The Significance of the Gunpowder Plot for Catholics During 1605 - 4620

During the 1500’s, the conflict and tension between Catholics and Protestants brought about new levels of violence in Paris and surrounding areas. Despite the authorities of Paris’ attempts at maintaining peace and order, Catholics were determined to rid the streets of unwanted Protestants. On August 24th, 1572, a day known to Catholics as “St. Bartholomew’s Day”, thousands of Protestants were murdered by Catholics. From then on, this day was known as “The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.” Authors Barbra Diefendorf, and Philip Benedict both wrote about this devastating time in history with contrasting approaches to the issue. Though sharing in some similarities, the approaches in which Diefendorf and Benedict take on the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre are significantly contrastive. The authors provide different theories to why the massacre occurred, as well as disclose information about important events that occurred during different times.

The Catholic Church during the early 16th Century was rooted throughout Europe. The Church influenced every country and its respective monarchs through the Church’s wealth and power. The Catholic Church placed a tight hold on the general populace with individuals who went against the Church being branded as heretics and excommunicated. The wealth and power of the Church eventually caused the quality of the clergy to deteriorate. Priests became corrupt and subjected to their physical desires. They frequented taverns, gambled and kept mistresses. The reputation of the clergy were horrid as the general populace was relieved that “their priest [kept] a mistress” because it “[secured] their wives from seduction” The knowledge of the clergy degenerated as well as they were no longer required to learn and teach the Holy Scriptures because the Church dictated their actions. The pinnacle of the Church’s corruption was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence was the “extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment” sold by priests as a temporary relief from sins. The indulgences were then sold to the general populace for money as the monetization of a priest’s services. Johannes Tetzel was a prominent preacher of indulgences who relied on the money from the sales to subsidize the rebuilding of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. The corrupt sales did not go unnoticed as Martin Luther, in an effort to stop the corruption of the Church, posted the 95 Theses on the door of a Castle

To worsen the situation of Catholics, rumors about a Popish Plot started to be spread. Oates and Tonge, the ones who invented the plot, affirmed that a group of Jesuits were planning to kill the King and place in his place his Catholic brother, James. Thereupon these declarations, a wave of false accusations against Catholics were made, and many were punished and killed. The Commons passed a bill hardening the Test Act. In response to this supposed Popish Plot, the Whigs started a plot to prevent James from becoming the new King when Charles died. When this conspiracy was brought to light, it ruined the Whig

It is possible to perceive that England was torn apart by religious revolution as a consequence of the public risings in the response to the changes. After their introduction, the country suffered

| |massacred the worshipers. This is the beginning of the French wars of Religion |

Beginning in the Middle Ages and through the seventeenth centuries, witch trials occurred in Europe. Many people were accused of being witches some of these people were accused of being witches for not following Christian beliefs at that time and others followed witch prosecutions for goods and money. Furthermore, the stereotypes of witches at this period also had a role in causing witch prosecutions. In this essay I argue how these three components led to the death of so-called witches. Firstly, I will discuss how the Catholic Church had an impact on most prosecutions. Secondly, I will explain how social stereotypes of that period have also influenced with the causes of prosecution of many alleged witches. Thirdly, I will discuss how

The word power is a term that has various different meanings philosophically, socially, religiously, etc., which is why it is crucial to define it before discussing the Boston Catholic Church’s power. Power is defined in various ways, but the definition that is utilized in this essay is when “an individual or institution [has] the ability to achieve something, whether by right or by control or influence. [It] is the ability to mobilize economic, social, or political forces in order to achieve a result.” It is also important to understand power in the terms of effect and affect. Some may argue that in order for something to have power, the institution or person must have the ability to both effect and affect, affect meaning to have an

Many people relentlessly blame the Salem witch trials on a group of young girls under pretense. People say the false pretense led to a mass hysteria and turned the town of Salem into a catastrophic courtyard. This is true,but, the girls compulsive lying was not the only driving force toward the witch epidemic, Puritanism helped push many members of the town to abandon their logic. Puritan attitudes of pride encouraged citizens to keep a valued reputation, even if it meant lying.

