The more nationalistic rulers developed a traditional style of German Nationalism and had a desire to see a consolidated Empire and the elimination of foreign influence. The Foreign influence that they despised the most was that of the Pope. They therefore saw Luther, an enemy of papacy, as a potential ally and were more likely to listen and spread his message.The money that stayed in their states was a valuable source to tax but it also ensured social stability which could only benefit the state itself and therefore the position of the state leader.
Luther also owed much to the support that he received from Frederick of Saxony who sheltered him and ensured that there was sufficient time and space in which his cause could gain support. ‘Had Luther been living in the territory of a minor prince his fate might have been different.’ (Randall pg.82)
Luther’s message also fitted in well with the social changes that were going on at the time. The peasantry within Germany, who were being affected greatly by the rising population, saw Luther's attack on authority as a sanction for social rebellion and Luther’s message also appealed to the rising Middle classes as it conformed with their own social and economic advancement.
The growing resentment of the peasants towards the clerical Landlord, mainly abbots was a long term trend. Even before the reformation started, the majority of peasants lived in villages, on the land, cultivating it with ‘indefatigable labour and primitive technology’ (Mullet pg. 16) and even though some peasants were not badly off, even the condition of the more prosperous was gruelling and required ‘an ever watchful suspicion, especially towards landlords’ (Mullet pg. 17).
What made it intolerable by 1524 ‘was that population was rising by as much as 0.7 percent per year’, (Lotherington pg 145) so that there was an increasing demand for fertile land that could not be met. Added to this was the fact that recent harvests had been falling and there was an increased burden of taxes to pay for the war against the Turks.
The peasants were therefore initially pro-Luther as they suffered the most from the abuses of the Catholic Church. Luther’s message greatly appealed to them; ‘His call for spiritual equality given the ‘priesthood of all believers’ was readily extended by the peasants of a demand for social equality’ (Lotherington pg 146). His rejection of the peasants in the revolt of 1525 did lead some to look to more extreme beliefs however the feelings of the majority of peasants towards Luther and his message remained generally positive.
In 1521 there were 65 Imperial Cities within which lived educated people such as bankers, lawyers, teachers and doctors. In these ‘free cities’ Anti-clericalism was common, with the clergy were often being regarded to as parasites and in some ways alienated from society. People in the cities were greatly willing and able to respond to Luther’s message. There was a high degree of literacy and the printing presses were to be found in the cities.
The increasing religious, political and social awareness within the cities also affected their attitudes toward the German Reformation. Politically the cities were independent enough to decide religious issues for themselves and had the men capable of presenting the argument. Socially the development of trade had affected the traditional ideal of unity and had led to increasing separation between rich and poor. This led to the rise of groups who were more receptive to new ideas by social change. These groups were the most enthusiastic when Lutheran preachers arrived in town.
‘In Ulm in 1530 when the citizens were asked to vote on whether to maintain the Reformation or return to Catholicism, 87 percent of the voters were in favour of the Reformation’, (Lotherington pg.148) this indicates the strong support and spread of Lutheranism within cities.
Another social change was the invention of the printing press. The printing presses increased the chances of Lutheranism spreading to a larger range of the population as it produced masses of material for the literate to read. Luther translated the bible into German and produced many pamphlets illustrating his message which, due to the printing press, reached many people.
‘The press could spread the ideas of one man more quickly and certainly than ever before, but it also magnified the explosion of differing ideas which resulted from the break up of the medieval church. (Lotherington pg.144)
Well before Luther people within wealthy Germany were becoming increasingly angered by what they saw as the unjust economic demands that were being made by the corrupt Catholic Church. Luther’s message encouraged such people to break away from these demands.
The people as a whole bitterly resented papal taxation, and the whole German clergy came under fire for living a luxurious life at the expense of the ordinary people. For peasants, the money that they had to give to the church was a great burden and was made harder by the increased efficiency in the collection of other dues they owed to Lords and Princes. When Luther pointed out that this revenue was flowing out of Germany towards places such as the Basilica in Rome, the German people realised the benefits if more money were to stay in Germany. The state leaders saw that society would be more stable because they could continue to tax their people who didn’t have to pay their dues to the Catholic Church and many had much to gain by taking from the Church its property and land which could be spent on schools and relieving poverty.
Luther’s message also financially benefited German citizens because he had the view that people had a duty to buy what is necessary for life rather than wasting money on buying pardons.
The way that Martin Luther acted throughout the early stages of the Reformation also goes someway in indicating why his message spread so quickly.
Luther felt that it was his duty to stand by his message. When asked at Worms in 1521 whether the books were his and whether he would renounce them Luther replied; ‘Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason …my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is rather right nor safe. God help me. Amen’. This refusal to compromise gained him many admirers who respected him for standing by what he truly believed in.
Luther had not been a willing revolutionary but after hearing the authorities’ reactions to his views he took the initiative, publishing pamphlet after pamphlet on what was wrong with the teachings and practices of the Church. He used the printing press to his advantage and he made it easier for the normal German people to read about his ideas, by translating the 95 thesis and the Bible into German so that people could interpret it themselves. Luther also used his preaching power to his advantage, attracting many to his message. Many of his contemporise see his writings and his example as being of vital importance for the Reformation.
Finally his theology enabled many groups in Germany, such as Princes, the new middle classes and peasants, to see something that was beneficial to them. His theology also tapped into existing dissatisfaction with the church that many possessed.
I therefore believe that people responded so rapidly to Luther’s message because firstly many saw something in it that was beneficial to them. Whether it be the head of states who would prosper from the money that stayed within Germany or the peasants who were being told that they no longer needed to give money to the church. Secondly it tapped into many of their existing concerns about the church that many people had had for years. These included the corruption of the Catholic Church in areas such as relics and priests who did not fill their duties and the vast sums of money flowing out of Germany towards Rome. Finally German society was at such a stage that it was open to change. Factors such as the increasingly large amounts of people were becoming literate meant that Germany embraced the reform. In my opinion it is hard for one to distinguish the single most significant factor that caused such a rapid response however of all of the factors I believe the most important was that Luther’s message tapped into the existing dissatisfaction with the church that many Germans possessed. Had the German people been completely satisfied with the Catholic Church, they wouldn’t have even considered Luther’s message.