NOT THE MASS, BUT THE MASSES:

HOW LUTHERS LIFELONG COMMITMENT TO THE EVERYMAN CARRIED THE REFORMATION

ABSTRACT Much ink has been spilled in the last 500 years on Luthers life and work and the Reformation period. Biographies of one of historys most influential churchmen abound, and Luthers rigorous publishing regime means assessments of his thought, and its development through his ministry, are possible on his own terms. We will argue that while a sharp contrast may be drawn between Luthers earliest works, and his last, this contrast is the result of a life lived with a particular aim, and the evolution in Luthers writing tracks alongside the progress of his reforms. In this sense, while Luther the man grows, and his writings change to reflect his circumstances, the change is not necessarily disjointed, and he exhibits continuity in his theological and methodological convictions. Biographies and interpretations of Luther are notoriously the product of the priorities of the biographer, we will, as much as possible, paint a picture using Luthers own words, also drawing from Melanchthons biographic eulogy, Smiths Life and Letters of Martin Luther, and Baintons Here I Stand.

LUTHERS LIFE
Luthers life can be divided into epochs on the basis of delineated periods in his spiritual journey, his political situation, and the progress of the Reformation. Luther looks different in each of these epochs,1 as each represents a different stage of his life and of the Reformation.2 As a result, biographies of Luther often paint the Luther the author wishes to paint.3 Perhaps the most pivotal transitions in Luthers life occurred in the busy year of 1525, when he married, published On the Bondage of the Will, began formulating the German liturgy, and he was caught in the middle of the Peasant uprising. Each transition in Luthers life represents a further departure from his preconversion trajectory and education. While his intellectual and practical convictions changed as he grew further apart from the Catholic Church, and as his opposition movement became more entrenched, his theological convictions, formed as he reflected on Scripture and the practices of the church, matured. His thought continued to develop in the light of ongoing opposition.4 Luther learned from experience, so his ministry praxis changed with time. It was Luthers ability to own, embody, and propagate his theological revolution with the masses that entrenched the Reformation as a defining moment in Christian history.5

1 Quite literally if one compares the portraits Cranach created of Luther at different stages, see Appendix. 2 In this we follow the divisions suggested by H. Junghans, Interpreting the Old Luther (1526-1546), Currents in Theology and Mission, 9.5 (1982), 271-281, 272- 274, who divides Luthers life into three, the formative years, the call for reformation, and the realisation of reformation. 3 C. Lindberg, Theology and Politics: Luther the Radical and Muntzer the Reactionary, Encounter, 356-371, 357, cites Boehmer, There are as many Luthers as books about Luther. 4 H. Junghans, Interpreting the Old Luther, 274, suggests unfolding is preferable to developing 5 P. Melancthon, The history of the life and acts of Luther, Trans. T Frazel, (1548), retrieved online 31 May, 2012, http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/melan/lifec-01.txt

As Luthers ideas gained traction, and the reformation movement quickened, Luther found himself enmeshed in an increasingly complex set of relationships his relationships with the Catholic Church, the political establishment, his political supporters, the masses, and other protestant theologians all required different treatment at different times. And Luther moved from his initial position as the spokesman for a radical realignment of the theological and political scene, to his final position as the elder statesman of a particular brand of Protestantism, stuck in the middle of, and often forced to respond to, competing interests.6 Luther was increasingly convinced that he was engaged in an apocalyptic battle with the Devil, and accounted for events and opposition through that rubric.7 This piece will focus on Luthers development in theology and practice, noting the points of discontinuity, and the underlying continuity, his uncompromising commitment to the gospel. We will also note his lifelong commitment to communicating the gospel to the everyman by whatever means available.

FROM THE UNIVERSITY TO THE TOWER: LUTHER THE REFORMING ACADEMIC

Martin Luther was born into an upwardly mobile family, and a child of such academic promise that he was sent to university with the goal of becoming a lawyer.8 There, increasingly confronted by his sin, and influenced by a near miss with a lightning bolt, he signed up for Monastic life in the Augustinian order, without his fathers consent.9 The Augustinians, aware of Luthers These beginnings of the greatest things put great authority around him, especially since the morals of the one teaching matched up with his speech, and his speech seemed born not on his lips, but in his heart. 6 J.M Kittelson, Ecumenism and Condemnation in Luther and the Early Lutheranism, Lutheran Quarterly, 3.2, (1989), 125-139, 125 7 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, Lutheran Quarterly, 16, (2002), 329- 348, 332-333 8 R. Kolb, Martin Luther: The Man and His Mind, Reformation and Revival: A Quarterly Journal for Christian Leadership, Vol 8, 1 (Winter, 1999), 11-33, 12-15 9 Life and Letters, 131-132, Luther admits that he entered the monastery against the will of his parents in his dedication of On Monastic Vows.

education and obvious intellect, pushed him towards the academy.10 His appointment as a Doctor of Theology in Wittenberg provided him with a platform. While his objections to Catholicism were yet to crystallise, Luther his platform to begin a work of academic reform, which was a necessary precursor to his theological reforms. Before he produced his theses against indulgences, Luther published, and circulated, 97 theses against Aristotle (1517), because his ethics were not Christian and his philosophy not Pauline.11 In a letter to John Lang (Feb, 1517), Luther revealed his educational agenda was to remove Aristotle from the university, My soul longs for nothing so ardently as to expose and publicly shame that Greek buffoon, who like a spectre has befooled the Church. A few months later he claimed to have had some success toppling Aristotle, and replacing him with the new theology, that is on the Bible or St. Augustine or some other ecclesiastical authority. 12

