The Protestant Reformation - Essay Example

What are some of the problems of interpretation that face historians who wish to use visual sources such as woodcuts and illustrations on pamphlets etc at the time of the Reformation? The Protestant Reformation was a 16th century movement which began in central and western Europe, in the Germanic countries in particular. The aim of reformers such as Martin Luther was initially to bring about reform of the Roman Catholic Church, both in its beliefs and its practices. Later these purely religious aspects were joined by the efforts of political rulers trying who to extend their own power and control to the detriment of the established Church. It can be difficult to interpret older documents from this period for a number of reasons. These would include the language used, the typefaces used, the quality of the printing, a lack of context and a failure to understand the ideas expressed because understanding of science and religion was rather different from what it is today. There may also be symbolism which is lost on a modern audience. There are such things as the way the meanings of some words have changed over time. Also some words have dropped out of use entirely. Spelling was not as fixed as it was later, so there may be occasions when, even if the writing can be clearly read, it is possible to misread a word. There is also the way in which language was used in formal ways. John Calvin wrote to the King of France, attempting to defend himself and his theological ideas. He begins:- To his most Christian Majesty, the most mighty and illustrious Monarch, Francis, King of the French, his Sovereign; John Calvin prays Peace and Salvation in Christ.1 Calvin published his great work first in Latin in 1536, and later in his native French in 1541. We are no longer used to such a formal style, nor to sentences which may extend over eight lines at times, even if we are familiar with modern academic style. We can therefore find ourselves either skipping passages, or needing considerable time in order to unravel the argument , as well of course needing to know the context, which in this case was that many had been falsely accusing Calvin. Printing was still in its relative infancy. Books were expensive, and even the printing of leaflets would have been relatively more expensive than today. Much of this expense was in the initial setting up of the page, but paper would also have its own cost. It was therefore common to cram as much as possible onto a page, with writing being in a very small font. There is also the fact that Reformers and the papacy might interpret certain Biblical ideas in very different ways, and unless the source of the pamphlet or image is known it can be hard to know which ideas it is trying to put across. Is the image meant to show Rome as the seat of all evil for instance? Is this what the Reformers were really saying? Were they out to destroy the church or just to bring about necessary change? The language used. Often reformation documents were written in German or in Latin. As well as this there is the matter of over ornate typescripts which are difficult to read to modern readers who are not used to them. Ayris describes how the use of Latin in some of these documents ‘makes them remote from the modern scholar’2. It was common to use Latin for scientific and other papers until the 17th century. Newton published his major ‘Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ in Latin at first in 1687, but later translated this into English, and so enabled a wider audience to read his work3 This is an indication of changing ideas. Many Reformation documents, such as ecclesiastical registers, which can be used to detail changes, are not in print, and are therefore only available to a very few. In the image below we have samples of several of the difficulties involved for a modern audience4 - it is all but impossible to read the lettering. We need to know the symbolism of the donkey; why there is a wool winder, and why the woman spinner is being carried. Is the old man meant to be a priest or wandering friar? The answers to all these questions are needed if a fuller understanding of the image is to emerge. The title Reform is given, but reform by who of what? A knowledge of church history may be required. The second image seems to have a devil, or the Devil, calling the tune5. He is sending messages directly into the ear of the churchman below, and also controlling the message being broadcast. The clerical image is quite distinctive and seems likely to be a portrait of a particular person, but who it is not be recognised as easily by a modern audience as it was by the members of the original audience. The cleric seems quite happy to be used in this way, but the reason for this is not clear. Is he aware of what was going on? Is he in cahoots with the Devil or helpless to do anything about what was happening? The third image6 has symbols traditionally associated with the pope and the papacy – the triple crown. Any interpretation must take into account that the reformers saw the pope’s supremacy as having no Biblical basis. There is also a cardinal’s hat, but these images are associated with an arm holding lots of bags. What the bags contain is hard to decipher. What about the ornaments linked to the cardinal’s hat? The shoeless and despondent figure on the left – who is he meant to represent? The figure on the right is harder to see. At the base of the picture are some words about Luther being an anti=papist, so we know this image is about church reform, but not much more, unless we can read the words, and at the same time interpret the symbolism as they were meant to be understood. The fourth image has writing in German7 and includes a raven, commonly thought of at the time as a symbol of impending death, but would a modern viewer know that? German is a major language, but not everyone can understand it, and the teaching of Latin is much less common than it once was. The words written in the flames are very hard to read, but it is clear that the church is seen as working with the devil to gain its ends. However a glossary of medieval and Reformation terms is needed, such as that produced by Dixon and Greengrass8. Even reading documents which have been very carefully translated into English, such as in the Wittenburg project ( 9) can prove a challenge. The project’s translation of Luther’s Greater Catechism includes words not particular familiar to the modern reader such as ‘expatiate’ ( 10). There is also the fact that, even though this is a translation into English there are still some German phrases included such as ‘heiligen Abend geben’ which means to sanctify the Sabbath. This means, according to Luther ‘cease working’ , but what exactly he defines as work is not clear. Do he mean a rigourous refusal as practised by the Orthodox Jews? Does he mean simply not working for profit? What about such things as cooking and caring for children? We would have to know a lot about the ordinary society of the time to be sure what he really meant. He was not writing for the future, but for the people of his time. There is also the fact that such a document was originally written in a very different society to our own. Luther describes people who worked six full days each week, and, on their one free day, rested and worshipped. Few modern people normally work a full six day week and have many other things to occupy their free time. It is hard for the modern reader to imagine life and thought patterns from so long ago. Conclusion So it can be seen that there are technical difficulties – the poor quality of the printing perhaps and crowded images. There are language and semantic 11difficulties, in that we are far removed from the original producers and audiences, and the societies in which they interacted. We just don’t see in these images and even words what they would have understood by them. More importantly perhaps our ideas have moved on. We are looking at the Reformation from a distance as an accomplished fact. We may even view Luther not as a misguided upstart, but as a necessary force for change at the time. Images Image 1, accessed 26th February 2014, http://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/r/e/1020923_reform.gif Image 2, accessed 26th February 2014, http://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/r/e/1020923_refor.gif Image 3, accessed 26th February 2014, http://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/r/e/1020923_refo.gif Image 4, accessed 26th February 2014, http://www.academia-research.com/filecache/instr/r/e/1020923_ref.gif References Ayris , P.,’The Challenge of interpretation: Using documents of the early English Reformation period’, ( London, University College London), 2004 Calvin , J., ‘Institutes of The Christian Religion’, by John Calvin; A New Translation, by (Henry Beveridge, Esq. Edinburgh: Printed for The Calvin Translation Society, Vol. 1, 1845). Dixon, C. and Greegrass, M., The Protestant Reformation: religious change and the people of sixteenth-century Europe ©10.01 Glossary of Terms 1997, accessed 27th February 2014, http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/creating_cdroms/glossary.htm Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, 1998, accessed 27th February 2014, http://www.newton.ac.uk/newtlife.html, Isaac Newton’s Life, Project Wittenburg, (St Louis, Concordia Publishing House) 1921 http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/catechism/web/cat-10.html Semantics, Oxford Dictionaries,2014 , accessed 27th February 2014, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/semantics Read More