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116-656: During the 19th century Germans were the second-largest immigrant group to the United States, behind only the ethnic Irish . The wave of German immigration began slowly, averaging about 20,000 people per year during the decades of the 1830s and early 1840s, before exploding after the economic crisis of 1847 and the failure of the Revolution of 1848 in the German states . When the first wave of mass emigration peaked in 1854, some 220,000 Germans left their fatherland for

232-562: A two-volume printed version of the Vulgata in the early 1450s. High and Low German , Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Czech and Catalan translations of the Bible were published between 1466 and 1492; in France, the Bible's abridged French versions gained popularity. Laypeople who read the Bible could challenge their priests' sermons, as it happened already in 1515. Completed by Jerome (d. 420),

348-634: A Hussite church hierarchy enabled the Czech aristocrats and urban magistrates to assume control of the Hussite clergy from the 1470s. The radical Hussites set up their own Church known as the Union of Bohemian Brethren . They rejected the separation of clergy and laity, and condemned all forms of violence and oath taking. Marshall writes that the Lollards, Hussites and conciliarist theologians "collectively give

464-406: A clear distinction between the supernatural and the human, Renaissance artists depicted God and the saints in a more human way. The institutional church was the reliable religious authority, through its bishops and priests, transmitting without error both apostolic tradition and the Bible, as interpreted by the decisions of ecumenical councils and by papal authority , through the mechanism of

580-625: A community of believers whose religious ideal—constantly aspired to if seldom attained—was peace and mutual love." The Catholic Church taught that entry into heaven required dying in a state of grace . Based on Christ's parable on the Last Judgement , the Church considered the performance of good works by the faithful, such as feeding the hungry and visiting the sick, as an important condition of salvation. Villagers and urban laypeople were frequently members of confraternities (such as

696-656: A distinct German ethnic identity began to emerge among at least some them living within the Holy Roman Empire. However, variants of the same term were also used in the Low Countries , for the related dialects of what is still called Dutch in English, which is now a national language of the Netherlands and Belgium . The first information about the peoples living in what is now Germany was provided by

812-592: A diverse group, dominating a much larger area than Germany, stretching to the Vistula in the east, and Scandinavia in the north. German ethnicity began to emerge in medieval times among the descendants of those Germanic peoples who had lived under heavy Roman influence between the Rhine and Elbe rivers. This included Franks , Frisians , Saxons , Thuringii , Alemanni and Baiuvarii - all of whom spoke related dialects of West Germanic . These peoples had come under

928-399: A genuine revelation could not challenge traditional religious principles. Apostolic tradition verified religious practices that some Protestant groups say had no explicit Biblical foundations, such as infant baptism . Latin was the language of public worship in most dioceses of Catholic Europe although few laypeople understood Latin. The Eucharist, the central element of liturgy ,

1044-454: A moral renewal in Florence . He was arrested and executed for heresy , but his meditations remained a popular reading. Historian John Bossy (as summarized by Eamon Duffy) emphasized that "medieval Christianity had been fundamentally concerned with the creation and maintenance of peace in a violent world. “Christianity” in medieval Europe denoted neither an ideology nor an institution, but

1160-521: A new home in America. Immigration centered in a number of major American cities of the East and Midwest , including St. Louis , Chicago , Cincinnati , Milwaukee , Philadelphia , and New York City — urban areas which retained this Germanic influence for many decades, or in some cases, for generations. A second mass wave of emigration from Germany to America began in 1866, following the conclusion of

1276-715: A process that could involve good works , as in the Catholic view. Protestantism also introduced new ecclesiology . The Counter-Reformation was the Catholic reform efforts initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation and its causes. In the 16th-century context, the term mainly covers four major movements: Lutheranism , Calvinism , the Radical Reformation , and the Catholic Reformation . Historian John Bossy criticized

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1392-505: A protest (or dissent) against the edict of the Diet of Speyer (1529) , were the first individuals to be called Protestants. The edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier . Europe experienced a period of dreadful calamities from the early 14th century . These culminated in a devastating pandemic known as

1508-510: A shared descent, culture, and history. Völkisch elements identified Germanness with "a shared Christian heritage" and "biological essence", to the exclusion of the notable Jewish minority. After the Holocaust and the downfall of Nazism, "any confident sense of Germanness had become suspect, if not impossible". East Germany and West Germany both sought to build up an identity on historical or ideological lines, distancing themselves both from

1624-527: A slice of history in which certain ideas, attitudes, and values were developed, explored, and applied". The historian Peter Marshall emphasizes that the "call for 'reform' within Christianity is about as old as the religion itself, and in every age there have been urgent attempts to bring it about". Charlemagne employed a "rhetoric of reform". Medieval examples include the Cluniac Reform in

1740-578: A special emphasis on the education of laypeople. A leader of the movement the Dutch Wessel Gansfort (d. 1489) attacked abuses of indulgences. As the manufacturing of paper from rags and the printing machine with movable type were spreading in Europe, books could be bought at a reasonable price from the 15th century . Demand for religious literature was especially high. The German inventor Johannes Gutenberg (d. 1468) first published

