Renaissance Popes & Martin Luther

(Originally Written April 19, 2006 in 3 Subject)

European Religious History

Problems in the Renaissance Church:
1. Simony
2. Clerical Marriage
-Priests with wives or concubines
-upper Church officials with concubines and children
-Popes known to have illegitimate children
3. Nepotism
-Nepotism leads to the building of Clerical Dynasties
4. Pluralism (having two positions simultaneously)
-An unfortunate, but sometime necessary evil in some cases on account of the black death
-Non-residency of bishops in their bishoprics

Renaissance Popes
-Council of Constance (1411-1414)
-Reformation
-Most Renaissance Popes are looked cross-eyed at by the people for various religious issues

Systux IV - Nepotism, but begins the building of the Sistine Chapel and commissions Michaelangelo

Innocent VIII - (worst example of the Renaissance Popes) - 16 illegitimate children, which is widely known. Continues the Papal trend of centralizing Papal authority by creating 52 new administration jobs

Alexander VI (1492-1503)
-Buys the Papacy
-Borgia, son of Alexander VI, is sent in military action to divide the Papal States into his own familial lands

Julius II (1503-1513) - Leads the Papal army against his own enemies, dubbed "The Warrior Pope"
-Erasmus of Roderdam wrote "Julius Exclusivis" as a satire of Julius II
-Julius II did however commission the building of St. Peter's Basilica

Leo X (1513-1521)
-1st Medici Family Pope
-Pope during Martin Luther's 95 thesis posting
-Leo X was made Archbishop at age 8 and a Cardinal at age 13 by the Medici family

Problems in the Holy Roman Empire
- Holy Roman Empire elects its emperor with the 7 princes (7 noble families)
-Because of elections, Germany cannot consolidate power like France and England. Emperors are also unable to ensure dynastic succession.
-This sets the tables for Martin Luther to shake up the world.

1)All of Europe has a looming presence in the east. The ottoman Empire is the most powerful empire in the region (Turkey & Greece). The Pope and the Holy Roman Empire have the most to worry about because the Holy Roman Empire is not consolidated and the Pope already has problems with the Ottomans, the Holy Roman Empire, The French King, the French Catholic Church and various others in Europe.

2)The Printing Press: Luther's crew is better with this new invention than the Pope's Catholic Brigade.

3)Literacy is on the rise because of the Renaissance ideal of education and emphasis on public schools.

4) Luther appeals to the German princes to overthrow the Catholic Church, who are politically estranged from the Papacy.