AP European History
AP European History
The issue that actually instigated the Reformation was that of indulgences. Individuals could purchase indulgences from the Catholic Church and in return receive remission of their sins. In 1517, Pope Leo X gave permission for Johann Tetzel (c.1465-1519), a Dominican friar, to sell indulgences. The revenue generated from the sale of the indulgences, by order of the pope, was to be used to repay a loan mat was secured by the Catholic Church to build St. Peter’s Church in Rome. A German Augustinian monk named Martin Luther (1483-1546) was outraged by the actions of the pope. According to tradition, Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenburg. Luther’s Theses condemned the sale of indulgences and invited debate on the issue.
A few years and several publications later, Luther had successfully infuriated the pope by attacking the sacraments, transubstantiation (me belief mat the bread and wine of Communion actually become the body and blood of Christ after they are consumed during Communion), and the means of a person’s salvation. A papal bull, or an official statement by the pope, demanded that Luther recant. In an act of defiance, Luther burned the papal bull along with a volume of canon law. Outraged, the pope excommunicated Luther and called for him to appear before the Diet of Worms, an official meeting of electors, princes, and nobles. At the meeting, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V asked Luther to recant. Luther, in eloquent fashion, refused. Luther was banned from the Empire and was forced to seek refuge with Frederick the Wise of Saxony.
While in Saxony, Luther began to organize a new church based on ideas that he had been considering for several years. He also translated the Bible into German, an action that had a profound effect both on religion and on language in Germany. During the 1520s, Lutheranism spread throughout Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Many people, especially in Germany, began to misinterpret Luther’s message as a call for social equality and freedom. A large number of German peasants revolted and demanded freedom, using Luther’s words as their battle cry. Luther published On the Murderous, Thieving Hordes in response to the peasant revolts. He condemned their actions and encouraged the princes to “exterminate the swine.” The peasants, who had misinterpreted Luther’s writings, felt betrayed by his condemnation of their actions.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) – Martin Luther was born to a successful miner who provided his son with a good education and wished for his son to become a lawyer. Martin Luther took advantage of his education and eventually enrolled to study law. However, during a terrible storm, Luther had a life-changing experience. In a desperate appeal to St. Anne, the patron saint of travelers in need of help, Luther promised to enter a monastery if he survived the storm. In 1505, he became an Augustinian monk, and after 1508, he spent time teaching in the University of Wittenburg. In 1510, he journeyed to Rome where he was appalled at the behavior of the clergy there. He returned to Germany and received his doctorate in theology in 1512. Luther preached and taught despite being troubled by questions of his own salvation. Through his studies, he came to believe that salvation was earned not through good works but by faith and by the grace of God.
After he posted his 95 Theses, Luther became one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, especially in Germany. As has been discussed already in this chapter, Luther forever changed religion in Europe and, consequently, in the rest of the modern world. Luther’s contributions to European history were more than just his theology, though. He published a number of works, including On Christian Liberty (1519), The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520), and the Small Catechism (1529). One of his most famous writings was Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes, which denounced the peasants’ revolt against the nobles in Germany. In 1532, he translated the Old Testament into German from the original Hebrew. Luther affected Europe not only through his religious teachings but also through his extensive writings. Because of the printing press, his writings were spread throughout Germany very quickly and had a profound effect on the German language.