DENMARK, SWEDEN, ENGLAND.
THE SWISS REFORMATION: ZWINGLI.--The founder of Protestantism in
Switzerland was _Ulrich Zwingli_. He was born in 1484. His father
was the leading man in a mountain village. The son, at _Vienna_
and at _Basel_, became a proficient in the humanist studies. He
read the Greek authors and the Bible in the original. A curate first at
_Glarus_, and then at _Einsiedeln_, he became pastor at
_Zurich_. As early as 1518 he preached against the sale of
indulgences. He was a scholarly man, bluff and kindly in his ways, and
an impressive orator. The Swiss were corrupted by their employment as
mercenary soldiers, hired by France, by the Pope, or by the emperor. Of
the demoralizing influence of this practice, _Zwingli_ became
deeply convinced; and his exertions as a Church reformer were mingled
with a patriotic zeal for the moral and political regeneration of
Switzerland. Mainly by his influence, _Zurich_ separated from the
jurisdiction of the bishop of Constance, and became Protestant in
1524. The example of _Zurich_ was followed by _Berne_ (1528)
and by _Basel_ (1529). _Zwingli_ agreed with _Luther_ on
the two main points of the sole authority of the Scriptures, and the
doctrine of salvation by faith alone; but on the _sacrament_ of
the _Lord's Supper_ he went farther in his dissent from the Church
of Rome. This made Luther and his followers stand aloof when cordial
fellowship was proposed between the two parties.
CIVIL STRIFE: DEATH OF ZWINGLI.--The aim of _Zwingli_ was to
establish a republican constitution in the several cantons, and also in
the confederation as a body, where the five Forest Cantons had an undue
share of power. These adhered to the old Church. In _Berne_ the
oligarchic party was supplanted by the republican, reforming party,--an
event of decisive importance. As the irritation increased between the
Forest Cantons and the cities, the former entered into a league with
_Ferdinand_ of Austria, and the cities leaned for support on the
German states in sympathy with their opinions. A treaty was made
(1529), but each side accused the other of breaking it. At length war
began: _Berne_ failed to come to the help of _Zurich_. Each
city wished to be the metropolis of the reformed confederation. The
forces of _Zurich_ were vanquished at _Cappel_, where
_Zwingli_ himself, who was on the field in the capacity of a
chaplain, was slain (1531). By the peace of _Cappel_ in 1531,
Protestantism was not coerced, but a check was put upon its
progress. Neither party was strong enough to subdue the other.
PROTESTANTISM IN SCANDINAVIA.--In the Scandinavian countries,
monarchical power was built up by means of the Reformation. The union
of _Calmar_ (1397) under Queen _Margaret_, between
_Denmark, Norway,_ and _Sweden,_ had been a dynastic
union. The several peoples were not united in feeling. The sovereign,
moreover, had his power limited by a strong feudal nobility, and by a
rich Church impatient of control. First the Church was overcome by
means of Protestantism, and then the nobles.
THE REFORMATION IN DENMARK--On the accession of _Christian I._ of
_Oldenburg_ (1448-1481), the duchies of _Holstein_ and
_Schleswig_ became connected with Denmark in a personal union. His
grandson, _Christian II._ (1513-1523), did not rule the duchies,
which were governed by _Frederic I_., who afterwards succeeded
_Christian II_. as king of Denmark. _Christian II_. was bent
on putting down the aristocracy, lay and clerical, but lacked the moral
qualities necessary to success in so difficult a task. He at first
favored Protestantism from political motives. He hoped to bring the
_Swedes_ into subjection by the aid of the _Danes_, and then
to subdue the Danish nobility. In _Sweden_ the nobles practically
ruled; and the regency was in the hands of the _Stures_, who
befriended the common people, and were opposed by the other nobles and
the clergy. _Christian_ made use of these divisions, and of the
help of German and French troops, to get possession of _Stockholm_
(1520). He took the Catholic side. But his perfidy, and the massacre of
eminent Swedes,--known as the _Massacre of Stockholm,_--excited an
inextinguishable hatred against _Denmark_. The Danish nobles
feared the same sort of treatment. The king's attempts at reform
offended them without pleasing the peasants, and a revolution took
place which dethroned him. Duke _Frederic_ of _Schleswig_ was
made king (1523): the duchies and _Denmark_ were again
together. _Frederic_ swore not to introduce the Reformation, nor
to attack Catholicism. But he was an ardent Lutheran. The new doctrine
had come into the land, and was spreading. The nobles, who coveted the
possessions of the Church, espoused it. At the Diet of _Odensee_,
in 1527, toleration was granted to Lutheranism. On _Frederic's_
death, in 1533, an effort of the bishops to restore the exclusive
domination of the old system of religion was defeated. _Christian
III._ was made king; and at a Diet at _Copenhagen_ in 1536, the
Reformation was legalized, and the Lutheran system, with bishops or
superintendents, was established.