1856-610: A theology professor at the University of Wittenberg in Saxony. Born into a middle-class family, Luther entered an Augustinian monastery after a heavy thunderstorm dreadfully reminded him the risk of sudden death and eternal damnation, but his anxiety about his sinfulness did not abate. His studies on the works of the Late Roman theologian Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) convinced him that those whom God chose as his elect received

1972-624: Is an important part of German culture, particularly in Southern Germany and the Rhineland . An important German festival is the Oktoberfest . A steadily shrinking majority of Germans are Christians . About a third are Roman Catholics , while one third adheres to Protestantism . Another third does not profess any religion. Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter are celebrated by many Germans. The number of Muslims

2088-591: Is based on High German and Central German , and is the first or second language of most Germans, but notably not the Volga Germans . Low German , which is often considered to be a distinct language from both German and Dutch, was the historical language of most of northern Germany, and is still spoken by many Germans, often as a second language. It is estimated that there are over 100 million Germans today, most of whom live in Germany, where they constitute

2204-671: Is considered one of the events that signified the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe. When the Reformation era ended is disputed among modern scholars. Prior to Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers , there were earlier reform movements within Western Christianity. The Protestant Reformation, however, is usually considered to have started on 31 October 1517 with

2320-511: Is growing. There is also a notable Jewish community, which was decimated in the Holocaust . Remembering the Holocaust is an important part of German culture. A German ethnic identity began to emerge during the early medieval period . These peoples came to be referred to by the High German term diutisc , which means "ethnic" or "relating to the people". The German endonym Deutsche is derived from this word. In subsequent centuries,

2436-616: Is ranked third among countries of the world in the number of total recipients. The English term Germans is derived from the ethnonym Germani , which was used for Germanic peoples in ancient times. Since the early modern period, it has been the most common name for the Germans in English. The term Germans may also be applied to any citizens, natives or inhabitants of Germany, regardless of whether they are considered to have German ethnicity. In some contexts, people of German descent are also called Germans. In historical discussions

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2552-408: The 10th–11th centuries , and the 11th-century Gregorian Reform , both striving against lay influence over church affairs. When demanding a church reform, medieval authors mainly adopted a conservative and utopian approach, expressing their admiration for a previous "golden age" or "apostolic age" when the Church had allegedly been perfect and free of abuses. Both the starting and ending date of

2668-505: The Age of Exploration , Pope Alexander VI claimed the right to distribute the newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal, and his decision was confirmed in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. The Spanish and Portuguese conquests and developing trade networks contributed to the global expansion of Catholicism. The popes were generous patrons of art and architecture. Julius II ordered

2784-538: The American Civil War and running until the economic collapse associated with the Panic of 1873 . During this second flurry of departures more than a million more Germans were added to the population of the United States. The New Yorker Volkszeitung began as a daily in 1878. It was edited by Sergei Shevitch from 1879 to 1890. It was later reorganized by Dr. Siegfried Lipschitz, an American correspondent of

2900-621: The Archconfraternity of the Gonfalone ,) mutual-support guilds associated with a saint, or religious fraternities (such as the Third Order of Saint Francis .) The faithful made pilgrimages to saints' shrines , but the proliferation in the saints' number undermined their reputation. Church buildings were richly decorated with paintings, sculptures, and stained glass windows. While Romanesque and Gothic art made

3016-477: The Black Death which hit Europe, killing about one third of the population. Around 1500, the population of Europe was about 60–85 million people—no more than 75 percent of the mid-14th-century demographic maximum. Due to a shortage of workforce, the landlords began to restrict the rights of their tenants which led to rural revolts that often ended with a compromise. The constant fear of unexpected death

3132-621: The Cold War , but were reunified in 1990. Although there were fears that the reunified Germany might resume nationalist politics, the country is today widely regarded as a "stablizing actor in the heart of Europe" and a "promoter of democratic integration". German is the native language of most Germans. It is the key marker of German ethnic identity. German is a West Germanic language closely related to Frisian (in particular North Frisian and Saterland Frisian ), Luxembourgish , English , Dutch , and Low German . Modern Standard German

3248-616: The College of Cardinals developed into the Western Schism (1378-1417) when his opponents declared his election invalid and proclaimed the French Clement VII ( r.  1378–1394 ) pope. Clement returned to Avignon, establishing a rival line of popes who were considered as antipopes by their opponents. When taking sides between the two popes, church leaders mainly accepted the local ruler's decision, which weakened

3364-818: The Congress of Vienna (1815), and left most of the German states loosely united under the German Confederation . The confederation came to be dominated by the Catholic Austrian Empire , to the dismay of many German nationalists, who saw the German Confederation as an inadequate answer to the German Question . Throughout the 19th century, Prussia continued to grow in power. In 1848 , German revolutionaries set up

3480-562: The Eucharist , and priestly ordination as the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church . Women were not ordained priests but could live as nuns in convents after taking the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience . The authority of the papacy was based on a well-organised system of communication and bureaucracy. The popes claimed the power of binding and loosing that Christ had reportedly granted to Peter

