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Internet Modern History Sourcebook

Reformation Europe

See Main Page for a guide to all contents of all sections.

Contents

General
Protestant Reformation
- Precursors and Papal Critics
- Luther and Lutheranism
- Zwingli
- Calvin and Calvinism
- Radical Reformers
- English Reformation
- Scottish Reformation
  - John Knox
Catholic Reform
- Precursors
- The Catholic Response
- The Council of Trent
- Other Catholic Reformers
- The Society of Jesus
Conflict
Women and Reformation

General

WEB Library of Congress: Reformation Collection [Internet Archive version here]
WEB FROM CONFLICT TO COMMUNION: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017 [Was at Vatican, now Internet Archive]
WEB German History in Documents and Images: From the Reformation to the Thirty Years War (GHDI) [Internet Archive version here]
A comprehensive collection of primary source materials documenting Germany's political, social, and cultural history from 1500 to the present.
Wikipedia: Reformation

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Protestant Reformation

Precursors and Papal Critics
- Raimon de Cornet (14th cent. troubadour): Poem Criticizing the Avignon Papacy [At this Site]
- Petrarch (1304-1374): Letter Criticizing the Avignon Papacy [At this Site]
- Marsiglio of Padua (d.1343): Defensor Pacis: Selections from Text, 1324 [At this Site]
- Marsiglio of Padua (d.1343): Defensor Pacis: Conclusions, 1324; Same Text with Introduction also available, complete [At this Site]
- John XXII: Condemnation of Marsiglio of Padua, 1327. [At this Site]
- The Condemnation of Wycliffe, 1382 and Wycliffe's Reply, 1384. [At this Site]Also includes John Wycliffe (1324-1384): Condemned Propositions 1382,
  See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Lollards.
- Dante Alighieri (1265-1321): Divine Comedy: Inferno XIX - Hell: third pit - on Papal Avarice. [At this Site] See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Dante Alighieri.
- Dante Alighieri (1265-1321): Divine Comedy: Inferno XIX. [Another version] [At this Site]
- Jan Hus (1372/73-1415): Final Declaration, July 1, 1415 [At this Site]
- Petr Chelčický (c.1390-c.1460: The Net of Faith - Book I: The Corruption of the Church, Caused by Its Fusion and Confusion with Temporal Power 1443, trans Enrico C. S. Molnár (1947) PDF [Internet Archive]
- John Wycliffe (1324-1384): On the Sacrament of Communion [Excerpt from Trialogus]. [At this Site]See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Utraquism.
- WEB The Lollard Society; Bibliography of Primary Sources [Internet Archive version here]
  Detailed list for Lollard, Wycliff and Hus studies. Links to online text where available.
- Desiderius Erasmus (ca. 1469-1536): The Praise of Folly (Moriae Encomium), 1509, full text [At this Site]
- Desiderius Erasmus (ca. 1469-1536): In Praise of Folly [CCEL] trans. John Wilson, 1688 [Full text] [At CCEL]
- Sir (St.) Thomas More (1478-1535): Utopia, 1516, Full text [At this Site]
- Johann Tetzel: Sermon on Indulgences (c. 1517) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
Luther and Lutheranism
- WEB Project Wittenberg [Concordia U] [Internet Archive version here]
  Home to works by and about Martin Luther and other Lutherans. Here you will find all manner of texts from short quotations to commentaries, hymns to statements of faith, theological treatises to biographies, and links to other places where words and images from the history of Lutheranism.
- WEB Selected Works of Martin Luther, 1483-1546 [A Christian.net]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Tower Experience 1545 + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): 95 Theses, 1517 [At this Site]
  See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Martin Luther, [Warning - a tendentious article].
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Martin Luther: 95 Theses - in Latin, 1517 [At this Site]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Letter to Archbishop of Mainz [On Indulgences], 1517. [At this Site]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation [At Hanover]
  See also Introduction to this text.
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): On the Freedom of a Christian, full text [At this Site]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): On the Freedom of a Christian Man, full text PDF [At Squarespace][Internet Archive version here]
- Martin Luther: Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen The Freedom of A Christian Man, [In German] [At Heilengenlexikon]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546) (1483-1546): The German Mass and Order of Divine Service 1526. [At Hanover]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Theologia Germanica [At CCEL]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): The Larger Catechism [At CCEL]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Preface to Romans [At CCEL]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes (1925) [At Pb Works] [Internet Archive version here]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague [At LCMS] [Internet Archive version here]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Table Talk (excerpts) [At this Site]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): A Christian sermon over the body and at the funeral of the venerable Dr. Martin Luther, preached by Mr. Johann Bugenhagen Pomeranus, doctor and pastor of the churches in Wittenberg. Printed in Wittenberg by Georg Rhau,in the year 1546. [At Internet Acrhive]
