<P> Propaganda during the Reformation, helped by the spread of the printing press throughout Europe and in particular within Germany, caused new ideas, thoughts, and doctrine to be made available to the public in ways that had never been seen before the sixteenth century . The printing press was invented in approximately 1450 and quickly spread to other major cities around Europe; by the time the Reformation was underway in 1517 there were printing centers in over 200 of the major European cities . These centers became the primary producers of Reformation works by the Protestants, and in some cases Counter-Reformation works put forth by the Roman Catholics . </P> <P> There were a number of different methods of propaganda used during the Reformation including pamphlets / leaflets, texts, letters, and translations of the Bible / New Testament . Pamphlets or leaflets were one of the most common forms of propaganda, usually consisting of about eight to sixteen pages--were relatively small and easy to conceal from the authorities . This made them very useful to reformers whose ideas were not accepted by the Roman Catholic authorities . The majority of these pamphlets promoted the Reformation and the Protestant ideas; however pamphlets were also used by Roman Catholic propagandists, but not to the same effect . </P>

Who helped spread the ideas of the reformation