3596-622: The Kingdom of Poland , where they came to constitute a significant proportion of the population in many urban centers such as Gdańsk . During the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights began conquering the Old Prussians , and established what would eventually become the powerful German state of Prussia . Further south, Bohemia and Hungary developed as kingdoms with their own non-German speaking elites. The Austrian March on

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3712-706: The Middle Danube stopped expanding eastwards towards Hungary in the 11th century. Under Ottokar II , Bohemia (corresponding roughly to modern Czechia) became a kingdom within the empire, and even managed to take control of Austria, which was German-speaking. However, the late 13th century saw the election of Rudolf I of the House of Habsburg to the imperial throne, and he was able to acquire Austria for his own family. The Habsburgs would continue to play an important role in European history for centuries afterwards. Under

3828-470: The Nicene Creed in 325. Its Western text contained a unilateral addition which contributed to the schism between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy . The Creed contained the dogma of Trinity about one God uniting three equal persons: Father , Son , and Holy Spirit . Church authorities acknowledged that an individual might exceptionally receive direct revelations from God but maintained that

3944-606: The Papal States in Italy, the popes were deeply involved in the power struggles of the peninsula. In this respect, the Renaissance popes were not dissimilar to secular rulers. Pope Alexander VI ( r.  1492–1503 ) appointed his relatives , among them his own illegitimate sons to high offices. Pope Julius II ( r.  1503–1513 ) took up arms to recover papal territories lost during his predecessors' reign. In

4060-530: The Romantic era saw a notable flourishing of German culture. Germans of this period who contributed significantly to the arts and sciences include the writers Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Friedrich Schiller , Johann Gottfried Herder , Friedrich Hölderlin , E. T. A. Hoffmann , Heinrich Heine , Novalis and the Brothers Grimm , the philosopher Immanuel Kant , the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel ,

4176-813: The Sozialistischer Pressedienst of Berlin, Germany . He succeeded Ludwig Lore as the newspaper's editor. Afterwards the publication was endorsed by the Socialist Party of the United States and the Social Democratic Party of Germany . Its publisher was the Socialist Cooperative Publishing Association which had offices at 47 Walker Street in New York City . The financial crisis of the 1930s prevented members of

4292-562: The celtic La Tène culture . However, the Germanic languages associated with later Germanic peoples were approaching the Rhine area since at least the 2nd century BC. The resulting demographic situation reported by Caesar was that migrating Celts and Germanic peoples were moving into areas which threatened the Alpine regions and the Romans. The modern German language is a descendant of

4408-501: The rediscovery of the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato ( 347/348 BC ). Plato's ideas about an ultimate reality lying beyond visible reality posed a serious challenge to scholastic theologians' rigorous definitions. Textual criticism called into question the reliability of some of the fundamental texts of papal privilege: humanist scholars, like Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) proved that one of the basic documents of papal authority,

4524-650: The sacraments and liturgy . Western and Eastern Christians believed that the sacramental bread and wine of the Eucharist changed into the Body and Blood of Christ , though not in outward appearance. This belief, formulated as " transubstantiation ", was declared a Catholic dogma in 1215. From the 12th and 13th centuries, laypeople only received the bread during the Eucharist . The ecumenical councils' decisions were binding to all Catholics. The crucial elements of mainstream Christianity had been first summarised in

4640-592: The "humiliation of Versailles", continuing traditions of authoritarian and antisemitic ideologies, and the Great Depression all contributed to the rise of Austrian-born Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, who after coming to power democratically in the early 1930s, abolished the Weimar Republic and formed the totalitarian Third Reich . In his quest to subjugate Europe, six million Jews were murdered in

4756-528: The 10th century, forming the core of the Holy Roman Empire . In subsequent centuries the political power and population of this empire grew considerably. It expanded eastwards, and eventually a substantial number of Germans migrated further eastwards into Eastern Europe . The empire itself was politically divided between many small princedoms, cities and bishoprics. Following the Reformation in

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4872-446: The 16th century, many of these states found themselves in bitter conflict concerning the rise of Protestantism . In the 19th century, the Holy Roman Empire dissolved, and German nationalism began to grow. At the same time however, the concept of German nationality became more complex. The multiethnic Kingdom of Prussia incorporated most Germans into its German Empire in 1871, and a substantial additional number of Germans were in

4988-469: The Apostle (d. c. 66), and offered indulgence —the reduction of the penance in both this world and the purgatory—to sinners from an allegedly inexhaustible treasury of merit . The popes also granted dispensations to institutions or individuals, exempting them from certain provisions of canon law (or ecclesiastic law). In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII ( r.  1294–1303 ) declared obedience to

5104-577: The Church and the Fathers , contained all knowledge necessary for salvation. The Reformation in Germanic countries was instigated by Martin Luther, however historians note that many of his ideas were pre-dated by Wycliff, Huss, Erasmus , Zwingli and others, both heretic and orthodox. Pope Leo X ( r.  1513–1521 ) decided to complete the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. As

5220-527: The Elbe river. It is likely that first Germanic consonant shift , which defines the Germanic language family, occurred during this period. The earlier Nordic Bronze Age of southern Scandinavia also shows definite population and material continuities with the Jastorf Culture, but it is unclear whether these indicate ethnic continuity. Under Caesar's successors, the Romans began to conquer and control

