trouble in christendom: corruption & reform 1 · trouble in christendom: corruption &...

Trouble in Christendom: Corruption & Reform 1

Name: _________________________________________

Part 1: Vocabulary

Please record a definition and other forms for each of the words below. You don’t

have to complete this section first, but can fill it out as you encounter each word

within the text.

Word Possible Meaning or Example

Other Forms?

Simony The buying and selling of church positions (or sacred things).

Simoniac (a person who practices simony)

Nepotism

Scandal

Indulgence

Purgatory

Mortal Sin

Reformer

Satire

Heathen


Part 2: Questions

1. What evidence suggests that, at the start of the 16th Century (1500s), the

Catholic Church was the dominant institution of Western European Society?

2. Which two major changes threatened the authority of the Catholic Church at

this time?

3. What eventually happened to the Christian Church in Western Europe?

4. How did Monarchs become increasingly more powerful in the 1500s?

5. Examine the map on p.277 (Fig 9-1). Name to modern European nation-states

(countries) which did not exist in 1500 CE.


6. How did the Catholic Church go about raising money in the 1500s?

7. Which practices among Catholic Church clergy might be criticized for

appearing “corrupt”?

8. How did some Popes create scandals within Renaissance Catholic Europe?

9. What were the intentions of most (or even all) Catholic Church reformers at

this time?

10. How did Catholic Church leaders tend to respond to those reformers who

publicly criticized their church?

11. What were indulgences?


12. Why might someone view the selling of indulgences as an exploitative

practice (a practice that unfairly takes advantage of vulnerable people).

13. Who was Erasmus? Although he was highly critical of some church leaders

and practices, why was he not considered a heretic?

14. Read over the excerpt from Erasmus’ “St. Peter vs. Julius II” to answer the

following questions:

a) Who was St. Peter?

b) Who was Julius II?

c) How does this excerpt seek to satirize (make fun of and criticize) Pope Julius

II?

d) What message might this satire have communicated to church leaders during

Erasmus’ day?


ANSWER KEY

Part 1: Vocabulary

Please record a definition and other forms for each of the words below. You don’t

have to complete this section first, but can fill it out as you encounter each word

within the text.

Word Possible Meaning or Example

Other Forms?

Simony The buying and selling of church positions (or sacred things).

Simoniac (a person who practices simony)

Nepotism

Giving jobs to relatives & friends.

Scandal

An embarrassing story or behavior that ruins the reputation of a person or an institution.

Scandalous Scandalize

Indulgence

After-Life Insurance to get out of purgatory.

Indulge

Purgatory

The part of the afterlife reserved for Catholics who are too bad for Heaven, but who are not trapped in Hell.

Purge

Mortal Sin

A terrible kind of sin. Sins Sinning Sinful

Reformer

Someone who wants to bring about peaceful change in a society or organization.

Reform Reformation

Satire

A type of literature that uses humor to criticize someone or something.

Satirical Satirist

Heathen

Anyone who is not religious (or who is non-Christian).

Heathens


1. What evidence suggests that, at the start of the 16th Century (1500s), the

Catholic Church was the dominant institution of Western European Society?

There was a church in every village.

All churches, monasteries, schools and universities belonged to the

church.

It was very rich.

2. Which two major changes threatened the authority of the Catholic Church at this

time?

Humanists and Protestants began to challenge some Church teachings &

practices.

Monarch powers increased at the expense of the authority of local

barons and church leaders.

3. What eventually happened to the Christian Church in Western Europe?

It split into Catholic and Protestant churches.

4. How did Monarchs become increasingly more powerful in the 1500s?

They had the support of the emerging middle class and grew wealthy

due to trade.

5. Examine the map on p.277 (Fig 9-1). Name to modern European nation-states

(countries) which did not exist in 1500 CE.

Examples include: Spain, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Croatia

6. How did the Catholic Church go about raising money in the 1500s?

Tax church parishioners (through tithes)

Sell Church jobs

Charge for religious services

7. Which practices among Catholic Church clergy might be criticized for appearing

“corrupt”?

Selling Church Positions to the Highest bidder

Nepotism (giving jobs to your friends or family)

Charging for essential services

Over-taxing


Personal aggrandizement

Simony

Collecting a salary without performing duties

8. How did some Popes create scandals within Renaissance Catholic Europe?

A number had children (despite taking vows of celibacy) and later

appointed them to high positions.

Some threw wild parties.

9. What were the intentions of most (or even all) Catholic Church reformers at this

time?

To help bring about reform (change) without harming or breaking up

the church.

10. How did Catholic Church leaders tend to respond to those reformers who

publicly criticized their church?

They often labeled them as sinners and heretics. They sometimes

arrested and punished them.

11. What were indulgences?

Insurance policies for the soul. Payments made to the church in order to

pay off one debt of sin, or to improve the condition of loved ones in

purgatory.

12. Why might someone view the selling of indulgences as an exploitative practice (a

practice that unfairly takes advantage of vulnerable people).

Because it implied that God’s love and forgiveness could be purchased

for money. Also, it played on the fears of vulnerable people to get their

money.

13. Who was Erasmus? Although he was highly critical of some church leaders and

practices, why was he not considered a heretic?

He was a scholar from the Netherlands who wrote humorous critiques

of Church leaders and corrupt practices. However, he did not attack the

teachings of the church, and was therefore not considered a heretic.


14. Read over the excerpt from Erasmus’ “St. Peter vs. Julius II” to answer the

following questions:

a) Who was St. Peter?

One of the disciples of Jesus (considered by some to be the first bishop of

Rome)

b) Who was Julius II?

A pop who lived during the life of Erasmus.

c) How does this excerpt seek to satirize (make fun of and criticize) Pope Julius

II?

It presents him as so arrogant as to insult St. Peter, and so corrupt as to argue

that his skills as a corrupt businessman make him a fit Christian to enter

Heaven.

d) What message might this satire have communicated to church leaders during

Erasmus’ day?

Church leaders should imitate Jesus in being humble, kind towards other,

honest, and faithful to God. They should not be likely world leaders that use

violence, corruption, cunning, and power to get rich and oppress others.

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