OCTOBER 1517

Western Europe on the eve of the Reformation was, to a large extent, united by a single religion. Orthodox Christianity dominated the east and large areas of the Balkans were Moslem, but western Europe was Roman Catholic, and all subjects and sovereigns, at least outwardly, conformed to Catholic ritual.

All this would change after Martin Luther, a strong-willed German monk, nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg. This act didn't herald the birth of a fully-formed Protestantism but, over time, a critical mass of German princes and commoners would come to endorse his critiques and a series of distinctive Protestant faiths emerged. The term 'Protestant' was first used in 1529 when several German cities and states protested against the Imperial Diet's decision to cancel the toleration formerly enjoyed by Luther's adherents.

Luther's critique of medieval Catholicism did not fall on stony ground for the Catholic church's theological hegemony had always been more apparent than real. English Lollards, Moravian Hussites and French Cathars had challenged aspects of Catholic practice and ritual, and when Luther's critique of medieval Catholicism blended with this legacy of dissent and the enquiring mindset of Renaissance Humanism, the stage was set for a religious revolution.

Content last updated: 07/01/2001

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