Themes in European History

Lecture 1

    EUROPE IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY At the end of the fifteenth century Europe was still a self-contained society of Christian nations, spiri...

Lecture 2

  Causes of Reformation (2): (a)Doctrinal Problems (b)Social/Political/Economic Discontent.  Doctrinal Issues: Abuses could be co...

Lecture 3

Luther. For the last couple of weeks we have been discussing the tide of discontent in Germany focussing on problems seen in the contemporary Church....

Lecture 4

The Later Reformers: the Anabaptists, Zwingli and Calvin. As we have seen, Luther’s temperament was basically conservative and authoritarian. H...

Lecture 5

The Henrician Reformation Henry VIII came to the throne of England in 1509 at the age of 18.At his accession the English poet, John Skelton wrote:&ld...

Lecture 6

The Counter Reformation The causes of the Protestant reformation were complex, but it is clear that the movement would never have succeeded had there...

Lecture 7- The Results of the Crusades

The Wars of Religion. We have seen how monarchy triumphed over the Church in Henrician England and, to a lesser extent, in Lutheran Germany and Scan...

Lecture 8

Religion and the Rise of Capitalism. The traditional Mediaeval view on profit and money making was summed up by St. Ambrose: My own do you say? What...

The Reformation - Introduction

The Reformation. Introduction.  In the Sixteenth Century the fabric of Western Christendom was torn apart by the revolution in theological thin...