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From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS
XXIV. THE REFORMATION AND THE RELIGIOUS WARS, 1517-1648 A.D.
» Contents of this Chapter
Page 11
MARTIN LUTHER AND THE BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY, 1517- 1522 A.D.
MARTIN LUTHER, 1483-1546 A.D.
Though there were many reformers before the Reformation, the beginning of that movement is rightly associated with the name of Martin Luther. He was the son of a German peasant, who, by industry and frugality, had won a small competence. Thanks to his father's self-sacrifice, Luther enjoyed a good education in scholastic philosophy at the university of Erfurt. Having taken the degrees of bachelor and master of arts, Luther began to study law, but an acute sense of his sinfulness and a desire to save his soul soon drove him into a monastery. There he read the Bible and the writings of the Church Fathers and found at last the peace of mind he sought. A few years later Luther paid a visit to Rome, which opened his eyes to the worldliness and general laxity of life in the capital of the Papacy. He returned to Germany and became a professor of theology in the university of Wittenberg, newly founded by Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony. Luther's sermons and lectures attracted large audiences, students began to flock to Wittenberg; and the elector grew proud of the rising young teacher who was making his university famous.
TETZEL AND INDULGENCES
But Luther was soon to emerge from his academic retirement and to become, quite unintentionally, a reformer. In 1517 A.D. there came into the neighborhood of Wittenberg a Dominican friar named Tetzel, granting indulgences for the erection of the new St. Peter's at Rome. An indulgence, according to the teaching of the Church, formed a remission of the temporal punishment, or penance due to sin, if the sinner had expressed his repentance and had promised to atone for his misdeeds. It was also supposed to free the person who received it from some or all of his punishment after death in Purgatory. Indulgences were granted for participation in crusades, pilgrimages, and other good works. Later on they were granted for money, which was expected to be applied to some pious purpose. Many of the German princes opposed this method of raising funds for the Church, because it took so much money out of their dominions. Their sale had also been condemned on religious grounds by Huss and Erasmus.
THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents
url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp
Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy
