Reformation and Religious Warfare in the Sixteenth Century

Corruption in the Catholic Church and the growing power of the new monarchs led to the Protestant Reformation and changes in religious beliefs, institutions, and culture.

Ch 11: Section 3: The Decline of the Church#

• What is the papacy (PAY-peh-see)? When did it reach its highest power? What events caused it to lose some of its reputation in the late middle ages?
  • The papacy is the authority the Catholic Church exercises and it reached the heights of its power in the thirteenth century. Their claims of temporal authority went against the secular monarchies that were developing in Europe and created a conflict they were unable to win.
• What is a papal bull? Who issues them? What did the Unam Sanctam state?
  • A papal bull is a letter and they are issued by popes. Unam Sanctam stated the supremacy of spiritual authority and it was the strongest statement ever made by a pope.
• Why did the residence of the Pope and many cardinals change from Rome to Avignon?
  • Philip IV put a lot of pressure on the cardinals to ensure his position and using excuses they all went to Avignon to get away from his control.
• It is generally said the prestige of the papacy declined while at Avignon. Why was this the case?
  • It was unseemly for a pope , who is considered the successor for the first bishop of Rome, to reside in a place that wasn’t Rome and make permanent structures indicating that they are staying there. The papacy began imposing new taxes on the clergy to pay for their lavish lifestyle and this caused vocal criticism of them.
• During the Great Schism, two men called themselves the rightful Pope. Who were they, and which kingdoms supported each?
  • Urban VI: He was an Italian archbishop who was elected because the cardinals felt at risk for their lives if they elected anyone who was french. He cleared out the french majority and was then told his election was void because the cardinals were coerced. He was supported by England, Germany, Scandinavia, and most of Italy. Clement VII: He was a Frenchman picked by the cardinals after claiming that Urban VI’s election was void. He was supported by France, Spain, Scotland, and southern Italy.
• Marsiglio de Padua wrote Defender of the Peace where he said the church was only one element of society and should confine itself to spiritual functions and that the clergy held no special authority. Gradually more and more people adopted his theory, known as what?
  • It was called Conciliarism.
• Because of all of the chaos in the 14th century, Spielvogel argues Christians became increasingly preoccupied with death. A few notions to his argument are significant:
  • People increased performance of "good works" - what are these and why did people do them?
    • Good works were acts of charity and they did them to ensure their souls salvation.
  • The concept of "purgatory" became increasingly important - what is it?
    • Purgatory purifies the soul before the soul's grand entrance into heaven.
  • People increasingly completed good works without clerics or clergymen - why is that significant?
    • It reflected the loss of faith the people had in the clergy and institutional church.
  • The expansion of "mysticism" - what is it, and what kinds of behaviors can be considered mystical?
    • Mysticism is the immediate experience of oneness with God and behaviors like imitating Jesus and leading lives dedicated to serving the needs of their fellow human beings.

Ch 12: Section 7: The Church in the Renaissance#

• After the Great Schism ended, what new problem was the Roman Catholic Church having difficulty controlling? What two movements can be considered the most prominent threats to the church?
  • They had problems with heresy and reform. The two movements are Wyclif and Lollardy were new and very threatening to the Catholic Church.
• What is a "Lollard" and who did they follow? What were two fundamental beliefs of their leader?
  • A Lollard is what followers of Wyclif came to be known as. He believed that the Bible should be made available to everyone and it should be their sole authority. He also believed that there was no basis for papal claims of temporal authority and said they should be stripped of their authority and property.
• Who is John Hus? What were his beliefs? Who were his followers?
  • Hus is a chancellor of the university of Prague who led a group of Czech reformers. He believed in elimination of the corruption of the clergy and excessive power of the papacy. His followers were native Czechs.
• What was the Council of Constance? Explain the two decrees of the Council of Constance. How effective (or ineffective) were these decrees?
  • The Council of Constance was a group created to reform the Catholic Church that were very unsuccessful. One degree was Sacrosancta which stated that the church received its authority from God so everyone was subject to its authority. Another degree was Frequens stated that the regular holding of meetings would ensure the church continued their reform. They were not effective at all because the Pope refused to execute any decisions they made.
• Who was the Warrior Pope? Why was he called this?
  • Julius II was the Warrior Pope because he was the most involved in politics and war. He led armies against his enemies to the disgust of his followers.
• Explain how nepotism affected the papacy.
  • Nepotism affected papacy because Popes would just give their children positions in the church and encourage them to abuse their unearned power to their wishes.