FROM THE TOWER TO THE CASTLE: LUTHER THE REFORMING CHURCHMAN

While his academic reforms were underway, Luther was also a dedicated churchman. Prior to launching his attack on the establishment, and its modern practices, Luther was on the ecclesiastical fast track within the Augustinian order. He began preaching in 1514, first in the chapel at Wittenberg, and then in a small, barnyard church,13 he was elected vicar of the district in 1515, and took his responsibilities seriously, in a letter to his friend and colleague, John Lang, he revealed that he thought a plague outbreak would kill him, but he would not desert his post.14 It was in the Black Cloister that he first began truly grappling with the Scriptures, using a humanist model of exegesis (1512).15 He began playing 10 Melanchthon, Biography 11 Life and Letters, 25-26 12 Life and Letters, 26 13 Life and Letters, 28 14 Life and Letters, 32-33 15 P. Smith, Luthers Development of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone, Harvard Theological Review, 6.4 (1913), 407-425, 415, R. Kolb, Martin Luther: The Man and His Mind, 16, 27

down the significance of works in his lectures at the college (1513-1515),16 before his reflections on Romans in 1515 lead to a privy epiphany regarding justification by faith.17 His interactions with the local prince, Frederic, revealed that his problems with superstitious religious works were beginning to develop, 18 because he believed such superstitions, including indulgences, to be unchristian, he did not see his attacks on these practices as necessarily an attack on the church.19 After preaching a series of sermons, from 1516-1517, against the practice of indulgence selling from his Wittenberg pulpit, Luther decided to hold a public debate, the 95 theses were designed to put forward the propositions he intended to defend.20 Luther did not necessarily intend the document to go viral, which they did, spreading across Germany in two weeks,21 they were particularly popular with the humanists.22 It seems, from the letter he sent with them to Albert, the Archbishop of Mayence, that they were intended as a shot across the bows, prior to Luther taking the matter public, he asked Albert to instruct his indulgence peddlers to preach something else, lest perchance some one should at length arise and confute them and their Instructions publicly, to the great blame of your Highness, this, he feared, may happen if Albert did not act quickly.23 This view of events is supported by a letter Luther sent to a 16 P. Smith, Luthers Development of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone, 418 17 P. Smith, Luthers Development of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone, 420-421, the privy was a place for reflection, It is strange, and yet certain, that this revelation was vouchsafed to him in the privy of the Black Cloister, situated in the little tower overlooking the town walls 18 Life and Letters, 33-34 19 Life and Letters, 36-37 20 Life and Letters, 39-42 21 L.W Holborn, Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement in Germany from 1517 to 1524, Church History, 123-137, 131, R. Kolb, Martin Luther: The Man and His Mind, 18, in the first modern media event. 22 Life and Letters, 43 23 Life and Letters, 42-43, M. Luther, Letter to the Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz, October 31, 1517, Luthers Works, Adolph Spaeth, L.D. Reed, Henry Eyster Jacobs, et Al., Trans. & Eds, (Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Company, 1915), Volume 1, 25-28, retrieved online 1 June 2012, http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/nine5- albrecht.txt

publisher, who questioned why he had not received Luthers Theses to distribute, and Luther answered that my purpose was not to publish them, but first to consult a few of my neighboursBut now that they are printed and circulated far beyond my expectation, I feel anxious about what they may bring, his anxiety was not because he was uncomfortable with his work spreading, but because this method is not that best adapted to instruct the public.24 It is likely that he is referring not to publishing and circulating documents, but rather the form of the theses themselves. He had already adopted the method of activism by publication when it came to his educational reforms, and he wholeheartedly embraced mass media publication, in the vernacular, for the rest of his career. While he had published the theses in Latin, and the printers had translated them for the purpose, he proposed to fully flesh them out in German, which he did, in The Resolutions (1518).25 The accompanying letter to Pope Leo indicated that while the initial purpose of the 95 Theses had been to engage in debate with the learned, but his opponents desire to set the world on fire with his words led to explain himself by publishing under the guardianship of your name and the shadow of your protection, a book intended for the mass market.26 Prior to the publication of Resolutions, Luther was asked by Rome to recant, instead, he resigned his position as Vicar, and began his publishing campaign in Wittenberg.27 Luthers earliest published objections to the Catholic Church were a response to the corruption he witnessed in its practices, but his reforms went deeper. There were hints of his growing convictions regarding the authority Scripture, and his central conclusion that justification, was by grace alone, through faith alone, in the 95 theses,28 but their posting, and public transmission, brought Luther firmly into the public eye. He began to embrace this position as his theological convictions deepened, and his methodology 24 Life and Letters, 44-45 25 Life and Letters, 44-45 26 Life and Letters, 45 27 Life and Letters, 46
On the centrality of Justification in Luthers conflict with the papacy see a J. Wicks, "Justification And Faith In Luther's. Theology," Theological Studies 44 (March 1983), 15, citing M. Luther, Luthers Works, 26:99
28

became increasingly focused not on his fellow churchmen, but on the rulers and the masses. His earliest publications consist largely of sermons, commentaries, and devotional works, aimed at the common man. These made Luther a best selling author.29 He published twice as many sermons as polemics.30 The Diet of Ausburg (1518) was a theo-political council brought together in an attempt to produce unity in the church, and empire, in the face of the Turkish threat.31 Luther appeared before the council, nonchalantly dismissive of the threat of the ban, he refused to recant.32 He was less than impressed with the hearing his views received at the council, and, in a letter to his friend Spalatin, promised to make his objections public that the accusations against him, and the Cardinal hearing his case confounded throughout the whole world. 33 Luthers attention had turned global. He published his account of Ausburg in the Acta Augustana, and it is clear he was growing increasingly disillusioned not just with the practices of the church, but with the institution itself,34 though he had not yet washed his hands of it. The Cardinal, angered by Luthers response, and Prince Frederics refusal to condemn him, requested that the Pope act ex cathedra on the matter,35 which set the wheels in motion for Luther to be invited to Rome to recant, if he wished.36 Luther had promised to write a paper urging the masses to follow the church, and indicate that his writings were directed at the scandalous preaching of indulgences.37 So he did. The publication An Instruction on Certain Articles distinguished between commands from the church, and the 29 M.U Edwards, Printing, Propaganda, And Martin Luther, (Minneapolis, Fortress, 1994), 2005 reprint, 163-164 30 M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531-1546, (Minneapolis, Fortress, 1983), 2005 reprint, 14 31 Life and Letters, 48 32 Life and Letters, 48-51 33 Life and Letters, 51 34 Life and Letters, 53 35 Life and Letters, 54 36 Life and Letters, 56, on the basis of a misunderstanding in a meeting between Luther and a papal envoy 37 Life and Letters, 55

