The French Revolution had an overwhelming affect on Ireland. The similar situations in the two countries meant that the French Revolution had real relevance for Irish society, as it provided an example of how to overthrow a tyrannical regime and helped break the sectarian deadlock which had disa...

Thomas Cranmer is one of the most famous names, from one of the most important periods of English history – the English reformation. Many people believe that he was crucial to the reformation and high emotions run around this character. Some herald him as the saviour of the Protestant religion...

Many people in history have made a very big impact on their culture, times, and/or religion. One that stands out is John Calvin. He had a really huge influence during his time-the early-to-middle sixteenth century. Calvin devoted almost his whole life to promoting Protestantism, and he made a b...

Nuggets of Gold: The Lamenting Laity A wise professor of mine once said to me "Every piece of historical evidence is a nugget of pure gold". "Wow" I thought, what a precious commodity. Could every piece of evidence hold such importance that it can be easily comparable to one...

The Reformation was a great 16th-century religious revolution in the Christian Church, which had political, economic and social effects. It ended the ecclesiastical supremacy of the pope, led to the separation of many European nations from the Church of Rome and became the basis for the founding of ...

The Catholic Reformation I INTRODUCTION Counter-Reformation, movement within the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th and 17th centuries that sought to revitalize the Church and to oppose Protestantism. Some historians object to the term as implying only the negative elements in the movement, and t...

Question: What attitude or attitudes did the Reformations take towards popular religious forms? And how did the Reformations themselves come to embody ritual elements? The Reformation was a period of much social unrest. Whilst there existed a physical struggle evident upon the surface, un...

Calvin's Unique Theocracy When we think of a theocracy, we usually think of a political system, governed and legislated by a religious body with religious beliefs. For the most part this is true. Historically, theocratic governments have successfully existed throughout the world, from ancient Eg...

Martin Luther. Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany, the son of Hans Luther, who worked in the copper mines, and his wife Margarethe. He went to school at Magdeburg and Eisenach, and entered the University of Erfurt in 1501, graduating with a BA in 1502 and an MA in 1505. His father wish...

Using examples from the Henrician Reformation of the 1530s; explain why religion has often been the cause of particularly bitter conflict. The causes and features of the Reformation have been the source of many differing views between historians; whether it arose solely from the ambitions of Henr...