Ch 13: Prelude to Reformation#

• What were the major differences of the Northern Renaissance from the Italian Renaissance?
  • The Northern Renaissance focused on early Christian sources while the Italian Renaissance focused more on the Roman Empire.
• How was the Northern Renaissance, in some ways, similar to the Italian renaissance?
  • They cultivated a knowledge of the classics and created an international bond between the different groups of humanists.
• Compare and contrast Erasmus with Thomas More using the chart below

• Who held the highest positions among the clergy? What is the bourgeoisie?
  • Nobles or wealthy members of the bourgeoisie held the highest positions among the clergy because of the preoccupation they had with finances.
• How did the church increase its revenues? What is pluralism?
  • To increase revenues they had high church officials take over more than one office. That is Pluralism which led to church officeholders ignoring their duties and hiring other people to do their jobs.
• Spielvogel has often said that changes in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries led the salvation process to become more mechanical. What does he mean by this? Why did it happen? What are indulgences and how do they fit into this process?
  • The demand for salvation through veneration of relics caused collections of these objects to grow. This is a basic process to get more money by attaching the relics to indulgences. This all caused an agitation for certain salvation and peace.
• What are "laymen" or "laypeople"? How do they differ from the clergy? What are examples of some Catholic orders who called for reform of the corrupt clergy?
  • These are people like the clergy but they see the corruption of the church and are not official members or leadership holders in the church. The Oratory of Divine Love called for preaching to laypeople and for the clearing of the catholic corruption.

Martin Luther and the Reformation in Germany#

• Describe the background of Martin Luther. Who was he? Where was he from? What did he grow up believing? When did he live? Upon entering adulthood, what did he become?
  • Martin Luther was born in Germany and his father wanted him to become a lawyer, which is what he almost did. After being caught in a bad storm he vows to become a monk if he lives, so he became a monk and abandoned being a lawyer. He asked a lot of questions so he was sent to study theology and became a professor lecturing about the Bible. Luther was a strict Catholic but after studying the Bible he created his own position and saw the corruption of the church.
• What was the primary doctrine of Lutheranism? What was the only way one could attain religious truth, according to Luther?
  • The primary doctrine of Lutheranism is of salvation and justification by grace through faith alone. According to Luther the Bible was the only way to attain religious truth.
• What does "when a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs" mean? Who said it? Did Luther like or dislike this idea? Why?
  • It is discussing indulgences because they were marketed as a way to buy your way out of purgatory and it was written by Johann Tetzel. Luther disliked this idea because he had studied the Bible thoroughly and was certain that people who bought indulgences were damning themselves.
• What was the significance of the three pamphlets Luther published in 1520? What did he say in them? How did it turn out for him?
  • Their significance was Luther's movement towards a more definite break from the church. He aired out his issues with monasticism, clergy’s marriage abilities, sacramental system, and what can bring salvation. Luther was excommunicated and banned within the Catholic empire, so he was sent into hiding by an ally.
• What was the Diet of Worms? What was the conclusion that came from it? What happened to Luther immediately after?
  • The Diet of the Worms was a legislative group that summoned Luther to recant what he had said, but he refused to recant. He was excommunicated and banned from the Catholic Empire. He was also supposed to be brought to the Pope but he went into hiding.
• What was Luther's biggest achievement at Wartburg Castle? Why was it slightly ironic?
  • It was his translation of the New Testament into German and it was ironic because only 4-5% of Germans were literate.
• Where did Lutheranism spread? To whom was it most appealing?
  • Lutheranism managed to spread rapidly all over Germany and it was most appealing to prosperous burghers in Southern Germany.
• What effect, if any, did the spread of Lutheranism have on peasants of the Holy Roman Empire?
  • The peasants got angry that they were not getting any of the benefits of the economic improvement because of Lutheranism.
• What was the German Peasants' Revolt (or War)? Did Luther support the peasants? Why or why not?
  • The peasants were angry that they were being abused by the nobles and not experiencing any economic change going on, so they wanted to go back to systems before the nobles. Luther did not support the peasants because they were going after the nobles that he was being protected by from the Catholics and using his religion as justification.
• What is the difference between "transubstantiation" and "consubstantiation"? Why was this such a huge sticking point for Luther?
  • The difference was that transubstantiation was the Cathoic belief that the bread and wine at the Last Supper were the blood and body of Christ and consubstantiation was the Lutheran belief that it had the presence of Christ but not really him. His sticking point was that it also stated that Christ was in Heaven and he did not believe that Christ could be in both places.
• Who was Charles I of Spain? What title did he eventually adopt? What dynasty was he a part of? Who was he related to?
  • He was a part of the Habsburger dynasty and grandson to Emperor Maximilian. Charles I was king of Spain and adopted the title Charles V to become the Holy Roman Emperor.
• Who was Francis I, and what was his opinion of Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire? Why?
  • Francis I was the king of France and he was rivals with Charles V. They fought because France was encircled by the Habsburger dynasty and they frequently had land disputes.
• Who was Charles V of HRE concerned within the east? Why?
  • He was concerned with the Ottaman Empire because they were making their journey across the lands conquering lands including Charles V cousins land, Hungary.
• After the Habsburg-Valois wars cooled off and the attack at Vienna had been repelled, what did Charles V unsuccessfully attempt to do in 1530?
  • He attempted to settle the Lutheran problem by demanding they return to the Church by the next year. This caused an alliance of the Lutheran German Princes and imperial cities.
• What was the Schmalkaldic League? Who did they ally themselves with? Why was this both somewhat expected but also somewhat surprising?
  • The league was a Lutheran alliance of eight princes and eleven imperial cities allied against Charles V. They allied with the Catholic French king and this was expected because Charles V and the french were rivals, but surprising because he was a Catholic.
• What was the Peace of Augsburg? Why was it important?
  • This was a compromise between the Schmalkaldic League and Charles V recognized the equality of Catholicism and Lutheranism. This was important because it allowed the German Princes to choose their realms of religion and it broke up the unification of Catholicism.

