User:Milk's Favorite Cookie /Drafts
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[edit] German EmpireWith the support of powerful protestant German princes, the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther was carried through rapidly in large parts of the empire. Following the first religious wars, the Peace of Augsburg created a balance of power between the Catholics and the Protestants, but the peace was unstable as it made no concessions of the Calvinists. Thus conflicts as a result of confessional differences took place even after the Peace of Augsburg. Through a group of stages, the conflict progressively intensified through to the eve of the Thirty Years War.
 [edit] Reformation and The Peasants' WarAfter the death of Maxmilian I, Charles V his grandson, was elected Holy Roman EmperorImage:Emperor Charles fifth.png
Emperor Charles V
[edit] Beginning of ReformationInitially the Reformation was a reform movement within the Church that had been incited by the Church's practice of selling indulgences. In 1517 in Wittenberg, Martin Luther made public his 95 theses to reform the church. He broke with the church in 1520 when the pope threatened him with excommunication[2], and in 1521 Luther defended his theses at the Diet of Worms. The movement developed momentum through the backing of powerful German princes. Elector Frederick of Saxony sheltered Luther in Wartburg Castle, where Luther attempted to translate the Bible into German. The Reformation soon became linked to the social upheaval of the time. In 1522-1523 there was an uprising of imperial knights under Ulrich von Hutten and Franz von Sickingen, who saw themselves as representatives of humanism and the Reformation.[3] Peasants rebelled aganist the aristocratic landowners in 1524-1525, plundering manors and monasteries in Franconia and Swabia. Luther sided with the princes against the peasants, while the radical reformer Thomas Münzer led the peasants in Thuringia.
[edit] The Organization of the ProtestantsAfter 1530, a large portion of the empire became Protestant.[5] The emperor won religious wars against the Schmalkaldic League, but the Protestants, who were supported by France, (the rivals of the Habsburgs), won the balance of power in the Peace of Augsburg of 1555. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ruled a vast empire, which spanned Spain, the New World, Austria, northern Italy, and the Netherlands. He understood the necessity of Church reforms, yet his claim to a universe empire also required that all his subjects be of a unified religion. He therefore saw the Reformation as a politically destabilizing factor and fought energetically against it. As he was often absent from his empire, he had his brother, Ferdinand I crowned Roman of the Germans in 1531. Ferdinand was then responsible for negotiating between the Protestant and Catholic imperial princes and maintaining peace.[6] The elector of Saxony and Count Philip of Magnanimous of Hesse [7] placed themselves at the head of the Reformation movement and supported Luther in developing evangelical state churches. The new state churches did not answer to a higher church authority, which meant a huge increase in their power and influence. In 1530, the Protestant princes formulated their "Augsburg Confession" and presented it before the Diet, and in 1531 they organized as the Schmalkaldic League.[8] When Brandenburg declared itself on the side of the Reformation in 1539, the whole of the southwest, east, and north of the empire with the exception of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel was Protestant. The German princes secularized Catholic dioceses and installed their younger sons in them as hereditary rulers, hereby forcing the emperor's hand, by challenging his rule in numerous territories of the empire. In the wars of the protestant Schmalkaldic League, Charles V defeated the Protestants under the leadership of Saxony, and Hesse, captured Count Philip, and transferred the Saxon electoral lands and titles to Duke Maurice of Saxony who had fought on his side.[9] However, Maurice then changed sides and marched to Austria as leader of the re¬grouped princes' opposition in 155!~1552. forcing the emperor to flee. In 1552 Maurice extracted from King Ferdinand the Peace of Passau, which guaranteed the Protestants freedom of religion. This treaty prepared the way for the Peace of Augsburg between the emperor and the Protestants, which was signed on September 25. 1555.[10] It stipulated that each prince could determine the religion of his territories and that of his subjects ("Cuius regio, tins religio"). Maurice of Saxony was also able to acquire vast lands and power for his family. [edit] Calvinism, and the Split of the EmpireDespite being left out of the Peace of Augsburg, Calvinism was later able to gain a foothold in the empire while the emperor endeavored to reach religious compromises. Fatigued and sick with gout, Charles V gave up the throne in 1556, splitting his enormous empire between his brother Ferdinand (the Austrian line) and his son Philip (the Spanish line). Ferdinand, who in 1526 had inherited the crown of Bohemia[11] and Hungary, received Austria and the title of emperor in 1558. The religious and political peace in the empire remained volatile. Ferdinand had been able to include a clause in the Peace of Augsburg stipulating that a prince was required to relinquish his power if he converted to Protestantism[12], but the Protestants were always able to work around this requirement. Furthermore, the Catholic majority of the seven electoral votes was minimal after Brandenburg, the Palatinate, and Saxony had become Protestant. [7] Meanwhile, the Reformation movement was also divided by doctrinal differences. In 1525 Huldrych Zwingli, a former Roman Catholic priest, had brought the Reformation to Zurich, but his version differed from the Lutheran, above all over the issue of Communion.[13] A greater consequence was when John Calvin's 1541 brand of Reformation in Geneva, which introduced a severe church discipline and established a form of theocracy in the city. Calvinism spread rapidly to France, the Netherlands, and the west of the empire. In 1565 the Palatinate electorate under Frederick III the Pious converted to Calvinism, and western German earldoms such as Nassau followed.[14] Because the Calvinists had not been included in the Peace of Augsburg, the Palatinate leaned heavily toward France under Frederick III and even more so under his son John Casimir, bringing the emperor into great troubled times. [edit] References
[edit] Shrewsbury Oak Middle SchoolOak Middle School, is a public Middle school located on 45 Oak Street, Shrewsbury, MA. The middle school, is not a typical middle school, for it is comprised of only the 7th and 8th grade. Due to the overcrowding of children in Shrewood Middle School, which now hosts 5th and 6th grade. [edit] PastDuring the 1960's the time when Oak Middle School was built, it was more commonly known only as "Shrewsbury High School." It was not until 2005, when a new high school for Shrewsbury was built. During that time, Oak Middle School went through an approximate 20 million dollar renovation, fully refurbishing the school. During this time a new high school was built, Shrewsbury High School. [edit] Budget ProblemsThe Shrewsbury School District experienced severe budget problems after the renovation of Oak Middle School, and the completion of the new High School. Due to the approximate 20 million dollar renovation, and the new building structure of Shrewsbury High School, the district went over budget. [edit] LayoutShrewsbury Oak Middle School, is settled on two 'above ground' floors, and one 'under groud' floor. An average students schedule consists of 7 periods, ranging from Lunch to... |
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