While on the surface Martin Luther seems to be
primarily a religious revolutionary, he was also a cultural and political
revolutionary. Considering the dynamics
in Europe in Luther’s time, it would have been next to impossible to impact religion without also impacting politics and culture
since the church was involved in almost every aspect of life. Luther was a revolutionary because first and
foremost he was willing to question the church's teachings and decided to
go to the source itself—The Bible (23:52-23:57). When he decided that the Church was
misrepresenting the path to salvation, he expressed his disdain
with the Catholic Church and the Pope via 95 Theses (0:33-0:35), and he refused
to back down despite condemnation and eventually excommunication from the
church by Pope Leo X (26:11).
Pictured above is an excerpt from 95 Theses, Luther's attack on the Catholic Church and the Pope (epchurch.net).
One major way that Luther proved himself to be a cultural
revolutionary was that he was the “first propagandist” (10:51-10:52). Not
only was he very clever to use the printing press to spread his message, but he was
also smart in the delivery of his message because he knew how to reach out to a
wide variety of people (10:10). For instance, he
found a way to get his point across to those who could not read by including
woodcuts with his texts (21:00-21:10). He also got his point across to
German nobility by questioning the use of the money Germany was giving to the
Holy Roman Empire and suggesting that it may be funding little more than a lavish
lifestyle for the pope (12:47-13:22).
Pictured above is one of Luther's woodcuts comparing Christ to the Antichrist, who at the time Luther considered to be the Pope (pbs.org).
Once his movement had gained momentum, Luther was invited by Charles V to present his case at Diet of Worms, where Luther was encouraged by the pope's ambassador to take back his statements against the church (17:37-17:44; 33:26-33:30). He refused, and Frederick the Wise who had been of great support to Luther throughout his journey, hid
Luther in Wartburg Castle in order to protect him from the possibility of arrest (38:01-38:25).
While Luther was there, his movement continued to gain momentum, but when
Luther returned to Wittenburg, he did not agree with many of the actions
that were inspired by his work (44:40).
Pictured above is Wartburg Castle, where Martin Luther spent many years after the Diet of Worms (dw.com). I am very excited to visit Wartburg Castle on our trip!
While Luther was focused on a
religious reformation and urged people to stop the social
revolution to focus on their salvation, he could not stop the storm he had
created (45:15-45:22). Although his
original intention was to reform the religious sector, it was the political and cultural
reforms that came from his movement that solidified him as such an integral
part of the history of Germany and of the world. Ultimately, Luther inspired
Germans and other nations to create a series of political reforms
that had to do with separating the church from state in several realms such as
education, welfare, and social discipline (43:25-43:35).
Luther was so important to German-speaking lands specifically because
before his reforms “Germany was a patchwork of tiny provinces,” which although
governed by their own rulers, all fell under the umbrella of the Holy Roman
Empire (12:01-12:13). Germany was forced
to pay Rome, something that Luther considered a “financial drain” (12:45). As long as the church was the ultimate
authority, it is hard to imagine that Germany would have been able to become an
independent nation. Additionally, Luther translated the Bible into German so
that it was more accessible to common people (40:22-40:30). Overall, Luther was an incredibly brave revolutionary and played a crucial role in the history of Germany.
Word Count: 621
Photo Sources:
(2016). “Rooted in
History.” Retrieved from http://epchurch.net/rooted-in-history/.
DW Staff. (2005,
September 3). . “Wartburg Castle: Immersed in History.” Retrieved from http://www.dw.com/en/wartburg-castle-immersed-in-history/a-1511760.
Edwards Jr., Mark.
(2016). “Martin Luther.” Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/martinluther.html
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