Section 2: Attempts to silence Luther

Question 1

What did Leo X do in attempt to silence Luther?

Answer 1

• put his theologians to work preparing a case against Luther
• meanwhile asked the prior general of the Augustian order to silence the troublesome monk (Feb 1518)

Question 2

Why was Leo X preoccupied at the time?

Answer 2

• he was bankrupt as ever
• he had recently been at war with Italy
• he had thwarted a plot by cardinals to assassinate him
• he was trying to pull Christian Europe together to mount a crusade against an increasingly aggressive Ottoman Empire.

Question 3

How did Leo’s plan backfire?

Answer 3

• the task was delegated to the prior general: Johann Von Staupitz, a man who knew Luther well as a mentor and friend.
• Instead of stopping him, Staupitz invited him to speak at a meeting with the order at Heidelberg

Question 4

The meeting with the Augustinian order at Heidelberg

Answer 4

• April 1518
• Luther was asked to keep away from controversial issues and instead explain his views on sin, freewill and grace.
• the meeting was a positive one for Luther, he grew strength from the public support and was given an opportunity to develop this ideas and also made convert

Question 5

What did Leo do after the meeting at Heidelberg

Answer 5

Frustrated, he issued orders for Luther to be bought to Rome on chargers of Heresy (May 1518)

Question 6

How did Frederick the Wise intervene?

Answer 6

He requested that Luther instead be interviewed by Cardinal Cajetan.

Question 7

Why did Frederick the Wise intervene?

Answer 7

• He was very proud of the uni of Wittenberg, which Luther was making famous
• Tetzel’s sale of indulgences had undermined Fred’s
• Tetzel was employed by Albert of Mainz, whose family rivalled Frederick for political influence in the empire

Question 8

Why did Leo agree to Frederick’s request?

Answer 8

For political reasons: Frederick was the senior elector, his vote would be crucial in the next imperial election

Question 9

Prior to: The meeting with Cajetan at Ausburg

Answer 9

• October 1518
• Cajetan was under strict orders from Leo to demand that Luther recant in full, and to arrange for his arrest if he refused.
• Cajetan was not to enter into any sort of debate with Luther

Question 10

During: the meeting with Cajetan

Answer 10

Things did not go as planned:

• On arrival in Augsburg, Luther’s friends requested an imperial gaurentee of his safety, preventing any plans of arrest
• Cajetan also engaged in brief debated, questioning both Theses 58 and 7 on accounts of Heresy, yet Luther denied this, refused to recant and Cajetan dissmised him.

Question 11

Outcome of the meeting with Cajetan

Answer 11

• Cajetan wrote to Frederick informing him that Luther was a heretic and would be surrendered immediately
• Luther’s belief in ‘justification by faith alone’ was well developed

Question 12

Negotiations between Miltitz and Frederick

Answer 12

December 1518- January 1519

• Leo sent his chamberlain, Karl Von Miltitz and a gift of a papal golden rose (of enormous status) in an attempt to get Frederick to hand over Luther
• Whether or not this would have worked however, is unknown, as before negotiations could develop, emperor Maximmilian died.

Question 13

What did Leo do when Maximilian died

Answer 13

• suspended all action against Luther for a whole year pending the imperial election
• he wished Frederick to stand as candidate, and was more interested in politics/ did not want anything to cloud their relationship.
• it is not known why Leo did not do anything for a while after the election

Question 14

The Leipzig debates: pretext

Answer 14

• For 18 months, the Dominican order had been waging a pamphlet war against Luther, led first by Tetzel and then Dr John Eck
• Eck decided to attack Luther from the angle that Luther was challenging papal supremacy
• Duke George of Saxony agreed to host a debate between the two sides in Leipzig, yet refused to issue a safe conduct for Luther to debate, so the Wittenberg delegation was led by Dr Andrew Karlstadt

Question 15

The Leipzig debates: during 1

Answer 15

June- July 1519

• Luther went along as an observer, Karlstadt did not have his abilities
• For a week they debated on free will and its relationship with salvation. Finally, frustrated Eck intervened and persuaded George, meaning he could debate with Luther