The Spread of the Protestant Reformation#

• Other than many of the kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, where were some other places around Europe who found the line between Church and State being blurred thanks to the spread of protestantism?
  • Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
• Who was Ulrich Zwingli? Where was he from? What did he have in common with Luther?
  • Zwingli was a swiss peasant who after getting some degrees began the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland by preaching as a cathedral priest. Ulrich Zwingli and Martin Luther both began their respective reforms through public unrest and preaching.
• What happened at the Marburg Colloquy?
  • The Protestant leaders agreed on everything except the Last Supper so this was supposed to resolve those issues. That is not what happened, the Protestant leaders refused to agree on that issue.
• What happened to Zwingli?
  • Zwingli was found wounded on a battlefield by his enemies and they killed him, cut up his body, burned the pieces, and scattered them in the wind.
• Who are the Anabaptists? List some of the beliefs that made them considered so radical. What did both Catholics and Protestants believe about the Anabaptists?
  • Anabaptists favored radical beliefs such as adult baptism, volunteered for spiritual rebirth, should not force the Bible on people, and the state should play no role in religion. They believed that the anabaptists were dangerous because of their radical beliefs.
• What happened to the Dutch Anabaptists at Munster? What did they rename themselves afterwards?
  • They experienced an uprising causing an economic mess and radical religion hysteria. They took over the city and renamed themselves Mennonites.
• Why did Henry VIII of England want a divorce from Catherine of Aragon? What did Cardinal Wolsey have to do with this?
  • Catherine did not produce a male heir for the throne and Cardinal Wolsey was tasked with getting permission from Pope Clement IV to nullify his marriage. Wolsey failed and was dismissed by the king.
• Who were Thomas Cranmer and Thomas Cromwell? What did they encourage Henry VIII to do?
  • They became his two new advisers after the failure of Cardinal Wolsey. They gained great positions because they became his new advisors. Cranmer and Cromwell told Henry to get an annulment on the grounds that she had been previously married to his brother by Parliament.
• Explain what happened when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church.
  • The English King now only controlled the church in matters of doctrine, clerical appointments, and discipline.
• Who provided a male heir to Henry VIII? What happened to the heir?
  • Jane Seymour produced his first male heir but he died twelve days later.
• Who was Mary I of England? What made her short reign memorable?
  • Mary I of England was Henry VII’s first daughter and she fully intended to restore England to the Roman Catholic Church. Her reign was memorable because there was mass opposition to becoming Catholic again, her marriage to disliked spanish king Philip II, and the burning of over 300 Protestant heretics.
• John Calvin was arguably more influential in the spread of Protestantism than Martin Luther. What were his core beliefs? In what areas did he agree with Luther? Where did he disagree with Luther?
  • John Calvin’s core beliefs were that faith was the way to salvation, the absolute sovereignty of God, predestination, and participation in baptism and communion. He agreed with Luther in regards to the ideas of money cannot buy salvation, the last supper, and that the Catholic church was wildly corrupt.He disagreed with Luther with the idea of Predestination.