commands of God, and he made it clear that good works were of more value than indulgences, but that works have no place in justification.38 Luther then entered into an exchange of pamphlets with John Eck, answering Ecks Obelisk, with his Asterisks, and eventually twelve propositions against Eck, in which he declared the Catholic Churchs claim of superiority weak, and held up by vain papal decrees. 39 Luther had, through adversity and reflection, shifted into outright enmity with the papacy and the Catholic Church. He was increasingly convinced that Scripture was the sole authority. In a letter to Spalatin in 1519, he announced that Scripture and Rome were at odds, for the truth of Scripture and of the church cannot be spoken without offending that beast.40 His study of church history led him to believe that Romes superiority was a papal creation, and a convenience.41 Luther and Eck held a public debate in Leipzig (1519), Luther describes his opponent as slippery, and suggests that had it not been for his rejection of the Pope, he and Eck would have agreed on all manners.42 Luthers revolutionary focus had now moved from the practices of the church, to the underpinning structure. By 1520 he wrote that he considered himself part of a revolution, opposed by the Devil, and driven by the word of God, which he said can never be advanced without whirlwind, tumult, and danger.43 Reconciliation was no longer a possibility, I despise the fury and favour of Rome; I will never be reconciled to them nor commune with them. Let them condemn and burn my books. On my side, unless all the fire goes out, I will condemn and publicly burn the whole papal law, that slough of heresies.44 Luther longed to produce theologically valuable works, and indeed he did, but he saw his lot as fighting the war so that those coming after him might 38 Life and Letters, 57 39 Life and Letters, 58-59 40 Life and Letters, 60-61 41 Life and Letters, 61 42 Life and Letters, 63-68, Luther provides his version of events in a letter to Spalatin. 43 Life and Letters, 72 44 Life and Letters, 75

have a platform, I lose these years of mine in unhappy wars and would like all my works to perish It is my fate that all evil beasts attack me alone God grant that I may be David pouring out blood, but that Melanchthon may be Solomon reigning in peace. 45 He was forced to weigh up the value of publishing books, which gained such a small audience, or easy to understand pamphlets.46 In 1520 he produced a string of pamphlets that left no question regarding possible reconciliation with the church, The Sermon on Good Works, The Papacy in Rome, The Address to the German Nobility, The Babylonian Captivity, and The Freedom of the Christian Man were all released in months, and sought to overturn not just the papacy, and the church institution, but also most of the sacraments,47 and, incidentally, to continue his educational reforms and his rejection of Aristotle.48 The initial print run of To The German Nobility involved 4,000 copies, and the response caused Luther to defend its tone to friend and foe alike, I see that whatever is treated mildly in our age soon falls into oblivion, for no one minds it.49 Luthers pamphlets, published in 1520, brought the people of Germany behind him just as the authority of the empire, and the church, was to come against him. Upon reading The Babylonian Captivity, Erasmus declared the breach was irreparable,50 and both the Pope and Emperor agreed. The Pope issued a Papal Bull (1520), both excommunicating Luther and his followers,51 and ordering his works burnt. Luther initially pretended the Bull was fake,52 then declared the Pope the Anti-Christ,53 and burnt the Bull.54 Some see the Bull burning, a public act of defiance, as the real beginning of the Reformation movement.55 He rejected the Bull because it lacked any reference to Scripture,56 and issued the pamphlet Assertion of All the Articles 45 Life and Letters, 75 46 Life and Letters, 75 47 Here I Stand, 136-137 48 Life and Letters, 84 49 Life and Letters, 87 50 Here I Stand, 137 51 Eck was given special permission to add names to the list of people excommunicated if he believed they were supportive of Luther 52 Here I Stand, 160 53 Here I Stand, 160 54 Here I Stand, 164-166 55 R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany, (London, Hambledon Press, 1987), 146 56 Here I Stand, 161-162

Wrongly Condemned in the Bull, where he claimed to retract certain statements, only to replace them with other more intense polemics.57 Both Luther and the Pope appealed to the new emperor regarding the political status of the reformation.58 The Emperor convened a trial at the Diet of Worms, granting Luther safe passage. There, Luther made an impassioned defence of his teachings, refusing his publications, and acknowledge the authority of the papacy with the statement I am bound by the texts of the Bible, my conscience is captive to the Word of God, I neither can nor will recant anything, since it is neither right nor safe to act against conscience.59 The Emperor upheld the Popes verdict, declared Luthers teachings a cesspool of heresies and subjected Luther and his works to the ban.60 Copies of Luthers speech flooded the marketplace.61 Luther became a wanted man after Worms, given just days to escape the consequences of the Imperial Edict.62 He was snatched away into the safety and anonymity of the Wartburg castle. During his time in exile he meditated, grew a beard, and published On Monastic Vows, where he reflected on his time as a monk and decided that monastic life was based on a lie.63 The Reformation had begun to cause violence and civil unrest.64 Luther made an incognito visit to Wittenberg to observe the commotion, and warned his followers to avoid conflict.65 He was now deeply committed to propagating printed material to answer his critics, and promote his theology, the educating and empowering of the common man was central to his objection 57 Here I Stand, 164-165 58 Life and Letters, 99-102 59 Life and Letters, 115-118, the here I stand I can do no other is probably apocryphal, though Here I Stand, 185, suggests the scribe may not have copied it down because he was overcome with emotion. 60 Life and Letters, 120 61 M.U Edwards, Printing, Propaganda, And Martin Luther, (Minneapolis, Fortress, 1994), 2005 reprint, 165 62 Here I Stand, 189 63 Here I Stand, 201, Life and Letters, 131-133 64 Life and Letters, 136-137, R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany, (London, Hambledon Press, 1987), 174, the preaching of the word made people impatient for change. 65 Here I Stand, 204, Life and Letters, 136

