The Renaissance period marked radical changes in many fields, including religion. The so-called Protestant Reformation was the division within the Western Christian Church initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other early Protestants. Calls for reform came from all sectors of European society and it is this dissatisfaction that explains why Martin Luther's ideas evoked such extreme responses, the public was already ready. Although there had been significant attempts at reform before Luther, the date usually given for the start of the Protestant Reformation is 1517, when Luther published The Ninety-Five Theses. As he developed his ideas, Luther gathered followers, who came to be called Protestants. The word Protestant derives from "protest" drawn up by a small group of German reforming princes in 1529. At first Protestant meant "follower of Luther", but with the appearance of many Protestant sects it became a general term applied to all non-Catholic Christians of the 'Western Europe. Within the first decade of the publication of his ideas much of Central Europe and Scandinavia had broken away from the Roman Catholic Church. Although much of the reformation is attributed to Martin Luther, it can be argued that it is more his combination during that specific period along with the development of a more sophisticated printing press that led to the "success" of the reformation. Martin Luther began to publish his ideas not only was there great dissatisfaction in the European Christian community, but the new printing technology allowed the diffusion of his ideas. Many printed works included woodcuts and other illustrations, so that even those who could not read could grasp the main ideas. Hymns were a…paper medium…ergy in the new Protestant churches. Luther's ideas also appealed to citizens who envied the church's wealth and resented paying for it. After cities became Protestant, the city council taxed the clergy and placed them under the jurisdiction of civil courts. Luther worked closely with the political authorities, considering them fully justified in reforming the Church in their territories. He ordered all Christians to obey their secular rulers, whom he saw as divinely ordained to maintain order. Individuals may have been convinced of the truth of Protestant teachings by listening to sermons, listening to hymns, reading pamphlets, but an area became Protestant only when its ruler called in a reformer or two to re-educate the territory's clergy, sponsored public sermons, and confiscated property from the church. Works Cited McKay, et.al, History of World Societies ch.15