The Social Impact of the Protestant Reformation#

• How was marriage and sex viewed by Protestants like Luther and Calvin? What made their views different than those of the Catholic Church?
  • Sex and marriage was seen as neccessary but men should abstain from sex as long as they are not married. Catholics believe complete abstinence from sex was the way to go but marriage was a close second to that.
• What form did the "family" take in Lutheran's view? What kind of effect did the Protestant Reformation have on women?
  • Lutherans family view was family was the center of life and they stressed a new mutual love between man and wife. This affected women by removing any jobs they could have besides having and nurturing children. They emphasized that men were the ruler and some women could not even lead religion in the home which was typically something they controlled.
• How did the Protestant education differ from the humanist schools that came before?
  • The Protestant differed by catering to a wider audience, allowing for the Bible to be read, all children were included in education, in private schools they were taught greek and latin, and in public schools they learned greek, hebrew, and theology.
• In what ways did the Protestant reformers change how Christians practiced their religion? Was it more or less strict than the way they had practiced before?
  • The Protestants were more strict due to their dedication to the Bible so they had a more private worship. There were no indulgences allowed, no relics or saints allowed, pilgrimages were a right of passage for Protestants, and monastic clerical celibacy.

The Catholic Reformation#

• What was the Catholic Reformation, or Counter-Reformation?
  • The Catholic Reformation was the renewing of the Catholic church. They incorporated some aspects that were a direct reaction against the Protestant Reform and renewed the church's strength without putting them in complete political control like they used to.
• Who were the Jesuits? What was their alternative name? Who were they led by? What did they resemble?
  • They were the most important new religious order from the Catholic Reformation and they were also called the Society of Jesus. They were led by spanish priest Ignatius Loyola and they resembled a military command unit because of their absolute obedience.
• What were the three primary activities conducted by Jesuits?
  • The three activities were establishing disciplined schools like humanist schools, fighting Protestantism with Catholic Propaganda, and drawing parallels with Confuciansims and Catholicism.
• Why was Pope Paul III an important turning point for reforming the papacy?
  • He was an important turning point because he kept the Renaissance practice of appointing nephews, involving himself in politics, and patronizing arts. He blamed corruption of previous Popes and Cardinals instead of Catholicism and he recognized the Jesuits.
• There was a brief time in about 1541 when some Catholics had hoped to resolve the religious differences between Catholics and Protestants peacefully. Why didn't this happen?
  • The one cardinal that managed to get a compromise was accused of heresy and the Roman Inquisitions were put in place any peace they could have gotten went out the window.
• What was the Council of Trent? What was basically the conclusion at the end of it?
  • The Council of Trent was the general council of Christendom to resolve the religious differences created by Protestant revolts. The council concluded and reaffirmed Catholic teachings opposing Protestants.

