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Authors: James M. Anderson
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with
the ideas of previous reformers such as Wycliffe or Hus were burned.
A boy could become a bishop, a profitable position, if his
father paid the price. Then there were dispensations or exemption from normal
Church laws and practices available to those who could afford them.
The sale of sacred relics believed to have the power to
heal and bring good fortune was another matter of contention. For some
skeptics, this was pure superstition, of no value, and most often, a swindle. A
splinter of the true cross, a tooth, or a piece of bone of a saint, some object
said to have been once used by the Virgin Mary or by Christ Himself—all were
peddled throughout Europe.
Among the uneducated, village priests were generally
treated with respect. They gave counseling and advice in matters both in and
outside a religious context and were usually available to assist with family
problems.
But priests were not always in favor with their
parishioners. In 1524, the parish of Saint Michael in Worms deposed its priest,
Johann Leininger, who then made an official complaint. The matter was taken up
by the town council, and church wardens and parishioners were asked to explain
their actions. They had often complained, they said, of the scandalous life of
the priest who lived in sin with a woman and had sired a child. In addition,
the woman had taken on the position of sexton. Leininger was also accused of
misusing church funds: an expensive green cloth had been bought to make Mass
vestments, but the priest had used it to have a coat made for his son. He had
also misspent 10 gulden belonging to the church and then given his parish
registers to the dean of the cathedral, although they were under the control of
the church wardens. Finally, he had refused to administer the sacraments to a
gravely ill woman until he was first paid the Mass penny.
While Spain, England, and France had usurped the right of
the pope to appoint bishops and other high clergy in their realms, people of
the Holy Roman Empire, especially the secular rulers, resented the pallium, the
large tax payable to Rome for the investiture or change in the diocese of an
archbishop, bishop, or abbot. The tax had to be raised by the inhabitants. In
addition, the entire income of the first year after the investiture ( annates )
accrued to the papal treasury. This constituted a continuous drain on the local
economy. Added to these onerous costs were the journeys to Rome, where prelates
during their residence held court in a style of sumptuous magnificence, all
paid for by the parishioners.
It was to the benefit of the Church to maintain an
ignorant, illiterate, and unenlightened peasantry. Even people who could read
Latin were not allowed to read the Bible. Possession of it was a criminal
offense and could result in the execution of the accused. Sometimes translators
and publishers were burned along with their work.
The Catholic Church could use the scriptures selectively.
The peasant population remained in perpetual fear of hell’s fires, making it
easier to extract their last pennies. Moreover, the sale of indulgences for
remission of sins committed up to the time of purchase was now being practiced
as never before with a view to meeting the increased expenditure of the
Vatican. Even the monk, Martin Luther, asked why people should pay for a church
so far away and one they would never see.
The unifying cultural foundation of Europe for well over a
thousand years, the Roman Catholic Church, was complacent in its power and
failed to recognize the coming maelstrom that would engulf the continent. Careful
inquiry into the scriptures and a desire among some Catholic scholars to return
to the earliest and basic principles of Christianity were ignored until it was
too late.
4 - WITCHES, MAGIC, AND SUPERSTITION
Since
remote times, witches, village healers, and spell-makers in Europe had been
both respected and feared because of their powers to bring forth good or
the ideas of previous reformers such as Wycliffe or Hus were burned.
A boy could become a bishop, a profitable position, if his
father paid the price. Then there were dispensations or exemption from normal
Church laws and practices available to those who could afford them.
The sale of sacred relics believed to have the power to
heal and bring good fortune was another matter of contention. For some
skeptics, this was pure superstition, of no value, and most often, a swindle. A
splinter of the true cross, a tooth, or a piece of bone of a saint, some object
said to have been once used by the Virgin Mary or by Christ Himself—all were
peddled throughout Europe.
Among the uneducated, village priests were generally
treated with respect. They gave counseling and advice in matters both in and
outside a religious context and were usually available to assist with family
problems.
But priests were not always in favor with their
parishioners. In 1524, the parish of Saint Michael in Worms deposed its priest,
Johann Leininger, who then made an official complaint. The matter was taken up
by the town council, and church wardens and parishioners were asked to explain
their actions. They had often complained, they said, of the scandalous life of
the priest who lived in sin with a woman and had sired a child. In addition,
the woman had taken on the position of sexton. Leininger was also accused of
misusing church funds: an expensive green cloth had been bought to make Mass
vestments, but the priest had used it to have a coat made for his son. He had
also misspent 10 gulden belonging to the church and then given his parish
registers to the dean of the cathedral, although they were under the control of
the church wardens. Finally, he had refused to administer the sacraments to a
gravely ill woman until he was first paid the Mass penny.
While Spain, England, and France had usurped the right of
the pope to appoint bishops and other high clergy in their realms, people of
the Holy Roman Empire, especially the secular rulers, resented the pallium, the
large tax payable to Rome for the investiture or change in the diocese of an
archbishop, bishop, or abbot. The tax had to be raised by the inhabitants. In
addition, the entire income of the first year after the investiture ( annates )
accrued to the papal treasury. This constituted a continuous drain on the local
economy. Added to these onerous costs were the journeys to Rome, where prelates
during their residence held court in a style of sumptuous magnificence, all
paid for by the parishioners.
It was to the benefit of the Church to maintain an
ignorant, illiterate, and unenlightened peasantry. Even people who could read
Latin were not allowed to read the Bible. Possession of it was a criminal
offense and could result in the execution of the accused. Sometimes translators
and publishers were burned along with their work.
The Catholic Church could use the scriptures selectively.
The peasant population remained in perpetual fear of hell’s fires, making it
easier to extract their last pennies. Moreover, the sale of indulgences for
remission of sins committed up to the time of purchase was now being practiced
as never before with a view to meeting the increased expenditure of the
Vatican. Even the monk, Martin Luther, asked why people should pay for a church
so far away and one they would never see.
The unifying cultural foundation of Europe for well over a
thousand years, the Roman Catholic Church, was complacent in its power and
failed to recognize the coming maelstrom that would engulf the continent. Careful
inquiry into the scriptures and a desire among some Catholic scholars to return
to the earliest and basic principles of Christianity were ignored until it was
too late.
4 - WITCHES, MAGIC, AND SUPERSTITION
Since
remote times, witches, village healers, and spell-makers in Europe had been
both respected and feared because of their powers to bring forth good or
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