5336-417: The Eucharist was to be administered sub utraque specie ('in both kinds') to the laity. The most radical Hussites, called Taborites after their new town of Tábor , held their property in common. Their millenarianism shocked the Utraquists who destroyed them in the Battle of Lipany in 1434. By this time, the remaining Catholic communities in Bohemia were almost exclusively German-speaking. The lack of

5452-415: The German inventor Johannes Gutenberg contributed to the formation of a new understanding of faith and reason. At this time, the German monk Martin Luther pushed for reforms within the Catholic Church. Luther's efforts culminated in the Protestant Reformation . Religious schism was a leading cause of the Thirty Years' War , a conflict that tore apart the Holy Roman Empire and its neighbours, leading to

5568-456: The German lands were relatively decentralized, leading to the maintenance of a number of strong regional identities. The German nationalist movement emerged among German intellectuals in the late 18th century. They saw the Germans as a people united by language and advocated the unification of all Germans into a single nation state, which was partially achieved in 1871. By the late 19th and early 20th century, German identity came to be defined by

5684-415: The German lands. The Habsburg dynasty managed to maintain their grip upon the imperial throne in the early modern period . While the empire itself continued to be largely de-centralized, the Habsburgs own personal power increased outside of the core German lands. Charles V personally inherited control of the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, the wealthy low countries (roughly modern Belgium, Luxembourg and

5800-407: The German language is widely seen as the primary, though not exclusive, criterion of German identity. Estimates on the total number of Germans in the world range from 100 to 150 million, most of whom live in Germany. The history of Germans as an ethnic group began with the separation of a distinct Kingdom of Germany from the eastern part of the Frankish Empire under the Ottonian dynasty in

5916-431: The German states, including the German emperor Wilhelm II , were overthrown in the November Revolution which led to the establishment of the Weimar Republic . The Germans of the Austrian side of the Dual Monarchy proclaimed the Republic of German-Austria , and sought to be incorporated into the German state, but this was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles and Treaty of Saint-Germain . What many Germans saw as

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6032-402: The Germanic languages which spread during the Iron Age and Roman era. Scholars generally agree that it is possible to speak of Germanic languages existing as early as 500 BCE. These Germanic languages are believed to have dispersed towards the Rhine from the direction of the Jastorf culture , which was itself a Celtic influenced culture that existed in the Pre-Roman Iron Age , in the region near

6148-428: The Germans. By the late 18th century, German intellectuals such as Johann Gottfried Herder articulated the concept of a German identity rooted in language, and this notion helped spark the German nationalist movement, which sought to unify the Germans into a single nation state . Eventually, shared ancestry, culture and language (though not religion) came to define German nationalism. The Napoleonic Wars ended with

6264-439: The Holocaust led to World War II in which the Nazi regime was defeated by allied powers , led by the United States , the United Kingdom , and the former Soviet Union . In the aftermath of Germany's defeat in the war, the country was occupied and once again partitioned. Millions of Germans were expelled from Central and Eastern Europe. In 1990, West Germany and East Germany were reunified . In modern times, remembrance of

6380-449: The Holocaust . WWII resulted in widespread destruction and the deaths of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians, while the German state was partitioned. About 12 million Germans had to flee or were expelled from Eastern Europe. Significant damage was also done to the German reputation and identity, which became far less nationalistic than it previously was. The German states of West Germany and East Germany became focal points of

6496-474: The Holocaust, known as Erinnerungskultur ("culture of remembrance"), has become an integral part of German identity. Owing to their long history of political fragmentation, Germans are culturally diverse and often have strong regional identities. Arts and sciences are an integral part of German culture , and the Germans have been represented by many prominent personalities in a significant number of disciplines, including Nobel prize laureates where Germany

6612-400: The Nazi past and each other. After German reunification in 1990, the political discourse was characterized by the idea of a "shared, ethnoculturally defined Germanness", and the general climate became increasingly xenophobic during the 1990s. Today, discussion on Germanness may stress various aspects, such as commitment to pluralism and the German constitution ( constitutional patriotism ), or

6728-419: The Netherlands), the Kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Sicily, Naples, and Sardinia, and the Dukedom of Milan. Of these, the Bohemian and Hungarian titles remained connected to the imperial throne for centuries, making Austria a powerful multilingual empire in its own right. On the other hand, the low countries went to the Spanish crown and continued to evolve separately from Germany. The introduction of printing by

6844-427: The Reformation have always been debated. The most commonly used starting date is 31 October 1517—the day when the German theologian Martin Luther (d. 1546) allegedly nailed up a copy of his disputation paper on indulgences and papal power known as the Ninety-five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg in Electoral Saxony . Calvinist historians often propose that the Reformation started when

6960-471: The Roman general and dictator Julius Caesar , who gave an account of his conquest of neighbouring Gaul in the 1st century BC. Gaul included parts of what is now Germany, west of the Rhine river. He specifically noted the potential future threat which could come from the related Germanic peoples ( Germani ) east of the river. Archaeological evidence shows that at the time of Caesar's invasion, both Gaul and Germanic regions had long been strongly influenced by