to Catholicism. However, the Catholic Churchs decision to publish material for the masses, in the vernacular, demonstrated an inconsistency between their response and regular practice.66 LUTHER THE COMMUNICATOR: THE REFORMATION AND THE VALUE OF THE VERNACULAR Even in exile, Luther was a master communicator. He had matured as a writer.67 He supplied the masses with carefully articulated theological assertions, produced in response to his circumstances, bringing his early readers through the process of his thought and development, rather than presenting the finished product, and he did this by innovating, and changing the nature of the printing industry, with the birth of the creative propaganda pamphlet, in the vernacular.68 It is estimated in the first three years, 300,000 of Luthers 30 popular pamphlets were circulating,69 and by the tenth year, two million copies of Luthers 400 plus pamphlets were circulating,70 not just in Germany, but throughout Europe.71 The Reformation led to a sixfold increase in output from German printers.72 Luther printed sermons and devotional works aimed at the laity, which made him famous,73 as well as screeds against his opponents. And others soon joined the cause, from as early as 1518, lay people, clergy, and royalty, had joined their voices to the cause by publishing pamphlets in

66 M.U Edwards, Printing, Propaganda, And Martin Luther, 165 67 H. Bluhm, Luthers View of Man in his Early German Writings, Concordia Theological Monthly, 34 no 10, (1963), 583-593, 583, suggests Luthers use of German went from awkward (1517-1518) to masterful (from 1520), as he worked out how best to use the medium, and the vernacular. 68 L.W Holborn, Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement in Germany from 1517 to 1524, Church History, 123-137, 126-127, previously printing was focused on quality books 69 L.W Holborn, Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement, 129-130 70 Life and Letters, 76-77, T. Standage, How Luther Went Viral, Economist, 12/17/2011, Vol. 401 Issue 8764, 93-96 71 Life and Letters, 77 72 Life and Letters, 75 73 M.U Edwards, Printing, Propaganda, And Martin Luther, (Minneapolis, Fortress, 1994), 2005 reprint, 163-164

support of Luther.74 These pamphlets were often as popular as Luthers own.75 They were produced and circulated rapidly, within two days of the Worms verdict, lay pamphleteers based more than 80 miles from the city, had produced and circulated pamphlets depicting Luthers trial as the Passion narrative.76 These pamphlets, called Flugschriften (literally flying writings), took a variety of forms, containing prose, poetry, ridicule, dialogue and drama in pictures and text, or open letters.77 Readers were encouraged to share the content with others,78 the pamphlet was a means to reach the widest audience possible.79 Luthers reliance on the medium to spread his message is clear from the care he took in their production, in a letter from Wartburg, in 1521, he bemoans the quality of the printing and typography in a recent batch of pamphlets, I cannot say how sorry and disgusted I am with the printing they print it so poorly, carelessly, and confusedly, to say nothing of bad types and paper. John the printer is always the same old Johnny.80 The Catholics struggled to compete both in volume, and uptake,81 thanks in part to seemingly universal support for the Reformation amongst Printers.82 Many lay preachers were printers by trade.83 74 M.U, Chrisman, Conflicting Views of Reform: German Lay Propaganda Pamphlets 1519-1530, (Boston, Humanities Press, 1996), 53, 229, though L.W Holborn, Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement in Germany, 132, suggests these bore the hallmarks of professional printers and may have been purposely given that appearance. 75 M.U, Chrisman, Conflicting Views of Reform, 115-116 76 Here I Stand, 191 77 K.A Strand, "A Note on Reformation-Era Flugschriften." Andrews University Seminary Studies, 24 (Summer 1986), 178- 180, 179 78 R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany, (London, Hambledon Press, 1987), 277, literacy rates, though fairly rudimentary, were fair in urban areas, and middling in the regions. 79 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 330-331 80 Life and Letters, 124, R.G Cole, Reformation Printers: Unsung Heroes, The Sixteenth Century Journal, 15.3 (Autumn, 1984), 327-339, 328, Luther had initially preferred a rough and homely design, but increasingly looked for better print quality 81 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 334 82 R.G Cole, Reformation Printers, 330-338, Luther had a close relationship to many printers, who were such a pivotal economic force that edicts to burn his

Publishing took the Reformation to the mainstream.84 But Luther was not restricted by genre, or even medium, producing songs, theatre, and other forms of literature to ensure the gospel reached the masses.85 Woodcut images, and comic strips, were increasingly popular, both with Luther and the public, especially those produced by his friend Cranach.86

FROM THE CASTLE TO THE INSTITUTION: LUTHER AND MAINSTREAM PROTESTANTISM

Luther now set about institutionalising his reforms to ensure their survival. Everything came to a head in 1525. The internal protestant debates continued, as did wider social unrest that had been quelled in Wittenberg, but spread elsewhere. Luther also married, and in dialogue with Erasmus, published a work that represented a departure from his intellectual roots. Protestant splinter groups and Luthers political situation shaped his publications from 1525 until his death (1546).87

