Session 1 – 19 September 2016

Reformation Backgrounds 1
Haigazian University
REL 02929C Special Topics: History and Theology of Protestantism
Fall Semester 2016-2017
Rev. Wilbert van Saane
 Reformation Backgrounds
1. Changing Economies, Changing
Societies
2. The Renaissance and Humanism
3. The Invention of the Printing
Press
 Changing Economies, Changing
Societies
Fourteenth century: the Black Death (bubonic
plague) claims millions of lives. Markets
shrink as a result.
Second half of fifteenth century: Europe
recovers, the population and the markets grow.
A shift from a goods-based economy to a
currency based economy makes the middle
class more powerful. Cities also gain in power
(e.g. Florence and Venice) at the expense of
feudal lords.
 The Renaissance (fourteenth-sixteenth
century)
Rulers and cities alike foster the arts.
Artists such as Michelangelo recreate
the classical period of ancient Greece
and Rome.
The term ‘Middle Ages’ is invented to
refer to the preceding ‘obscure’ ages –
the term ‘Renaissance’ is applied to
current age. Back to the sources is the
motto!
 Humanism
Humanism is a form of education
that spread in European universities
during the Renaissance. Petrarch (1304-
1374), the
Humanism focused on texts. By father of
humanism
collecting and correcting mistakes in
manuscripts they attempted to
reconstruct the original texts.
Christian Humanism
Christian humanists applied the critical
approach of humanism to the manuscripts
of the Bible. They were able to establish
much more reliable editions of the Bible.
In 1516, humanist scholar Erasmus
published his Greek text of the New
Testament, which was foundational to the
Reformation. (The European church had
always relied on the Latin text of Jerome.)
 Johannes Gutenberg (1400-1458)
and the Invention of the Printing Press
Before Gutenberg, copying of
manuscripts was done manually, a time-
consuming and expensive process.
Gutenberg’s innovations (around 1448)
included the movable type (using
separate metal pieces with the letters on
it instead of wooden blocks), the
mechanical printing press and the use of
oil-based ink.
 The Gutenberg Bible
The Gutenberg Bible was the first
book that was mass-produced with
the new technique of the movable
type and the printing press. It was
published in 1455, probably in an
edition of 180 copies, of which 49
copies survive. The Gutenberg Bible
was in Latin, so most people could
not read it.