7076-399: The Socialist Cooperative Publishing Association from meeting regularly, which made it necessary to shut down printing. Its thirty employees were not released. Two months after the closure of New Yorker Volkszeitung , a new publication, Neue Volkszeitung , was launched as its successor. Germans Germans ( German : Deutsche , pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə] ) are

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7192-412: The Swiss priest Huldrych Zwingli (d. 1531) first preached against abuses in the Church in 1516. The end date of the Reformation is even more disputed, with 25 September 1555 (when the Peace of Augsburg was accepted), 23 May 1618, and 24 October 1648 (when the Thirty Years' War began and ended, respectively) being the most commonly mentioned terminuses. The Reformation has always been presented as one of

7308-513: The Vulgate contained the Septuagint version of the Old Testament . The systematic study of Biblical manuscripts revealed that Jerome had sometimes misinterpreted his sources of translation. A series of Latin-Greek editions of the New Testament was completed by the Dutch humanist Erasmus (d. 1536). These new Latin translations challenged the scriptural proof texts for some Catholic dogmas. After Arianism —a Christological doctrine condemned as heresy at ecumenical councils—disappeared in

7424-427: The Wise . The spread of Gutenberg's printing press provided the means for the rapid dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The initial movement in Germany diversified, and nearby other reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin with different theologies arose. In general, the Reformers argued that salvation in Christianity was a completed status based on faith in Jesus alone and not

7540-431: The absent priests' deputies were often poorly educated and underpaid. The clergy consisted of two major groups, the regular clergy and the secular clergy . Regular clerics lived under a monastic rule within the framework of a religious order ; secular clerics were responsible for pastoral care. The Church was a hierarchical organisation. The pope was elected by high-ranking clergymen, the cardinals , and assisted by

7656-429: The allegedly 4th-century Donation of Constantine was a medieval forgery. New religious movements promoted the deeper involvement of laity in religious practices. The Brethren of the Common Life dissuaded their members' priestly ordination and often placed their houses under the protection of urban authorities. They were closely associated with the devotio moderna , a new method of Catholic spirituality with

7772-532: The arts and crafts. In the late Middle Ages the German economy grew under the influence of urban centers, which increased in size and wealth and formed powerful leagues, such as the Hanseatic League and the Swabian League , in order to protect their interests, often through supporting the German kings in their struggles with the nobility. These urban leagues significantly contributed to the development of German commerce and banking. German merchants of Hanseatic cities settled in cities throughout Northern Europe beyond

7888-535: The campaign, applied unusually aggressive marketing methods. A slogan attributed to him famously claimed that "As soon as the coin into the box rings, a soul from purgatory to heaven springs". Frederick the Wise , Prince-elector of Saxony ( r.  1486–1525 ) forbade the campaign because the Sacrosanctis suspended the sale of previous indulgences, depriving him of revenues that he had spent on his collection of relics . The campaign's vulgarity shocked many serious-minded believers, among them Martin Luther,

8004-479: The clerics' monopoly of public ministry, and allowed all trained members of their community, men and women alike, to preach. The Western Schism reinforced a general desire for church reform. The Oxford theologian John Wycliffe (d. 1384) was one of the most radical critics. He attacked pilgrimages, the veneration of saints, and the doctrine of transubstantiation. He regarded the Church as an exclusive community of those chosen by God to salvation, and argued that

8120-415: The death of millions of Germans. The terms of the Peace of Westphalia (1648) ending the war, included a major reduction in the central authority of the Holy Roman Emperor. Among the most powerful German states to emerge in the aftermath was Protestant Prussia , under the rule of the House of Hohenzollern . Charles V and his Habsburg dynasty defended Roman Catholicism. In the 18th century, German culture

8236-470: The demolition of the ruined 4th-century St. Peter's Basilica in preparation for the building of a new Renaissance basilica . The necessity of a church reform in capite et membris ('in head and limbs') was frequently discussed at the ecumenical councils from the late 13th century . However, most stakeholders—popes, prelates and kings—preferred the status quo because they did not want to lose privileges or revenues. The system of papal dispensations

8352-480: The divine offer of grace (by acquiring merit .) In contrast, Duns Scotus (d. 1308) and Gregory of Rimini (d. 1358) argued that an individual's choice could not influence God's decision; Rimini also asserted that God predestined the fate of both the saved and the damned. Justification before God and the timing of grace was also the subject of controversy. Many theologians such as Scotus, Ockham, and Gabriel Biel (d. 1495) taught that God established rules how

8468-456: The dominance of the western Franks starting with Clovis I , who established control of the Romanized and Frankish population of Gaul in the 5th century, and began a process of conquering the peoples east of the Rhine. The regions long continued to be divided into " Stem duchies ", corresponding to the old ethnic designations. By the early 9th century AD, large parts of Europe were united under

8584-731: The ecclesiastic leaders also functioned as local secular princes, such as the prince-bishops in Kingdom of Germany and the English County Palatine of Durham , and the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights in their Baltic Ordensstaat . Other prelates might be regents or the power behind the throne. Believers were expected to pay the tithe (one tenth of their income) to the Church. Pluralism—the practice of holding multiple Church offices (or benefices )—was not unusual. This led to non-residence, and