INSTITUTIONALISING THE CHURCH, AND PROTESTANT OPPOSITION

work were scarcely enforced, L.W Holborn, Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement in Germany, 134-136 83 R.G Cole, Reformation Printers, 330, 334-335, some of Luthers closest allies, including Cranach, also ran foundries. 84 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, Lutheran Quarterly, 16, (2002), 329- 348, 333 85 R. Kolb, Martin Luther: The Man and His Mind, 24, G.K Waite, Reformers on Stage: Popular Drama and Religious Propaganda in the Low Countries, (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2000), 135, suggests themed carnivals were used by reformers between 1520 and 1543, 207, and dramas helped the illiterate masses. M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531-1546, 158, by the 1540s satires, rhymes, poems and graffiti were common. 86 R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany, (London, Hambledon Press, 1987), 277, C. Weimer, Luther and Cranach on Justification in Word and Image, Lutheran Quarterly, Vol 18, (2004), 387-405, for Luther, images were tools, not idols, and could be used to spread truth, 397-404, the two worked closely to present the relationship between law and gospel effectively. 87 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 335

The most valuable production of the Wartburg years was the German New Testament, which Luther finished before returning from exile in 1522.88 Luther returned from exile and began the process of restoring order at Wittenberg, and institutionalising his reforms.89 His New Testament was the first step towards moving the church service into the vernacular, which occurred in 1524.90 Next, he introduced a German Liturgy, featuring the Lords Prayer, the Creed, hymn singing, the reading of Scripture and a sermon, though this order was free to be changed.91 He coupled this with the production of hymns, publishing two hymnals, which largely featured his own work (1524, 1528).92 He worked with Melanchthon to produce a manual for pastoral care (1527).93 His educational reforms continued alongside this program, he introduced a school curriculum, believing education was vital to the Reformations success.94 In 1529 he published his Catechisms, which were designed to teach Christian doctrine in easy form, as a Bible for the laity.95 The publication of the catechisms represents a change in focus from evangelism, to expressing Protestant theology in the language of the people and consolidating the movement.96 The content was drawn from his sermons, and theological and pastoral publications, serving as the pinnacle of his productions.97 The Catechisms were a literary masterpiece well suited to their purpose.98 This process of creating a German evangelical church represented Protestantisms move into the mainstream, and required support from

88 Here I Stand, 197, 210-211, Luther had always planned to return to Wittenberg, because he felt he needed to be closer to Hebrew scholars for his translation of the Old Testament. 89 Life and Letters, 139-150 90 Life and Letters, 230 91 Life and Letters, 230, H. Junghans, Interpreting the Old Luther, 274, identifies this as a turning point 92 Life and Letters, 231 93 R. Kolb, Martin Luther: The Man and His Mind, 25 94 Life and Letters, 234 95 Life and Letters, 234-236 96 J.A Nestigen, Luthers Cultural Translation of the Catechism, Lutheran Quarterly, 15, (2001), 440-452, 443 97 G.G Krodel, Luthers Work on the Catechism in the Context of Late Medieval Catechetical Literature, Concordia Journal, October (1999), 364-404, 372-376, suggests the Catechisms existed in embryonic form in these works. 98 G.G Krodel, Luthers Work on the Catechism, 364

German political powers.99 Luther was now part of the political establishment, and could use his authority to protect the church from emerging protestant rivals. 100 Carlstadt, a former ally of Luthers, was the first of these rivals. He began publishing pamphlets against Luther, promoting an alternative view of the sacraments, which was picked up by Zwingli. Luther was now facing debate from two sides.101 The lack of uniformity in protestant theology was becoming increasingly obvious, and troublesome. Luther, in 1527, referred to Zwingli as his Judas.102 The leaders of the Reformation attempted to resolve these differences at both the Marburg Colloquy (1529), agreeing on 14 of 15 proposed points, though Luther refused to sign the Articles.103 Luther was caught in the middle of an ecumenical jungle, between the Catholics, and the Reformed.104 The Ausburg Confession, produced at the Diet of Ausburg (1530), was an almost ecumenical document, demonstrating Luthers willingness to compromise on non-essential doctrine.105 It looked likely to succeed, largely thanks to Melanchthons willingness to compromise, and ambiguous wording which left both Protestants and Catholics with different understandings,106 but Luther refused to compromise with Catholic changes, and the Diet and proceedings fell apart.107 Luther, still an outlaw, stayed away from Ausburg, and communicated with participants by letter, while producing pamphlets. He used this time to work on his translation of the Old Testament, sending chapters off to the printers alongside his Ausburg pamphlets.108 The completed Old Testament was finally published in 1532, though edited by a panel in 1539,109 and the 99 H. Junghans, Interpreting the Old Luther, 276 100 H. Junghans, Interpreting the Old Luther, 276 101 Life and Letters, 150-156 102 Life and Letters, 241 103 Life and Letters, 244-246 104 J.M Kittelson, Ecumenism and Condemnation, 129 105 J.M Kittelson, Ecumenism and Condemnation, 133-134 106 Life and Letters, 259-262 107 Life and Letters, 262 108 Life and Letters, 253 109 Life and Letters, 264

complete Bible, with apocrypha, was available by 1534.110 His translation strategy was evangelistic, and agreement with the New Testament was a defining principle for Old Testament translation, but the work was significant, and based on the Masoretic Text.111 He aimed to use the German language in a manner accessible to the upper and lower classes, he said I try to speak as men do in the market-place.112 His familiarity with peasant, scholarly, and religious forms of the language,113 and with the written and spoken word,114 helped him launch a new literary style of German,115 his translation was to German what the King James is for English.116 The truncated Diet of Ausburg was replaced with a council meeting at Nuremberg (1532),117 where a compromise was reached that called both sides to respect the beliefs of the other until a solution could be reached. This provided political legitimacy, and freed the Protesant leaders up to fight with one another.118 Many of Luthers pamphlets from 1527 to 1532 are directed at fellow protestants.119 THE REFORMATION AND CIVIL UNREST: THE PEASANTS WAR The eventful year of 1525 culminated with a peasant uprising. The rise of civil unrest is easily attributable to Luthers championing of the oppressed, though he specifically and consistently wrote against violent rebellion, the greater weight of his writing inspired the peasants in their revolt.120 The peasants turned to the reformer for assistance. Luther wrote against the Lords who 110 M.J Haemig, Luther on Translating the Bible, Word and World, 31.3 (Summer 2011), 255-262, 256 111 Life and Letters, 264-266 112 Life and Letters, 266, on Luthers translation strategy see M.J Haemig, Luther on Translating the Bible, 255-262, M.S Krause, Martin Luthers Theory of Bible Translation, Stone-Campbell Journal, 2 (Spring, 1999) 57-73, 60-63 113 M.S Krause, Martin Luthers Theory of Bible Translation, 60 114 L.W Holborn, Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement in Germany from 1517 to 1524, Church History, 123-137, 128-129 115 L.W Holborn, Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement, 128 116 J.A Nestigen, Luthers Cultural Translation of the Catechism, 440-441 117 Life and Letters, 275 118 Life and Letters, 279 119 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 359 120 Life and Letters, 157-159, M.U Edwards, Printing, Propaganda, And Martin Luther, 171