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Luther Before 1517: Letters to Spalatin [At this Site]
  These letters are interesting in showing Luther's atitude towards Rome and towards theology. They also reveal that Luther's hatred of Jews, best seen in his 1543 letter, was not some affectation of old age, but was present very early on.
- "On The Jews and Their Lies", a treatise by Martin Luther (translated by Martin H. Bertram, Luther's Works, Vol. 47: The Christian In Society IV, ed. by Franklin Sherman (c) 1971 Fortress Press, pages 121-306) [Internet Archive]
- Pope Leo X: Exsurge Domine, June 15 1520. [At Papal Encyclicals] [Internet Archive version here]
  The papal Bull which condemned Martin Luther.
- Family Tree of Electoral Saxony [PDF] [At this Site]
Zwingli
- Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531): Of the Clarity and Certainty of the Word of God (6 September 1522) [At Union Theology] [Internet Archive version here]
- Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531): Sixty-seven Theses 27 January 1523 [At ADGM] [Internet Archive version here]
- The Marburg Colloquy – The Marburg Articles (1529) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
  This text contains the articles of the agreement signed at Marburg by Luther, Zwingli, and eight other preachers. It documents how an affair that began with a quarrel about the doctrine of the literal Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (Luther for, Zwingli against)
- The Marburg Colloquy – Ulrich Zwingli's Report (October 20, 1529) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
- The Marburg Colloquy – Report by a Lutheran Eyewitness (1529) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
- Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531): Letter to Vadian Concerning the Marburg Colloquy [At a blog] [Internet Archive version here]
- Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531): The Latin works and the correspondence of Huldreich Zwingli : together with selections from his German works (1912) [Internet Archive]
Calvin and Calvinism
Radical Reformers
- Thomas Müntzer: Sermon to the Princes (July 13, 1524) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
- Conrad Grebel and Others to Thomas Müntzer (September 5, 1524) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
- The Birth of Anabaptism – Report on Early Rebaptisms (January 30-February 7, 1525) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
- The Schleitheim Confession, adopted by a Swiss Brethren Conference, February 24, 1527 [At Anabaptists.org] [Internet Archive version here]
- Tal Howard: Charisma and History: The Case of Münster, Westphalia, 1534-1535, Essays in History 35 [Was At Virgina, now Internet Archive]
- Protestants and Radicals – Martin Bucer's Debate with Hessian Anabaptists (1538) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
- Nicholas de la Fontaine: The Complaint Against Michael Servetus, 14 August, 1553 [At Hanover]
  Servetus was a Unitarian who attracted the disapproval of Calvin. Calvin had him attacked, handed over to the Inquisition in Lyons, where he was burnt.
The Reformation in the Holy Roman Empire
- WEB Imperial Reformation [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
  - Luther and Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms (1521)
  - The Reformation Defined – The Diet of Augsburg (1530)
  - Protestant Resistance – The Schmalkaldic League (1531/35)
  - The Religious Peace of Augsburg (1555)
  - The Abdication of Emperor Charles V (1555/6)
English Reformation
- WEB Oremus: An Anglican Liturgical Library
- WEB Thomas More Studies
  With a library section containing the texts of many of More's works plus the texts of related historical documents. [Internet Archive back up here]
- WEB Project Canterbury [Internet Archive version here]
  Primary texts on Anglican history.
- WEB Hanover English Reformation Texts [Internet Archive version here]
- WEB British History Online
  British History Online is a collection of nearly 1300 volumes of primary and secondary content relating to British and Irish history, and histories of empire and the British world. A Major research resource.
- Martin Luther (1483-1546): Against Henry King of England [At Anglican History] [Internet Archive version here]
- Archbishop Thomas Cramner (1489-1556): Letter on Henry VIII's Divorce, 1533 [At this Site]
- Henry VIII (r.1509-1547): The Act of Supremacy 1534 [At TudorHistory.org] [Internet Archive version here]
- Henry VIII (r.1509-1547): The Act of Supremacy 1534 [At Parliament]
- Anne Boleyn (1507?-1536): To Henry VIII, from the Tower of London, 1536 [At Internet Archive, from Letters Magazine]
