Long term cause 1 - The state of the Catholic Church
While there were two contemporary views of the Catholic
Church during the 15th and 16th century, it was clear that
there was widespread perception of systematic corruption &
the abuse of power at the time.
Long term cause 2 - Growth in education/renaissance
The renaissance (1370 -1527) new wave of learning and thinking entered Europe.
The renaissance was important in the context of the church reform
because it encouraged a new intellectual outlook and re-examination
of ideas.
Short term causes
Short term cause 2 - Martin Luther
Short term cause 1 - The political environment in Germany
Short term consequences
Short term consequence 1 - Catholic Response
Purpose was not to rouse the people into revolt but to
prompt academic debate.
Arrival of the printing press
Over the next few years the work of Luther
was to travel across Europe at an alarming
pace partly due to the arrival of the printing
press and the reaction of the Catholic Church
to Luther's ideas.
While the church painted Luther as a villain,
the middle class and peasants saw Luther as
a hero.
The Archbishop of Mainz, Albert of Brandenburg,
was concerned of Luther's actions.
He was relying on the $ to pay off debts he had
incurred securing his acquisition of the
archbishopric.
Albert appealed to the Pope for support.
Events
1518 Dr Conrad Koch wrote a thesis repudiating the claims
by Luther - The undergraduates at Wittenberg burned 800 of
his copies.
Luther then travelled to Heidelberg for a
meeting of the Augustinian order where he
defended his thesis.
Pope Leo X ordered Luther to Rome to answer
for opinions - Luther declined.
Short term consequence 2 - The spread of Lutheranism