THE REFORMATION IN SWEDEN.--After the massacre of Stockholm,
_Denmark_ was detested by the Swedes. A great political revolution
occurred, which involved also a religious revolution. The author of the
change, and the real founder of the Swedish monarchy, was _Gustavus
Vasa_, a young Swede of noble family, who had been held as a captive
in _Copenhagen_, but had escaped and returned to his country. He
was of imposing presence, prudent yet daring, and with a natural gift
of eloquence. Amid great dangers and sufferings, such as tradition
ascribed to King _Alfred_ of England, he succeeded, at the head of
a force gathered to him in the province of Dâlecarlia, in gaining the
most important places in the country, and was proclaimed king in
1523. He was not deeply interested in the religious controversy,
although he favored Lutheranism; but he made it his steady aim to break
down the clerical aristocracy, to weaken the nobles, and to organize a
strong and prosperous monarchy. He proceeded carefully: but the
peasants, who had been his warmest supporters, were strongly attached
to the old Church; and the opposition to his measures from all quarters
was such that at the _Diet of Westeräs_, in 1527, he took the bold
step of offering to lay down the crown. At this Diet he had assembled
representatives of the citizens and peasants, as well as the clergy and
nobles. He proposed to pay an enormous debt which was due to
_Lübeck_, by using the colossal wealth of the Church for this
purpose, and to shake off the monopoly of trade which the Hanse towns
enjoyed. Finding himself withstood, he renounced the throne. The
distraction and tumults which followed his act of relinquishing the
crown were such that a great party of the nobles joined him. Three days
after his abdication, he was recalled to the throne: the clergy
submitted abjectly, and the Church was no longer a power in the state,
or possessed of wealth. Trade was released from its bondage to
_Lübeck_ and the other towns; commerce was opened with foreign
countries; and a market was provided for _iron_, the main product
of the country. The nobles were held in subjection. The _Lutheran_
doctrine made very rapid progress, and became dominant.
ENGLAND: HENRY VIII. AND LUTHER.--In England, as in France, there were
earnest desires for church reform, partly aroused by such
serious-minded humanists as _Colet_, _More_, and
_Erasmus_. Even _Cardinal Wolsey_ sympathized with this
movement, and intended to endow colleges and bishoprics out of the
confiscated wealth of the more useless monasteries. What might have
been a slow development of religious thought was transformed by the
requirements of the king's own policy. Of all the _Tudor_ princes
none had a more obstinate and tyrannical will than _Henry
VIII_. The advantages derived from the effect of the civil wars,
which had reduced the strength and numbers of the nobility, and the
natural English jealousy, always shown, of foreign and papal supremacy,
enabled _Henry_ to break off the connection of England with
_Rome_; while, at the same time, he resisted Protestantism and
persecuted its adherents. Proud of his theological acquirements, he
appeared, in 1522, as an author against _Luther_, in a book in
defense of the _Seven Sacraments_, for which he received from the
Pope the title of _Defender of the Faith_. The vituperative
character of Luther's answer confirmed him in his hatred of the new
doctrine. "When God," said the blunt Saxon reformer, "wants a fool, he
turns a king into a theological writer."