Question 16

The Leipzig debates: during 2

Answer 16

• Eck tricked Luther into a corner, accusing Luther of holding some of the same views as Bohemian Jan Hus, who had been bored for heresy ini 1415
• When pressed Luther said: there was no evidence for the papacy in the scriptures, they therefore had no authority, and the highest authority lay in the general council of the church
• after 3 weeks, it was over, no winner declared

Question 17

Outcome of the Leipzig debates

Answer 17

• Luther was forced to expres his ideas well beyond anything he might have contemplated in 1517, in saying his beliefs on sola scriptura
• he achieved considerable publicity
• Eck reported to Rome that Luther was unquestionably a heretic

Question 18

other factors which may be to blame:

Answer 18

• fred gave luther protection
• pope didn’t; see it as a threat, others had said things before
• printing press
• luther soon had much support: appealed to underlying anti-papalist, nationalism

Question 19

Bad things Luther did in the Leipzig debates

Answer 19

1) Luther had openly stated that he agreed with some of the views of Jan Hus
2) He publicly stated that the papacy had no scriptural basis and therefore the pope had no authority
3) he publicly stated that the scriptures alone held the truth

Question 20

How did Rome respond to Luther’s actions at the Leipzig debates?

Answer 20

• January 1520: threatened Luther with excommunication
• Eck drew up the papers and in June Rome issued the papal bull Exsurge Domine
• 41 of Luther’s views were condemned as heretical, his books and pamphlets were to be publicly burned
• Luther was given 60 days to recant his views, and in the mean time he was forbidden to preach or write. If he failed, he would be excommunicated.

Question 21

What was excommunication?

Answer 21

the action of officially excluding someone from participation in the sacraments and services in the christian church

Question 22

Papal bull Exsurge Domine

Answer 22

• Eck and cardinal Aleander were despatched north to publicise it
• It stated that the church must protect itself from ‘the wild boar’ that had invaded it
• In strong areas of Lutheran support, it was angrily torn down from doors

Question 23

The three pamphlets of 1520

Answer 23

• in 1520, he wrote and published over 20 pamphlets
• condemning the errors of the church, listing its abuses, suggesting reforms and elaborating ideas of sola scriptura and sola fide.

Question 24

Names of the three pamphlets (The reformation Treatises)

Answer 24

• To the christian nobility of the German Nation, Aug
• On the Babylonish Captivity of the church, Sept
• Concerning Christian Liberty, Nov

Question 25

Purpose of: To the christian nobility of the German Nation

Answer 25

Written in: German
Purpose: partly political, tried to gain support

• Adressed everyone in authority in Germany
• Asked these ‘temporal authorities’ to start the reform since spiritual authorities failed to do so.

Question 26

What did Luther say in: To the christian nobility of the German Nation (3 walls)

Answer 26

Said Rome had drawn up 3 walls to protect against reform:

• the fact that spiritual power was above temporal
• only the pope could interpret the scriptures
• the church said only the pope could call a council

none of these walls had any scriptural basis and those who defended them were agents of the Anticrhist

because of this it was acceptable for temporal authorities to take reform into their own hands

Question 27

what else did it say in: To the christian nobility of the German Nation

Answer 27

• 3 walls
• listed all the reforms needed
• luther’s attack on the first wall was important, as he used scriptures as evidence to claim that everyone was equal spirtiually and the clergy should not be superior above others

Question 28

Purpose of: On the Babylonish Captivity of the church

Answer 28

Written in: Latin

Purpose: adressed to clergy and humanists

more than a call for reform of abuses- attacked Rome’s teachings on the sacraments and therefore the whole basis of catholicism

Question 29

What did Luther say in: On the Babylonish Captivity of the church

Answer 29

• claimed Rome used the teaching of the sacraments to enslave people and make them reliant on priests, comparing the papacy to the Kingdom of Babylon
• Claimed only 3 sacraments (baptism, penance and the Eucharist) could be proved from scriptures, and the rest were made up and invalid
• also claimed the 3 scriptures had been interpreted incorrectly: i.e the E, transubstantiation did not acc occur, there was also no basis for saying only the priest could take the wine.

