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The beginning of a new age - The schism in the Christian Church in Western Europe - Causes of the Reformation

5 important questions on The beginning of a new age - The schism in the Christian Church in Western Europe - Causes of the Reformation

What did scholars during the Renaissance which was actually forbidden?

In around 1500, scholars discovered that many mistakes had been made when translating the Bible from Greek into Latin. And because they noticed that the Church did not always explain the Bible properly and there were Christian customs not mentioned in the Bible, some scholars started to interpret the Bible in their own way (which was actually forbidden).

How did the loyalty change during the times?

In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church had a great influence on everybody's daily life, people felt themselves members of the Western European Catholic Church and also part of their community of city. During the rise of the nation states, many people's ideas changed and loyalty to one's king and country became more important than loyalty to the Catholic Church.

What is the influence of the pope in Engeland?

In Engeland the pope isn't any longer the head of the Church. King Henry VIII put himself head of the English Church (1532) because he wanted a divorce of his wife which was not allowed by the Catholic church. Nowadays the sovereign of England is still Head of the Church of England = the Anglican Church.

How did the wealth change in the 16th century?

Because of the strong increase in trade some citizens became richer. But the nobility grew poorer, and they forced farmers to pay more taxes. And because of the strong increase in population foodstuffs became more expensive and poor people in the cities often went hungry.

To which sections of the population Protestantism did appeal?

- the nobility: land that belonged to the Church earlier was divided up among them
- the wealthy citizens: these people admired the simple lifestyle of the Protestants and their hard-working; this was how they had become wealthy themselves
- peasant farmers and poor people in the cities: these people felt angry about the wealth of the Catholic Church, whereas they had not enough to eat; and therefore felt more about Protestantism. Also protestant leaders stood after the poor people.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

Moving History / Havo/Vwo Onderbouw / Deel Textbook 2 | 9789042541290 | Dalhuisen

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