- The Suppression of Glastonbury Abbey, 1539. See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Suppression of English Monasteries Under Henry VIII
- The Six Articles Act, 1539. 31 Henry VIII, Cap. 14. [At Anglican History] [Internet Archive version here]
- William Roper: The Life of Sir Thomas More [At this Site]
  St. Thoma More was canonized in 1935.
- The Book of Common Prayer, 1662 [At BCP]
  With some texts from the first Book of Common Prayer of 1549 and the second Book of 1552.
- Touching for the King's Evil (Scrofula) [At BCP]
- Queen Elizabeth I: Proclamation to Forbid Preaching, 1558 [At Hanover]
- The Act of Uniformity, 1559, [At Hanover]
- The 1559 Injunctions [At Hanover]
- John Foxe (1516-1587): Book of Martyrs [At CCEL]
- The Thirty Nine Articles, 1571, 1662 [At this Site]
  Strongly Calvinist Anglicanism
- Richard Hooker: A Learned Discourse of Justification, Works, and how the Foundation of Faith is Overthrown [At CCEL]
- Richard Hooker (1554?-1600): Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, full text, 1593 [At Anglican History] [Internet Archive version here]
- Richard Hooker (1554?-1600): A Sermon [At CCEL][Full Text]
- The Elizabethan Homelies, 1623, full text, [Was At Toronto, now Internet Archive]
- Puritan Voices [At Hanover]
  Nehemiah Wallington, Diary; Josias Nichols, A Plea for the Innocent; Anonymous, Letter from Hell; Anonymous, Aminadab Blower
- James I & VI (b.1566, r. 1566 {Scotland), r. {England} 1603 - 1625): from Anglicanism, 1616 [At this Site]
  Represents a much closer approach to "middle way Anglicanism".
- Archbishop William Laud (1573-1645): Visitation Articles, 1635 [At this Site]
- Thomas Browne (1605-1682): Religio Medici, 1643 [At this Site]
- John Foxe (1516-1587): Book of Martyrs [At CCEL][Full text]
- The Baptist Confession of Faith 1689 [At CCEL]
- John Bunyan: The Holy War, full text [At CCEL]
Scottish Reformation
- The Scottish Confession of Faith, 1560 [At Creeds.net] [Internet Archive version here]
- Westminster Confession of Faith, 1646 [Wikisource]
- Westminster Confession of Faith 1646 [At Reformed.org] [Internet Archive version here]
- Scottish General Assembly: Letter to the Kirks in the Netherlands, Edinburgh, June 4, 1644 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
- William Guthrie: The Christian's Great Interest, full text, 1668 [At CCEL]
- John Knox (c.1514-1572)
  - John Knox: The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1558 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1558 [Project Gutenberg]
  - John Knox: Knox's Call to the Ministry and First Public Debate, 1547 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: A Faithful Admonition to the Professors of God's Truth, 1554 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry, 1550 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: The Appellation from the Sentence Pronounced by the Bishop and Clergy, 1558 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: A Summary, According to the Holy Scriptures - of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 1550 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: A Treatise on Prayer, or, a Confession and Declaration of Prayers Added Thereto, 1553 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: A Brief Exhortation to England for the Speedy Embracing of the Gospel Heretofore by the Tyranny of Mary Suppressed and Banished, 1559 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: An Epistle to the Inhabitants of Newcastle and Berwick, 1558 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: A Godly Letter of Warning or Admonition to the Faithful in London, Newcastle, and Berwick, 1553 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: Letters to His Brethren and the Lords Professing the Truth in Scotland, 1557 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: Letter to the Queen Dowager Regent of Scotland (Augmented Version), 1558 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: A Letter of Wholesome Counsel, Addressed to His Brethren in Scotland, 1556 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: A Notable and Comfortable Exposition upon Matthew IV, Concerning the Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness, 1556 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: An Exposition Upon the Sixth Psalm of David, 1553 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: Two Comfortable Epistles to His Afflicted Brethren in England, 1554 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  - John Knox: Answers to Some Questions Concerning Baptism, etc., 1556 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
Protestant Culture
- The Psalms of David in Meter [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
  The basis of Scottish Presbyterian church worship.
- WEB Protestant education in the 17th Century [Musée Protestant] [Internet Archive version here]
- Map: The main 17th century Protestant Education Faculties (by R.Flach) [Internet Archive version here]
- Map: Long term Impact: Religious Confessions in Central Europe 1901

