The Protestant Reformation, often attributed solely to Martin Luther's 95 theses, was a multifaceted movement with roots deeply embedded in the challenges faced by Western Christianity. Luther's...
If you ever find yourself in Münster, Germany, be sure to visit the Gothic Church of St. Lambert on the main market square. Three metal cages hanging off the church spire serve as a 16th-century...
The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century shook Europe's cultural identity to its core. It was a revolution that emerged from centuries of political and social grievances against the Christian...
Foemina Instrumentum Diaboli can be translated as ‘Women are instruments of the devil’, which sums up the essence of Renaissance witch hunts in Europe. The word ‘witch’ evokes the figure of an...
After a one-sided courtship which mostly involved her putting a stop to King Henry VIII’s advances, the posthumously famous Anne Boleyn finally consented to his pursuit of her which culminated in a...
The Hussites were members of a pre-Reformation Christian movement that originated in Bohemia, in the modern-day Czech Republic. Named after Jan Hus, whose teachings were followed by the Hussite...
St. George’s Day, April 23 in England, is observed in remembrance of the nation’s patron saint, who chose death over dishonor by refusing to bow down or stay silent in the face of the Roman Emperor...
Catherine of Aragon was the first wife of the infamous King Henry VIII. Known for her failure to produce a male heir, she was the mother of Mary, later Queen Mary I of England. Catherine would spend...
With deeply-spiritual origins, and an important function in the religious framework of medieval England, Coventry's medieval Charterhouse priory was all but destroyed in the Reformation. But now,...
The Antichrist. The name itself is enough to instill dread into the hearts of all devout Christians as well as others. It is a name that was ever connected to the negative, the malicious, and the...
In Britain, an attic in a historic home has revealed a trove of 15th century treasures. The rare items were uncovered during the recent COVID-19 lockdown and were discovered thanks to the hard work...
Scientists have finally managed to solve a centuries-old mystery. They have been able to show with a high degree of probability that some bones located in a church wall belonged to a medieval saint...
Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, which began in 1558, Catholics were persecuted by law and priests were imprisoned, tortured, and frequently executed. As a result of this oppression,...
A sword that has been pulled from a lake by two diving enthusiasts in Norway could have been used for executions, experts have claimed. The 500-year-old blade was dragged from one of Norway’s largest...
Conrad Haas was a military engineer who lived during the 16 th century. Not much is known for certain about Haas’ life, in fact, he was largely forgotten by history. But this changed in 1961, when a...
After the Reformation, Norway's Olav Haraldsson was no longer supposed to be worshipped as a saint. An Icelandic drinking horn offers some clues on how the saint's status changed over time. Drinking...
Hidden annotations in England’s first printed Bible, published in 1535, show there was a short transition period between the Catholic era in England and the Reformation that violently transformed...
![Luther burning the papal bull, 10 December 1520; Karl Ludwig Bernard Christian Buckhorn, after Franz Ludwig Catel (from Spamers Illustrierte Weltgeschichte, 1894, 5[1], 216/217). Source: Juulijs / Adobe Stock.](https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/styles/teaser_optimized/public/field/image/Reformation.jpg?itok=diBeHOT4)
