The Renaissance
1450
1455 Gutenberg completes first Bible using movable type
1483 Martin Luther is born
1509 John Calvin is born
1517 Luther posts his "95 Theses" on indulgences in Wittenberg
1521 Luther is excommunicated by the pope; at Diet of Worms, he refuses to recant writings; he begins translating the New Testament into German while hiding in Wartburg Castle
1523 Luther publishes Latin Mass for the church in Wittenberg
1526 Luther publishes German Mass for use in small congregations; Johann Walter becomes "the first Lutheran cantor" in Torgau
c. 1527 Luther writes hymn "A Mighty Fortress"
1529 Luther publishes Large Catechism and Small Catechism
1534 Luther publishes German Bible
1534 Break between Church of England and Roman Catholic Church
1536 Calvin publishes Institutes of the Christian Religion
1538 Walter writes "In Praise of the Noble Art of Music"
1539 Luther preaches at St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig
1543 Copernicus argues that earth revolves around sun
1546 Luther dies
1555 Peace of Augsburg gives Catholic and Lutheran rulers in Germany the right to choose their territories' religion
1585 Johann Heermann, writer of the hymn "Ah, Holy Jesus," is born
1595 Michael Praetorius becomes organist at Wolfenbüttel
c. 1597 The first opera Daphne is performed in Florence, Italy
The Baroque Period
1600
1600 Shakespeare writes Hamlet
1603 Queen Elizabeth I of England dies
1607 Paul Gerhardt, writer of the hymn "O Sacred Head," is born
1611 King James Bible is published
1618 Beginning of the Thirty Years' War in Europe
1636 Heinrich Schütz writes German Requiem
1642 English Civil War begins
1647 Westminster Confession becomes the standard of Presbyterian faith in ...

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