Protestant Reformation
The 16th-century break with the Catholic Church and the new churches it created, from Luther onward.
Category: Culture
- November 10, 1483Birth of Martin Luther at Eisleben
Martin Luther is born at Eisleben in the County of Mansfeld, in the Holy Roman Empire. He becomes the theologian whose challenge to the Church launches the Protestant Reformation, and he dies in the same town in 1546.
- August 18, 1516Concordat of Bologna between Francis I and Pope Leo X
The agreement let the king of France nominate bishops and abbots, with the pope confirming them. It gave the crown lasting control over the French church, which stayed Catholic through the Reformation.
- September 4, 1517Luther attacks Aristotle in theology
Luther's 97 theses against scholastic theology, dated 4 September 1517, reject Aristotle's place in theology: thesis 41 calls virtually his whole Ethics "the worst enemy of grace" and thesis 50 says Aristotle is to theology as darkness is to light.
- October 31, 1517Luther's Ninety-five Theses
Martin Luther's challenge to indulgences sparks the Protestant Reformation.
- June 1519 – July 1519Luther is drawn into the Leipzig Debate with Johann Eck
In June and July 1519 Johann Eck debates Andreas Karlstadt and then Martin Luther at Leipzig's Pleissenburg castle. It widens to purgatory, indulgences and papal authority, and leads Leo X to censure Luther in 1520.
- December 10, 1520Luther burns the papal bull Exsurge Domine at Wittenberg
Leo X's bull of 15 June 1520 condemned 41 propositions from Luther's writings and gave him sixty days to recant. On 10 December Luther burns it publicly at Wittenberg's Elster Gate, and is excommunicated in January 1521.
- April 18, 1521Luther refuses to recant at the Diet of Worms
Before Emperor Charles V's Diet at Worms, Luther refuses on 18 April 1521 to recant his books. The Edict of Worms (25 May) outlaws him and bans his writings, but is never enforced in Germany, where princes protect him.
- October 1521Pope Leo X names Henry VIII Defender of the Faith
Leo X grants Henry VIII the title for his Assertio septem sacramentorum, which defends the sacraments and papal authority against early Protestant ideas. The pope later revokes it, and Parliament restores it by statute in 1543.
- September 1522Luther publishes his German New Testament
Luther's German New Testament, the 'September Bible', appears in Wittenberg in September 1522. His complete Bible follows in 1534 from Hans Lufft's press, and helps move German toward a standard written form.
- January 29, 1523Zurich's council backs Zwingli after the First Zurich Disputation
On 29 January 1523 Zurich's council lets Huldrych Zwingli keep preaching and rules that preachers must teach only what Scripture supports. In 1525 his new communion service replaces the Mass.
- April 23, 1523Charles V names the first inquisitor general of the Netherlands
On 23 April 1523 Charles V appoints Frans van der Hulst inquisitor general of the Seventeen Provinces, after edicts in 1521 banned Reformed worship. More than 1,300 people are executed as heretics there between 1523 and 1566.
- August 24, 1524 – 1525The German Peasants' War rises against the lords
From August 1524 peasants rise across German lands, adopting the Twelve Articles in March 1525. Luther urges the nobles to crush them, and the rebels lose at Frankenhausen on 15 May 1525. Up to 100,000 are killed.
- September 1524 – December 1525Luther answers Erasmus on free will with On the Bondage of the Will
Erasmus defends human free will in On Free Will (September 1524). Luther replies in December 1525 with On the Bondage of the Will, arguing that sin leaves people unable to save themselves and that salvation is God's act alone.
- June 13, 1525Luther marries the former nun Katharina von Bora
Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, who fled Nimbschen Abbey in 1523, on 13 June 1525; a public ceremony follows on 27 June. They live in Wittenberg's Black Cloister, and the marriage becomes a model for Protestant clerical marriage.
- 1526Tyndale's English New Testament is printed at Worms
The first complete printed English New Testament, translated by William Tyndale, appears at Worms in 1526. Bishop Tunstall has copies bought and burned; Tyndale is arrested at Antwerp in 1535 and burned near Vilvoorde in October 1536.
- April 1529Lutheran estates protest at the Diet of Speyer, giving 'Protestants' their name
The Diet of Speyer, opened 15 March 1529, overturns the 1526 settlement and enforces the Edict of Worms. Lutheran princes and cities lodge a formal protest in April, from which the name 'Protestants' comes.
- October 1, 1529 – October 4, 1529Luther and Zwingli fail to agree on the Eucharist at the Marburg Colloquy
Philip of Hesse hosts Luther, Zwingli, Melanchthon, Oecolampadius and Bucer at Marburg Castle on 1–4 October 1529. They agree on fourteen of fifteen points but not on Christ's presence in the Eucharist, so the Protestants stay divided.
