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

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

Pope Paul III establishes Ignatius Loyola and his followers as the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits

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

Francis Xavier reaches Goa, at the start of the great mission to the east that will last the nine years until his death

Pope Paul III establishes the Roman Inquisition, with the specific task of fighting against the Protestant heresy

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

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

Mary I causes grave offence in England by her marriage to the Catholic heir to the king of Spain

The Peace of Augsburg achieves a compromise which for a while solves the religious tensions deriving from the Reformation

The Protestant martyrs, though few in number, ensure the reputation of Bloody Mary in English history

John Knox returns to Scotland from Geneva and inspires the Protestants to march on Edinburgh

A national synod of France's Protestants, the Huguenots, is convened in Paris

Mary Queen of Scots returns from France to Edinburgh, and to an inevitable clash with John Knox

The Book of Common Prayer and the New Testament are published in Welsh, to be followed by the complete Bible in 1588

Pope Pius V excommunicates the English queen, Elizabeth I, causing a severe crisis of loyalty for her Catholic subjects

A massacre of French Protestants, known as the Huguenots, begins in Paris on St Bartholomew's Day

The Union of Arras and the Union of Utrecht split the Netherlands into Catholic and Protestant camps

The first Jesuit missionaries arrive in England, with Edmund Campion among their number

Catholics are now the martyrs in England, their numbers almost matching the Protestant martyrs of the previous reign