Martin Luther and the Reformation

By 1500, there is already growing unrest within European Christendom. Many of the faithful are longing for change, for the “Reformation” of their Church - the Catholic Church. Far too great is the contrast between that which the pastorate preaches and the actual life of the popes, bishops, priests, monks and nuns - all too often characterised by extravagance and a lust for power. One man complains about these grievances louder than the rest: Martin Luther. His wake-up call will change Europe. With him begins the long-desired Reformation - and the schism in the Church.

As all others of his era, Martin Luther is tortured by one major concern: burning in hell as a sinner after death. And as there are so many possibilities of falling into sin, salvation seems difficult to achieve. Luther is looking for a safe way out, and soon appears to have found it. In 1505, he joins the strict mendicant order of the Augustinian hermits (or: Eremites), as a monk. In the long run, however, this does not seem to banish the fears of the high-spirited man. He is still left with the burning question: How to please God and gain his mercy

Warnings, passion, zeal - we owe all these to Martin Luther, or to be more exact, we owe these terms to Martin Luther. He invented them for his German translation of the Bible. Today these words are familiar. In the 16th century, they are new. In order to touch people emotionally, Luther used a particularly vivid form of expression. Where it was lacking, he created it. But a new language alone is not enough to reach as many people as possible. He uses something else that is even more novel and ground-breaking: book printing.

Luther’s rebellion against the Church changes the world - in ways both great and small. For the Reformation encroaches massively into the daily lives of many. Predominantly the private lives of the clergy, of men and women alike, are turned upside down and restructured. The religious orders shall now become married couples and double standards transformed into a strict morality. Likewise the role of the “common” woman is to be redefined. Disputes on when and how this is exactly to occur are not only limited to men. Women, too, are deeply divided on the issue. This is especially reflected by two nuns, who fight for their rights and for self-determination, thereby pursuing two distinctly opposite goals: Katarina von Bora and Caritas Pirckheimer.

Martin Luther and the peasants is the tale of a great, and tragic misunderstanding. When the peasants rise up against the oppressive rule of the nobility and clergy in 1524, they believe they have the Reformer on their side. They take his combative slogan: A Christian is a free lord over all things and subject to none.” literally, and feel emboldened to fight for their rights. But they have been truly duped by the Reformer.

Worms 1521: In the Imperial Diet in the shadow of the cathedral begins the first act of the religious schism. Monk and theologian Martin Luther is called to account. When he refuses to recant his theses, Charles V puts him under an imperial ban. No one may protect the “heretic”, nor disseminate his teachings, the young Emperor commands in the Edict of Worms. But there is resistance. For ever more sovereigns sympathise with Luther’s ideas, and there is little the Emperor can do. For the Empire is not one centralised state. True power lies with the individual sovereigns.

The “Lutherin” is what Katharina von Bora often comes to be called. In 1525, the runaway nun marries the church rebel Martin Luther and, for him, she becomes a major support. For not only does she care for the children and the household, as a capable businesswoman, free from financial concerns, she enables him to advance his reformatory cause. And as a clever and educated woman, she even takes part in the scholarly discussions in the Luther home - unusual behaviour and a privilege for a woman of those times.