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Catholic Reform

Precursors
- Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 - 1471): The Imitation of Christ [modern translation][At CCEL]
- Erasmus (ca. 1469-1536): In Praise of Folly trans. John Wilson, 1688 , full tex, [Was At University of the South, now Internet Archive] . More Erasmus texts are at the Erasmus Text Project
- Contarini and Carafa: Consilium de emendat ecclesia 1537 [At Ldysinger] [Internet Archive version here]
  In 1536 Pope Paul III (1534–1549) called for a general council and appointed a commission to prepare a report on the state of the church. Two cardinals, Contarini and Carafa (later Pope Paul IV), drafted the “Consilium” in 1537. Its frank admission of appalling abuses again illustrates the strength of reform impulses within the church.
The Catholic Response
- Cajetan (1468-1534): On Faith and Works (1532) [At Pb Works] [Internet Archive version here]
  Of the Catholic theologians who took up the pen against Luther, Cardinal Cajetan (1468–1534) ranks among the best. This Thomist, who had met with Luther in Augsburg in 1518, was one of the few in the next decade who recognized the issue that was at the heart of Luther’s attack on the church. His careful response to it in this essay allows us to compare Luther’s theology of justification with a contemporary Catholic perspective on the issue.
- The Plight of the Old Faith – Peter Canisius, SJ, to Giovanni Cardinal Morone (1576) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
- The Counterreformation in Inner Austria (1579-80) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
The Council of Trent
- Council of Trent, 1545-63 [at Hanover College] [Full Text]
- The Tridentine Creed of Pius IV, 1564 [At Traditional Catholic.net] [English and Latin] [Internet Acrhive version here]
- Council of Trent: Rules on Prohibited Books [At this Site]
- Council of Trent: Catechism for Parish Priests, Full Text [At this Site]
Activist Popes
- The Treaty of Brest, 1595 [Articles Concerning Union With The Roman Church][At this Site]
  The documents of Union between ther Roman Catholic Church and most of the the Orthodox bihops of Ukraine.
The Society of Jesus
- St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556): The Spiritual Exercises [excerpts][At Medieval Sourcebook]
  The full text is available [At CCEL].
  See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Ignatius Loyola, Saint and Catholic Encyclopedia: THE SOCIETY OF JESUS (JESUITS)
- 2ND Norman O'Neal, S.J.: A Sketch of the Life of St. Ignatius Loyola [Was at At LUC, now Internet Archive]
- St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556): The Spiritual Exercises [CCEL
- St. Francis Xavier: Letter from India, to the Society of Jesus at Rome, 1543 [At this Site]
- St. Francis Xavier: Letter on the Missions, to St. Ignatius de Loyola, 1549 [At this Site]
- St. Francis Xavier: Letter from Japan, to the Society of Jesus at Goa, 1551 [At this Site]
- St. Francis Xavier: Letter from Japan, to the Society of Jesus in Europe, 1552 [At this Site]
- Hsu Kuang-chi: Memorial to Fra Matteo Ricci, 1617 [At this Site]
Other Catholic Reformers
- St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622): Introduction to Devout Life [At CCEL]
  St. Francis held the title of bishop of Geneva.
- St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)[Information, At CCEL]
  See also
  - St. John of the Cross: Spiritual Canticle of the Soul [At CCEL]
  - St. John of the Cross: Dark Night of the Soul [At CCEL]
  - St. John of the Cross: Ascent of Mount Carmel [At CCEL]
- St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)[Information, At CCEL]
  See also Catholic Encyclopedia: ST. TERESA OF JESUS (TERESA OF AVILA)
  - St. Teresa of Avila: THE LIFE [At CCEL]
  - St. Teresa of Avila: Way of Perfection [At CCEL]
  - St. Teresa of Avila: The Interior Castle [At CCEL]
- St. Philip Neri (1515-1595): The Maxims and Sayings of St Philip Neri [Wikisource] See also Wikipedia: St. Philip Neri
- Sister Marianne (17th Century): Love Letters to Noel Bouton de Chamilly [At Internet Archive, from Letters Magazine]
  A very different Counter-Reformation experience is seen in these letters by a 17th-century Portuguese nun "who wrote these letters to her lover, Noel Bouton de Chamilly, a French officer whom she met in about the year 1663".
Catholic Culture
- Andrea Alciato: Book of Emblems: The Memorial Web Edition in Latin and English [At MUN] [Internet Archive version here]