8700-803: The end of World War I , Austria-Hungary and the German Empire were partitioned, resulting in many Germans becoming ethnic minorities in newly established countries. In the chaotic years that followed, Adolf Hitler became the dictator of Nazi Germany and embarked on a genocidal campaign to unify all Germans under his leadership. His Nazi movement defined Germans in a very specific way which included Austrians , Luxembourgers , eastern Belgians , and so-called Volksdeutsche , who were ethnic Germans elsewhere in Europe and globally. However, this Nazi conception expressly excluded German citizens of Jewish or Roma background. Nazi policies of military aggression and its persecution of those deemed non-Germans in

8816-549: The entire region between the Rhine and the Elbe which centuries later constituted the largest part of medieval Germany. These efforts were significantly hampered by the victory of a local alliance led by Arminius at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, which is considered a defining moment in German history. While the Romans were nevertheless victorious, rather than installing a Roman administration they controlled

8932-635: The faithful could gain divine grace. Other theologians such as Rimini, and Hugolino of Orvieto (d. 1374) proposed that no one could deserve divine favour without God's direct intercession. Western Christianity displayed a remarkable unity. This was the outcome of the Gregorian Reform that established papal supremacy over the Catholic Church , and achieved the legal separation of the Catholic clergy from laity . Clerical celibacy

9048-454: The formation of a united German Empire . In the years following unification, German society was radically changed by numerous processes, including industrialization, rationalization, secularization and the rise of capitalism. German power increased considerably and numerous overseas colonies were established. During this time, the German population grew considerably, and many emigrated to other countries (mainly North America), contributing to

9164-744: The growth of the German diaspora . Competition for colonies between the Great Powers contributed to the outbreak of World War I , in which the German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires formed the Central Powers , an alliance that was ultimately defeated, with none of the empires comprising it surviving the aftermath of the war. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires were both dissolved and partitioned, resulting in millions of Germans becoming ethnic minorities in other countries. The monarchical rulers of

9280-601: The issues that would soon come to the fore. A new intellectual movement known as Humanism emerged in the Late Middle Ages . The Humanists' slogan ad fontes ! ('back to the sources!') demonstrated their enthusiasm for Classical texts and textual criticism . The rise of the Ottoman Empire led to the mass immigration of Byzantine scholars to Western Europe, and many of them brought manuscripts previously unknown to western scholarship. This led to

9396-506: The late 7th century , no major disputes menaced the theological unity of the Western Church. Religious enthusiasts could organise their followers into nonconformist groups but they disbanded after their founder died. The Waldensians were a notable exception. Due to their efficient organisation, they survived not only the death of their founder Peter Waldo (d. c. 1205), but also a series of anti-heretic crusades . They rejected

9512-505: The later control of powerful German dynasties it became an important region within modern Germany, and home to its modern capital, Berlin. German population also moved eastwards from the 11th century, in what is known as the Ostsiedlung . Over time, Slavic and German-speaking populations assimilated, meaning that many modern Germans have substantial Slavic ancestry. From the 12th century, many Germans settled as merchants and craftsmen in

9628-920: The leadership of Otto von Bismarck , Prussia expanded its sphere of influence and together with its German allies defeated Denmark in the Second Schleswig War and soon after Austria in the Austro-Prussian War , subsequently establishing the North German Confederation . In 1871, the Prussian coalition decisively defeated the Second French Empire in the Franco-Prussian War , annexing the German speaking region of Alsace-Lorraine . After taking Paris, Prussia and their allies proclaimed

9744-463: The leadership of the Habsburgs the Holy Roman Empire itself remained weak, and by the late Middle Ages much of Lotharingia and Burgundy had come under the control of French dynasts, the House of Valois-Burgundy and House of Valois-Anjou . Step by step, Italy, Switzerland, Lorraine , and Savoy were no longer subject to effective imperial control. Trade increased and there was a specialization of

9860-642: The lie to any suggestion that torpor and complacency were the hallmarks of religious life in the century before Martin Luther." Historians customarily refer to Wycliffe and Hus as "Forerunners of the Reformation". The two reformers' emphasis on the Bible is often regarded as an early example of one of the basic principles of the Reformation—the idea sola scriptura ('by the Scriptures alone'), although prominent scholastic theologians were also convinced that Scripture, interpreted reasonably and in accord with

9976-507: The long-term separation between the states of West Francia , Middle Francia and East Francia . Beginning with Henry the Fowler , non-Frankish dynasties also ruled the eastern kingdom, and under his son Otto I , East Francia, which was mostly German, constituted the core of the Holy Roman Empire . Also under control of this loosely controlled empire were the previously independent kingdoms of Italy , Burgundy , and Lotharingia . The latter

10092-550: The majority of the population. There are also sizable populations of Germans in Austria, Switzerland, the United States, Brazil, France, Kazakhstan, Russia, Argentina, Canada, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Paraguay, and Namibia. The Germans are marked by great regional diversity, which makes identifying a single German culture quite difficult. The arts and sciences have for centuries been an important part of German identity. The Age of Enlightenment and

