1. The Reformation was a period where men like Martin Luther challenged the teachings and authority of the Roman Catholic Church. However, before the Reformation, the Church had to deal with problems such as the Sack of Rome. In 1527, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, had his own troops come against the city of Rome, take the city over, and imprison Pope Clement VII. While the Church was trying to deal with outer conflicts, there was a problem that was rising from within. On October 31, 1517, Luther posted Ninety-Five Theses on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg Germany (Sayre 561-562).
Luther believed that the Church had abused its power and position by manipulating the common people for their own gain. He believed that salvation is
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Peasants used the Reformation as an excuse to revolt against their feudal lords. Through individuals like Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, Protestantism was gaining ground in places outside of Germany. The reformation also branched off into the areas of literature and writing. Two writers named François Rabelais and Michel De Montaigne were affected by the tension between the Protestants and Catholics and were against the brutality that religious conflicts would bring. This distain for the conflicts would show in their writing. Montaigne would retreat to his own private library. There he created a new writing style called the personal essay. With the invention of the printing press writers like these two were able to produce knowledge and spread it quickly (Sayre 572).
The Reformation also made a great impact on art. Unlike Luther, other Protestants did not favor art. They saw it as an avenue for idolatry and going back to the materialistic ways of the Catholic Church. So, they disposed of the imagery in their churches, by melting down the metal items and destroying the others. With this attitude towards religious art, Protestants did not see a need to create more religious architecture. Many artists saw their work destroyed, and, with the market for religious art fading away, these artists had lost their source of income (Sayre