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Conflict

Iconoclasm – Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt Argues against Images (1522) + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
WEB The Peasants' War [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
WEB Documents on the Peasants’ War (1524-1526) [At Oregon] [Internet Archive version here]
The Twelve Articles of the Peasants [At Marxists] [Internet Archive version here]
Martin Luther (1483-1546): Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes (1925) [At Pb Works] [Internet Archive version here]
WEB The French Wars of Religion 1562-1598 [At LEPG] [Internet Archive version here]
Map: The Religious Division of Europe, [At this Site]
De Thou (1553-1617): St. Bartholemew's Day Massacre 1572 [At Hanover]
An eyewitness account
De Thou (1553-1617): St. Bartholemew's Day Massacre 1572 [At this Site]
Elizabeth I: Against the Spanish Armada, 1588 [At this Site]
Map: Catholic Martyrs in England 1534-1680 PDF [At this Site]
The English Mercurie: Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada, July 23rd, 1588 [Was At DavidCo, now Internet Archive]
Facsimile of original newspaper report.
Otto Von Guericke, the Burgomeister of Magdeburg: The Destruction of Magdeburg, excerpts, [At Hanover]
One of the effects of the Thirty Years War
Treaty of Westphalia, October 24, 1648 [At Yale] [Internet Archive version here]

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Women and Reformation

Reformers on Marriage
- Katharina Schütz Zell (1497/98-1562): Defending Clerical Marriage + PDF version [At GHDI] [Internet Archive version here]
  The daughter of a master artisan and magistrate, defends the Protestant side of the debate on celibate life versus clerical marriage.
John Knox: The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1558 [At SWRB] [Internet Archive version here]
John Aylmer, Bishop of London: An Harborow for Faithful and True Subjects, 1559 [At this Site]
A response to John Knox by the Bishop of London, a supporter of Elizabeth I. [See also full text PDF of the Original Edition of 1559]
Witchcraft Documents [At this Site]
Iinc. the Papal Bull of 1484, Johannes Nider on witches, and extracts from the Malleus malificaram

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NOTES:

The Internet Modern Sourcebook is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project. The date of inception was 9/22/1997. Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site name or location]. Locally available texts are marked by [At this Site]. WEB indicates a link to one of small number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable overview.

The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.

© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 5 June 2023 [CV]