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The Reformation

The Reformation Spreads

It is worth recounting the way in which a town or principality "went Lutheran". While the details varied, and the variations are interesting and illustrative, I shall here reduce them to a standard account.

At the courts, the prince might decide that this Luther fellow had some interesting ideas; or, it might be the prince's wife or other relative who expressed a serious interest. The prince would bring in a preacher with Lutheran sympathies; he might keep his Catholic confessor as well, allowing the minister only to preach sermons, or he might openly dismiss the priests. The most convinced went further, confiscating Church property, dissolving the monasteries and nunneries, and bringing in Lutheran ministers.

Much the same happened in the cities. The city council was the key player here, and most city councils were dominated by a handful of families. If sufficient number of these families were of Lutheran sympathy, then the city might invite Lutheran preachers in. These would actually preach in the local cathedral; the Catholic church had a long tradition of guest speakers that could go further than the local priest or bishop dared.

If the preachers met with a favorable reception, then the city might go further. They might allow Lutheran congregations to worship openly, usually in private homes. The city might sponsor public debates between Catholic and Protestant authorities. And, as with the princes, a city might go further and decide to put an end to Catholic practices altogether.

The city council would declare all Church property forfeit. The monks and nuns were ordered out, to find jobs or else to leave the city. Often provision would be made for elderly nuns and monks, who might be allowed to live out their lives in the cloister even though the monastery itself was converted to other purposes. At the same time, the city founded schools, to replace the cathedral school; this marked the true beginnings of public education in Europe. The council also put Lutheran ministers on the public payroll, there being no Church fiscal system with which to fund them.

In the countryside, the Reformation spread more erratically. Lutheran ideas came often from itinerant preachers. Sometimes these co-existed with the existing Catholic structure, but other times the priests were driven away by the peasants or by the local landlord. As in the cities, the peasants wanted the right to choose their own ministers.