How important was Martin Luther in influencing the course of the Reformation?
Martin Luther played a vital role in the start of the Reformation, his actions from 1517 allowed people to start forming their own opinions on religion and the church. Between 1517 and 1522 Martin Luther wa pivotal in the course of the Reformation. On the 31st October 1517 Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on a door of All Saint’s Church in Wittenburg, provoked by indulgences sold by John Tetzel in villages around Germany; he was selling to relatives of people who had died. This money was needed in order to pay back debts to the Fugger bank for buying Albrecht of Brandenburg third bishopric and to build St Peter’s Church. This Theses was addressed to Pope Leo
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After Luther was excommunicated at Worms in 1521, many princes ignored Charles V who outlawed Luther and his books.Philip of hesse formed the luteran league of Torgau, with an aim to ensure the Edict of Worms was not implemented, which was attepting to stop the spread of Lutheranism by banning books and teachings.At the Diet of Speyer in 1526 held by Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria the protestant princes for the first time professed their faith. Charles V wanted to support princes due to the threat of the Ottoman Empire but he also wanted to suppress Lutheranism. The diet concluded that the princes would have princely autonomy, which allowed the princes to adopt new religion without fear. “Each one [prince] is to rule and at as he hopes to answer to God and his Imperial majesty.” This made Lutheranism spread much easier. In 1531 the League of Schmalkalden was formed by Philip I Landgrave of Hesse and John Frederick which was a territorial political movement to break from Rome giving them economic advantages as money would go to their territories rather than to Rome. Members of this intended for this to replace the Holy Roman Empire.They would confiscate church land and expel Catholic leaders, this lasted for fifteen years without opposition, until the Schmalkaldic War from 1546-1547 which Charles V and his allies fought the league and won. But this league allowed Lutheranism to be established firmly therefore the
Martin Luther was a monk for a catholic church that was visiting Rome for the first time, but king Henry was a king that wanted to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon. Martin Luther started to see what was wrong in their believe system in Rome, like the pope was riding through the city with golden armor and to guards right next to him, but King Henry excommunicated with the catholic church and created the Church Of England so than he cold Divorce his wife and marry Anne Boleyn. Martin Luther went to go see some holy relics that were used he started to realize that he had to pay to see the relics and there were on sale, after giving birth to a girl Anne Boleyn was executed with a french sword and on that same day got engaged
Martin Luther was a very important Christian figure of the Reformation. He began questioning the Roman Catholic Church and soon, he gained followers that split from Catholicism and began the Protestant tradition. Luther didn’t want to form a new church or go against the religious order of medieval Europe. He wanted to end the wrongs that were occurring in the churches and reform morals. (Historical Context)
A major 16th century movement initially aimed at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformation was begun by a German monk named Martin Luther who challenge the Catholic Church’s doctrine by posting his 95 Theses on a church door. He did this because he was appalled that the church was selling indulgences, which were written letters that assured people’s salvation, in order to build a new Basilica in Rome under Pope Leo X. Martin Luther argued that the Bible, not the pope, was the central means to discern God’s word and was the only thing capable of giving salvation.
Although he absolutely opposed Martin Luther and the entire protestant reformation, his actions were crucial in the spread of the reformation. When Emperor Charles V agreed to a revival of the imperial Supreme Court and the council of regency and promised to consult with a diet of the empire on all major domestic affairs that affected the empire, he helped the development of the reformation by preventing unilateral imperial action against the Germans. Overwhelmed by all the land he controlled and the Habsburg wars he was involved in, Charles V was not able to stop Luther from reforming the church. He eventually gave up and signed the Peace of Augsburg on September 25, 1555. The Peace of Augsburg was the legalization of Catholicism and Lutheranism in the country of Germany. As a result to this peace treaty, the protestant reformation was spread throughout Germany and began to
The Archbishop then turned to Pope Leo X for advice, in doing so Pope Leo X didn’t want to cause trouble in Wittenburg due to political and other reasons. Pope Leo X sent senior member of the official church to then try and persuade Luther to drop is protests and complaints quitley without fuss, but Luthers next actions brought in various Catholic scholars to join the debate about the sale of indulgences. Luthers actions consisted of the making of pamplets and books. The first inventions of the printing press had a huge impact on the production rates at which Luthers books and pamphlets were being created. Once the increasing numbers of Martin Luthers books and pamphlets were being made this allowed him to distrubute it throughout germany. As the years carried on after the publicised 95 Theses was then followed by Martin Luther making new accusations/criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church. Mainly criticising the curruption of several individual popes. To help enforce and encourage the church reformation Martin Luther called upon local German rulers. The actions of Luther became too much for Pope Leo X and his accompainies causing them to excommunicate Martin Luther giving him only 60 days to apologize for his opinion and also the withdrawl of all his books and pamphlets. Martin Luther refused,
Martin Luther, a protestant, sparked the reformation in 1517 by his writing of the "95 Theses". This was a list of Luther's concerns about Church practices, which he posted on the door of the Castle Church in Germany. This was an
Luther Essay Martin Luther was a key figure in the Reformation period. He sparked controversy in the Church and inspired a change in people’s views towards the Catholic Church. From a non-traditional background, Luther had a different perspective on the Church and related to the commoners. He believed in the foundation and principles of the Bible but disagreed with the corruption in the Church. Luther was a revolutionary and conservative because he wanted change in the church, but stayed devoted to his faith and the Bible’s word.
Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. It contained a series of 95 complaints that the once monk had with the church. He was steadfast in his efforts to get the church to change. Even refusing to repeal his complaints when threatened with excommunication.
Many view Martin Luther as "a man destined to confront the Catholic Church." At the age of 21, he leaves his family to become an Augustinian monk. Eventually, the church began to sell indulgences, or "a declaration by church authorities that those who say certain prayers or do good deeds will have some or all of their punishment in purgatory remitted." Martin Luther knew that something had gone wrong in the church, so he created the 95 Theses, which were a list of propositions for debate. His theses "challenged the teachings of the Catholic Church on the nature of penance, the authority of the Pope and the usefulness of indulgences." Many historians today say that on October 31, 1517 Luther disobiediently nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to
Martin Luther was a very important person in history. Numerous people may have questions about his work, life, speech, etc. For example what did Martin Luther study? What sort of discrimination did he fight against? Or why was Luther awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize? On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther delivered a speech which was his “ I Have A Dream” speech that he delivered to a massive group of civil rights marchers around the Lincoln Memorial located in Washington D.C. His speech still to this day is very important, meaningful, and shows people that you have the ability to do whatever you put your mind to. ( finish with transition and thesis)
These ideas and more inspired Luther to pen 95 statements, which, upon completion, he is thought to have nailed to the front door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31st, 1517. They became known as The 95 Theses and caused much trouble with religious
The 95 theses or 95 Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, a list of questions and propositions for debate. The popular legend goes that on October 31, 1517 is when Martin Luther defiantly nailed his 95 theses on the Wittenberg Castle church. The 95 these became the foundation for the Protestant Reformation, were written in a remarkably humble and academic tone, asking more questions than accusing. The first two of the theses contained Martin Luther’s central idea, that God seeks repentance and faith alone, and not deeds, would lead to salvation. The other 93 theses, a number of them criticizing the practice of Indulgences, that supported the first two. One of the theses were “Why doesn't the pope, whose wealth is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with his
On October 31, 1517, when monk Martin Luther nailed The 95 Theses to the door of a cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany, he had no idea that he was sparking the Protestant Reformation (Greengrass 44-45). These 95 theses consisted of Luther’s complaints and disagreements with and regarding the Catholic Church, particularly on the use of indulgences – a “remission of temporal penalties for sin” sold to individuals seeking salvation (Greengrass 6, 44). The indulgences were claimed to lessen the time an individual’s soul spent in purgatory, commissioned by the Pope of the time, Leo X, and in collaboration with various bishops and archbishops (Linder 22). When Luther nailed his theses to the door, they quickly spread, spurning uproar. First, the theses were sent to Archbishop Albrecht, the superior of an indulgence-selling monk that parishioners of Luther had come into contact with. Then, the document (originally published in Latin) was translated to German and spread throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Luther verbalized many common complaints in his theses and became a sort of hero. The ability of the printing press enabled Luther’s theses to widely circulate as he was thrust into public eye and began the path of Reformation (Linder 23-24).
Peter’s Basilica. Then on October 31, 1517 it is speculated that Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the front doors of a university door. The reason for the massive spreading of the 95 Theses is because of the printing press. The printing press quickly spread the document throughout Germany. This was the start of what is known as the German Reformation. Martin Luther was eventually excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Luther would always refuse to take back what he has said in his documents against the Roman Catholic Church. At the Edict of Worms, Martin Luther was declared a heretic and made him a wanted man. Martin Luther is one of the most important figures of the medieval Europe. This may be another reason the 95 Theses and other doctrines spread so well throughout Europe. The Roman Catholic Church was ringing Martin Luther’s names all throughout the public’s ears. The old saying “any publicity is good publicity” applies in this situation. People could see that Martin Luther was onto something. The 95 Theses were put into vernacular so that anyone could read them for their selves. He gave a voice to many people that would never have a voice and spoke out against the corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church. He gave way to reform throughout the church. Martin Luther and the 95 Theses also gave way to his own form of religion called Lutheranism.
In January 1521, the pope excommunicated Luther. In March, he was summoned by Emperor Charles V to Worms to defend himself. During the Diet of Worms, Luther refused to recant