English 3: Western literature 2
Lesson 2: Luther’s 95 Theses, Part 1
Reading assignment
The printing press and literacy.
Johann Tetzel, salesman of indulgences.
The impact of Luther’s 95 Theses.
“How Luther Went Viral,” The Economist. Read here. (An audio begins. It is worth listening to, but it is not required. Just print out the document. A pop-up PRINT box will automatically appear.)
Propaganda in the Reformation.
This is from Wikipedia: “Ninety-Five Theses.”
On 31 October 1517, Luther sent a letter to Archbishop of Mainz, Albert of Brandenburg, under whose authority the indulgences were being sold. In the letter, Luther addresses the archbishop out of a loyal desire to alert him to the pastoral problems created by the indulgence sermons. He assumes that Albert is unaware of what is being preached under his authority, and speaks out of concern that the people are being led away from the gospel, and that the indulgence preaching may bring shame to Albert’s name. He does not condemn indulgences or the current doctrine regarding them, nor even the sermons which had been preached themselves, as he had not seen them firsthand. Instead he states his concern regarding the misunderstandings of the people about indulgences which have been fostered by the preaching, such as the belief that any sin could be forgiven by indulgences or that the guilt as well as the punishment for sin could be forgiven by an indulgence. In a postscript, Luther wrote that Albert could find some theses on the matter enclosed with his letter, so that he could see the uncertainty surrounding the doctrine of indulgences in contrast to the preachers who spoke so confidently of the benefits of indulgences.It was customary when proposing a disputation to have the theses printed by the university press and publicly posted. No copies of a Wittenberg printing of the Ninety-five Theses have survived, but this is not surprising as Luther was not famous and the importance of the document was not recognized. In Wittenberg, the university statutes demand that theses be posted on every church door in the city, but Philip Melanchthon, who first mentioned the posting of the Theses, only mentioned the door of All Saints’ Church. Melanchthon also claimed that Luther posted the Theses on 31 October, but this conflicts with several of Luther’s statements about the course of events, and Luther always claimed that he brought his objections through proper channels rather than inciting a public controversy. It is possible that while Luther later saw the 31 October letter to Albert as the beginning of the Reformation, he did not post the Theses to the church door until mid-November, but he may not have posted them on the door at all. Regardless, the Theses were well-known among the Wittenberg intellectual elite soon after Luther sent them to Albert.
Now watch a section from a high-budget documentary on this. It is narrated by Liam Neeson. We are told that Luther began writing the 95 theses on the evening of October 31. He wrote them by hand, right off the top of his head. Wow! Then — maybe at 11 PM? — he nailed them to the church’s door. It would have been dark. Everyone was in bed. The next day was All Souls/All Saints Day. Who was going to read a 95-point message in Latin on the door? Who could read it? Almost no one outside the university. Besides, it was a holiday! No matter.
Here is a section from another high-budget TV documentary on Luther’s decision. It assumes that he used a hammer, not glue.
There is no question that the 95 theses had enormous unintended consequences. The segment shows how some of this unfolded.
Historians are divided on whether he posted the theses on the church door. There is no debate over whether he mailed them to the Archbishop.
The Archbishop was 27 years old. He had borrowed a fortune from German bankers to buy two of his offices. He had turned over to them his 50% of the profits from the sale of the indulgences. There was no way that he was going to stop Tetzel from selling them. Luther did not know this at the time, as he later admitted. The Vatican got the other 50%. The Pope also was not going to stop. The 95 theses caused a showdown. The Archbishop sent the document to the Pope, and the Pope through the church’s hierarchy demanded that Luther recant. Luther refused. The Pope excommunicated him in 1521.
Here is my lecture.