Introduction
In the 16th century, religion was omnipresent in continental European societies – and by no means as the strictly private, indeed confidential affair it has become today in the West. The relation to God was then at the heart of individual as well as of collective consciousness. It defined all of life's modalities and finalities. The identity of Europe then was crystallised around its sense of being the orbis christianus[1], the « Christian world »
envisaged by all as universal and by no one as conceivably divisible. Its integrity was guaranteed by the papacy but also by the sovereigns, all of whom had, at their coronation, solemnly sworn to defend and protect the church and felt responsible for the « eternal salvation »
of their subjects.
Map of Europe at the beginning of the 16th century © SA, ESO Le Mans, CNRS, 2012
