MacCulloch, Reformation, 53-105 (Chapter 2).

Familiarize yourself with the following terms:
conversos, moriscos, Cardinal Ximénes, alumbrados, Patronato, Bartolomé de las Casas, humanism, gnosticism, Corpus hermeticum, Cabbala, ad fontes, Donation of Constantine, Vulgate Bible, Complutensian Polyglot, scholasticism, Thomism, Fifth Lateran Council, prône, Guillaume Briçnnet, Savonarola, Erasmus.

This chapter is entitled "Hopes and Fears, 1490-1517." Pay attention to the concepts of hope and fear, optimism and pessimism, and related ideas as you read the chapter. Is this an appropriate title or just a catchy heading? What does MacCulloch want to tell us about the pre-Reformation world with this title? Chapter 3 is entitled "New Heaven: New Earth, 1517-1524." Once you read Chapter 3, ask yourself whether MacCulloch is creating a contrast between the old world of pre-Reformation times and the new world of the Reformation? Did the "old Church" and pre-Reformation world stand for decay and corruption, while the post-1517 era represented an exciting, brave new world? If renewal was put into practice (88) before 1517, what does that mean for Reformation Europe? Did pre-Reformation renewal point to / (inevitably) lead to Protestantism? Notice the many references to Protestantism in Chapter 2.

1. What function does the opening section, "Shifting Boundaries," have in the context of the entire chapter?

2. What is distinctive about Spanish Catholicism?

3. What effect did paper and printing and humanism have on the religious culture of late medieval Europe?

4. MacCulloch writes of renewal and reform. Were these possible before the Reformation? Did anything require renewal or reform? Did anyone think that these were necessary? And what do these terms mean? Remember what MacCulloch writes: "I make no apology for thus grubbing around in words and definitions, because humanists were obsessed with words and how to use them" (76). From the outset, MacCulloch has shown he is interested in the meaning of key concepts. He begins by asking: "Who or what is a Catholic?" (xix). Consequently, we need to make sure what key concepts mean and whether MacCulloch adequately explains them.

5. Let's practice for the analysis assignment. Everyone please write down your own historical question that helps us think about Chapter 2. I will ask for examples in class.

6. You probably all have at least some vague sense of the significance of the Reformation. What was the most important thing you learned in this chapter? Did it confirm your earlier assumptions, or did it make you think differently about the background to the Reformation?

If MacCulloch gets to state his viewpoint, I will be so bold as to state one of my own. It must be a commonplace in textbooks and large syntheses of the Reformation to portray Erasmus as a famous and highly intelligent man who was more interested in scholarship than in religion. Note that MacCulloch writes that Erasmus "showed no deep affection" for the Church's institutions and that "one should never place too much faith in individual writings of Erasmus, who wrote a gread deal for effect, a gread deal for money and a great deal to curry favour" (103). As someone who has spent most of his professional career in researching Erasmus, I cannot but groan to read nonsense like this. You do not know Erasmus well enough to come to an independent decision, so do not criticize MacCulloch for this in your papers. Sometimes it is best to ignore ignorance.