Question 30

Recation to: On the Babylonish Captivity of the church

Answer 30

caused division:

moderate humanists and reformists: (e.g. Erasmus and Thomas More) thought he had gone too far as all they wanted was a rid of abuses

whereas some hardliners: felt Luther had not gone hard enough, there was no scriptural basis for penance either , also said he was being too cautious in his attacks on Eucharist and baptism

Question 31

Purpose of: Concerning christian liberty

Answer 31

Written in: German

Gentlest of the 3, even with the pope, saying he had just been misguided by councillors

Question 32

what did Luther say in: Concerning christian liberty

Answer 32

• shared his ideas of ‘justification by faith alone’ or sola fide. People didn’t need to live in fear of death
• faith was the key to salvation, not silly works like fasting

Question 33

reaction to: Concerning christian liberty

Answer 33

Luther did not convince all his followers and the pamphlet sparked a dispute on issues of liberty and license and the point of morality

Question 34

How did Luther’s attack on the church start out?

Answer 34

• in oct 1517, Luther may have simply wanted to spark a debate on indulgences and the way they were marketed by tetzel
• he expressed loyalty to the church and papacy and convinced that the church did not know of tetzels ways
• he wrote in latin- clearly seeking academic debate

Question 35

Which 3 factors may explain the escalation of luther’s attack on the church?

Answer 35

1) the reaction of the church
2) the support he recieved
3) His character and ideals

Question 36

Why did Luther’s ideas change so dramatically between 1517-1520? (the reaction of the church)

Answer 36

used wrong tactics to silence him:

• leo underestimated the affair
• Albert of Mainz failed to move quickly enough or in the right direction- should have immediately dismissed Tetzel rather than waiting until late 1518
• the church therefore gave him time which allowed him to expand on his ideas
• Cajetan and the Leipzig debates applied pressure so he expanded his ideas

Question 37

Why did Luther’s ideas change so dramatically between 1517-1520? (the support he received)

Answer 37

• Luther gained support from ordinary people, who were motivated by pre-exisiting anti- clerical, papal and italian feelings and the belief that Rome was milking Germany for money
• saw him as a German hero - fulfilment of a prophecy, the holy man come to save them
• Also gained support from young scholars e.g. Melanchthon, Ulrich Von Hutten, Martin Bucer.
• He had powerful protectors: Fred, Staupitx, Augustinina order.

He drew courage from this support

Question 38

Why did Luther’s ideas change so dramatically between 1517-1520? ( His character and ideas)

Answer 38

• courage and determination. Shown right fromm the start in his letter to Albert of Mainz in October 1517.
• It is argued that his beliefs on sola scripture and sola fide were held privately well before 1517, as it is implicit in the 95 theses
• Though they were developed, they had been there from the start

Question 39

Luther’s tower experience

Answer 39

In 1532Luther said this is when his theological breakthrough came, in ‘this tower and heated chamber’ (In mid 1519)

• Described it in detail in 1545 - he had been mediating constantly concerning the true meaning of St Pauls words when he began to understand
• This led his to the doctrine of ‘sola fide

Question 40

other interpretations of Luther’s tower experience

Answer 40

Peter Elmer - Long process of enlightenment begins as early as 1509

Mark Greengrass- He had a brief period of emerging clarity, occurring in 1515

Diarmaid MaCulloch - Occurred after meeting cajetan in Aug 1518

Question 41

Burning of the Papal Bull

Answer 41

• On december 10th 1520, surrounded by his enthustiatic students, he made a bonfire
• The students threw books of canon law defining the legal powers of the church, and all the anti-lather material they could find
• In a dramatic gesture, Luther threw the papal bull Exsurge Domine on the fire

Question 42

What happened after the burning of the Papal Bull

Answer 42

• A month later, Leo issued the excommunication, the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem
• Luther and all his supporters were now cast out from the church