History of Protestantism History of Protestantism Protestantism originated from work of several theologians starting in the 12th century, although there could have been earlier cases of which there is no surviving evidence. Any prominent dissent was subject to persecution by the Roman Catholic Church, and thus attempts to change anything in the Catholic Church were kept isolated or effectively eradicated up to the 16th century. One of the early Protestant Reformers was John Wycliffe, an English theologian and early proponent of reform in the 14th century. His followers, known as Lollards, spread throughout England but soon were persecuted by both the Catholic Church
John Wycliffe produced a small treatise, "The Last Age of the Church". In the light of the virulence of the plague that had subsided only seven years previously, Wycliffe's studies led him to the opinion that the close of the 14th century would mark the end of the world. While other writers viewed the plague as God's judgment on sinful people, Wycliffe saw it as an indictment of an unworthy clergy. The mortality rate among the clergy had been particularly high, and those who replaced them were, in his opinion, uneducated or generally disreputable. He was Master of Balliol College in 1361.