival and public shaming, and witchcraft accusations, aimed mostly at women, peaked between about 1580 and 1650.
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After the High Renaissance, Mannerist painters like El Greco stretched and twisted figures for emotional effect. Around 1600 the Baroque style of Bernini, Rubens and Artemisia Gentileschi added drama, motion and strong light, and the Catholic Church and monarchs used it to inspire faith and display power.
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This wrap-up topic asks you to explain how religious, political and social changes between 1450 and 1648 caused conflict and changed European society. A strong answer backs a clear claim with specific evidence, like the Peace of Augsburg or the Peace of Westphalia.
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