Section 2: Luther's early challenge to the church 1517-20 Flashcards
How did Luther’s decision to become a monk and join the Augustinian order implement him?
Developed different views on salvation:
- Augustinians believed that there was nothing a man could do to reverse the sin created by Adam and Eve, therefore salvation could never be earned through good works
- Instead man must rely on gods grace as he was all powerful and already decided who would be saved
When did Luther decide to become a monk
1505, age 21
How did Luther primarily view the augustans belief in salvation
he hated it- it seemed to prove that god was pitiless
‘i just hated this god who punished sinners’ - Luther
Luthers Uni
1508: began to study theology at univeristy of Erfurt
- Dominated by scholastic thought and method: placed large emphasis on logical argument- made him a good orator
Also influenced by the study of ‘modern’ theologians and philosophers belonging to the ‘nomanialist schools:
- According to nominalists, one cannot rely on reason to arrive at a conclusion about god.
- Religious truth can only be known through faith in the scriptures and in the authority of the church/
Luther’s visit to Rome- what did he do
1510-11: sent to Rome on business connected to his order
Chose to treat the month long journey as a pilgramage;
- attended services, said confession, visited the 7 pilgrim churches, viewed sacred relics, climbed the Scala Santa
Luther’s visit to Rome, what did he conclude
◦ The experience did not bring him the relief he sought
◦The trip may have pushed him towards the Augustinian approach to salvation
◦The worldliness and insincerity of Rome’s clergy did not impress him.
Began to teach at Wittenburg Univerisy
1511
Became professor of Biblical Theology:. directed students studies, made lectures twice a week, presiding over disputations ever friday
He decided to take a humanist approach in his teaching and based his lectures on his detailed examination of the bible and the works of St Augustine
The more research he did on it, the more he agreed with it.
lectures at Wittenberg
1513-17: delivered lectures on psalms and 3 courses st Paul’s letters
Luthers studies of early christian teachings were gradually changing his view of god and moving away from the Thomsit views of salvation
Thomist veiw on how to achieve salvation
favoured by Rome
men achieved salvation by doing righteous things/good works
Enlightening lecture
1515
As he prepared for this lecture on St Pauls letters to the Romans, he found a way to make the Augustian theory platable
He found relief in the words ‘righteous shall live by faith’ and interpreted it by meaning that faith and faith alone was the key to salvation.
Indulgence
common feature of catholic religious practice in order to avoid purgatory. A certified piece of paper given in return for a payment/donation towards the church.
The 95 theses
composed in 1517
protest against indulgences
Reasosns for criticism of indulgences: Frederick the Wise: Politics
- furious about them and banned Tetzel from his territories, anger based on politics and money
- Tetzel’s employer, Albert of Mainz, was a member of the Hohenzollern family, Frederick’s rivals for influence in the empire (could be why fred supported Luther)
Reasosns for criticism of indulgences: Frederick the Wise:Money
Whilst the pope’s indulgence was being sold, all other indulgences had to be suspended, meaning a drastic loss of revenue for Frederick
He had built a huge collection of 17,000 relics over the years (i.e. twig from burning bush)
Collection was due to open to the public on All Saints day, Nov 1 and those who paid to see it could obtain merit for a lesser time in purgatory
Reasons for criticisms of indulgences: Luther
- on the basis of his intense study of the scriptures, he had his doubts about indulgences for more than a year
- Now Tetzel’s proximity and outrageous promises, along with the flood of excited Wittenbergers over the boarder to make their purchases, added angry fuel to his beliefs
Luther’s arguments in the 95 theses: on the grounds of religion: theological rationale was dubious
- he argued that the pope had no control over purgatory, god alone had that
- Souls could therefore not be released from purgatory through the purchase of papal pardons
- forgiveness was a free gift from god for all truly repentant christians, it could not be purchased.
Luther’s arguments in the 95 theses: on the grounds of religion: Indulgence selling was harmful
- it detracted form the really important thing, preaching the word of god, as revealed in the Gospels
- undermined the sacrament of penance and encouraged complacency. Sinners did not even need to contrite to make a purchase, and manny believed they could sin without any fear of consequence
Luther’s arguments in the 95 theses: on other grounds: Indulgence selling was harmful
- discouraged far more worthy uses for money, like giving to charity
- the poor couldn’t afford such things, they were giving up all their savings on false premises
- the pope’s reputation was suffering because Rome seemed to be exploiting impoverished German’s
why did Luther write the 95 theses?
did not intend to trigger a revolution, simply wanted an academic debate about indulgences, hoping to explore their multiple flaws and end the traffic
proof that Luther intended only for academic debate by writing the 95 theses.
