Free A Short History of Europe: From Charlemagne to the Treaty of Europe by Gordon Kerr Page B

weakened by bickering with the princes and cities that had elected him. The peasants looked on in disgust as the clergy enjoyed a life of luxury, land-ownership and wealth.
    Martin Luther, who had become a professor at Wittenberg University in 1512, was the catalyst. He loathed the practice of selling indulgences and was horrified by Johann Tetzel’s claim that ‘As soon asthe coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs’ (Bainton, Roland, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther . New York: Penguin, 1995, p 60) and had finally resolved to take action. His 95 Theses contained the seeds of the revolutionary teachings that were to change Christianity forever. Luther believed (or came to believe) that only faith can bring righteousness; the Holy Scriptureis the only source of faith; the only worthwhile sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist, or Holy Communion; that the worship of the Virgin Mary and the Saints should be abolished; that purgatory does not exist; that there is no need for priests to be celibate and that monastic and religious orders have no real function. The 95 Theses were swiftly translated from Latin to German, printed anddistributed, and within two weeks Germany was seething with religious discontent. Within two months, his thoughts were spurring debate throughout Europe.
    In Germany, the unrest erupted into violence in 1522 when the knights sided with Luther and attacked the Archbishop of Trier. Then, in 1524, the peasants rose up against the lords. On both occasions Luther condemned the rebels. Gradually, however,the princes of the empire converted to Lutheranism, mainly to weaken the Emperor still further but also so they could get their hands on valuable Church property. In 1531 they formed an alliance, the Schmalkadic League. Emperor Charles V was, in the meantime, largely preoccupied with fighting the French. Once peace had broken out between the two neighbours, however, he faced up to his recalcitrantprinces and, with the support of the pope, defeated them in April 1547 at the Battle of Mühlberg, reconverting around 30 German cities as a result. A year later, with the French now supporting the Lutheran princes, Charles signed the Peace of Augsburg after he was defeated at Innsbruck. It brought peace for 60 years, but the princes gained an important right – cuius regio, eius religio (‘whateverreligion the prince is, will be the religion of his people’). As for Charles, he was exhausted. He abdicated, living the remainder of his life in a Spanish monastery.
    Similar doctrines to those of Luther had been preached and advocated in other parts of Europe. Swiss theologian Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531) preached Church reform, claiming that the Bible was open to interpretation and denying thatthe Church should be the ultimate authority. He criticised Church corruption and railed against many other issues, including celibacy, fasting during Lent and the use of images. In 1523, his reforms were taken up by the city of Zurich which became a theocracy and Basle and Berne also began to adopt his theories. The other Catholic cantons of Switzerland opposed these reforms, however, and declaredwar on Zurich. Zwingli died in the Battle of Kappel in 1531.
    Meanwhile, in Denmark and Norway, King Christian III (ruled 1534–59) imposed Lutheranism on his people with the help of the German towns who were members of the trading alliance, the Hanseatic League. In Sweden, King Gustavus Vasa (ruled 1523–60) similarly introduced Lutheranism and made himself head of the Swedish Church. In othercountries such as France and Scotland, the ideas of another fiery Protestant were gaining currency. John Calvin (1509–64) was a Frenchman who was forced to flee his country in 1533 because of his reforming ideas. He eventually arrived in Geneva where his thinking was imposed upon the city’s governance. Geneva became a theocracy; strict morality was imposed and all worldly pleasures were banned. Thosewho failed to