Reformation Germany and Switzerland

1.     Reformation Germany and Switzerland

1. The Reformation began in German and Swiss , small city-states within the Holy Roman Empire. Initially, the Reformation’s supporters were those with a history of            with authorities. Many towns had complaints against mismanagement or other inappropriate behavior among their bishops, abbots, or prelates, who had                              their benefices.
2. The Northern Renaissance, a movement of humanists from more  social backgrounds than their Italian counterparts, was more committed to               reform than other humanist movements were.
3. Martin Luther’s  Theses, posted in 1517 in protest of indulgences and other disputes with the Roman Church, became a focus for humanists and reformers. Luther’s capacity for free action was enhanced by the distraction caused by the election of the new Holy Roman Emperor,                      ; concessions made by the new emperor during his campaign; Luther’s allies who hid him in 1521 and 1522; and attacks against the Hapsburg holdings. When German peasants rebelled, demanding economic and spiritual equality and an end to serfdom, Luther sided against the                                            , calling them un-Christian.
4. The success of Protestants in Germany led to reforms like compulsory education, humanist revisions of curriculum, and instruction for lay people about . From Germany, Lutheranism spread in the first half of the 16th century to Poland, Denmark, and           .
5. The city of  became the center of the Swiss reformation because of the efforts of a popular priest,            , who opposed practices that were not specifically written in scripture. His disagreement with Luther about the nature of the bread and wine in the             prevented a unified Protestant movement.
6. The early movement for adult baptism and withdrawal from society to form a more perfect community–called –was condemned by the pope, Lutherans, and Zwinglians, but found adherents among the rural poor.
7. In Geneva,  led a reform movement focused on creating a godly society. He taught the godly            , those predestined for salvation.
8. In the late 16th century, the Holy Roman Empire was highly  among highly independent Lutheran,            , and Catholic realms, in contrast to unified nations like Spain, England, or France. The most destructive of the wars of religion, the                    , ravaged the empire from 1618 to 1648. The Treaty of Westphalia, which ended this war, granted legal recognition to                        and recognized the independence of the United Provinces of Holland and                                 . The German states of                and Brandenburg-Prussia emerged from this war as the most important early modern German powers.