By the end of the 15th century several forces were at work in Europe. As part of the renewed interest in classical studies that arose out of the early Renaissance, there was a movement among scholars to go back to original sources (what is termed ad fontes). In biblical studies, this movement was aided by improvements in the available Greek New Testament manuscripts and increasing availability of vernacular translations of the Bible. Greater and wider familiarity with the content of Scripture increased recognition of the divergences between what was prescribed therein and the prevailing official church teachings and practices. The invention of moveable type and the printing press brought about a revolution in the dissemination of ideas. And resentment of the worldliness of many clergy members grew. This does not mean, however, that most people were necessarily discontent with the church. Many might have preferred to keep going on as they had, with some cleaning up of corruption and excesses.
Throughout the Middle Ages church and state were tightly bound. When the Reformation came it was still thought natural that all the people in a particular country should have the same religion as the ruler of that country--this was a practice established in the barbarian conversions of the Dark Ages. Religion was often used by the state as a means of exerting control over the population.
Tomorrow: The Tudor "reformation."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
It's interesting, in some branches of my family's genealogy, to watch how in somes generation there are those who are "Katholich" or not. I presume that by the time these genealogies started to be written, we were predominantly protestant, and my cousins and ancestors felt no need to denote the protestants as such, only those odd ones who were Catholic.
The area where one branch of my family lived not only changed religions with the heads of state, but also with the flow of the river. When the course of the Rhine changed, so did their nationality, and in consequence, their religion. We'd like to think our ancestors had firm convictions about their faith, and I'm sure some did, but obviously many were just dragged along with political and geological events.
me<><
Post a Comment