A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

118 Ch. 3 • The Two Reformations

Culture during the Two Reformations

The Protestant Reformation began as a religious reaction against abuses
within the Church. But it also reflected profound changes in European
society. The Reformation followed not only the discovery of the printing
press but also the expansion of commerce, the arteries of which became
the conduits of reform. Both the Protestant and Catholic Reformations

affected art, architecture, print culture, education, popular culture, and
family life at a time when religious belief and practice had an enormous
impact on daily life.

Print Culture

The printing press did not cause the Reformation, but it certainly helped
expand it. A rapid expansion in the publication of pamphlets, books, and
other printed material occurred at a time when reformers were challenging
Church doctrine and papal authority. The printing of Luther’s works facili­
tated their rapid diffusion, with perhaps a million copies circulating
through the German states by the mid-1520s. The German reformer called
the printing press “God’s highest and ultimate gift of grace by which He
would have His Gospel carried forward.” Luther’s Wartburg translation of
the Bible went through fifty printings in two years. He wrote 450 treatises
and delivered more than 3,000 sermons; his collected works fill more than
100 volumes and 60,000 pages. Luther also published a hymnal containing
many hymns that are sung today.
He directed many of his dialogues,
poems, and sermons to ordinary Ger­
mans, and even to children, adopt­
ing popular religious themes and
images.
Since about 1480, the diffusion
of printing had contributed to the
expansion of a lay culture in the
German states. Much of what was
printed was published in the vernac­
ular, that is, German, as opposed to
Latin. Although religious literature
was the greatest output of early print­
ing presses, other favored themes
of books and pamphlets included
nature, the discoveries of the explor­
ers, the acquisition of technical skills
(such as medical skills from self-help
Private devotion: an old woman reading medical handbooks), manuals of
the Bible. self-instruction (such as how to