taxed and oppressed their people while claiming to honour the gospel, he denied responsibility for the unrest, and then turned his attention to the peasants, calling them to submit to unworthy authorities.121 His intervention was too little to late. The peasants were revolting, and Luther sided with the authorities, publishing Against the Thieves and the Murdering Hordes of Peasants, and losing the support of the common man for his reformation movement.122 Siding with the authorities was consistent with Luthers institution building, as it guaranteed their support for the evangelical church.123 LUTHERS MARRIAGE Luthers marriage, like his earlier monastic vows, came like a bolt from the blue. He wrote, in 1524, my mind is averse to wedlock, because I daily expect the death of a heretic, and then, just two months before he married I find so many reasons for urging others to marry, that I shall soon be brought to it myself, a month before he married he wrote that he would, take his Katie to wife before he died, in spite of the Devil.124 Luthers wedding, though involving love of a sort, was conducted to serve the reformation, spite the devil (and the papacy), and please his father.125 The move confounded many, including Melanchthon, who suggested that while many suffered, Luther does not sympathize with them, but, as it seems, prefers a life of pleasure and to lower his dignity.126 Though he also hoped the marriage would soften Luthers scurrilous tone.127 LUTHER AND ERASMUS: LEAVING HUMANISM BEHIND The publication of On the Bondage of the Will, a landmark work that signaled his departure from humanism, showed that marriage had neither distracted him, nor, according to Erasmus, who was the works target, softened his temper.128 121 Life and Letters, 158-159 122 Life and Letters, 162-167, M.U Edwards, Printing, Propaganda, And Martin Luther, 168 123 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 329. 124 Schaff, s77 125 Life and Letters, 174-177 126 Life and Letters, 178 127 Life and Letters, 178 128 Schaff, s77

Luthers approach to Scripture itself owed much to Erasmus,129 who both developed the hermeneutic Luther adopted in his reading of the Scriptures,130 and produced the Greek New Testament which replaced the Vulgate in Luthers study,131 and formed the basis of his German New Testament.132 Erasmus was a proto-reformer, equally upset with the practices of the church, but driven by humanist academic convictions.133 In the early years many observers, including the men themselves (though Erasmus had not really read much Luther),134 assumed they were allies.135 In a letter praising his contribution to the church, but questioning his mettle, Luther urged Erasmus to remain neutral,136 but, facing exile, Erasmus could not.137 He published On the Freedom of the Will (1524), affirming humanisms optimistic understanding of mankind, including free will, and the necessity of good works.138 Luthers response, On the Bondage of the Will (1525), demonstrated that his theological 129 By his own acknowledgment, Life and Letters, 205
It is equally plausible that their commitment to the text was a result of their own humanist educations, but some have suggested a more or less direct link, see J. Brashler, From Erasmus to Calvin: Exploring the Roots of Reformed Hermeneutics, Interpretation 63 no 2 Ap 2009, 154-166, and G.G Krodel, Erasmus Luther: One Theology, One Method, Two Results, Concordia Theological Monthly 41 no 10 N 1970, 648-667, 600-652 131 J. Brashler, From Erasmus to Calvin, 154-155, R.G Kleinhans, Luther and Erasmus, another perspective, Church History 39 no 4 D 1970, 459-469, 459
132 Life and Letters, 134
130

G.G Krodel, Erasmus Luther, 651-655, R.G Kleinhans, Luther and Erasmus, 460 134 R.G Kleinhans, Luther and Erasmus, another perspective, Church History 39 no 4 D 1970, 459-469, reconstructs Erasmus interactions with Luther to suggest that he did not actually read anything by Luther until 1522, ironic given Erasmus defended Luther on the basis that his critics had not read him, D. Preus, Luther and Erasmus : scholastic humanism and the Reformation, Concordia Theological Quarterly 46 no 2-3 Ap-Jl 1982, 219-230, 221-224 135 Melanchthon, Biography, suggests they were allies at Worms, though Erasmus didnt like Luthers tone. Life and Letters, 200, also, G.G Krodel, Erasmus Luther: One Theology, One Method, Two Results, 649, citing Martin Bucers Letter to Beams Rhenanus, R. Kolb, Martin Luther: The Man and His Mind, 18 136 Life and Letters, 205, also D. Preus, Luther and Erasmus, 224 137 Here I Stand, 192, Life and Letters, 200-205, J. Wicks, "Justification And Faith In Luther's. Theology," 18 138 J. Wicks, "Justification And Faith In Luther's. Theology," 18, C. Lindberg,

133

Theology and Politics: Luther the Radical and Muntzer the Reactionary, Encounter, 356-371, suggests Anthropology was also the key to Luthers position in the Peasant War, class systems were irrelevant, and man was free, because salvation was the means of humanity, not the ends.

