In the 1400 - 1500's there were many changes that took place. These changes were religious, political, social and economical.

In the 1500, a large part of Europe was Christian. Muslims were common too though, especially in Spain. Europe was small and poor in the 1500's: this was before the spread of literacy. The government was feudal in nature (kings and nobles) The Pope unified Christianity, but the land was divided into nation states. Europe main countries were England, Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the Holy Roman Empire. This division was due to the concern with what was beneficial to themselves.

The Holy Roman Empire was called "holy" because it was christianised. The Holy Roman empire was the centre of the roman catholic church as it was the home to the Pope. The History of Holy Roman Empire began with Charlemagne who was crowned by Pope Leo III. The Holy Roman Empire had less than 50 cities, they were independent from the princes. They were centres of culture and wealth. Most people were farmers that did not own their land but paid rent.

The structure of the church basically considered of the secular clergy; these were the parish p

riests, they were responsible for the people the church and society. Then there was Parishes were headed by a bishop in diocese. Then there were Bishops. The Bishop did the sacraments, ordination, confirmation etc. The Bishops were in charge of the school system. Then there was the Archbishop. Bishops and Archbishops were responsible for large areas, therefore they were well paid. Archbishops were elected by other clergy, but these elections soon became a formality. Contact with the bishop or archbishop was mainly for legal or repayment reasons. Then above everybody was the Pope. The Pope "ran the whole show" and had a great many judicial powers

The Popes, the Church's spiritual guiders, had often set a poor example as religious leaders. The credibility of the church was seriously damaged during the years 1378 - 1417. This was the time of the great schism, with two rival popes vying for authority, each claiming that he was the source of true authority in the church. The popes of the time (pre reformation) were shameful. One common shared view is that "They were basically cynical politicians: more interested in personal gain". They openly committed most of the 'deadly sins'. Most of the popes were Italian, seeing themselves as Italian princes, and they tended to neglect their role as spiritual leaders of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the whole of Europe. A few Italian families, such as the Medicis, tended to dominate the papacy in the later 15th century. They placed more focus on promoting their own family interests, playing

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Approximate Word count = 1040
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)