10208-453: The most crucial episodes of the early modern period, or even regarded as the event separating the modern era from the Middle Ages . The term Protestant, though initially purely political in nature, later acquired a broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church that subscribed to the main Reformation (or anti-Catholic ) principles . Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities , who issued

10324-590: The multiethnic kingdom of Austria-Hungary . During this time, a large number of Germans also emigrated to the New World , particularly to the United States , especially to present-day Pennsylvania . Large numbers also emigrated to Canada and Brazil , and they established sizable communities in New Zealand and Australia . The Russian Empire also included a substantial German population. Following

10440-444: The natives or inhabitants of Germany , or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language . The constitution of Germany , implemented in 1949 following the end of World War II , defines a German as a German citizen . During the 19th and much of the 20th century, discussions on German identity were dominated by concepts of a common language, culture, descent, and history. Today,

10556-594: The nobility for power. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, Germans actively participated in five Crusades to "liberate" the Holy Land . From the beginnings of the kingdom, its dynasties also participated in a push eastwards into Slavic-speaking regions. At the Saxon Eastern March in the north, the Polabian Slavs east of the Elbe were conquered over generations of often brutal conflict. Under

10672-475: The noble families, who often sought to have weak kings elected in order to preserve their own independence. This prevented an early unification of the Germans. A warrior nobility dominated the feudal German society of the Middle Ages, while most of the German population consisted of peasants with few political rights. The church played an important role among Germans in the Middle Ages, and competed with

10788-566: The notion of a Kulturnation (nation sharing a common culture). The German language remains the primary criterion of modern German identity. Reformation Electors of Saxony Holy Roman Emperors Building Literature Theater Liturgies Hymnals Monuments Calendrical commemoration The Reformation , also known as the Protestant Reformation and the European Reformation ,

10904-493: The painter Caspar David Friedrich , and the composers Johann Sebastian Bach , Ludwig van Beethoven , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Joseph Haydn , Johannes Brahms , Franz Schubert , Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner . Popular German dishes include brown bread and stew . Germans consume a high amount of alcohol , particularly beer, compared to other European peoples. Obesity is relatively widespread among Germans. Carnival (German: Karneval , Fasching , or Fastnacht )

11020-725: The papacy as a precondition for salvation . A year later, French troops arrested him, and in 1309, the seat of the papacy was transferred from the chaotic Rome to Avignon . During the period of the Avignon Papacy , the popes assumed control of the appointment of all senior Catholic clerics. The appointees had to pay fees and other contributions to the Roman Curia. The idea that Rome was the legitimate center of Catholicism never ceased, with Pope Gregory XI ( r.  1370–1378 ) returning to Rome. However, conflict between his successor Urban VII ( r.  1378–1389 ) and

11136-434: The popes owed obedience to the ecumenical councils . This idea known as conciliarism was condemned by Pope Pius II ( r.  1458–1467 ) in a papal bull , but ecclesiastic and secular leaders often referred to it during their conflicts with the papacy. Relationships between the papacy and powerful Catholic rulers were regulated in special agreements known as concordats , limiting papal authority. As princes of

11252-517: The professional staff of the Roman Curia . Secular clerics were organised into territorial units known as dioceses , each ruled by a bishop or archbishop . Each diocese was divided into parishes headed by parish priests who administered most sacraments to the faithful. These were sacred rites thought to transfer divine grace to humankind. The Council of Florence declared baptism , confirmation , marriage , extreme unction , penance ,

11368-489: The publication of the Ninety-five Theses , authored by Martin Luther. Over three years later, on 3 January 1521, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X . On 25 May 1521, at the Diet of Worms , Luther was condemned by the Holy Roman Empire , which officially banned citizens from defending or propagating Luther's ideas. Luther survived after being declared an outlaw due to the protection of Elector Frederick

11484-555: The region indirectly for centuries, recruiting soldiers there, and playing the tribes off against each other. The early Germanic peoples were later famously described in more detail in Germania by the 1st century Roman historian Tacitus . At this time, the Germanic peoples, or Germani , were fragmented into a large number of peoples who were frequently in conflict with both the Roman Empire and one another. He described them as

11600-526: The resistance of autonomous institutions such as cathedral chapters . Neither could they exercise authority over non-resident clerics who had received their benefice from the papacy. On the eve of the Reformation, the Fifth Council of the Lateran was the last occasion when efforts to introduce a far-reaching reform from above could have achieved but it was dissolved in 1517 without making decisions on

11716-641: The rule of the Frankish leader Charlemagne , who expanded the Frankish empire in several directions including east of the Rhine, consolidating power over the Saxons and Frisians , and establishing the Carolingian Empire . Charlemagne was crowned emperor by Pope Leo I in 800. In the generations after Charlemagne the empire was partitioned at the Treaty of Verdun (843), eventually resulting in