Politics and the Wars of Religion in the Sixteenth Century#

• In the mid 16th century (1500s) the French Wars of Religion broke out. Catholics vs. Huguenots. Who are Huguenots? What members of French society made up the Huguenots? Which side had more supporters?
  • Huguenots were french Calvinists and they were made up of people from all levels of the social class. Around 40-50% of french nobles were Huguenots and the Catholics greatly outnumbered them.
• Aside from religion, what else contributed to the ongoing civil wars in France? What is a politique?
  • Politics, economy, and society.
  • A politique was a public figure that believed politics should be before religion and that no religious belief was worth war.
• What was the event that caused the wars to erupt? Why did it happen?
  • After the peaceful congregation of Huguenots was slaughtered by the powerful duke of Guise and Catholic mobs the wars erupted. This happened because the Guise family convinced the king that the Huguenots posed a threat, so they took it out.
• What was the War of the Three Henries? Who were the three? Who ended up becoming King?
  • The War of Three Henries was the eighth war in a series of French civil wars. The Henries were King Henry III, Henry the duke of Guise, and Henry of Navarre who outlived the other two and became the French king.
• What was the Edict of Nantes? What did it state?
  • The Edict of Nantes was issued in 1598 to resolve any remaining problems between Catholics and Protestants after French religious wars ended. It acknowledged Catholicism as the official french religion but provided protected areas for Huguenots to worship and hold office.
• Who was the King of Spain from 1556-98? Of which dynasty was he a part? Who was he related to? What were a few of his major goals? (hint, read all of the section before you answer...)
  • Philip II was a part of the Habsburg dynasty and was the son of Charles V. He attempted to expand Spanish power, protect the Catholic church from Protestants, and centralize the government. He was known as “the Most Catholic King”.
• What territory was the most important to Spain? What made them very different from Spain?
  • The Netherlands was the most important to Spain. They were different because they had no real political or religious bond holding them together except for Philip II who was a distant and out of touch ruler. They were also separated into several provinces instead of one big country.
• How did Philip approach these differences? What did the Duke of Alva have to do with how Philip responded? What did this territory rename itself after seceding from Spain?
  • Philip approached them violently and he sent the Duke of Alva with 10,00o soldiers to crush any rebellion they were creating. This made him more violent to his approach and the Netherlands renamed to the United Provinces or Dutch Republic.
• Who succeeded Queen Mary I of England? Who was she the daughter of? What were her religious views?
  • Mary I of England was succeeded by her half sister Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth was very protestant and was known as the ruler of the protestant nations of Europe.
• What was the Act of Supremacy? How did the queen handle Catholics and radical Protestants (Puritans)?
  • The Act of Supremacy designated Elizabeth as the only and supreme governor of this realm. She handled Catholics by refusing the title “supreme head of the church” because it was a Pope title and she knew it would anger them. She handled Puritans by staying away from their extremes.
• Because she had no heirs, who was supposed to succeed the Queen? What happened to this woman?
  • Mary, Queen of Scots, was supposed to succeed the Queen and she was Elizabeth's Catholic cousin. Mary fled to England because of Scotish rebellious Calvinst nobles and Elizabeth placed her under house arrest. Mary was involved in many plots to kill Elizabeth and take the throne, so she was beheaded after 14 years in England.
• Describe England's foreign policies during this time (p399-400).
  • They were run by caution, moderation, and expediency because Elizabeth knew how bad war would be for her kingdom and rule. After a lot of friction with Spain and England (Elizabeth unofficially encouraged her fleets to pillage Spanish fleets) Spain planned on invading.
• What was the Spanish Armada and how did it end?
  • They were run by caution, moderation, and expediency because Elizabeth knew how bad war would be for her kingdom and rule. After a lot of friction with Spain and England (Elizabeth unofficially encouraged her fleets to pillage Spanish fleets) Spain planned on invading.

Chapter 15: Social Crises, War, and the Rebellions#

• In the yellow section at the beginning of the chapter, Spielvogel says "The ideal of a united Christian Europe gave way to the practical realities of a system of secular states in which matters of the state took precedence over the salvation of subjects' souls." Analyze this statement. What does it mean? More importantly, what pieces of evidence does Spielvogel use in this chapter to substantiate this argument?
  • People’s lives became less important as the order of the state and if something went wrong within the states they will tear apart people's lives to fix it with no regard to what a mess they are creating. He uses witchcraft and the trial as evidence of what the state does.
• Describe a few economic and social phenomena that occurred from the 1620s to 1650.
  • There was a population decline in southern and central Europe because of war, famine, disease, and a small ice age that caused a bad harvest. This all increased social tensions setting the stage for the witchcraft craze.
• What are the major arguments that historians have provided as to why the number of witchcraft trials and executions swelled so much in the 16th and 17th centuries? What specific segment of the population was most vulnerable to being accused of witchcraft?
  • Once the medieval church connected witches to the activities of the devil, they were seen as dangerous and sinister, so it transformed witchcraft into a heresy that needed to be wiped out. The population most vulnerable was lower class women or old women that lived alone happily.
• Put the pieces together, why might so many men in Europe have held women in such low esteem during this time? (hint, think about the prevailing social order)
  • When Protestantism ended women had children and that's about it, so they were seen as weak and easy to win over by the devil. Religious areas still warring also did this to women and others on the opposite side to weaken them. They believed it was natural inferiority.
• What factors led to the decline of witchcraft?
  • The factors were the destruction of the religious wars forced people to accept other religions to an extent, more educated people questioning religion and determining that evil spirits was an old view, and fewer magistrates were willing to accept the conditions that came from the trials.
• The 30 Years' War is often called the "last of the religious wars" By 1609, what conditions in the Holy Roman Empire and across Europe made it so that if the war did erupt, it would be widespread and difficult to end?
  • The Holy Roman Empire was divided into over 300 small states that were each seen as virtually independent, so if one area is warring it will not affect much else. The Habsburg was also diminished to a figurehead and held almost no power there anymore.
• What are the four "phases" of the Thirty Years' War, and when did they take place? Why is the war divided into these phases?
  • The first phase was the Bohemian Phase which was local and religious and happened between 1618-1625. The second phase was the Danish Phase which was a failed Denmark Lutherian invasion and it happened between 1625-1629. The third phase was the Swedish Phase which was the revival of Swedish power and it happened between 1630-1635. The last phase was the Franco-Swedish Phase which began as a religious fight but ended as a political fight and it happened between 1643-1648.
• What was the Defenestration of Prague? Where and why did it happen? (hint, the book talks about this event on pg 439 but does not refer to it by its proper title. You may want to use google and cross-check the info with your book)
  • The Defenestration of Prague was an incident of resistance to Habsburg authority. Roman Catholic officials closed Protestant Churches which went against the Letter of Majesty. On May 23, 1618 Protestant leaders called a meeting and under the Letter of the Majesty they found two imperial regents guilty of violating said letter and the leaders tossed them out the window.
• How did the phrase "balance of power" contribute to the start of the 30 Years' War? Between Catholics and Protestants, who had the upper hand by the end of the Bohemian phase of the war?
  • The Holy Roman Empire didn’t want the Protestants to gain any power at their expense so they did not want a balance of power. The Catholics wanted all the power for themselves and they had the upper hand for the Bohemian phase of the war.
• Below is a list of key figures in the 30 Years' War. In the blanks, write whether they supported the Catholic or Protestant cause in the war and where they are from.