- June 25, 1530The Augsburg Confession is presented to Charles V
On 25 June 1530 Lutheran estates present their statement of faith to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg. Written by Melanchthon, Luther and others, it becomes the main confession of the Lutheran Church.
- February 27, 1531Protestant princes form the Schmalkaldic League
On 27 February 1531, at Schmalkalden, Philip of Hesse and John Frederick of Saxony lead Lutheran princes and cities into a defensive alliance against Emperor Charles V.
- 1532Guillaume Farel begins preaching the Reformation in Geneva
In 1532 the French reformer Guillaume Farel starts preaching in Geneva under the protection of Protestant Bern. His sermons turn the dispute with the bishop and Savoy into a religious one.
- May 23, 1533Cranmer declares Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon void
On 23 May 1533 Thomas Cranmer, consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury that March, rules Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon invalid. He crowns Anne Boleyn queen on 1 June.
- July 1533Bishop Pierre de la Baume flees Geneva for good
After re-entering Geneva on 3 July 1533 with troops from Catholic Fribourg, Bishop Pierre de la Baume flees the city in July 1533 and never returns, leaving Geneva without its prince-bishop.
- 1534Luther publishes his complete German Bible
In 1534 Martin Luther completes his translation of the Old Testament, and the full Bible appears in Wittenberg. It helps establish High German as a literary language and remains widely used.
- February 1534 – June 24, 1535Anabaptists seize Münster and set up a short-lived kingdom
Anabaptists take control of Münster in February 1534, and John of Leiden later takes royal regalia and absolute power. The prince-bishop's forces retake the city on 24 June 1535, and its leaders are executed in January 1536.
- November 3, 1534The Act of Supremacy makes Henry VIII head of the Church of England
Parliament passes the Act of Supremacy on 3 November 1534, declaring Henry VIII 'the only supreme head on Earth of the Church of England' and ending papal authority; royal assent follows on 18 December. A Treason Act punishes denial.
- 1535Coverdale's Bible, the first complete printed English Bible, appears
In 1535 Miles Coverdale's translation, built largely on Tyndale and Latin and German versions, is printed on the Continent. Research in 1997 identified the printer as Merten de Keyser of Antwerp.
- 1535Olivétan's French Bible is printed at Neuchâtel
In 1535 Pierre Robert Olivétan, a cousin of Calvin, publishes at Neuchâtel the first French Bible translated from Hebrew and Greek rather than Latin. Calvin writes its Latin preface; it is the first French Protestant Bible.
- August 10, 1535Geneva's Grand Council bans the Catholic Mass
On 10 August 1535 Geneva's Grand Council resolves to prohibit the celebration of Mass, after Farel and others stir crowds to destroy images in churches. The same resolution forbids further icon-breaking.
- 1536 – 1541Henry VIII dissolves England's monasteries
Between 1536 and 1541 Henry VIII closes England's monasteries, starting with houses worth under £200 a year. About 625 communities are dissolved, and much of their land passes to the Crown and is sold to fund his wars.
- 1536Guillaume Farel persuades John Calvin to stay in Geneva
In summer 1536 Calvin, passing through Geneva on his way to Strasbourg, is persuaded by Guillaume Farel to stay and help organise the city's new Reformed church.
- March 1536Calvin publishes the first Institutes of the Christian Religion in Basel
The first, Latin edition of Calvin's Institutes appears at Basel in March 1536. He expands it repeatedly, with a French edition in 1541 and a fifth, final Latin edition at Geneva in 1559.
- May 21, 1536Geneva swears to live by the Protestant faith and becomes a republic
On 21 May 1536 Geneva's General Council takes a public oath to the Protestant faith and confiscates Church property. The city, now free of its bishop and Savoy, is proclaimed a Protestant republic.
- October 1536 – February 1537The Pilgrimage of Grace rises in northern England
From the Lincolnshire Rising of 1 October 1536, northern rebels led by Robert Aske protest the break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries. Henry VIII breaks his promises, and about 216 people are executed, including Aske.
- October 1536William Tyndale is strangled and burned at Vilvoorde
In early October 1536 (traditionally 6 October) the English translator William Tyndale is executed for heresy near Brussels. Much of his wording later survives in the King James Bible.
- 1538Calvin and Farel are banished from Geneva
At Easter 1538 Geneva's council banishes Guillaume Farel and John Calvin after a dispute over church discipline. Farel settles in Neuchâtel, and Calvin lives in exile until he is recalled in 1541.
- April 1539The Great Bible is published and ordered into every English church
The first edition of the Great Bible, edited by Myles Coverdale for Thomas Cromwell and largely based on Tyndale, appears in April 1539. Cromwell's 1538 order puts a copy of the Bible in English in every church.
- September 1541Calvin returns to Geneva and its church order is set
Expelled in 1538, Calvin returns to Geneva in September 1541 at the city's request. The Ecclesiastical Ordinances of 20 November create its ministerial orders and the Consistory, a church disciplinary court.