11832-405: The sale of certificates of indulgences had been a well-established method of papal fund raising, he announced new indulgences in the papal bull Sacrosanctis in 1515. On the advice of the banker Jakob Fugger (d. 1525), he appointed the pluralist prelate Albert of Brandenburg (d. 1545) to supervise the sale campaign in Germany. The Dominican friar Johann Tetzel (d. 1519), a leading figure in

11948-493: The state could seize the corrupt clerics' endowments. Known as Lollards , Wycliffe's followers rejected clerical celibacy and the grant of indulgences. The Parliament of England passed a law against heretics , but Lollard communities survived the purges. Wycliffe's theology had a marked impact on the Prague academic Jan Hus (d. 1415). He delivered popular sermons against the clerics' wealth and temporal powers, for which he

12064-534: The supranational character of the Catholic Church. In 1409, cardinals from both sides elected a new pope at the Council of Pisa but his two rivals refused to resign. More prudent preparations paved the way for the Council of Constance . Here, one of the three popes resigned, his two rivals were deposed, and the newly elected Martin V ( r.  1417–1431 ) was acknowledged as the legitimate pope throughout Catholic Europe. The Council of Constance declared that

12180-581: The temporary Frankfurt Parliament , but failed in their aim of forming a united German homeland. The Prussians proposed an Erfurt Union of the German states, but this effort was torpedoed by the Austrians through the Punctation of Olmütz (1850), recreating the German Confederation. In response, Prussia sought to use the Zollverein customs union to increase its power among the German states. Under

12296-595: The term "Germans" is also occasionally used as a way to refer to members of the Germanic peoples during the time of the Roman Empire . The German endonym Deutsche is derived from the Old High German term diutisc , which means "ethnic" or "relating to the people". This term was used for speakers of West-Germanic languages in Central Europe since at least the 8th century, after which time

12412-417: The term Reformation for "wrongly implying that bad religion was giving way to good," but also because it has "little application to actual social behaviour and little or no sensitivity to thought, feeling or culture." Some historians have also suggested a persisting Erasmian Reformation . Anglican theologian Alister McGrath explains the term "Reformation" as "an interpretative category—a way of mapping out

12528-404: Was a Roman and Frankish area which contained some of the oldest and most important old German cities including Aachen , Cologne and Trier , all west of the Rhine. Leaders of the stem duchies which constituted this eastern kingdom — Bavaria , Franconia , Swabia , Thuringia , and Saxony ― continued to wield considerable power independently of the king. German kings were elected by members of

12644-476: Was a major theological movement or period or series of events in Western Christianity in 16th-century Northwestern Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church . Towards the end of the Renaissance , the Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism and in turn resulted in a major schism within Western Christianity. It

12760-528: Was a principal obstacle to the implementation of reform measures, as the Holy See regularly granted immunities to those who did not want to execute them. Within regular clergy, the so-called " congregations of strict observance" spread. These were monastic communities that returned to the strict interpretation of their order's rule. Reformist bishops tried to discipline their clergy through regular canonical visitations but their attempts mainly failed due to

12876-650: Was also celebrated in Latin. Catholics regarded the Vulgate as the Bible's authentic Latin translation. Commentators applied several methods of interpretations to resolve contradictions between Bible texts. In the universities, scholastic theology held sway. Legitimate debates among scholastic theologians were not uncommon. Predestination —God's decision about an individual's fate in afterlife—was frequently discussed. Ockhamist theologians taught that God destined to salvation those about whom foreknew that they would accept

12992-462: Was also growing, and witch-hunts intensified. From the end of the 15th century , a new, sexually transmitted infection spread in Europe. This was syphilis that destroyed its victims' looks with ulcers and scabs before killing them. Along with the French invasion of Italy , the syphilis gave the background to the success of the charismatic preacher Girolamo Savonarola (d. 1498) who called for

13108-408: Was mirrored by popular artistic motifs, such as the allegory of danse macabre ('dance of death'). The fear also contributed to the growing popularity of Masses for the dead . Already detectable among early Christians , these ceremonies indicated a widespread belief in purgatory —a transitory state for souls that needed purification before entering heaven . Fear of malevolent magical practice

13224-487: Was reinforced through the prohibition of clerical marriage ; ecclesiastical courts were granted exclusive jurisdiction over clerics, and also over matrimonial causes. Priests were ordained by bishops in accordance with the principle of apostolic succession —a claim to the uninterrupted transmission of their consecrating power from Christ's Apostles through generations of bishops. Bishops, abbots , abbesses , and other prelates might possess remarkable wealth. Some of

13340-522: Was significantly influenced by the Enlightenment . After centuries of political fragmentation, a sense of German unity began to emerge in the 18th century. The Holy Roman Empire continued to decline until being dissolved altogether by Napoleon in 1806. In central Europe, the Napoleonic wars ushered in great social, political and economic changes, and catalyzed a national awakening among

13456-594: Was summoned to the Council of Constance. Although the German king Sigismund of Luxemburg ( r.  1410–1437 ) had granted him safe conduct, Hus was sentenced to death for heresy and burned at the stake on 6 July 1415. His execution led to a nationwide religious movement in Bohemia , and the papacy called for a series of crusades against Hus's followers. The moderate Hussites , mainly Czech aristocrats and academics, were known as Utraquists for they taught that

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