• Describe how the power dynamics near the Baltic Sea (in Scandinavia) changed during the Thirty Years' War. What roles did Denmark and Sweden, and their leaders, play in this conflict?
  • The Denmark Lutherans tried to help the Protestant cause but ultimately fell to the Holy Roman Empire. The Danish king backs out which creates the Edict of Nantes. The Swedish lead by Gustavus Adolphus invaded and won, strengthening the Protestant cause. Gustavus Adolphus fought till his death on a battlefield.
• Why was it odd and ironic that France came to the aid of Sweden in the final phase of the war? What major shift did this represent in Europe?
  • The French were a very devout Catholic country and they aided the Protestant Swedish against the Holy Roman Empire. This stopped the Hagsburg dynasty from ruling any further and showed support of opposite religions during religious conflict.
• The Peace of Westphalia is considered a major turning point (the end of our first major time period in this class). What is its significance, and to what extent was Europe both the same and different afterwards? (HINT, this is DEFINITELY a valid DBQ question, so you may want to put some serious thought into this one...Also, in DBQs you must respond to ALL parts of the question - note it says the same and different)
  • Politically
    • The Peace of Westphalia weakened the Holy Roman Empire significantly by decreasing their power which differed from the religious wars from the past where the holy roman empire overruled politics. this then created France out to be a dominant power in Europe because they were an ideal part of how the swedish defeated them originally. Before this, France was just a middle country in the middle of powers being good or bad, when now they are a major power like england, so this was a big change for Europe. Netherlands and switzerland became independent of the Habsburg dynasty which underwent a major change since in past times they were under complete control. All in all, Europe was the same politically, yet the power was shifted between countries continuously.
  • Economically
    • Economically, there were countries coming out of this period of time with good economic growth, while others were affected negatively with the outcome of population decreasing and a damaged economy. This is alike to the past religious issues where the economies of most countries were in a load of debt or unstable. The economy of the Holy Roman Empire decreased significantly. The unstable outcome related to Europe's previous issues experienced while the Catholics peak of control.
  • Socially
    • Socially, the freedom of religion was finally set during this period. These wars were for the rights of being able to practice your own religion which was extremely new to europe seeing as the outcome of fighting for it was fought in war. with this one of the changes made was that calvinism was now a third option for the princes within the Holy Roman Empire. Calvinism is completely opposed to Catholicism which is why it is such a new and foreigh like practice to europe. Within this the gender roles became more pronounced while all presuming women as to be more of a service to the man while the man is seen as the “man of the house”. Nobility and social classes were a continuity before and after the European wars.
  • Militarily
    • Militarily, after Frances triumph in taking down the Holy Roman Empire, their military defeat dominated. The french defeated all of their opponents during time of war which made them dominant with the reason being that everyone was weakened or completely defeated. To help during the war there were also lighter pieces of artillery created.