- February 18, 1546Death of Martin Luther at Eisleben
Martin Luther dies at Eisleben, his birthplace, on 18 February 1546, aged 62. The Schmalkaldic War between Charles V and the Protestant princes begins later that year.
- April 24, 1547Charles V defeats the Schmalkaldic League at Mühlberg
On 24 April 1547 imperial forces rout the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League and capture John Frederick of Saxony, who loses his electoral title to his cousin Maurice. The Augsburg Interim follows in 1548.
- May 15, 1548Charles V issues the Augsburg Interim after defeating the Protestants
On 15 May 1548, after Mühlberg, Charles V orders Protestants to readopt Catholic practices, allowing only clerical marriage and communion in both kinds. Many pastors refuse, and it is mostly enforced where his army holds power.
- June 9, 1549The first Book of Common Prayer is imposed in England
Parliament passes the Act of Uniformity on 21 January 1549, and the first Book of Common Prayer, largely edited by Thomas Cranmer, must be in use from Whitsunday, 9 June. Cranmer's stricter revision follows in 1552.
- November 30, 1554England is reconciled with Rome under Mary I
On 30 November 1554 Cardinal Pole absolves Parliament and the realm of heresy and schism. The Second Statute of Repeal, introduced on 26 December, reunites England with Rome after Henry VIII's break.
- February 4, 1555 – 1558Mary I's government burns Protestants as heretics
From 4 February 1555, when John Rogers is burned, Mary I's government burns Protestants under revived heresy laws. At least 280 people are executed by the end of her reign in 1558, which earns her the name 'Bloody Mary'.
- September 25, 1555The Peace of Augsburg lets each prince choose Lutheranism or Catholicism
Negotiated by Ferdinand I for Charles V, the peace of 25 September 1555 lets rulers make Lutheranism or Catholicism the faith of their lands; dissenters may emigrate. Calvinism gains legal recognition only in 1648.
- March 21, 1556Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake at Oxford
Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, withdraws his recantations and is burned at Oxford on 21 March 1556. The principal editor of the Book of Common Prayer is later honoured as a martyr by the Church of England.
- April 1559Elizabeth I's Parliament passes the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity
In April 1559 Elizabeth I's Parliament abolishes the pope's authority and makes her Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Act of Uniformity, passed by about three votes in the Lords, restores a revised Book of Common Prayer.
- 1560English exiles publish the Geneva Bible
In 1560 English Protestant exiles in Geneva, led by William Whittingham, publish the first complete English Bible translated from the original languages, with Calvinist notes. The Pilgrims later carry it on the Mayflower.
- August 1560The Scottish Parliament abolishes papal authority and bans the Mass
In August 1560, after English help ends the fighting with the Treaty of Edinburgh, Scotland's Parliament approves the Scots Confession, abolishes papal jurisdiction and bans the Mass. Mary Queen of Scots does not endorse the acts.
- 1562 – 1598The French Wars of Religion begin between Catholics and Huguenots
Conflict between Catholic and Protestant (Huguenot) factions, entangled with noble rivalries and a weakened Valois crown, broke into open civil war in 1562 and continued intermittently until 1598.
- 1563The Heidelberg Catechism is published in the Calvinist-leaning Palatinate
In 1563 Elector Frederick III of the Palatinate has the Heidelberg Catechism, mainly by Zacharias Ursinus, approved by a synod. Calvinism is not covered by the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, which tolerates only Lutherans.
- May 27, 1564Death of John Calvin in Geneva
John Calvin dies in Geneva on 27 May 1564, aged 54. The school he founded there in 1559 later becomes the University of Geneva, and Geneva remains a centre of the Reformed tradition.
- August 10, 1566The Beeldenstorm: Calvinist crowds strip Catholic churches in the Netherlands
From 10 August 1566, starting at Steenvoorde, Calvinist crowds destroy images in Catholic churches across the Netherlands, reaching Antwerp on 20 August. Philip II sends the Duke of Alba with an army in 1567, which leads to the Dutch Revolt.
- 1569Casiodoro de Reina publishes the first complete Spanish Bible
In 1569 Casiodoro de Reina, a former Spanish monk turned Protestant, prints the first complete Spanish Bible in Basel, the 'Biblia del Oso'. Cipriano de Valera revises it in 1602, the basis of the Reina-Valera.
- August 24, 1572St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Huguenots in Paris
During the wedding celebrations of Henry of Navarre, King Charles IX ordered the killing of Huguenot leaders, and mobs in Paris and other cities then massacred thousands of Protestants. It began the night of 23-24 August 1572.
