key topic 1

• Europe in 1500s

  • nobility : gave status as they acted as landlord also they didn't have to pay tax
  • peasants : 90% of people , didn't live good lives so believed in after life
  • church : had large sums of money due to taxes
  • trade : new markets i.e. spices / silk
• the holy roman empire

  • Maximillian 1493-1519
  • strengths of emperor : status and seen as strong
  • weakness of emperor : little power due to princes , no salary , ask for taxes , no imperial army , no right to intervene
  • 390 states/cities
  • 65 imperial cities
  • every state and city had its own laws , there was no common legal system
• diets

  • only called by emperor usually to raise tax or troops
  • met in small towns
  • 1501 - 21 : 10 diets
  • 1521- 55 : 18 diets
  • diets only worked if interests between the emperor and princes were the same as the princes had to enforce the laws
  • once decisions had been passed they were put through circles ( 10 regional groups )
  • circles could settle local disputes and raise troops when requested
• reasons why Charles v was elected in 1519

  • handed out the largest bribes
  • was the largest landowner in empire meant he would defend Germany against external threats
  • was absent so less likely to challenge princes power
  • Charles signed the capitulation of 1519 and promised to respect the princes
  • the emperor had to be elected by the 7 electors
• the state of the German economy

  • population growth ----> increased 25% over period
  • 1500 was 12 million
  • 1550 15 million
  • growing towns and cities ---> 4000
  • Augsburg population grew from 20,000 to 40,000
  • inflation ---> prices increased so wages couldn't keep up
  • prices tripled - in Speyer from 1521 - 1621
  • rye wheat and beans increased by 13- 15 times
  • increased trade along rivers ie Rhine , Elbe
• key structures of the church and beliefs

  • good works i.e. pilgrimages
  • 10 commands and 7 sacraments
  • bishops 40 : controlled 1/6 of Germany were both pastural leaders and secular rulers
  • parish clergy : lowest level of responsible for church services and religious guidance , were seen by ordinary people
  • 3/7 electors were members of the church
• were people happy with teachings

  • majority : instead were worried about everyday issues , most parish priests delivered on what was demanded , church involved all community - 12 days of Christmas
  • elites : more worried about afterlife , Fredrick had over 19,000 holy relics i.e. hair of Jesus beard
  • Almost no heresy trials since 1470s
• reasons for anticlericalism

  • made people pay for indulgences and pilgrimages , marriages and baptisms
  • positions were bought not awarded lead to unqualified bishops
  • would live scandalously i.e. gambling and womanizing's
  • not cellibate many had illegitimate children
  • made poor poorer 1/10 of peoples income went to church
  • lack of central authority gave the impression that the church had more power in Germany and that Rome was exploiting Germany
• reasons against

  • 1/2 of priests had a degree
  • often exaggerated in texts to increase sales
• Positive developments with the increase in trade and towns and cities

  - increase in silver mining , fivefold in the 70 years to 1530 in saxony

  - successful German banking - Jakob fugger of Augsburg

  - increase in population along the Rhine and in north Germany led to increased demand for food which improved agriculture

  - good trade links meant people could hear what was happening quicker , more likley to absorb humanist ideas
• Negative developments with the increase in trade and towns and cities

  - north germanys Baltic ports were in decline

  - on river Elbe landlords increased rents and made hunting and fishing illegal

  - in the east peasants had to work longer and harder for less money - 70 % of population were peasants

  - peasant revolts , 18 between 1500 - 1525

  - by 1558 47% of the population were too poor to pay taxes
• The influence of humanism

  - questioned religious ideas , paved the way for Luther

  - wanted to produce the purest version of the bible —> 1516 Erasmus produced a New Testament in greek

  - openly criticised the church ( letters of obscure men ) - Erasmus mocked the clerical ignorance and immortality
• Tetzil and the sales of indulgences

  - Leo x wanted to rebuild St Peter’s basilica in rome by selling indulgences

  - Albert of Brandenburg wanted to become archbishop of mainz —> took on Debt to get this position

  - hired tetzel to sell indulgences to pay back debt

  - by 1517 tetzel was on the boarders of saxony , when Fredrick refused him entry his subjects flooded over the boarder to purchase indulgences

  - this led to Luther writing the 95 thesis
• financial demands on Germany

  - Rome exploited Germany due to a lack of central control

  - multiplicle states were easy prey for the pope

  - famous cartoon , represented pope as a monster , this washed on the bank of river timber in Rome in 1496 —> created by Wenzel Von olmutz
• the corruption of the papal court

  - Alexander vi ( 1492 - 1503 ) , he has 7 illegitimate children and was known for poison and murder

  - julius ii ( 1503 - 1513 ) , acted like a European prince , led his own troops into battle and was rumoured to be homosexual

  - Leo x ( 1513 - 1521 ) was not a priest or bishop , like to live lavishly so the sold off church offices to the highest bidders , he also created 31 new cardinals in 1 day in 1517

  - the popes failed to respond to anti papalism

  - rumors of clergy’s bad behaviour had been seen by humanists ie Hutton and Luther