Y207: the German Reformation and the Rule of Charles V 1500-1559 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)
Y207: the German Reformation and the Rule of Charles V 1500-1559
- 79 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Non-British period study, one of twenty-four
- Y201 to Y224
The German Reformation and the Rule of Charles v 1500–1559 is unit Y207 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-four options in unit group 2, the non-British period study; a student sits one of them.
Its four key topics are the German Reformation 1517–1529, the spread of Lutheranism 1530–1555, the Schmalkaldic War and Peace of Augsburg, Charles V’s relations with the Ottoman Empire, Charles V’s wars with France. 79 recall questions across 6 subtopics.
Sample questions from Y207: the German Reformation and the Rule of Charles V 1500-1559
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The German Reformation 1517–1529: Charles V’s inheritance, the Church and Luther’s challenge
What was an indulgence?
Show the answer
A remission granted by the Church of the temporal punishment due for sins already forgiven, which by 1500 could be bought for money and applied to souls in purgatory. -
The German Reformation 1517–1529: Charles V’s inheritance, the Church and Luther’s challenge
Why did a set of academic propositions spread so quickly?
Show the answer
They were printed, translated into German and reissued across the Empire within weeks, and they voiced a general resentment at German money flowing to Rome, so the printing press turned a university dispute into a public cause. -
The German Reformation 1517–1529: Papal excommunication and situation in 1529
How did Luther's relations with radicals and humanists develop?
Show the answer
He had to disown reformers who went further than he would, returning from the Wartburg in 1522 to check Karlstadt and the Zwickau prophets at Wittenberg and denouncing Müntzer; and he broke with Erasmus, who defended free will in salvation, replying in 1525 that the will was in bondage and all depended on grace. -
The German Reformation 1517–1529: Papal excommunication and situation in 1529
Why was the Diet of Speyer of 1526 important?
Show the answer
With Charles absent and needing German help, the Diet suspended enforcement of the Edict of Worms, each ruler being left to act as he would answer for it to God and the Emperor, which in practice licensed princes to reform their own churches. -
The spread of Lutheranism 1530–1555, the Schmalkaldic War and Peace of Augsburg: the Augsburg Confession and Lutheran growth
Outline Melanchthon's role in the Lutheran movement.
Show the answer
As Luther's colleague at Wittenberg he was the systematiser and teacher of the movement, drafting its confession, writing its textbooks, organising its schools and universities, and pressing repeatedly for compromise with moderate Catholics. -
The spread of Lutheranism 1530–1555, the Schmalkaldic War and Peace of Augsburg: the Augsburg Confession and Lutheran growth
Why did the attempts at reconciliation in the early 1540s fail?
Show the answer
At Regensburg in 1541 the theologians came close to agreement on justification, but they could not reconcile their positions on the Eucharist and the authority of the Church, and neither Rome nor Luther would accept a compromise formula. -
The spread of Lutheranism 1530–1555, the Schmalkaldic War and Peace of Augsburg: the Schmalkaldic War, the Interim and the Peace of Augsburg
Why did Maurice of Saxony turn against Charles?
Show the answer
He had gained his electorate but resented the continued imprisonment of his father-in-law Philip of Hesse, feared that Charles intended a hereditary Habsburg despotism with Spanish troops and a Spanish successor, and saw that leading a national revolt would secure his position among the princes. -
The spread of Lutheranism 1530–1555, the Schmalkaldic War and Peace of Augsburg: the Schmalkaldic War, the Interim and the Peace of Augsburg
Which groups were excluded from the settlement of 1555?
Show the answer
Only Catholics and adherents of the Augsburg Confession were recognised, so Calvinists, Zwinglians and Anabaptists had no legal standing at all, which stored up conflict for the next century.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The German Reformation 1517–1529: Charles V’s inheritance, the Church and Luther’s challenge | Recall questions on Charles V’s lands and election, the structure of the Empire, abuses in the German Church, indulgences and Tetzel, the 95 Theses, their rapid spread and the Leipzig disputation. | 9 |
| The German Reformation 1517–1529: Papal excommunication and situation in 1529 | Recall questions on papal excommunication, the Diet of Worms, in hiding in the Wartburg, Luther’s relations with radicals and humanists, the Knights and Peasants Wars, Luther’s 1525 pamphlets. | 11 |
| The spread of Lutheranism 1530–1555, the Schmalkaldic War and Peace of Augsburg: the Augsburg Confession and Lutheran growth | Recall questions on the Augsburg Confession of 1530, Melanchthon, Lutheran church organisation, growth in the 1530s, the Truce of Nuremberg, failed reconciliation, Luther’s death and the approach to war in 1546. | 10 |
| The spread of Lutheranism 1530–1555, the Schmalkaldic War and Peace of Augsburg: the Schmalkaldic War, the Interim and the Peace of Augsburg | Recall questions on Mühlberg, the Augsburg Interim and its failure, Maurice of Saxony, the Treaty of Chambord, the events of 1552, the terms and exclusions of the Peace of Augsburg and Charles’s achievement by 1555. | 10 |
| Charles V’s relations with the Ottoman Empire: Hungary, Vienna, the Mediterranean and the French alliance | Recall questions on the Ottoman Empire in 1520, the Balkan advance and Mohács, the siege of Vienna and campaign of 1532, Barbarossa and Tunis, the Franco-Ottoman alliance, the German Protestants and Charles’s record against the Ottomans. | 19 |
| Charles V’s wars with France: the Habsburg-Valois wars from Pavia to Cateau-Cambrésis | Recall questions on Milan and the strengths of each side, Pavia and the Treaty of Madrid, the League of Cognac and sack of Rome, Cambrai, Crépy, Metz, Charles’s record against France and the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. | 20 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby units
OCR A-Level History A Active Recall Guide
Every unit, not just this one. 6,240 questions with their answers.