Conrad Grebel baptises an adult, causing outrage in Protestant Zurich

Thomas Müntzer leads the rebels in the Peasant War, to the profound displeasure of Luther

Gustavus I of Sweden fills his coffers by appropriating the property of Catholic churches and monasteries

Discussion of Henry VIII's proposed divorce hinges on rival verses from the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy and Leviticus

The 'Protestation' of various princes and imperial cities at Speyer identifies them as Protestants

Protestant reformers Luther and Zwingli disagree at Marburg on the nature of the Eucharist

The Augsburg Confession, presented by Melanchthon to the imperial diet, defines the Lutheran faith

The Protestant princes of Germany form the defensive League of Schmalkalden

Zwingli is killed at Kappel in a battle between Protestant and Catholic cantons

Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury, declares Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon null and void

Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy forces prominent figures in English public life to accept him on oath as head of the Church of England

Paris wakes up to find Protestant placards all over the place, mocking the sacrament of the mass

Henry VIII begins the process of gathering in the wealth of England's monasteries

William Tyndale is captured in Antwerp, condemned as a heretic and strangled at the stake

Christian III seizes the wealth of Danish churches and monasteries, before turning his attention to those of Norway

The Great Bible, commissioned by Henry VIII for use in every Anglican church, is published

Protestant reformer John Calvin settles in Geneva and submits the city to a strict Christian rule

Francis Xavier, companion of Ignatius Loyola and the first missionary of the Counter-Reformation, sets sail from Lisbon

3000 Waldenses are massacred as heretics in the villages of Provence

A council of the Roman Catholic church is convened in Trent, to establish the tenets of the Counter-Reformation

David Beaton, the archbishop of St Andrews, burns a leading Protestant, George Wishart, as a heretic and is murdered in retaliation

John Knox is captured in St Andrews and is sent to serve in the French fleet as a galley slave

The first version of the English prayer book, or Book of Common Prayer, is published with text by Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer is burnt at the stake in Oxford, after reasserting his Protestant beliefs

Mary I succeeds to the English throne, and devotes her energies to the restoration of the Catholic faith