1. The Story of the Reformation
WORLD HISTORY READERS
Level 5-⑥
The Story of the Reformation

2. John Wycliffe
During Wycliffe’s time, what language did the Roman Catholic Church use during worship?
Who was John Wycliffe?
Latin
A Latin Bible
He was one of the first men to try to change religion in Europe. He was a leader in the Catholic Church in England, but he also spoke against the Catholic Church because he thought that some changes should be made.
What was the problem with Latin?
Wycliffe sharing
his English Bible
with other leaders
What did Wycliffe do?
Not everyone understood it
He translated the Bible into English. He also wrote books that challenged the church to reform.

3. The Morning Star of the Reformation
What is Wycliffe often called?
A church window with Wycliffe in the center, surrounded by the names of other reformers
The Morning Star of the Reformation
Wycliffe on trial for his ideas
What was the problem?
What did Wycliffe and the other reformers want?
The Roman Catholic Church told its people to follow many traditions that the early church did not do. They were traditions not written in the Bible, and the reformers didn’t like these new traditions.
They wanted to follow the teachings found in the Bible.

4. Luther and the Protestants
Martin Luther
Who was Martin Luther?
The selling of indulgences
He was another reformer who lived after Wycliffe. He was German. Like Wycliffe, Luther was a leader in the Catholic Church, and he saw many problems in the church.
What is an example of one of the problems that Luther saw in the Catholic Church?
What was wrong with this?
Catholics believed that God would punish them for doing bad things. But the Roman Catholic Church made a way to reduce this punishment. If a Catholic person bought an “indulgence,” the pope said that God would forgive them or reduce the punishment.
This practice was not in the Bible, and it became misused. The Catholic Church sold indulgences to get money. The Catholic Church was selling God’s forgiveness.

5. The Ninety-Five Theses
What did Luther do?
Pages from Luther’s 95 theses
He carefully studied the problem. Then he wrote a paper against the practice of selling indulgences. This paper, called the “Ninety-Five Theses,” gave 95 reasons why indulgences were bad.
What did Luther do with his theses?
What happened to the theses?
What did this start?
On October 31, 1517, Luther sent the Ninety-Five Theses to a leader of the church in Germany.
The work was translated into German and circulated.
The Protestant Reformation

6. More Trouble Begins What happened to Luther?
In April 1521, Luther was ordered to appear before a group of powerful leaders to explain his writings. The man in charge of the meetings was Johann Eck. At the meeting, Eck asked Luther if he would defend all his writings or reject some of them.
Luther tried to explain his ideas, but when that didn't work, he basically said:
With my sense of right and wrong, I must follow
the Word of God. I cannot change my mind.
It is not safe to act against one’s sense of right
and wrong. God help me. Amen.
In the days after the meeting, Eck and the other leaders decided Luther’s punishment. The leaders ordered the burning of Luther’s books and took his property. They called him an outlaw and a heretic.
Luther defending himself
Johann Eck

7. Luther Escapes Why did Luther come out of hiding in 1522?
What did Luther do?
Why did Luther come out of hiding in 1522?
He escaped and went into hiding at Wartburg Castle. He stayed at the castle for about a year. During that time, he worked hard. He translated the Bible into common German, just like Wycliffe did for English. And he worked on many other books and writings in the quiet of the castle. He also kept in contact with his supporters through letters.
He came out of hiding in order to set his followers straight.
Martin Luther escaping
Wartburg Castle, where Luther went into hiding
Luther’s books being burned

8. How did the Reformation inspire poor farmers?
The Peasants’ War ( )
How did the Reformation inspire poor farmers?
They saw Protestants breaking free from Roman Catholic oppression just as they themselves wanted to break free from the oppression of nobles and landlords.
What happened with the peasants?
Peasants ready for war
In 1524, the Peasants War began. Peasants in Germany fought against nobles and landowners. In the beginning, there were some clear victories for the peasants. However, the nobles had better armies, weapons, and funding. The peasants, many of whom had never fought before, found themselves fighting true soldiers. The peasants could not compete with the nobles. In the end, about 100,000 peasants were killed.

9. John Calvin: The Organizer
Young John Calvin
Who was John Calvin?
Calvin just before he died
He was another important reformer. He was French, but he worked in Geneva, Switzerland.
What did Calvin do?
In Geneva, Calvin took the ideas of Luther and other reformers, and he organized them. He made a system of teachings about the Reformation. Calvin communicated these ideas very clearly. Reformers from all over Europe came to Geneva to learn from him. In time, the ideas of the Reformation spread all around Europe. In Geneva, Calvin established a religious government. In 1555, he was the top leader in Geneva. Today, Calvin is viewed as one of the most important leaders of the Reformation.

10. A statue of Martin Luther
For Church and Nation
A statue of Martin Luther
John Wycliffe
What did reformers such as Wycliffe, Luther, and Calvin want?
Why did the reformers end up starting new churches?
They wanted to return to the roots of the Christian faith. They wanted to reform the Roman Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church rejected them and their teachings, so they were forced to start new churches.
What were these new churches called?
Protestant churches

11. A Big Movement in History
How many followers does the Roman Catholic Church have today?
About 1.2 billion followers
How many Protestants are there today?
The Saint Pierre Church in Geneva, where Calvin spoke
Statues of reformers
About 900 million
How is the Protestant Reformation viewed today?
It was a very big movement in human history. It greatly changed the shape of European history and the world.

12. Vocabulary ash n. castle n.
the soft gray or black powder that is left after something has burnt
castle n.
a large, strong building strengthened against attack, often where a king or queen lives

13. Vocabulary noble n. peasant n. a person of the highest social group
a poor farmer

14. Vocabulary protest v. punish v. to speak or act against something
to make someone suffer for doing something wrong

15. Vocabulary reject v. scholar n. to say no to something
a learned person, especially one who has profound knowledge of a particular subject