Violence
Indulgences
Corruption in the Church
The Decline of Latin
The Rise of Nationalism
The Black Death
Explanation:
Language and culture are intimately connected. In the 14th century, the various Catholic countries of Europe were still connected by the common tongue of Latin—at least at the academic level and in church books and services. By the middle of the 15th century, the rise of nationalism had also given rise to a growing preference for local speech. In addition, the Renaissance “had brought about a recovery of the classics and especially a recovery of the knowledge of Greek.” The excitement about the new, secular learning, combined with the growing preference for non-Latin languages, further eroded the bond of faith between Western European Christians
The spiritual authority of the pope and his hierarchy was also undermined by the growing wealth of the Church. With his land holdings and secular power, “The Pope,” writes Belloc, “was becoming as much an Italian Prince as he was head of the Church.” In addition, “The endowments of the Church were very large, and corruption, both in monastic establishments and among the seculars, was increasing.” The selling of indulgences in 1517—which were being used to fund the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome—was but one manifestation of the corruption that was afflicting the Roman Catholic Church of the time.
The convergence of these factors created a growing demand for the reform of the Church and the papacy. At the beginning of the 16th century Europe was a powder keg in which a seemingly small incident could ignite an explosion that would forever destroy the unity of Western Christendom—even such a small incident as an obscure German theologian protesting the Church’s sale of indulgences.
