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Martin Luther
Martin Luther
On the eve of All Saints' Day in 1517, Martin Luther, a professor of
theology at Wittenberg University in Saxony, posted ninety-five theses
on a church door. Luther's primary concern was the sale of indulgences--papal
grants of reduced punishment in the afterlife, including releases from
purgatory. First written in Latin, the theses were soon translated into
German and widely distributed. Summoned by church authorities to explain
his writings, Martin Luther became embroiled in further controversy and in 1520
wrote his three most famous tracts, in which he attacked the papacy and
exposed church corruption, acknowledged the validity of only two of the
seven sacraments, and argued for the supremacy of faith over good works.
In 1521 Luther was summoned to appear before Emperor Charles V at the
Diet of Worms. Refusing to recant his writings, he was banned under the
Edict of Worms. Secreted away by the ruler of Saxony, Frederick the Wise,
Luther retreated to the castle of Wartburg, where he worked on a translation
of the New Testament and wrote numerous religious tracts.
Martin Luther's disagreements with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church
set off a chain of events that within a few decades destroyed Germany's
religious unity. Although one of the most influential figures in German
history, Luther was only one of many who were critical of the Roman Catholic
Church. However, because of the power of his ideas and the enormous influence
of his writings, it is he who is regarded as the initiator of the Protestant
Reformation. Luther quickly acquired a large following among those disgusted
by rampant church corruption and unfulfilled by mechanistic religious
services. Many warmed to his contention that religion must be simplified
into a close relationship of human beings with God without the extensive
mediation of the Roman Catholic Church and its accretion of tradition.
In 1522-1534 Martin Luther translated the bible into common language
Luther magnified the inherent potency of his ideas by articulating them
in a language that was without rival in clarity and force. He strove to
make the Scriptures accessible to ordinary worshipers by translating them
into vernacular German. This he did with such genius that the German dialect
he used became the written language of all of Germany. Without Luther's
translation of the Bible, Germany might have come to use a number of mutually
incomprehensible languages, as was the case in the northwestern part of
the Holy Roman Empire, where local dialects evolved into what is now modern
Dutch. Luther also wrote hymns that are still sung in Christian religious
services all over the world.
A less exalted reason for the wide distribution of Luther's doctrines
was the development of printing with movable type. The Reformation created
a demand for all kinds of religious writings. The readership was so great
that the number of books printed in Germany increased from about 150 in
1518 to nearly 1,000 six years later.
Luther's ideas soon coalesced into a body of doctrines called Lutheranism.
Powerful supporters such as princes and free cities accepted Lutheranism
for many reasons, some because they sincerely supported reform, others
out of narrow self-interest. In some areas, a jurisdiction would adopt
Lutheranism because a large neighboring state had done so. In other areas,
rulers accepted it because they sought to retain control over their subjects
who had embraced it earlier. Nearly all the imperial cities became Lutheran,
despite the fact that the emperor, to whom they were subordinate, was
hostile to the movement. Historians have found no single convincing explanation
of why one area became Lutheran and another did not, because so many social,
economic, and religious factors were involved.
Peasants' War of 1524-25
Given the revolutionary nature of Lutheranism and the economic and political
tensions of the period, it is not surprising that the Reformation soon
became marked by violence and extremism. The Knights' War of 1522-23,
in which members of the lower nobility rebelled against the authorities
in southwestern Germany, was quickly crushed. Some of the rampaging knights
were ardent supporters of Luther. The Peasants' War of 1524-25 was more
serious, involving as many as 300,000 peasants in southwestern and central
Germany. Influenced somewhat by the new religious ideas but responding
mostly to changing economic conditions, the peasants' rebellion spread
quickly, but without coordination. It also received support from some
dissatisfied city dwellers and from some noblemen of arms who led its
ragged armies. Although the peasants' rebellion was the largest uprising
in German history, it was quickly suppressed, with about 100,000 casualties.
In the 1530s, the Anabaptists, a radical Christian sect, seized several
towns, their objective being to construct a just society. They were likewise
brutally suppressed by the authorities.
Martin Luther opposed the peasants' cause and wrote an impassioned tract demanding
their quick suppression. However radical his religious views, Luther was
a social and political conservative. He believed that the end of the world
was imminent and regarded practical affairs as having little importance
compared with the effort to win eternal salvation. Therefore, he counseled
obedience to worldly authorities if they allowed freedom of worship. Lutheranism
thus became a means of upholding the worldly status quo and the leaders
who adopted the new faith. In contrast to England, where Protestantism
retained a significant radical social element, German Protestantism became
an integral part of the state. Some historians maintain that this integration
of state and church has deprived Germany of a deeply rooted tradition
of political dissent as found in Britain and the United States.
- Protestant Reformation
- Resistance to Lutheranism
- The Peace of Augsburg
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