Left: Michelangelo, Library at San Lorenzo c1524

The Renaissance and the Reformation 

10) It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented removable type and the Bible. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarettes and started smoking. Sir Francis Drake circumsized the world with a 100-foot clipper.

born Oct. 27, 1469, Rotterdam, Holland [now in The Netherlands]
died July 12, 1536, Basel, Switz.

Humanist who was the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance, the first editor of the New Testament, and also an important figure in patristics and classical literature.

The “Prince of Humanists” is perhaps best known today for his 1516 Latin-Greek New Testament, a compilation based on texts he arduously sought out or outright discovered and translated from the original Greek. Martin Luther used this document as the source for his translation of the New Testament into German. Luther’s translation of Erasmus’ text was arguably the first radical act in reforming the Church, as it made biblical texts comprehensible to the general population in their own language.

Enchiridion militis Christiani (1503/04; Handbook of a Christian Knight). In this work Erasmus urged readers to “inject into the vitals” the teachings of Christ by studying and meditating on the Scriptures, using the spiritual interpretation favoured by the “ancients” to make the text pertinent to moral concerns.

Martin Luther 
born Nov. 10, 1483, Eisleben, Saxony [Germany]
died Feb. 18, 1546, Eisleben

German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Through his words and actions, Luther precipitated a movement that reformulated certain basic tenets of Christian belief and resulted in the division of Western Christendom between Roman Catholicism and the new Protestant traditions, mainly Lutheranism, Calvinism, the Anglican Communion, the Anabaptists, and the Antitrinitarians. He is one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity.

• 1508 Martin Luther Goes to Rome
• 1517  Martin Luther "nails" his "Ninety-five Theses" on the door of the Castle Church, Wittenberg, on Oct. 31, 1517, the eve of All Saints' Day--the traditional date for the beginning of the Reformation
• 1521, Luther was tried before the Imperial Diet of Worms and was eventually  excommunicated; what began as an internal reform movement had become a fracture in western Christendom.
• 1555 Council of Trent (Triento)

Enchiridion militis Christiani (1503/04; Handbook of a Christian Knight). by Erasmus

Ephesians 6:11-18

King James Version (KJV)

 11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
 12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
 13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
 18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Right:
Albrecht Durer, Self-Portrait in Furcoat
(Self-Portrait at 28)
1500 Oil on panel, 67 x 49 cm
Renaissance Germany