Reformation

The Reformation is the name given to the religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. One of the most important events in world history, the Reformation tore apart the Christian world and created a new faith: Protestantism. It was sparked in 1517, when a German monk, Martin Luther, criticised the Roman Catholic church in his 95 theses. Read more about the revolution which splintered Europe in the 16th century…

Composite image featuring a golden crucifix on the left and a large black-and-white portrait of Henry VIII on the right, wearing a decorated cap, jewellery and fur-trimmed Tudor clothing

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Episode 1What really sparked the Tudor Reformation?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A collage of Tudor figures. Each square shows a different monarch or noble figure in 16th‑ or early‑17th‑century dress, including ruffs, jewelled headpieces, and richly decorated garments. Recognisable figures such as Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Mary I, Elizabeth I, and James I appear among the portraits. The grid highlights variations in artistic style, clothing, and facial depiction across the period.

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Think you know everything about the Tudors? Here are 15 facts that will prove you wrong. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A digital collage mixes close‑up sections of a painted face with modern geometric shapes in yellow, blue, gray, white, and rust‑red, intersected by black lines. A necklace with a gold letter “B” and pearl drops appears among the fragments.

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What did Anne Boleyn REALLY look like? Our new research could change everything. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting showing a man dressed in armour, with a blue and red flag over him, riding a white horse amongst a busy battlefield

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5 things you (probably) didn't know about the Tudors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Two green hearts are sideways, facing each other. In each there is an image: one has a painting of Elizabeth I and the other has a painting of the Duke of Anjou

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The Virgin Queen? Elizabeth I's forbidden love. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Thomas Cromwell shown in a c1533 portrait after Hans Holbein the Younger (Photo by Penta Springs Limited/Alamy Stock Photo)

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Thomas Cromwell's death – a rapid descent from the pinnacle of power

An engraving of John Milton in 1670. By that time he’d been blind for nearly two decades – but continued to express strong views on religion and the monarchy in his writing (Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

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Long road to paradise: the life of John Milton and how he created his masterpiece, Paradise Lost. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543). (Photo by: PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

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Turning points1534: Henry VIII declares his ‘empire’. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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How did the Reformation impact Jews?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Painting of Martin Luther translating the New Testament into German vernacular in 1521 (Photo by Fine Art Photographic Library/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Your guide to Martin Luther, the theologian who launched the Reformation

Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, 1521. This was an assembly of the Holy Roman Empire called by King Charles V in Heylshof Garden, Worms, to address Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation. (Photo by The Print Collector via Getty Images)

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What was the Reformation?

The 1618 Defenestration of Prague

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The 1618 Defenestration of Prague explained

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The English Reformation: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach, 1543. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

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Europe's holy war: how the Reformation convulsed a continent

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Monarchy and faith in Tudor England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting depicting the battle of the White Mountain

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Europe’s apocalypse: the Thirty Years' War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Historian David Starkey.

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Starkey on the Reformation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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David Starkey on the Reformation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Travelling Mass set, c1535, consisting of a silver-gilt chalice; a paten (Communion plate) and a glass bottle for wine, with a leather box in which to carry them. (Photo by Museum of London/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

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Henry VIII's savage Reformation

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England’s bloody Reformation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Martin Luther (centre) preaching. With one hand he points to popes, monks and cardinals going down the mouth of hell; with the other he points to the crucifix. (Getty Images)

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Books interview with Eamon Duffy: "You could call the Reformation the original Brexit". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The Reformation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Q&AWhy do we have the letters 'FD' on our coins?

A portrait of Thomas Cromwell

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Thomas Cromwell: The rise and fall of Henry VIII’s henchman

Picture depicting the Articles of Union being presented to Queen Anne

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Q&AWhy did Scotland join the 1707 Union with England?

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Q&Ahttps://www.historyextra.com/period/what-was-a-charterhouse/

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Q&AWhat was the Pilgrimage of Grace?