This lesson looks at what would prove to be the roots of the Protestant Reformation: the Avignon Papacy (AKA the Babylonian Captitivity,1305-77), Great Schism which divided the Church into two camps in the late 1300s and early 1400s, and the Lollard Heresy of John Wycliffe which morphed into the Hussite Heresy and revolt in Bohemia in the early 1400s. While the Babylonian Captitivity and Great Schism seriously weakened the prestige of the Catholic Church, it was Wycliffe's ideas that provided much of the theological basis for Luther's break with the Church in the 1500s.

Highlights of this lesson include picture essays on Avignon and the Hussite Wars.

This is a self-contained PowerPoint that develops slide by slide while other notes for the students scroll down the side. It can be run as a timed presentation on its own, presented slide by slide for discussion, or integrated into your other lectures. There are also extensive pictures with captions mixed in to illustrate the lesson and capture students’ interest. This packet also contains a student reading, flowchart, and the author’s own research notes which contain lots of details and interesting trivia to spice up your class.

For more information on my flowcharts and approach to teaching history, please view my profile or visit my website at www.flowofhistory.com


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