- 1577The Formula of Concord settles Lutheran disputes
In 1576–1577 Jakob Andreä, Martin Chemnitz and others write the Formula of Concord for Elector Augustus of Saxony. About two-thirds of German Lutherans, including three electors, subscribe, and it draws a firm line against Calvinism.
- December 19, 1582 – 1588The Cologne War begins when Elector Gebhard Truchsess turns Protestant
On 19 December 1582 the Elector of Cologne, Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, announces his conversion and then marries without resigning. Pope and chapter depose him in 1583, and war lasts to 1588, with Bavaria's Ernst winning.
- April 4, 1588Christian IV becomes King of Denmark-Norway at ten
Christian IV succeeds his father on 4 April 1588, aged ten, and is crowned on 29 August 1596. He reigns until 1648, the longest reign in Scandinavian history, and later leads Denmark into the war as Duke of Holstein.
- 1606 – 1607Religious riot at Donauwörth leads to Catholic Bavaria occupying the Protestant town
In 1606 the Lutheran majority of Donauwörth bars a Catholic procession and a riot follows. In 1607 an imperial law lets the Duke of Bavaria punish the town, which Bavaria then occupies and re-Catholicises.
- May 14, 1608Protestant princes form the Protestant Union at Auhausen
On 14 May 1608 Protestant princes and cities led by Elector Frederick IV of the Palatinate form the Union at Auhausen, after Donauwörth and the Diet's demand for church lands taken since 1552. Lutheran Saxony stays out.
- March 25, 1609 – November 12, 1614The Jülich-Cleves succession crisis begins and draws in Europe's powers
Duke John William of Jülich-Cleves dies childless on 25 March 1609, and Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg claim his duchies. Union, League, France and Spain take sides. The Treaty of Xanten divides them on 12 November 1614.
- July 9, 1609Rudolf II grants the Letter of Majesty to Bohemia's Protestants
On 9 July 1609 Rudolf II, as King of Bohemia, signs the Letter of Majesty. It grants Protestants religious freedom and a committee of the Estates, the Defensors, to guard it. Its violation is later a cause of the 1618 revolt.
- October 30, 1611Gustavus Adolphus becomes King of Sweden at sixteen
On 30 October 1611 Gustavus Adolphus becomes King of Sweden on his father Charles IX's death, aged sixteen, in the middle of the Kalmar War. He is declared of age in January 1612 and reorganises Swedish government and army.
- May 23, 1618Protestant nobles throw royal regents from a window at Prague Castle
On 23 May 1618 Bohemian Protestant leaders throw the Catholic regents Martinitz and Slavata and their secretary Fabricius from a window of the Bohemian Chancellery. All survive. The act starts the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years' War.
- November 13, 1618 – May 9, 1619The Synod of Dort condemns Arminianism and sets out Reformed doctrine
From 13 November 1618 to 9 May 1619 the Dutch Reformed Church meets at Dordrecht, expels the Remonstrants (Arminians) on 14 January 1619 and issues the Canons of Dort, often summed up as the "Five Points of Calvinism".
- May 9, 1625Christian IV of Denmark takes command of the Lower Saxon Circle and enters the war
On 9 May 1625 Christian IV, elected military commander of the Lower Saxon Circle, takes up arms against Ferdinand II as Duke of Holstein. His intervention opens the Danish phase of the war, financed by England and the Dutch.
- March 6, 1629Ferdinand II issues the Edict of Restitution
On 6 March 1629 Ferdinand II orders Protestants to return church lands secularised after 1555, which would change rulers in two archbishoprics, twelve bishoprics and over 100 religious houses. Protestant electors protest, and the Peace of Prague later revokes it.
- July 6, 1630Gustavus Adolphus lands on Usedom and brings Sweden into the war
On 6 July 1630 (26 June Old Style) Gustavus Adolphus lands his army on Usedom, off Pomerania, and Sweden enters the war. Sources differ on the force, from about 4,000 to 13,000 men. He occupies Pomerania under the Treaty of Stettin.
- May 20, 1631Imperial and League troops storm and burn Magdeburg
On 20 May 1631, after a two-month siege, Tilly's and Pappenheim's troops storm Magdeburg. Fire destroys about 1,700 of 1,900 buildings and some 20,000 people die. Gustavus Adolphus does not relieve it, and "Magdeburg mercy" becomes a byword.
- May 30, 1635Ferdinand II and Saxony make the Peace of Prague
On 30 May 1635 (Old Style) Ferdinand II and Saxony sign the Peace of Prague. It effectively revokes the Edict of Restitution, sets 1627 as the cutoff for church property and bans alliances in the Empire. Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar fights on for France.
- October 24, 1648Westphalia recognises Calvinism and fixes 1624 as the religious norm
The treaties give Calvinism legal standing beside Catholicism and Lutheranism, take 1 January 1624 as the normative year for each state's religion, and end rulers' power to impose their faith on subjects. Half of the imperial court's judges must be Protestant.