Why did the Protestant Reformation occur in 1517 and not 1317 or 1417? The answer has to do with an odd question. What should be more important to a country—religion or national security? The answer may seem clear in our secular age, but this question deeply troubled the sixteenth-century French citizens, torn between their religious beliefs and the need for national security. Welcome to Theology Week! While studying at Moody Bible Institute and Dallas Theological Seminary, I learned much information about the doctrinal debates and technological advances (i.e. the printing press) of the Protestant Reformation era. Today, we will examine an aspect of the Protestant Reformation that my education only lightly touched—military conquest and a complex system of alliances.
Religion vs. Politics
During the fall semester of my junior year of high school, I wrote my first legitimate research paper. I joined my classmates in journeying to the library of the local university, where the head librarian taught us how to research for a college-level paper. I chose the topic of the Spanish Armada’s invasion of England in 1588 and read an article where a historian argued that the French were confused about how to respond. The Habsburg rulers of Spain had defeated France sixty years before, and the two nations competed for the Pope’s favor as defenders of the Roman Catholic faith. England was another traditional enemy of France, but their wars were in the more distant past. England was now Protestant. The French were torn between wanting to see the heretical English return to the Catholic fold and seeing their most powerful enemy on the European continent defeated and humiliated in a failed invasion of England. The Protestant Reformation and the replacement of feudal Europe with the emerging nation-states in the sixteenth century ushered in a new period of European history. Nationalistic and national security concerns were eclipsing Europe’s desire for religious purity.
Political Powers of the Protestant Reformation
In 1519, Charles V was elected Holy Roman Emperor. As emperor, he ruled Spain—much of modern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—northern Italy, the modern Czech Republic, and part of Hungary. His empire surrounded France and its ruler, Francis I. To the east, the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman I, looked to expand into Europe. In 1453, the Ottomans captured the ancient Christian city of Constantinople and finally ended all vestiges of the Roman Empire. For eleven centuries, Constantinople served as the capital of the eastern half of the Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire. Despite its name, the Holy Roman Empire was based in modern Germany and had no political connection to Rome. With the capture of Constantinople, the Ottomans’ conquest of Europe could begin. In 1522, Suleiman captured the island of Rhodes. In 1526, his sights were set on Hungary. At the battle of Mohacs, the Ottomans crushed a Christian army and divided Hungary into three zones—one controlled by Suleiman, one under the Holy Roman Empire’s domain, and a buffer zone between them.[1]
On the other side of Europe, Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) and Francis I of France vied for supremacy. Control of Burgundy (a region bordering France and Germany) and northern Italy sparked the war.[2] They fought the decisive battle outside the Italian city of Pavia on February 24, 1525. Charles V won a clear victory and held Francis prisoner for over a year.[3] After securing his release, Francis started fighting again and even secured an alliance with Suleiman as mutual enemies of the Holy Roman Emperor.[4]
After France’s defeat, several Italian city-states, including Pope Clement VII and Rome, fought Charles V for independence from the Holy Roman Empire. On May 6, 1527, Charles’ army conquered Rome and sacked the city for several days despite orders to the contrary.[5] At this same time, King Henry VIII of England sought the Pope’s permission to divorce his wife (Catherine of Aragon). Catherine was Charles V’s aunt. After troops of the Holy Roman Empire devastated Rome, Pope Clement VII was in no position to grant Henry’s request. In 1534, Henry separated from Rome and established the Anglican church.[6] In 1529, Suleiman marched an Ottoman army to the gates of Vienna, Austria—one of the most important cities of the Holy Roman Empire. The Ottomans were turned back by spirited defense and poor weather, but the threat of a Muslim invasion in central Europe remained for decades. Charles V and Pope Clement VII could not concentrate on containing Protestantism because of the divides within Catholicism and the threat of the Ottomans.
Implications for the Protestant Reformation
I have taken eight classes on the Protestant Reformation, and understandably, the focus was almost always on the Reformers' doctrinal debates and disagreements with the Roman Catholics. It took my own reading to learn details of Pavia, Mohacs, and the Sack of Rome. Charles V’s primary motivation throughout his life was to defend Christian Europe against the Ottoman Empire.[7] He needed the political and religious unity Europe enjoyed during the Crusades several centuries earlier. Independent nation-states had replaced feudal Europe, and centuries of scandal and schism had greatly weakened the papacy's influence. Charles V ruled half of Europe, but his military attention was split between the Ottomans, the French, the English, the pope, and the Lutherans in his lands. In the chaos, England was able to separate from Rome without military consequences for fifty years. Cities like Geneva, Strasbourg, Wittenberg, and Zurich enjoyed some autonomy in the political instability and supported the Reformation. Charles V and Suleiman I engaged in a multi-front war on land and sea. The struggle with the Ottomans forced Charles V to make peace deals with the French, English, and Lutherans whenever possible to gain more allies in his war with Suleiman.
In 1096, Europe could send a multi-national army to the Middle East at the pope’s request to recapture Jerusalem. In 1215, Europe could unite politically and theologically to combat the Waldensians. In 1415, enough unity existed to silence reformers like Jan Hus in Bohemia and John Wycliffe in England. In 1517, domestic and international threats curtailed political and theological attempts to destroy Protestantism. As historian Mark Noll writes, “After Worms, Luther was protected by his prince, Frederick the Wise of Saxony, as an illustration of the bond that immediately grew up between Protestantism and defenders of local and national authority.”[8] Charles’ wars in France, Italy, and Hungary thwarted his ability to concentrate on containing Protestantism or secular princes who resisted him in his empire.
In a sense, we Protestants owe the Roman Catholic Francis I and the Muslim Suleiman I a debt of gratitude. To survive, the Protestants needed nationalism to replace a desire for religious unity. The Protestant Reformation could only occur in a time of political upheaval with weakened papal influence on civil society. Sustained theological disagreements with Rome flourished in the 1520s when the dominant European military faced threats on every side and could not concentrate on the Protestant Reformers for decades.
Sources
Hannah, John D. Invitation to Church History: World. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic. 2018.
Noll, Mark. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. Third Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.
Norwich, John Julius. Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, and Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2016.
Reston, James Jr. Defenders of the Faith: Christianity and Islam Battle for the Soul of Europe, 1520–1536. New York: Penguin Books, 2009.
[1] Hannah, Invitation to Church History: World, 332.
[2] Norwich, The Four Princes, 78.
[3] Norwich, The Four Princes, 85.
[4] Norwich, The Four Princes, 88.
[5] Norwich, The Four Princes, 97–98.
[6] Norwich, The Four Princes, 129.
[7] Reston, Defenders of the Faith, 324.
[8] Noll, Turning Points, 147.