Tudors and Stuarts Level Three History The Protestant Reformation A Challenge to Authority In Medieval Europe the Catholic religion dominated everything and the central question of life was: How do I save my soul? There was concern over the debasement of the Church and its leaders with incidents such as the Banquet of the Chestnuts. Pope Alexander Vl Between Johann Gutenberg invented the moveable type printing press thus allowing mass production of text. Martin Luther believed that ones soul could be saved through faith alone Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church with his criticisms by nailing his 95 theses on the Church door on 31 st October 1517 Tetzel selling indulgences Luther opposed the existence of relics and the sale of indulgences Diet of Worms Here I stand. I can do no other Luther translated the Bible into common German a revolutionary move. A social revolution had begun Ulrich Zwingli John Calvin The Protestant Reformation was spreading Defender of the Faith Head of the Catholic Church in England Divorced Monasteries Henry the Eighth Queen Catherine Scotland had a more thorough Reformation 60,000 signed the National Covenant Jane Grey Bloody Mary Edward Vl Elizabeth l Religion continued to Be a problem for English monarchs Puritans now dominated and wanted King Charles l removed The Levellers Ranters If they were the elect then they could behave in any way that they wanted. Quakers still lead a simple life today Baptists believed their Church was the oldest The Diggers wanted agrarian revolution Many Puritans were discouraged by peoples attitude towards them and they left on the Mayflower to create a New World. The impact of the Protestant Reformation lives on. Bibliography The Protestant Revolution- Tristram Hunt, BBC4 The End