convictions were in conflict with his humanist education.139 Anthropology was central to the Reformation.140 So Luther carefully presented his theological anthropology,141 including total reliance on grace for salvation,142 and a new education system.143 Erasmus preferred abstractions to assertions,144 but Luther believed assertions were necessary for the Gospel, so left his humanist education behind. He began opposing the philosophy as directly as he opposed Rome,145 also rejecting the Scotist teaching of infused righteousness, the Thomist view of free will, and other trappings of the schoolmen.146 Works he had studied during his education.147 The Reformation brought with it a new philosophy, driven by a new theology. A theology of the cross, including a soteriology centred exclusively on Gods sovereignty. This was at odds with both the humanism of Luthers past, and the semipelagian late medieval scholastic movement.148 LUTHER THE CANTANKEROUS POLITICIAN V THE POPE

G.G Krodel, Erasmus Luther: One Theology, One Method, Two Results, 655656
140 Life and Letters, 207, Luther says that Erasmus alone has identified the core

139

issue. 141 M. Luther, De Servo Arbitrio On the Enslaved Will or The Bondage of the Will,
(Grand Rapids, Christian Classics Ethereal Library), retrieved online 7 March 2012, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/bondage.pdf, CLI, 260, Especially featuring

mans sinfulness, inability to contribute good deeds to the salvation process, R.A Faber, Humanitas as Discriminating Factor in the Educational Writings of Erasmus and Luther, Dutch Review of Church History, 85, (2005), 25-37, 36, Luthers anthropology was theological, Erasmus philosophical. H. Bluhm, Luthers View of Man in his Early German Writings, Concordia Theological Monthly, 34 no 10, (1963), 583-593, suggests this represents a theological discontinuity between the young and old Luther.
142

M. Luther, The Bondage of the Will, 260

143 R.A Faber, Humanitas, 30-34

J. Wicks, "Justification And Faith In Luther's. Theology," 18, G.G Krodel, Erasmus Luther: One Theology, One Method, Two Results, 655-659 145 J.I Packer, Luther Against Erasmus, Concordia Theological Monthly, 37 no 4 Ap 1966, 207-221, 221, R.G Kleinhans, Luther and Erasmus, another perspective, 459 146 T.A. Fudge, Saints, sinners, and stupid asses: the place of faith in Luther's doctrine of salvation, Communio viatorum 50 no 3 2008, 231-256, 232-234

144

read for a long time and thoroughly the writings of Occam, whose perspicacity he preferred to Thomas and Scotus. He also carefully read Gerson, but he often read all the works of Augustine, and remembered them the best.
148

147 Melanchthon, Biography, He

J. Wicks, "Justification And Faith In Luther's. Theology," 28

While the Reformation was always both theological and political, the political nature of the movement moved to the fore in the later years.149 This meant, from 1532, when the League of Schmalkalden was formed to protect protestant interests, Luther necessarily changed the focus of his publications as his opponents became increasingly political,150 though they always propagated his theology.151 In the period between 1526 and 1530, his polemics appeared in equal numbers to his published sermons.152 As illness became a more significant part of his daily reality, his beliefs that his life would end at any moment, and that he was involved in an apocalyptic conflict loomed larger,153 Luther began to worry that his movement had not entrenched itself amongst the masses,154 his popularity had waned after the Peasants War.155 He was particularly concerned to undermine the authority of the pope, and his political allies shared this concern. Luther became noticeably shriller in his later years, as a sense of urgency set in, he increasingly saw his publications as a last foray in the apocalyptic battle, so he chose to become more vulgar and violent in his polemics.156 Even in the most crass of all his publications, he continued to preach the Gospel and protect the church.157 One area in which Luthers written work took a drastic turn was in his treatment of the Jews, his 1523 Jesus was born a Jew stands in marked contrast

149 M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles, 205 150 M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles, 20, 205, M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 340-341, 151 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 342 H. Junghans, Interpreting the Old Luther, 279-281, suggests Luther is simply trying to act within the political and protestant reality. 152 M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531-1546, 14 153 H. Junghans, Interpreting the Old Luther, 279 154 R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany, 299 155 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 334 156 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 342-346 157 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 343, M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles, 208

to his 1543 work, Jews and their Lies.158 This transition provides a neat snapshot of how Luthers lifelong battle with the Devil, in polemic form took its toll, and left him as an increasingly distant and irascible figure. For Luther, the Jews, as non-Christians, were tools of the Devil in this fight.159 Luthers treatment of the Jews is deeply shameful, and regrettable, though in no way central, or disqualifying of protestant theology.160 Luther had long been a student of popular culture, especially music,161 and in 1535, he wrote to Lord Wenzel requesting he compile all the popular German works he could lay his hands on, because he wanted to make German publications that pleased the masses.162 Ten years later, he used this research, and his understanding of the common man to produce Against the Papacy at Rome Founded by the Devil, his crudest, most pointed, and arguably most lasting critique of the papacy, in the mediums and imagery most favoured by the masses,163 using popular, rather than theological, rebukes.164 Luther signed his name to these works, produced by Cranach, so they could not be considered anonymous libel.165 The crude images were designed to convey a books worth of information in a sitting, and leave people feeling sick 158 C. Probst, Martin Luther and the Jews: A Reappraisal, The Theologian: An Internet Journal, retrieved online 31 May, 2012, http://www.theologian.org.uk/churchhistory/lutherandthejews.html, provides s useful treatment of Luthers writings on Judaism and Jews as they developed, and in the context of their time. 159 M.U Edwards, Luther on his Opponents, 332-333 160 C. Probst, Martin Luther and the Jews: A Reappraisal. Suffice to say that it is unrepresentative of Luthers broader contribution, and thus not central to his theology, and should be dismissed as a sinful mistake. 161 Life and Letters, 347-350 162 Life and Letters, 344-345, have some boy collect all the German pictures, rimes, songs, books, lays of the Meistersinger, which have this year been painted, composed, made, and printed by your German poets, publishers, and printers. I have a reason for wanting them. We can make Latin books for ourselves, but we wish to learn how to make German ones, as we have hitherto made none that please anybody. M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531-1546, 158, suggests this was the pattern for Reformation publications in the 1540s. 163 R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany, 295, 299, suggests this was a last ditch attempt because Luther had failed to secure the attention of the masses. 164 R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements, 295 165 M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles, 199

whenever they thought of a cleric.166 In a demonstration of their political cachet, Luthers elector distributed twenty florins worth of the publication.167

