Name five absolute monarchs of Europe.
Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (1517) challenging the sale of indulgences and other Church practices His Institutes of the Christian Religion systematized Reformed theology, emphasizing God's sovereignty and predestination Henry VIII, Louis XIV, Philip II, Peter of Russia, Frederick of Prussia. The Catholic Church's response to Protestantism, including the Council of Trent, Jesuits, and internal reforms
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Who brought Christianity to Russia in the 900s?
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What event in 1789 is considered the start of the French Revolution?
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Which British general defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo?
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What sparked the Protestant Reformation?
The invention of the printing press by Gutenberg around 1440, which made the Bible widely available in Latin Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (1517) challenging the sale of indulgences and other Church practices Henry VIII's break with Rome (1534) after the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon The fall of Constantinople in 1453, which sent Greek scholars and texts into Western Europe and inspired reform
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What were Luther's key theological principles?
The Pope is infallible when speaking on matters of faith and morals, making his decrees binding on all Christians Sola fide (faith alone), sola scriptura (Scripture alone), sola gratia (grace alone) Justification by works (merit), by penance (satisfaction) and by pilgrimage (devotion) Scripture and Church tradition carry equal authority, so councils and papal decrees supplement and interpret the Bible
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What was John Calvin's major contribution to the Reformation?
He translated the Bible into English from the original Hebrew and Greek, making it accessible to common readers His Institutes of the Christian Religion systematized Reformed theology, emphasizing God's sovereignty and predestination He founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) to educate Catholics and carry out the Counter-Reformation's missions He invented the printing press in Strasbourg, enabling the rapid spread of Protestant pamphlets across Germany
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What was the Counter-Reformation?
A scientific revolution within the Church, replacing scholastic philosophy with empirical observation and experimentation The Catholic Church's response to Protestantism, including the Council of Trent, Jesuits, and internal reforms A second Protestant movement led by Anabaptists who rejected infant baptism and demanded complete church-state separation A military campaign organized by the Pope to capture Martin Luther and force him to recant his Ninety-Five Theses
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Why did Henry VIII break with the Catholic Church?
Parliament forced the break by passing the Act of Supremacy without the king's knowledge or consent in 1534 He was excommunicated for heresy after publicly endorsing Calvin's doctrine of predestination at a Church council He was inspired by Luther's theology and converted to Lutheranism; he rejected papal authority on doctrinal grounds The Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon; Henry declared himself head of the Church of England
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What was the Peace of Westphalia (1648)?
A trade agreement between England and France settling disputes over wool exports and wine imports after the Hundred Years War A papal decree on church reform ordering bishops to reside in their dioceses and banning the sale of Church offices A military alliance between the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire against the Protestant northern states Treaties ending the Thirty Years' War that established the principle of state sovereignty and religious tolerance in Europe
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Beyond spreading Luther's own writings, how did the printing press more broadly transform the Reformation as a movement across Europe?
Hint: Think about how quickly a printed pamphlet could reach readers in other countries compared to a handwritten letter.
It allowed pamphlets, translated Bibles, and competing reform ideas from many authors to circulate quickly across regions, turning a local German dispute into a continent-wide movement It mattered only in Germany, since printing presses did not reach France, England, or Switzerland until the 1600s It primarily helped the Catholic Church suppress reform by controlling every press in Europe It was banned by all Protestant leaders, who preferred preaching alone to spread reform ideas
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Religious wars such as the French Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years' War followed the Reformation. What does the scale and length of these conflicts suggest about the era?
Hint: Consider how rulers and nobles could use religious loyalty to justify wars that also served political and territorial goals.
These wars ended quickly because all sides agreed to tolerate every religion within a single year of fighting Religious division had become deeply intertwined with political power and national rivalry, so disputes over doctrine could escalate into prolonged, devastating warfare across whole regions These wars were minor border skirmishes with little effect on ordinary people or European politics These wars were fought entirely over trade tariffs and had no connection to Protestant or Catholic identity
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