Renaissance and Reformation — Renaissance impact and the Reformation begins
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Flip to reveal answersWhat year did Martin Luther post the Ninety-Five Theses, and where?
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Question
What year did Martin Luther post the Ninety-Five Theses, and where?
Answer
1517, on the door of Wittenberg's Castle Church (or circulated to bishops) — protesting the sale of indulgences.
Question
What is an indulgence?
Answer
A payment to the Church said to reduce time a soul spent in purgatory — the practice Luther attacked as corrupt.
Question
What is Luther's core doctrine, and why was it revolutionary?
Answer
Justification by faith alone — salvation comes from faith in God's grace, not good works or payments, which undercut the Church's entire sacramental and financial system.
Question
What happened at the Diet of Worms (1521)?
Answer
Emperor Charles V summoned Luther to recant; Luther refused ('Here I stand'); the Edict of Worms declared him an outlaw and heretic.
Question
Why did Charles V fail to crush Luther immediately after 1521?
Answer
He was distracted by wars with France and the Ottoman Turks, and needed German princes' support/taxes, so enforcement of the Edict of Worms was weak.
Question
Name one German prince who protected Luther, and how.
Answer
Frederick the Wise of Saxony hid Luther at Wartburg Castle after Worms, letting him translate the New Testament into German.
Question
How did the printing press accelerate the Reformation?
Answer
It let Luther's pamphlets and German Bible be copied fast and cheaply, spreading his ideas across Germany within weeks rather than years.
Question
What was Erasmus's role in the run-up to the Reformation?
Answer
The Christian humanist scholar mocked clerical corruption and ignorance (e.g. Praise of Folly) and produced a Greek New Testament, exposing problems without ever leaving the Catholic Church.
Question
Compare Erasmus and Luther on reforming the Church.
Answer
Both criticised corruption; Erasmus wanted reform from within (better education, no doctrinal break), while Luther rejected core Catholic doctrine and caused a permanent split.
Question
Give two features of the Renaissance's impact on English literature.
Answer
Christian humanism (Thomas More's Utopia, 1516) fused classical learning with Christian ethics; later Elizabethan drama (Shakespeare) drew on classical models and humanist ideas about human nature.
Question
How did the Renaissance affect political ideas in England?
Answer
Humanists like Thomas More argued rulers should be educated in classical philosophy and governed for the common good, not just by inherited right — feeding debates about ideal government.
Question
Name one way the Renaissance shaped the arts and science in England.
Answer
Arts: Hans Holbein's portraits brought Renaissance realism to the Tudor court. Science: Copernican ideas and classical texts began reaching English scholars, feeding later empirical enquiry.
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Topic 13.2 hub
Renaissance and Reformation (c.1350–1700)
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