Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation | Ryan Ranch

Course Description:

Throughout the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church was the dominant religious, political and economic institution. From time to time, there were challenges to its political dominance, but the world view created by the Church remained largely unchanged and unchallenged. Dissenters were silenced one way or another. Then in 1517 a German monk began a revolution in thought that split Europe religiously and politically. To understand the Reformation, you need know only one name: Martin Luther. Who was he? Where did he get such revolutionary ideas? How was he able to succeed when no one else could? What were the intellectual changes he brought about? And how was Europe different after Martin Luther’s rebellion?