pre-Reformation
Prior to Protestantism
Pre-Reformation describes the period in Western Christianity before the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century—roughly before Martin Luther's challenge to Catholic doctrine in 1517.
The term appears in discussions of church history, theology, and religious practice: pre-Reformation liturgy, pre-Reformation England.
It implies a unified Western church before the Protestant-Catholic split.
Years 1401-1500
- Western SchismPeriod of competing popes
- AvignonFrench papal seat
- Great SchismHistoric Christian church division
- ConstanceName meaning faithfulness
late medieval · Basel · Borgia · anticlericalism · Erasmus · printing press
Pre-Vatican II Catholic liturgy
- Gregorian chantMonophonic Catholic liturgical music
- vestmentsCeremonial religious attire
- altarSacred ritual table
- incenseAnger greatly, or aromatic resin
feast days · processions · mystery plays · stained glass · frescoes · illuminated manuscripts · breviary · missal
Historic European house of worship
- papacyPope's office and authority
- indulgencesExcessive self-granted pleasures
- monasticismCloistered religious living
- clergyOrdained religious officials collectively
bishops · abbeys · friars · mendicants · tithes · canon law · benefices · papal authority
Rigorous dialectical learning method
- transubstantiationChange of underlying substance
- purgatoryPlace of temporary suffering
- saintsCanonized religious figures
- relicsPreserved items from antiquity
intercession · sacraments · confession · penance · Aquinas · pilgrimages · veneration · merit
External arched wall supports
- monasteriesResidences for religious brothers
- cloistersCovered monastery walkways
- chapter housesMonastic assembly rooms
- navesCentral church sections
chancels · baptisteries · crypts · bell towers · rose windows · Romanesque · abbeys · parish churches
fifteenth century
Years 1401-1500
- Western SchismPeriod of competing popes
- AvignonFrench papal seat
- Great SchismHistoric Christian church division
late medieval · Constance · Basel · Borgia · anticlericalism · Erasmus · printing press
Latin Mass
Pre-Vatican II Catholic liturgy
- Gregorian chantMonophonic Catholic liturgical music
- vestmentsCeremonial religious attire
- altarSacred ritual table
incense · feast days · processions · mystery plays · stained glass · frescoes · illuminated manuscripts · breviary · missal · plainchant
medieval church
Historic European house of worship
- papacyPope's office and authority
- indulgencesExcessive self-granted pleasures
- monasticismCloistered religious living
clergy · bishops · abbeys · friars · mendicants · tithes · canon law · benefices · papal authority · dioceses
scholasticism
Rigorous dialectical learning method
- transubstantiationChange of underlying substance
- purgatoryPlace of temporary suffering
- saintsCanonized religious figures
relics · intercession · sacraments · confession · penance · Aquinas · pilgrimages · veneration · merit · absolution
flying buttresses
External arched wall supports
- monasteriesResidences for religious brothers
- cloistersCovered monastery walkways
- chapter housesMonastic assembly rooms
naves · chancels · baptisteries · crypts · bell towers · rose windows · Romanesque · abbeys · parish churches · charnel houses
pre-Reformationmodern period
Recent centuries onward
early modern · Counter-Reformation · modern era · post-medieval
pre-ReformationProtestant
Post-schism Western Christian
Lutheran · Calvinist · sectarian · evangelical · pluralistic
pre, Reformation, reform, reformed, reformer, reformers, reforming, reforms, reformist