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The Age of Reformation – Section 11, due 9/27

SOCIETY & RELIGION - Reformation initially broke out in Saxony, Germany. - People were unhappy with the superstitions and wasteful, corrupt practices of the medieval church. Also, people were becoming more intelligible and aware of the world around them and the people who ruled them. - Meanwhile, what with centralized nations forming, sociopolitical conflict was rife. Townsfolk were used to self-governance, but with centralized power becoming popular in Europe, they were being ruled by an outsider who would often override local customs and laws. The need for independence and autonomy was another reason the Reformation occurred. - The Reformation was inspired by previous lay religious movements that advocated religious simplicity, piety, poverty (in the church), and the imitation of the ideals of Jesus Christ. These movements were more egalitarian and more spiritual. - One important movement: Brothers of the Common Life, or the Modern Devotion = “a boarding school for reform-minded laity”. They were laymen who kept their normal jobs but prayed and studied God a lot. They didn’t wear special clothes or do special sacraments. They stressed individual piety, practicality of religion, and imitation of J.C. They were also big into education, and in fact looked after some big Renaissance/humanist guys like Erasmus and Reuchlin when they were kids. - Basically, the Modern Devotion preceded and profoundly influenced all the later humanist and reform movements.