Success of Lutheranism 1521 to 1529 due to ... (24)

Intro

• Lutheranism orginated in 16th century
• without Lutheranism is hard to say how successful overall reformation would've been
• many external factors aided the movement

Absense of Charles V

• Holy Roman Emperor could've easily prevented the spread of Lutheranism if that is what he wanted however this did not occur
• he wanted to preserve order and authority and knew all people standing for one faith would achieve this but being a religious man it was surprising that he didn't oppose or fight Luther
• was absent from Germany from 1521-1529
  • sheer size of his empire
  • pressure from advancing Ottoman Empire
  • constant hostility of France
  • suspicions of Spanish revolt
  • gave priority to defending his empire and need the support of the princes many of which who supported Luther to defend his empire
  • whilst he was away the new faith movement attracted several supporters which proved impossible to reverse

Support of Princes

• at first not all the princes were politically motivated by supporting Luther however Luther was always on the side of the authorities and soon many became ready to accept and support him
• Luther wanted the reformation to be ruled by the princes which would increase their authority 
• the removal of the church would increase the power the princes had over the people and it became clear that the princes were looking for more power and…