How important was the role of the princes in bringing about the success of the Lutheran Reformation in Germany in the years 1525 to 1555?

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Ollie Plunkett        Sunday, 6 December 2009

How important was the role of the princes in bringing about the success of the Lutheran Reformation in Germany in the years 1525 to 1555?

The princes played a very important role in bringing about the success of the Reformation with certain princes making a larger impact than others.  Philip of Hesse, John and Maurice of Saxony and all that were part of the creation of the League of Schmalkalden all helped the Reformation’s success.  However Elector Frederick the Wise dies early in 1525 and his contributions with helping Luther’s volatile situation after the Diet of Worms and beyond cannot be counted.  The actual princes themselves were anyone with sovereign powers so could have been a number of people in power including emperors, one of the electors or even rich noblemen.  Also the fact that some princes did very little to prevent the spread and success of Lutheranism was important as this could have hindered their chances significantly.  However it was not just the princes that had a hand in the success, as the actual concept of Lutheranism was very pleasing to many of the people and that was the start of the whole conflict along with Luther himself being a great preacher and the help of the printing press to help the ideas spread.

Most notable for his actions in the bringing about of the success of the reformation was Philip of Hesse who worked alongside many other Lutheran princes to guarantee the success of the Reformation.  In response to the League of Dessau that went against Lutheranism, Hesse formed the League of Torgau.   This set to oppose the terms set out in the Edict of Worms(1521) and although had no military presence at this point would later roll into the Schmalkaldic League.  Also present at the second Diet of Speyer which would prove very important as it was here that arose the name “Protestant”.  Hesse also organised the Marburg Colloquy which helped to bring together the Lutheran equivalents for example Zwingli and Melanchthon to discuss and agree on various points.  Although Luther would not compromise on his Eucharist theory, it did strengthen the connections outside Germany and would prove to be helpful in success of Lutheranism.  Hesse’s help with his negotiations and influence brought the Lutheran success to a reasonable point so that it was able to spread and reach more people.  Another example would be when he teamed up with Duke Ulrich to reinstate him as Duke and then convert Württemberg to Lutheranism. Again we can see the expansion of territory for Luther because of Philip’s help.

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With Philip, was John of Saxony who succeeded Frederick the Wise after his death in 1525.  John was another important prince in bringing about the success of the Lutheran Reformation as he entered into many negotiations including the Diets of Speyer.  John helped in spreading Luther’s word and an example of this is when the Duke of Saxony, George the Bearded, died in 1539 the reformers including John, swooped in and introduced Lutheranism to the people who quickly accepted it.  Possibly one of the most important roles John undertook was leading the Schmalkaldic League which proved very important to ...

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