example, in his theses, Luther was very public about his dislike of religious taxes and
the sale of indulgences. He believed in the dismissal of religious hierarchy
(Priesthood of All Believers). He very famously believed in justification through
faith alone, which meant the dismissal of prescribed strict eating regimes, working
days, a religiously based calendar and the purchasing of indulgences would not help
you in the eyes of God, only faith. Cameron said that Luther flattered the common
people, through his belief that everyone is equal in Gods eyes, there is no religious
hierarchy. This movement was known as the Priesthood of All Believers. Previously,
the Priest was treated with great reverence, almost worshipped within his parish. He
would conduct his service with his back to the congregation, he was seen as the
closest link to God, and therefore must be treated with much respect. Luther was a
common man speaking out against a large institution, which took a lot of courage.
This won him the hearts of many German people. The time that luther decided to
voice his opinions, was a time of a growing sense of German nationalism. He was
seen as a national hero.
People saw it as a chance to have their grievances voiced. Luther was
obviously not going to back down to Roman pressure, he was a strong character.
In 1500, Conrad Celtis re-published a text by Tacitus called Germania. The
text was about a great Germany fighting an oppressive Rome and became a bestseller.
It was helped pride against foreign powers grow in Germany. Luther stood against
Rome and became a folk hero.
Peasants made up a majority of the population, and these were not rich or
educated people. They feared economic problems, as they could not afford to buy
indulgences and pay tithes. Many of the laity did not necessarily understand what
Luther’s message was, but he appeared to be speaking out against a large, rich Roman
power, who used Germany for money and interfered in political matters that held no
great importance to them. The majority of peasant population were happy with
Catholicism, but new Protestant idea’s reduced spiritual anxiety. Whereas as before,
in Catholicism, they were forced to buy indulgences and pay tithes and for masses for
the dead. People were having to try harder and harder to achieve salvation, for
example, Luther’s sacrifice of food and comfort and Frederick the Wise’s enormous
collection of indulgences and relics. Protestantism presented an alternative route to
salvation and a simpler religion. A minority agreed with Luther for his actual beliefs,
and they were the educated elite who wanted to save their souls.
Several centuries before the 1520’s, Joachim Fiole prophesised that a holy
man would come and reform the church. His prophecies were still popular by the
1520’s, meaning that people expected reform. Fiole wrote Reformatio Sigismundi,
which went through many editions. When Luther’s circulated woodcuts began to
arise publicly, people latched onto him due to the engrained traditional message of a
‘second coming’
Humanists such as Erasmus had already begun to explore the sources of
Christianity in order to challenge the teachings of the current Church. This was
merely theological and intellectual exploration. Though Erasmus was Dutch and so
did not suffer from the degree of papal interference as the German people, he had laid
the foundations for Luther.
The printing press provided accuracy and an easier way of getting news across
a wide area. Luther had his 95 Theses distributed within two weeks. There were
woodcuts within the pamphlets for the illiterate as well as Luther’s Theses and other
writings. This was an excellent way for propaganda to be published and distributed.
In conclusion, it can be seen that the reason Germany was such fertile ground
for Luther’s message was the widespread resentment of Rome. The German people
could not understand why their money was being taken away from them and their
political affairs interfered with by a power they could not see. Most of Luther’s
supporters were peasants, and these were the people to whom money mattered the
most, because they had so little of it. It would seem that the reformation was
based on economic and political grounds rather than spiritual beliefs.
