Examine the view that 'Lutheran' ideas spread in Germany because of the role of Luther

The significance of the role of Luther during the reformation is of course subjective to the reader, and I agree that ‘Lutheran’ – ‘Lutheran’ of course being Luther’s thoughts and beliefs on the matter of God and morality, usually opposing the warped views of the Roman Catholics at the time – ideas spread due to the role of Luther, but only to an extent. What Luther did for the citizens of Germany was merely spark off an already implanted dislike of the Papacy and the churches’ teachings – therefore, the role of Luther from this point of view is relatively small, however without a radical, educated, strong-willed mind to oppose the Roman Catholic church, their opposition would not have any significant effect.

The fact that Luther wrote the 95 thesis in Latin meant that it was meant for scholarly debate – however, as well as making this an open debate for higher powers, therefore opening the possibility to higher power influence, the peasants at the time would have been just as intrigued even without understanding what the document meant. Also, the fact that Luther chose to nail up his thesis on All Saints Day also played a significant role in the spread of Lutheran ideas – with a sacred event such as this, all kinds of people, including educated and scholarly, would have been moving around Wittenberg; therefore, the thesis would have been seen and understood easily, and from then on, his ideas could have been passed on by word of mouth, due to the frequent passer-by, in and out of the town. Furthermore, the invention of the printing press at the time played a huge role in spreading Lutheran ideas. We can see here that although it is Luther that had the courage to write up and nail up the 95 thesis, the social aspects at the time – invention of the printing press, national events – played probably a greater role in spreading the word amongst the citizens. We can already see here that it was just as much to do with social aspects at the time, than Luther’s role which spread Lutheran ideas.

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Luther’s pamphlet in 1525 (source A), which expresses his opinions “Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants”, supports my claim of Luther’s role being limited. The whole source spews his utter disapproval against the peasant’s rebellion. It essentially states three points against the rebellion of the peasants: Number one, they are breaking the “obedience” by not being “true and faithful, submissive and obedient, to their rulers” as they had sworn to be. Secondly, the peasants’ rebellion is violent and sinful due to their “robbing and plundering” of monasteries and castles – and thirdly, they use the Gospel as a loophole to cloak their “terrible and horrible sin”. The third point is probably the most significant out of the three. The peasants use the Gospel as a way to justify their actions as shown in Source B, the 12 Articles of Memmingen in which the peasant’s state that “All these demands to be tested by scripture and if not in agreement therewith, to be withdrawn”. This phrase of course echoes Luther’s statement at the Diet of Worms – therefore, this shows that Luther’s role is somewhat significant if the peasants choose to follow after him. However, relating back to source A, the fact that the peasants “misinterpreted” Luther’s ideas and intentions so severely must only mean that they themselves sought a rebellion which shows that their hatred and dislike for the papacy was only waiting for an excuse to be sparked off.

The image of “Christ’s Sheepfold” (source C) is an example of propaganda against the Roman Catholic Church. It illustrates the corrupt nature of the Pope as he destroys Christ’s house - this relates to Luther’s statement of him being the antichrist. Due to the huge amount of uneducated peasants, the use if images and propaganda was a great success when influencing and informing the corrupt nature of the Roman Catholic Church to the peasants. Furthermore, as aforementioned, due to the invention of the printing, more copies were being made, which in turn meant that more people were influenced by it. Aside from the social inclusion at the time, it is important to note that Luther himself encouraged more propaganda to be spread and made so that his ideas could spread around Germany much faster – however, his role was not really significant in this sector, in fact, it wasn’t really needed at all.

Source D shows just how narrow-minded and ignorant the Roman Catholic Church was with their view that only the pope could interpret scripture and only the pope could summon a council – therefore, nothing changed even if the peasant’s did not enjoy their condition, because the pope was the only one with the control; and it is clear in source B that even the most basic of rights, “freedom to hunt and fish”, were not granted under the authority of the pope. By this fact, the role of Luther would have merely sparked off their hatred rather than plant it.

Luther was not the first reformist to attempt to criticise and reform the Roman Catholic Church – but he was the first to succeed. Past reformists, such as John Hus, who also disliked the papacy and their actions of extortion and selling of indulgences, were put to death. The same end may have been for Luther had it not been for Frederick of Saxony’s aid. It was Frederick who ordered save journey to the Diet of Worms, and it was Frederick who kidnapped Luther and locked him in Wittenberg castle for his own safety. It is safe to say that without Frederick, Luther would have just been as well off as Hus – therefore, if one must argue that the role of Luther is significant at all, they must also take into consideration Frederick of Saxony, as it was also he who prevented the execution of Luther.

It would be with huge ignorance to state that Luther played an insignificant role in the reformation as it was he who had the courage to stand up for what he believed, even with the knowledge that he could be sentenced to death as a heretic. However, to state that the role of Luther was the most significance holds some obstacles – the time in which Luther chose to rise up against the church was perfect with the invention of the printing press and the help of others – e.g. Saxony – however, it is easy to conclude that Luther was merely a pawn (as shown in source B) which the peasants manipulated to gain what they wanted.

A violent and bloody reformation.