THE DIVORCE QUESTION.--What made the breach between _Henry
VIII_. and the papacy was the question of the king's divorce. He had
been married in his twelfth year to _Catherine_ of Aragon, the
aunt of _Charles V_. and the widow of Henry's deceased brother
_Arthur_ (who had been married to her in 1501, when he was fifteen
years old, and had died the next year). A dispensation permitting the
marriage of Henry had been granted by Pope _Julius II_. How far
_Henry's_ passion for _Anne Boleyn_, whom he desired to wed,
was at the root of his scruples respecting the validity of his
marriage, it may not be easy to decide. His application to _Clement
VII_. for a separation reached the Pope after the Peace of
_Madrid_, when there was a desire to lessen the power of the
emperor. Cardinal _Wolsey_, the favorite counselor of
_Henry_, who himself aspired to the papal office, was obliged to
help on the cause of his imperious master. But whatever disposition
there was at _Rome_ to gratify _Henry_, there was no
inclination to hurry the proceedings. There were long delays in
England, whither a papal legate, _Campeggio_, had been sent to
investigate and determine the cause. In 1529 the legates decided that
the case must be determined at Rome. This the queen had before demanded
in vain. Aside from other objections to the divorce, _Clement
VII_. was now at peace with _Charles V_., whom it was
undesirable to offend. The incensed king took the matter into his own
hands. _Wolsey_, having been one of the legates, was deprived of
all his dignities: he was charged with treason, his strength melted
away on his fall from the heights of power, and he died a
broken-spirited man.
SEPARATION OF ENGLAND FROM ROME.--_Henry_ now gave free rein to
the spirit of opposition in Parliament to Rome. He took for his
principal minister, who became vicegerent in ecclesiastical affairs,
_Thomas Cromwell_. _Cromwell_, unlike _Wolsey_, was
hostile to the temporal power of Rome. He made _Thomas Cranmer_
Archbishop of Canterbury, who was inclined toward Protestant views,
but, though sincere in his beliefs, was a man of pliant temper,
indisposed to resist the king's will, preferring to bow to a storm, and
to wait for it to pass by. By _Cranmer_ the divorce was decreed,
but this was after the marriage with _Anne Boleyn_ had taken
place. _Henry_ was excommunicated by the Pope. Acts of Parliament
abolished the Pope's, and established the king's, supremacy in the
Church of England. In 1536 the cloisters were abolished. Their property
was confiscated, and fell to a large extent into the hands of the
nobles and the gentry. This measure bound them to the policy of the
sovereign. The mitered abbots were expelled from the House of Lords,
which left the preponderance of power with the lay nobles. The
hierarchy bowed to the will of the king.
THE TWO PARTIES.--There were two parties in England among the upholders
of the king's supremacy. There were the Protestants by conviction, who
were for spreading the new doctrine. This had already taken root and
spread in the universities, and in some other places in the
country. The new literary culture had paved the way for it. In the
North, there were still left many _Lollards_, disciples of
_Wickliffe_. _Cromwell, Cranmer_, and one of the bishops,
_Latimer_, were prominent leaders of this party. Against them were
the adherents of the Catholic theology, such as _Gardiner_,
_Tunstal_ of Durham, and other bishops. At first the king inclined
towards the first of these two parties. One of his most important acts
was the ordering of a translation of the Bible into English, a copy of
which was to be placed in every church. But a popular rebellion in 1536
was followed by a change of ecclesiastical policy. The _Six
Articles_ were passed, asserting the Roman Catholic doctrines, and
punishing those who denied transubstantiation with death. The queen,
_Anne Boleyn_, who was an adherent of the Protestant side, was
executed on the charge of infidelity to her marriage vows (1536). A few
years later _Cromwell_ was sent to the scaffold because the king
no longer approved of his policy and, seeing how unpopular he had
become, used him as a scapegoat (1540). Lutheran bishops were thrown
into the Tower: _Cranmer_ alone was shielded by the king's
personal favor, and by his own prudence. This system of a national
church, of which the king, and not the Pope, was the head, where the
doctrine was Roman Catholic, and the great ecclesiastical officers were
appointed, like civil officers, by the monarch, was the creation of
_Henry VIII_. His strong will was able to keep down the
conflicting parties. Despite his sensuality and cruelty, he was a
popular sovereign. One of his principal crimes was the execution of
_Sir Thomas More_ for refusing to take the oath of supremacy
because this contained an affirmation of the invalidity of the king's
marriage with _Catherine_. _More_ was one of the noblest men
in England, a man who combined vigor with gentleness. He was willing to
swear that the children of _Anne_ were lawful heirs to the throne,
because Parliament, he believed, could regulate the succession; but
this did not satisfy the tyrannical monarch. In the latter portion of
his reign he grew more suspicious, willful, and cruel.