Figure 2. A woodcut image from Against the Papacy, source: M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles, 198 166 R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements, 299, M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles, 199 167 M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles, 200

CONCLUSION
Luthers transitions between life stages were marked by personal reinvention driven by his commitment, integrity, and uncompromising convictions. His unwavering commitment to monastic life, driven by a near miss with a lightning bolt, was only tempered by his convictions regarding the authority of Scripture, and his opposition to the corrupt practices of the Catholic Church. His dangerously whole-hearted commitment to the Reformation meant he refused to recant in the face of excommunication, political pressure, and an eventual death sentence. His theological convictions led him to reject avenues for compromise with fellow reformers, the state, and the Catholic Church. While he was initially surprised at how far the 95 Theses spread, he learned a valuable lesson about mass communication, in the vernacular, which stayed with him as he fought for, then institutionalised, his reforms. His publications reflected his times, and were born out of social and theological necessity. He was driven by consistent theological convictions, but situationally aware. The changing nature of his opposition, the political ascendancy of the Lutheran movement, and his increasing conviction that he was a player in an apocalyptic battle with Satan, were all factors in how he conducted himself in the final era of his life, sometimes to his detriment, and the detriment of his work, but often producing further opportunities for the ongoing preaching of the gospel, and establishment of the protestant church.

APPENDIX: LUTHER THROUGH THE EYES OF CRANACH

Figure 1: Luther the Monk, Life and Letters, 64

Figure 2: Luther in 1521, Life and Letters, 118

Figure 3. Incognito Luther, Life and Letters, 137

Figure 4. Luther the translator, Here I Stand, 196

Figure 5. Mr and Mrs Luther, Here I Stand, 291

Figure 6. Older Luther, Here I Stand, 222

Figure 7. Luther in 1546, Here I Stand, 383

Bibliography H. Bluhm, Luthers View of Man in his Early German Writings, Concordia Theological Monthly, 34 no 10, (1963), 583-593 M.U, Chrisman, Conflicting Views of Reform: German Lay Propaganda Pamphlets 1519-1530, (Boston, Humanities Press, 1996) R.G Cole, Reformation Printers: Unsung Heroes, The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Autumn, 1984), 327-339 M.U Edwards, Printing, Propaganda, And Martin Luther, (Minneapolis, Fortress, 1994), 2005 reprint M.U Edwards, Luthers Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531-1546, (Minneapolis, Fortress, 1983), 2005 reprint M.U. Edwards, After the Revolution, Christian History, Issue 39, (1993), retrieved online 31 May, 2012, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/1993/issue39/3908.html R.A Faber, Humanitas as Discriminating Factor in the Educational Writings of Erasmus and Luther, Dutch Review of Church History, 85, (2005), 25-37 M.J Haemig, Luther on Translating the Bible, Word and World, 31.3 (Summer 2011), 255-262 L.W Holborn, Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement in Germany from 1517 to 1524, Church History, 123-137 H. Junghans, Interpreting the Old Luther (1526-1546), Currents in Theology and Mission, 9.5 (1982), 271-281 R. Kolb, Martin Luther: The Man and His Mind, Reformation and Revival: A Quarterly Journal for Christian Leadership, Vol 8, 1 (Winter, 1999), 11-33 M.S Krause, Martin Luthers Theory of Bible Translation, Stone-Campbell Journal, 2 (Spring, 1999) 57-73 C. Lindberg, Theology and Politics: Luther the Radical and Muntzer the Reactionary, Encounter, 356-371

M. Luther, De Servo Arbitrio On the Enslaved Will or The Bondage of the Will, (Grand Rapids, Christian Classics Ethereal Library), retrieved online 31 May, 2012, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/bondage.pdf M. Luther, Letter to the Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz, October 31, 1517, Luthers Works, Adolph Spaeth, L.D. Reed, Henry Eyster Jacobs, et Al., Trans. & Eds, (Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Company, 1915), Volume 1, 25-28, retrieved online 1 June 2012, http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/nine5- albrecht.txt M. Luther, A Treatise on Good Works, (Project Gutenberg eBooks, 2008), retrieved online 3 June, 2012, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/418/418h/418-h.htm P. Melancthon, The history of the life and acts of Luther, Trans. T Frazel, (1548), retrieved online 31 May, 2012, http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/melan/lifec-01.txt J.A Nestigen, Luthers Cultural Translation of the Catechism, Lutheran Quarterly, 15, (2001), 440-452 C. Probst, Martin Luther and the Jews: A Reappraisal, The Theologian: An Internet Journal, retrieved online 31 May, 2012, http://www.theologian.org.uk/churchhistory/lutherandthejews.html P. Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume VII. Modern Christianity. The German Reformation, (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Christian Classics Ethereal Library), retrieved online 31 May 2012, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc7.pdf R.W Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany, (London, Hambledon Press, 1987) P. Smith, The Life and Letters of Martin Luther, (Boston, Riverside Press, 1911), digital version, retrieved online 31 May, 2012, http://www.archive.org/stream/lifeandlettersm04smitgoog#page/n76/mo de/1up

P. Smith, Luthers Development of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone, Harvard Theological Review, 6.4 (1913), 407-425 T. Standage, How Luther Went Viral, Economist, 12/17/2011, Vol. 401 Issue 8764, 93-96 K.A Strand, "A Note on Reformation-Era Flugschriften." Andrews University Seminary Studies, 24 (Summer 1986), 178- 180 G.K Waite, Reformers on Stage: Popular Drama and Religious Propaganda in the Low Countries, (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2000) C. Weimer, Luther and Cranach on Justification in Word and Image, Lutheran Quarterly, Vol 18, (2004), 387-405