Expansion of Lutheranism

The Reformation in Europe, 1522-64

In this course, Professor Alec Ryrie (University of Durham) explores the Reformation in Europe from the rise of Zwingli in the 1520s to the death of Calvin in 1564. In the first module, we think about the expansion of Lutheranism in the Holy Roman Empire, focusing in particular on how the Lutheran forces of the Schmalkaldic League survived military defeat at Mühlberg to gain recognise from the Holy Roman Emperor with the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. In the second module, we think about the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation, including the Diet of Regensburg and the Council of Trent. After that, we move from the Holy Roman Empire to the Confederacy of Switzerland, thinking in particular about the Reformed Protestant of Huldrych Zwingli, before moving on in the fourth module to focus on the life and career of John Calvin and the spread of Calvinism throughout Europe. In the fifth module, we think about some of more radical groups of the Protestant reformation – most notably the Anabaptists – and the rise of religious tolerance, before ending the course in the sixth module with a brief recap of the major changes in the period.

Expansion of Lutheranism

In this module, we think about the expansion of Lutheranism in the 1530s and 1540s, focusing in particular on the growing support for the Lutherans among certain regions in the Holy Roman Empire, the defeat of the Lutheran forces at the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547, the split of Lutheranism into two 'parties' – those willing to compromise with the Catholics (such as Philip Melanchthon) and those who were not (such as Matthias Flacius) – and the unexpected victory of the Protestants hardliners with the signing of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555.