By 1531 the Schmalkaldic League was set up as a united defence alliance by protestant princes in response to Charles’s threat of eradicating Lutheranism. Despite the failure of the league itself in 1547, it is considered a success in the way that Lutheranism was now exclusively established and was growing ever more powerful, and could not be eradicated by a brute force. By the end of the Reformation in 1555 Lutheranism was finally recognised as a valid religion by Charles due to the previous treaty the Peace of Augsburg which was primarily a princely movement. The princes were significant in creating an atmosphere in which Lutheranism was successful in that they were able to respond well to Luther’s theological ideas. The German Princes established a national figurehead who they could look to for ideology and bravery to drive the Reformation.
Henry is considered one of the greatest kings of France due his many contributions, including ending the French Wars of Religion (page 475). During the French Wars of Religion, Henry became the leading Huguenot, a French Protestant. Henry married Marguerite de Valois of France in order to restore friendly relations with the French, only to make things even more troubled between the Huguenots and the Catholics (historylearning). This created more problems between the two religions because Henry practiced Calvinism and married Marguerite who was French and Catholic. In 1589, Henry III’s death led to Henry IV becoming the King of France.
This was because the new middle class that had emerged in the 'German states', from industrialisation, wanted political representation, and felt that it could only be achieved in a united Germany. The Congress of Vienna wanted to make sure that no country could take over Europe in the way that France did in the early 1800s, it aimed to do this by allocating more land to Prussia and creating a 'barrier' that would block any attempts of French expansion and also war from Russia in the east. The German Confederation divided Germany into thirty-nine states, as Napoleon did during the French occupation. A reduction in the number of German states may seem like a move towards nationalism and in turn unification, however it was in fact a direct move against it, as can be seen in the second amendment of the confederation. This is known as 'particularism', the principle of leaving each state in a federation free to govern itself and promote its own interests.
Others suggest that the opposition from Austria was more important, or that the German Princes' fear of losing power played a vital part. Religion was an obstacle to German unification, but only to a certain degree. The Northern German states were predominately protestant. Whereas the south were Roman Catholic. This did pose a problem for the growth of nationalism as the Northern states looked to Prussian for support, as she was the protestant superpower amongst the German states.
Do you agree with the view that the decisive influence in shaping the reformation of the 1530’s was Thomas Cromwell’s Idea of the Nation State? The reformation of the English Church and the break with Rome are arguably the most poignant moments in the Henry VIII’s rule. It marked the start of the nation state, and the Church of England. Although Henry played a vital role in the reformation there were others around him who also contributed towards it, and shaped it into what it became. Namely Cromwell and Cranmer played important roles, and overall I agree with the view that the decisive influence in shaping the reformation was Thomas Cromwell due to his closeness to the king and willingness to entirely devote his time and resources into the reformation.
In 1914, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany addressed a jilted crowd of his people, urging them to “stand together like brothers, and then God will guide the German sword to victory!” (Doc. 1). This quotation is a direct parallel of the sense of unity the government was hoping would result from the Burgfrieden. It is easy to assume Wilhelm II’s speech was very biased, being
Why did Bismarck bring the Kulturkampf to an end in 1878? (12 marks) The Kulturkampf began as an attack on those who opposed Bismarck’s new nationalist unified state. It later went on to become an attack focused on the Catholics specifically as they seemed to be, to Bismarck at least, the biggest threat to the new Reich. By 1878 however, the Kulturkampf had to be brought to an abrupt but seemingly planned end. The main reason why, it can be argued, Bismarck brought an end to the Kulturkampf is down to the fact that instead of limiting the power of the Catholics he was only increasing it.
The King could define the faith in parliament. The King also had the power to appoint men of his choosing to the most important ecclesiastical posts. The passing of this act gave Henry more power than ever for within his own realm he was superior to the Pope and all taxes formerly paid to Rome would now be paid to the King. The Act of Succession 1534 Mary was excluded from the succession, in favor of any children from Henry and Anne. All nobles had to swear an oath confirming the terms of the succession.
Henry V (1086–1125), great-grandson of Conrad II, became Holy Roman Emperor in 1106 in the midst of a civil war. Hoping to gain complete control over the church inside the Empire, Henry V appointed Adalbert of Saarbrücken as the powerful archbishop of Mainz in 1111. Adalbert began to assert the powers of the Church against secular authorities, that is, the Emperor. This precipitated the "Crisis of 1111", part of the long-term Investiture Controversy. [23] In 1137 the magnates turned back to the Hohenstaufen family for a candidate, Conrad III.
One of the most important issues in the church was education and financial security. Hitler understood that the Church was willing to sacrifice and was able to take advantage, as Paul explains “Hitler sought to eliminate Catholic opposition in favor of obligatory loyalty to his regime. For its part, the church was obsessed with its educational privileges, and especially with securing fresh sources of income. It would willingly sacrifice political power to protect them. As both sides worked in haste to produce a treaty that would normally have required years to complete, Hitler took masterful advantage of Vatican over eagerness.”(Paul, 11) This excerpt shows how desperate the Catholic Church was to retain its core values, even if it meant losing its political