History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 18

Bruges (West Flanders), Belfry
FLANDERS IN THE LOW COUNTRIES
Main article: Low Countries
THE REFORMATION
Martin Luther's 95 Theses, published in 1517, had a profound effect on the Low
Countries. Among the wealthy traders of Antwerp, the Lutheran beliefs of the German
Hanseatic traders found appeal, perhaps partly for economic reasons in Dutch. The
spread of Protestantism in this city was aided by the presence of an Augustinian
cloister (founded 1514) in the St. Andries quarter. Luther, an Augustinian himself, had
taught some of the monks, and his works were in print by 1518. Charles V ordered the
closing of this cloister around 1525. The first Lutheran martyrs came from Antwerp.
The reformation resulted in consecutive but overlapping waves of reform: a Lutheran,
followed by a militant Anabaptist, then a Mennonite, and finally a Calvinistic
movement. These movements existed independently of each other.
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