alternatehistory.com

July 2, 1505 - Erfurt: Martin Luther, age 20 years, commits himself to remaining in the profession his father has selected for him - a lawyer. That young Martin hates the uncertainty in said profession, will gird his future attempts to inject greater certainties into German Legalism.

Initially, the absence of Luther makes little to no difference -- while in OTL, Luther was responsible for writing tracts "showing the error" of such heresies as the Hussites, we need only recall that King Henry 8th of England himself wrote similar tracts showing the error of post-Thesis Luther, and we can thus assure ourselves that the absence of Luther in a theological field will not be felt for some time.

July 10, 1509 - Noyon, Picardie, France: birth of John Calvin {Jean Chauvin}.

1510 - Switzerland: Huldrych Zwingli publishes The Ox.

1514 - Hungary: Peasants War: an uprising led by György Dózsa.

1515 - Slovenia: Peasants Revolt.

1516 - Switzerland: Zwingli publishes The Labyrinth. In both this and The Ox, he has attacked the mercenary system which had been traditional in his country.

1519 - Vezelay, Burgundy, France: birth of Theodore Beza. By the time of his death, Beza is known more for his poetry than for his theological writings.

In Switzerland, Zwingli lays the foundations for what will - before the decade is out - be called "Zwingli's Catholocism." While not a break from Rome, he has laid out some points which diverge from tradition, such as no veneration of Saints, disbelief in excommunication, and an unwillingness to tithe to Rome.

1521 - Saxony, Germany: claiming to be under orders from the Holy Spirit, Nicholas Storch left the town of Zwickau for Saxony, where he continued to preach that this was the End Times, as well as rejection of infant baptism and doctrine by appeal to tradition. Storch also said that his followers would have special revelations.

Note: big ripple here: in OTL, it was Luther who laid the smackdown on Storch's movement. No Luther, then there's a chance he might succeed...on some level. unfortunately...

1522 - Germany: beginning of Knights' Revolt. Led and organized by their leader, Franz von Sickingen, they used religious language in an attempt to get the town of Trier to - if not overthrow, then at least - hand over their Archbishop to the Knights.

While von Sickingen claimed to be acting in the name of the Emperor, the Imperial Diet claimed otherwise & ordered him to cease his actions. As it was already autumn, this was easy to comply with, regardless of intent.

During the winter, however, von Sickingen refined the language of his earlier exhortations, saying such things as that the Archbishop of Triers was far too wealthy to be a properly God-fearing man.

1523 - Jean Chauvin is sent to the University of Paris for both an education and to escape the plague in Noyon.

By late spring of 1523, the town of Triers was seized with internal revolt, and the Archbishop was thrown out of the town & was eventually brought before von Sickingen - dead. Among the things which contributed, a combination of a poor harvest, an over-abundance of rats eating what did get stored, and the highwater-mark of the Knights' literary efforts: what later theologians would insultingly call "the Sikist pamphlet."

If the "Sikist pamphlet" has a weakness, it is a double weakness:
1. It attacked the Archbishop of Triers specifically, leaving next to no wiggle room for any imitators to apply it to other clergy elsewhere.
2. The Knights were already looked down upon and refused alliance by both the Princes and the cities. Only the peasantry remained as potential allies...and that was a can of worms which had even the Knights worried.

The Count Palatine and the Landgrave of Hesse arrive at Trier and put down the revolt. Those Knights who are captured are refused ransom & put to death for their part in the revolt.

Trier is divided between Palatine and Hesse. The Imperial Diet and the Imperial Regency Council both place the Ban of Empire on all surviving Knights.

For his suspected complicity in the Knights' plot, the Archbishop of Mainz is defrocked and likewise given the Ban; his successor is permitted only the title of Bishop.

While the "Sikist Pamphlet" was too specific, it nonetheless marks the start of several more attempts at religious-based revolt - all of them unsuccessful.

This may (or may not) be because these revolts were all aimed at a particular person & were similarly based too heavily upon the Pamphlet.

1528 - Storch's teachings aquire a foothold outside of Zwickau and Saxony. While they reject doctrine by appeal to tradition, they overturn Storch's rejection of rejecting doctrine by appeal to authority...replacing it with keeping all that Storch (their authority) has given them.

1532 - Jean Chauvin attains a Doctor of Laws degree at Orleans.

-------
still to come...

1544 - Theodore Beza enters into an engagement with the lovely Claudine Denoese. His writings reinforce his reasoning that he has shared with friends, that the world is far too rife with temptations, and his engagement shall parry said temptations away from him. Later writers will read greater theological meaning in these words than Beza himself may have intended.

Top