13. ‘01 Discuss the political and social consequences of the Protestant Reformation in the first half of the sixteenth century.

Henry VIII was the King that would change England’s religious system and make it his legacy. The religious system would carry on after his reign and become the predominant religion of England. The question is: How did events connected to key historical figures during Henry VIII’s reign cause for a permanent shift in the religious system of England? This question will be answered by analyzing events related to key historical figures during Henry VIII’s reign. These events will not be a biographical representation of any one historical figure, but relayed in connection to the topic of this paper in order to provide an answer for the essay question. This method is being utilized because it provides an analytical perspective, while also providing a personal appeal by tying the facts in with historical figures. History is not just facts, it is a story, and like any good story it should pull a reader in and make them interested. The historical figures utilized will be Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Thomas Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, and Thomas Cranmer due to their direct correlation to the change in the religious system of England. The sources utilized were chosen and implemented in relation to how they encompassed concepts related to historical

The reformation housed many impressive inventions such as the creation of gunpowder and the printing press along with many divisions like wars and radical religious ideas. The reformation was a period in history that caused many changes to the way Christianity operated forcing many communities to re-divide themselves among different religious loyalties. People like Martin Luther and John Calvin questioned their religion and aspects of the way the greedy and corrupt religious leaders, such as Pope Leo X, operated instead of following blindly like most people at that time. Questions asked by these famous reformers led to many anxious and spiritual qualms towards Protestantism or Catholicism. With these

Throughout history there have been examples of religion being regarded as traditional and of people dissenting from the traditional religion. This essay will trace the footsteps of tradition and dissent of Christianity in England between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries by looking at the statement “… a previous generation’s “dissent” itself becomes “tradition”, and a previously dominant tradition becomes dissent.” (Tradition and Dissent p72). With particular reference to the differences between Protestants and Catholics.

In October of 1534, the Affair of the Placard occurred, what made this event of great importance, was that it was a planned, written Protestant attack on the Catholic doctrine of Mass. These posters, which condemned the practice of Mass, also appeared just about simultaneously in several major cities of France overnight to include Paris, where Calvin lived. Francis I, retaliated harshly and swiftly possibly, because of the recent treaty that he had signed with Spain to end the Thirty Year War. Francis, possible to ensure his loyalty toward the Pope and the treaty arrested and executed the Protestants whom were responsible. Calvin like many other fearing for their safety left France, Calvin choosing to escape to Switzerland.

Their festivities exhibited a blatant, vitriolic anti-Catholic bias (Fawkes and his group had been Catholics trying to topple a Protestant government). Each year the respective gangs, dressed in masks, costumes, tricorns and pointed grenadier hats, would parade an effigy of the pope and one of the Devil, “clad in tar and feathers” on a large platform, which was carried by a crowd on a large platform surrounded by burning firecrackers. Small boys concealed below the platforms worked strings attached to the figures, which would “elevate and move around at proper intervals the movable head” as they were carried toward Boston Common. Some gang-members would blow horns and conch-shells known as “Pope-horns.” Every house along the route was required to contribute money “to the expense of the show”. If they did not, windows would be broken, or the house otherwise damaged. The procession would continue through the Common, past the state house, and would typically end on Cornhill or Copp’s Hill, where the effigies were consumed in giant bonfires—and the two mighty clans would engage in a violent contest of strength and arms” (Ben Miller, 1). “In 1745, a newspaper described one of these events: “Tuesday last being the Anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, two Popes were made and carried tho’ the Streets in the evening , one from the

The 17th century was full of challenges to the authority of the Catholic Church. Many of these challenges were indirectly related to the Church’s power, as they indicted the Church’s teachings rather than its authority. Those who disagreed with the Church formulated various theories that were oppositional to those of the Church. In 1609,