Transcript Setting the Stage for the Reformation

Setting the Stage for the
Reformation
Political Change during the
Renaissance
Politics and the State
 15th Century rulers centralized power
– Many sought to eliminate disorder &
violence
– Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain
– Charles IV and Charles V of HRE
– Frances I of France
– Henry VII of England
– All invested royal power with authority and
sense of national purpose
Spain
 Finally United through the marriage of Isabella
to Ferdinand (El Catolico - “Most Catholic
Nation”)
– Isabella of Castile (and Spanish Americas) &
Ferdinand of Aragon (Balearic Islands, Sardinia,
Sicily & Naples)
 No common political, judicial or administrative
institutions
 Aristocratic power lessened under I & F
 Church used to strengthen royal authority
– Reconquista ends (last Arabs driven out by 1492;
majority of Jews relocated)
– Inquisition established to maintain sense of
“Spainishness”
Spain (cont’d)
 Reconquista/ Inquisition (1478)
– Attempt to drive Muslims (Moors) & Jews out
– Conversos
• Marranos - Jewish converts/ Moriscos – Muslim converts
• Often “conversions” merely verbal
– (Remember: Christianity / State STILL united in
Europe until after the Reformation)
• To be non-Christian = to be vs. the state
– Many Jews had been important members of
government and trade
• Jews expelled: Flee to Northern Africa, Germany, Poland,
Netherlands, Southwestern France
• Many tortured at the hand of the Spanish Inquisition
– Moors driven out by 1492 with victory at Granada
• 1502 – Isabella expels all professed Muslims from Spain
Holy Roman Empire
 three states:
– princely states
• Saxony, Brandenburg, Bavaria
– ecclesiastical states
• bishoprics, abbacies
– free imperial states
• 50 states, not large territory BUT
• dominated financial & commercial life
Golden Bull, 1356
 seven electors elect Holy Roman
Emperor
– Count of Palatine; Duke of Saxony;
Margrave of Brandenburg; King of Bohemia
– Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, and Trier
Two Threats to the HRE
 Ottoman Turks
– Ottoman Empire is pressing in on Europe
• Take Constantinople in 1453 – then move north
toward Hungary (Bohemia and HRE would be
next!)
 Hanseatic League
– Trade Association made up of German and Baltic
states
– Members interested in breaking financial and
political ties with the HRE in order to gain
independence.
Habsburgs – European
Dynasty
 Maximilian I (1493-1519)
– administrative “circles”, Imperial Chamber,
Imperial Council and Reichstag BUT…
– strategic use of royal marriages
• he marries Mary of Burgundy (France &
Netherlands)
• their son, Philip, marries Joanna heiress of
Castile & Spanish America, Aragon & its
Mediterranean & Italian possessions
• their son, Charles, inherits all this PLUS is
elected Holy Roman Emperor, 1519
Habsburg Brothers
 Charles V (a.k.a. Charles I) – most powerful
ruler of his time
 Ferdinand (his brother) elected King of
Bohemia and Hungary
– attempt to protect areas from the Turks, who had
been moving into Europe from Constantinople
since 1453
 “Universal Monarchy”
– Threat to balance of power and other nation’s
independence
– France especially worried
Charles V
 unable to consolidate power in the Holy Roman
Empire
 unable to unite all of his landholdings into one
“state”
 constant warfare with Francis I (France) over Italy
– no national army, must hire mercenary forces
 1527 sacks Rome – viewed as a blood thirsty
tyrant
 not enough funds to manage territories
 Protestantism
 Ottoman Turks
 abdicates 1556, dies 1559
France
 Francis I, 1516-1547
– Student of warfare – seduced by power
• Mother Louise ruled while he was away waging war
– Attempts to take over all of Italy – Fails BUT
• Both Pope Leo X and the Sforza (Milan) recognize French
“dominion” = influence in these areas (i.e. French are
protectors of the Papacy)
– Returns to France greatly influenced by the
Renaissance
• da Vinci
• Fontainebleau
Palace Fontainebleau
Francis I
 Once back in France begins to further
consolidate his power throughout
France
 Concordat of Bologna, 1516: Pope Leo X
formally agrees to let Francis appoint
bishops and abbots – BUT – Francis
agrees to let pope collect annuities &
recognizes the pope’s superiority over
church councils
Francis I vs. Charles V
 looses Holy Roman Emperorship to Charles
V
 repeatedly beat in Italy by Charles V’s
mercenary armies
 Francis I tries to use Protestantism against
Charles V
 Henry II (1547-1559) reaches peace with
Habsburgs – Peace of Cateau-Cambresis,
1559
England
Disorder!
Civil Conflict!
Murder!
The War of the Roses
1455-1485
House of York (white rose) vs.
House of Lancaster (red rose)
 Henry IV, 1399-1413 – Black Death / disorder /
damages trade, agriculture, industry
– Henry V, 1413-1422 – In line to become King of
France BUT dies
– Henry VI, mentally disturbed --- monarchy sinks
– Edward IV – York, took throne in 1461 (-1483)
• Began to reaffirm royal authority
• Reduced royal reliance on Parliament for $
 Richard III, Duke of Gloucester (1483-5)
– Edward’s sons imprisoned & murdered
– Was Richard involved?
 War continues
– Henry Tudor VII (1485-1509) challenges Richard III
• Defeats Richard III at Bosworth in 1485
– Marries Elizabeth of York (Edward IV’s daughter)
England, cont’d
 Henry VII (Tudor)
– Gained throne by force
– Came to control the Parliament
– Used the royal council to his advantage,
Star Chamber (royal court dealing with legal
issues w/o jury; court of appeals)
– Won the support of many by promoting
economic stability in England
– Avoided expensive civil wars, passed laws
against “livery and maintenance.”
– Diplomacy, Diplomacy, Diplomacy
England (conclusion)
 Henry VII (cont’d)
- 1501 marries his son to Catherine of
Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand and
Isabella of Spain
- 1509 – Henry VII dies
England is at peace – (after 200 years)
Economically stable
Monarchy has regained prestige