Y308: the Catholic Reformation 1492-1610 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)

Y308: the Catholic Reformation 1492-1610

138 questions
12 subtopics
Thematic study and historical interpretations, one of twenty-one
Y301 to Y321

The Catholic Reformation 1492–1610 is unit Y308 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-one options in unit group 3, the thematic study and historical interpretations; a student sits one of them.

Its four key topics and three depth studies are the nature of the Catholic Reformation, Institutional reforms, role of individuals, impact of the Catholic Reformation, council of Trent, Philip II of Spain and St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. 138 recall questions across 12 subtopics.

Sample questions from Y308: the Catholic Reformation 1492-1610

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The nature of the Catholic Reformation: condition of the Catholic Church in the 1490s

Which pope best symbolised the worldliness of the Renaissance papacy in the 1490s?

Show the answer
Alexander VI, whose nepotism, wealth and dynastic ambitions for his children were notorious.
The nature of the Catholic Reformation: early reform and the Catholic or Counter Reformation debate

List the main methods used to revive Catholicism.

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Clear doctrinal definition, better training and discipline of the clergy, preaching, catechism and schooling, episcopal visitation, new religious orders, censorship, the Inquisition, and the emotional appeal of art and liturgy.
Institutional reforms: Society of Jesus, new and traditional orders, Ursulines and Theatines

Who founded the Capuchins, and what was their purpose?

Show the answer
Matteo da Bascio led a breakaway from the Franciscans in the 1520s, seeking a return to strict poverty and preaching to the rural and urban poor.
Role of individuals: Erasmus, the popes, Loyola and the saints

State the main contributions of Sixtus V.

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He restored papal finances and authority, reorganised the curia into permanent congregations and rebuilt much of Rome as a monumental Catholic capital.
Impact of the Catholic Reformation: obstacles, popular religion, art and achievement

What changed in the religious life of the laity?

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Regular catechism, obligatory attendance at mass, private confession in the confessional, new confraternities and devotions such as the rosary produced a better-instructed and more closely supervised laity.
Depth study: Council of Trent — the call for a council, its sessions and decrees

What other divisions ran through the council?

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Rivalry between Spanish, Imperial, French and Italian bishops, disputes over the extent of papal supremacy, and the competing instructions the delegates received from their rulers.
Depth study: Philip II of Spain — humanism, illuminism and Philip’s religious policy

Give Philip's motives for religious reform.

Show the answer
Personal conviction, the belief that his monarchy existed to serve God, and the political value of a single faith in binding together kingdoms that shared little else.
Depth study: St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre — the Huguenots and the road to the massacre

Why was Paris so dangerous a setting?

Show the answer
Its people were militantly Catholic, resented the toleration granted to heretics and were suffering dearth and high prices, so a lavish heretic wedding was felt as an affront.

The 12 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The nature of the Catholic Reformation: condition of the Catholic Church in the 1490s	Recall questions on the condition of the Catholic Church in the 1490s, the Church’s reaction to humanism and Protestantism.	8
The nature of the Catholic Reformation: early reform and the Catholic or Counter Reformation debate	Recall questions on Loyola’s conversion, the Fifth Lateran Council, the reform report of 1537, the Catholic and Counter Reformation interpretations, methods of revival, regional variety and the responses of monarchs and laity.	11
Institutional reforms: role of the Papacy, Inquisition and Councils	Recall questions on the role of the Papacy, inquisition, Index and councils.	9
Institutional reforms: Society of Jesus, new and traditional orders, Ursulines and Theatines	Recall questions on the Society of Jesus, new and traditional orders, including the capuchins, the oratory of Divine Love, the Ursulines and Theatines.	11
Role of individuals: Erasmus, the popes, Loyola and the saints	Recall questions on Erasmus, Cisneros, Paul III, Loyola, Charles V and Philip II, the popes from Paul IV to Clement VIII, Borromeo, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Ávila and Vincent de Paul.	20
Impact of the Catholic Reformation: Comparative extent of reform and revival	Recall questions on comparative extent of reform and revival in Spain.	9
Impact of the Catholic Reformation: obstacles, popular religion, art and achievement	Recall questions on the check to the Japanese mission, obstacles and opponents of reform, change in lay religion and its debate, Trent on art, Catholic art, music and literature, and an assessment of the Catholic Reformation by 1610.	10
Depth study: Council of Trent — the call for a council, its sessions and decrees	Recall questions on demands for a council, papal reluctance, Regensburg, Paul III, scripture and tradition, justification, the move to Bologna, the second and third periods, the final decrees, seminaries and interpretations of Trent.	20
Depth study: Philip II of Spain — the Inquisition, conversos, Moriscos and the Protestant scare	Recall questions on the traditions Philip II inherited, the founding of the Spanish Inquisition, the conversos and limpieza de sangre, the Moriscos and the decree of 1567, and the Protestant scare of the late 1550s.	9
Depth study: Philip II of Spain — humanism, illuminism and Philip’s religious policy	Recall questions on Carranza, illuminism, the climate for humanists, Philip’s motives and support for the Inquisition, executions, the Escorial, the most Catholic monarch, the Black Legend and interpretations of Philip.	11
Depth study: St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre — the Huguenots and the road to the massacre	Recall questions on the Huguenots, the wars before 1572, the Peace of Saint-Germain, Coligny’s rise and plan, the Navarre marriage, Paris as a setting and the trigger and decisions of August 1572.	9
Depth study: St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre — motives, the killing and its consequences	Recall questions on Coligny’s death, the spread of the killing, the motives of the parties, Catherine de’ Medici’s role, the death toll, the effects on the Huguenots and political thought, European reaction and interpretations.	11

Y308: the Catholic Reformation 1492-1610 is 138 of the 6,240 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

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.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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.
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.