Church History from the Reformation
until the Eve of the French Revolution
For the course on First Millennium Church History, please go to this page here.
For the course on Mediæval Church History, please go to this page here.
1. Introduction to the study of Church History. Please see the first talk in the series about the First Millennium.
2. The Mediæval Background to the Reformation.
In this talk, we discuss the thinkers who in many ways not just anticipated the Reformation, but laid down the intellectual groundwork for it. We will look at William of Occam, John Wycliffe, Jan Hus and others.
In this video we explore the life and times of Martin Luther in the years while he was still a Catholic. We also look at Erasmus and Reuchlin.
Here we narrate the story of the establishment of the Lutheran Church as a communion outside the Catholic Church, and how almost from the beginning Protestantism fragmented. We look also at the rise of the Anabaptists.
4. Other Reformers (mostly Swiss)
In this section we look at other people who furthered the Reformation on the continent. We talk about Luther's right-hand man, Philipp Melanchthon, also Matthias Flavius Illyricus, Oecolampadius, Huldrych Zwingli, and Martin Bucer.
We look at the number 2 of the continental Reformation; John Calvin, and how he ended up in Geneva, influencing many of the English Reformers.
We look at the foundations of the variation of Protestantism that rejects infant Baptism, leading to the various groups of our own time such as the Amish, the Hutterites and Mennonites, but also the Baptist church and various independent communions.
7. The Political Background to the English Reformation
We retrace the story of the rise of the Tudors, and how they overthrew the dominant Plantagenet dynasty, itself internally riven between the rival houses of York and Lancaster. We look to at the situation of England in the reign of Henry VIII.
8. The English Reformation under Henry VIII, Part 1
This follows the story of Henry's reign up to the point of his break with Rome.
9. Some important Figures in the English Reformation
We look at some prominent personalities in this period: William Tyndale, Cuthbert Tunstall, Thomas More, John Fisher, Thomas Cranmer, John Foxe, and John Knox.
10. The English Reformation under Henry VIII, Part 2
We follow the remainder of Henry's reign; how with the contrivance of Thomas Cromwell he destroyed the Religious houses and set up his own national church.
11. The English Reformation under King Edward VI
We see how the Church of England swerved sharply in a more Calvinist direction under the convinced Protestant boy king Edward VI and his Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.
12 (a) The Catholic Reformation: The Council of Trent
This discusses the beginning of what is usually called the Counter-Reformation: we look at the ways that the Church had tried to implement reform in the past, and what was standing in its way. Then we see how Pope Paul III finally got to grips with the challenges and, despite opposition, called a council.
12 (b) The Catholic Reformation in England under Philip and Mary
In this video we look at the dynamic efforts of Philip and Mary to re-establish Catholicism in England 1553-1558, undermined by a number of forces ranged against them, not least the unhelpful actions of Pope Paul IV.
13. The Reformation in Scotland and Ireland
In these two countries the Reformation took very different trajectories: the Scottish being largely an internal matter, the Irsh imposed from outside, laying down centuries of conflict as a result.
14. The Reign of Queen Elizabeth I
In this half-hour talk we look at what is called the Elizabethan Settlement, and the conditions of Catholics under Elizabeth, and also those Protestants who felt that the settlement did not go far enough, to be known collectively as the Puritans. We discuss William and Robert Cecil and their efficient spy network directed by Francis Walsingham and their favourite torturer and buddy of Queen Elizabeth, Topcliffe.
This event in English history has gone largely unexamined by historians, most simply accepting the traditional narrative. This talk takes another look.
In this video we look at two of the great communities founded in the sixteenth century: the Jesuits and the Oratorians. We also look at two historical hot potatoes; the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre and the Spanish Inquisition.
We examine the influential religious movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which sought to incorporate some Protestant themes into Catholicism. We also look at two movements that went along with Jansenism; Gallicanism and Febronianism.
18 (a) The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, part 1
This talk is the first part of a look at how religion operated in England, Scotland and Ireland during the reigns of James I and VI, Charles I, Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and Charles II. In particular we look at how Catholicism fared during this period.
18 (b) The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, part 2
This is the second half of the last talk. We explore the Titus Oates Plot and the reign of the Catholic King James II, which came to an end along with his project for religious toleration. We look at the religious settlement under William and Mary and the ongoing legislation against Catholics. We then look at the Vicariate Apostolic, in particular two bishops, Bonaventure Giffard and Richard Challoner. Finally we look at the Catholic Relief Act and the resulting Gordon Riots of 1780.