---
title: "Reformation Begins"
year: 1517
country: "Holy Roman Empire"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1517/reformation"
slug: "reformation"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1517-10-31"
---

# Reformation Begins

> Martin Luther's ninety-five theses challenged papal authority and fractured Western Christianity, triggering centuries of religious and political upheaval.

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, sparking a theological revolt that would splinter Western Christianity. Luther challenged the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences and its claim to spiritual authority, unleashing centuries of religious, political, and cultural upheaval across Europe.

## Summary

The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church hierarchy. Towards the end of the Renaissance, the Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism. It is considered one of the events that signified the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe.

## Sources

- [Reformation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1517/reformation