- wrote in Latin: intended audience was academics: members of Wittenberg univeristy, theologians and humanists.
- pinned to church door: invitation for debate
- Made it clear in his preamble that his aim was limited ‘the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg’
When did Luther pin up the 95 theses?
- 31 October, day before All Saints Day
- On the castle church door- Frederick’s church rather than the town church
- Subtly criticising the indulgence attached to his relic collection
What was the impact of the 95 theses?
- message quickly spread beyond Wittenberg
- without Luther’s permission, taken down and printed, within weeks translated into German and mass printed
- Became a public manifesto when they were printed in numerous towns i.e. Magdeburg, Basle and Leipzig
- By December, German translations had appeared in Nuremberg
- 3 editions by the end of 1517
why was his theses so impactful/ successful: Timing
- day before All Saints day: Luther had given a sermon against indulgences exactly one year before
- Andrew Carlstadt had posted his 151 theses against indulgences in April when frederick had last opened his relics for veiwing , both were ignored
- However, tetzel’s irresponsible salesmanship was causing widespread concern among the educated elite
why was his theses so impactful/ successful: Tone
- language was theatrical, combative and colloquial
- he wrote in a way that ordinary people could understand
why was his theses so impactful/ successful: Appeal to the people
- appealed to German nationalists, anti-papalists and the poor
- Luther made the point that German’s were big tricked into handing their savings to a foreign power, Rome
- Expressed the frustrations and prejudices of many people
why was his theses so impactful/ successful: Their authorship
- Luther’s credentials were impeccable: friar of a reformed order and a respected professor of Theology, at a reputable uni founded by one of the electors
why was his theses so impactful/ successful: the printing press
- enabled the rapid and widespread of his ideas
- the fact that the theses could be printed quickly and in such numbers made them difficult to surppress.
When was the printing press invented
- Invented in the 1460s, by Guttenberg of Mainz
- By 1500, there were 200 presses in Germany, more than anywhere else in Europe
Evidence the printing press was important to Luther’s success
- lead to an increase in bibles and prayer books and a faith more rooted in scripture (even pre-luther)
- enabled the circulation of humanist criticisms of clerical and papal abuses: in this way, it helped create a climate where Luther’s protests could thrive
- Allowed Germany to be exploited further as they used it to produce mass indulgences
- Luther had access to humanist texts and was able to use similar ideas in his works e.g. used Erasmus’ Greek testament when he translated the bible
Which historian argued that the printing press precipitated the reformation
Elizabeth Eisenstein
How the printing press helped Luther
- first edition of his 1520 pamphlet ‘To the christian nobility of the german nation’ sold 4000 copies in two weeks
- 300,000 items by Luther were in circulation by 1521
- his new testament of 1522 became the best seller of the day, selling 200,000 copies in 85 editions over 12 years
How did Luther use the printing press to cater to the need of the people
- 95% of the population were illiterate/ too poor to purchase a pamphlet or book and so he made use of woodcuts and broadsheets
- The number of woodcuts circulating between 1517-21 far exceeded books
Arguments against the printing press
- people already wanted change, which explains his success, no one would have paid attention otherwise, printing press or not
- Luther was charismatic and persuasive on paper: boring writer would have failed to attract an audience
- 40 % of what was published was just church polemics
- most woodcuts just attacked papacy and clergy, did nothing to explain lutheran ideas
Other ways Luther’s ideas spread: sermons
- most people heard about luther’s ideas, rather than reading about them
- Andrew Pettegrew argued sermons were the key in the spread of his ideas : Luther was an inspirational preacher + delivered over 6,000 sermons in his life, then printed those for other clergy and humanists to deliver
- 40% of Lutheran material in print by 1526 consisted of his sermons
Other ways Luther’s ideas spread: word of mouth
- this explains his success in small cities and towns, large amounts of people living in close proximity would exchange news
Other ways Luther’s ideas spread: music
luther used music to spread his ideas, writing hymns to popular tunes, setting out to stir mens hearts whilst delivering his message in a simple way
Conclusion of the printing press argument
- most people never even saw a copy of the theses, but did talk about them, because Luther had a way with words, and they remembered and repeated them
- oral communication was the norm among the masses and whilst printed material was an addition to this, it was not a replacement
- the press was crucial in transforming the opinions of the educated elite, who played a larger role in both the attack on Luther and his survival
