Academic literature on the topic 'Schmalkaldic articles'

The purpose of the article is to analyze the place of research in the history of the Italian Wars (1494–1559) in the scientific biography of Yu. Ivonin. The research object is Yu. Ivonin’s scientific heritage (books and articles). The main source of analysis is the historian’s first monograph (1984). The research subject is reflection of the history of the Italian Wars in Ivonin’s works. The Italian Wars occupy a key place in the concept of the history of interna- tional relations of modern period formulated by Ivonin in the «Belarusian period» of his scientific path. This was the first conflict that grew from a regional into a pan- European one, it became the first knot of contradictions in the system of international relations of the early modern period. In fact, all the leading European states in all Western European regions took part in it. As a struggle for hegemony in Western Europe, the Italian Wars expressed the struggle between two principles of state development: national and universal. To a certain extent, their struggle was reflected in the religious confrontation of the Reformation, which culminated in the Schmalkaldic War. The peace treaties of 1559 that ended the Italian Wars did not resolve the knot of contradictions, only temporarily interrupted the conflict, which lasted for about a century.

The article considers the activities of the prominent Lutheran reformer Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1556) in the period from the 1530s to 1550s. The principal approaches to the reformer’s legacy in the historiography of the 19th to early 21st centuries are summarized. The main directions of Bugenhagen’s pursuits in the ecclesiastical, theological, political, and organizational spheres are analyzed. The article shows that Bugenhagen played a key role in the drafting and promulgation of a number of evangelical church statutes. It is noted that the church statute model developed by Bugenhagen for Brunswick, Hamburg, and Lübeck was widely adopted across many evangelical territories in Germany and abroad; in particular, attention is given to Bugenhagen’s reform work in Denmark. It is argued that Bugenhagen’s revision of church law along Reformation principles was associated with changes in other branches of law. It is emphasized that after the Schmalkaldic War of 1546– 1547 Bugenhagen remained one of the leaders of the evangelical forces and continued his reform work in the church and the University of Wittenberg. In the 1550s, he actively collaborated with such representatives of the ‘second generation’ of Lutheran supporters as Paul Eber, Martin Chemnitz, Andreas Wolf, and David Hitrois, as shown in his correspondence. The article analyzes Bugenhagen’s approach to theological problems, which was determined by the desire to affirm the ideas of Lutheranism in all aspects of church life; in particular, the reformer’s work in the last years of his life is considered. The author concludes that Johannes Bugenhagen achieved marked success in a number of spheres, combining theory and practice in dealing with the most important theological, political, and organizational issues of the day. The reformer’s principal achievements in the period from the 1530s to 1550s were the creation of a number of evangelical statutes, further development of the Lutheran dogma, and participation in the overhaul of university education. His active and varied pursuits strengthened Wittenberg’s connections with other centers of the evangelical movement, thus facilitating the spread of Lutheran confessionalization in Germany and other countries.

Scholars often view the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries as a period of general urban decline, when territorial rulers imposed their political agendas on smaller state actors such as city-states in ever more authoritative ways. Such a view is especially prevalent in studies based in the Holy Roman Empire. It forms part of a larger approach to studying the course of state formation that focuses too much on the building of internal bureaucratic institutions and not enough on the importance of interactions between state actors. Studies that examine the relationship between warfare and state formation in particular downplay the importance of city-states, arguing that the costs of war served as a prime vehicle for princely states to marginalize city-states during the Reformation era. This article re-evaluates this paradigm of urban decline through the comparative study of corporate alliances, formal cooperative associations between princely states and city-states. Specifically, it examines the fallout surrounding two conflicts between princes and city-states within the Schmalkaldic League and the Protestant Union. Controversies over the use of alliance military forces within these leagues reveal that rather than decline in the decades leading up to the Thirty Years War, urban influence within leagues increased over time because of the dynamics of war. This conclusion challenges the narratives of territoriality and urban decline that dominate much of the political history covering the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Ultimately, it presents a new way to understand the relationship between city-states, princely states, warfare, and the course of state formation in the Reformation-era Holy Roman Empire.