The Life and Times of Martin Luther

This is a rather eclectic episode, digging into literacy and communication methods in the late Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation.  The move from Latin to writing in the vernacular.  We'll also discuss the tortured history of heretics, especially Jan Hus, and whether reformers like Martin Luther had a reason to be a little fearful.

Happy Listening!

Leo X, Archbishop of Mainz and Johann Tetzel respond to the 95 Theses

Based on where we are in the story of Martin Luther, this is essentially the beginning of "Book II" in the telling of The Life nd Times of Martin Luther.  

In this episode we meet three friends of Martin Luther: Johannas Lang, Georg Spalatin and Christopher Scheurl.  Each likely had an impact on the how and where the word of the 95 Theses would spread.  

Luther posts the 95 Theses!  In the program up to date, we have delved into Martin Luther’s life up to now. We have looked at the history of the Holy Roman Empire, and also a history of the Papacy; each of those topics until this moment on October 31, 1517.  Now the 95 Theses are in play, and the reaction to it will ignite the Reformation movement.  

Episode 3: The Holy Roman Empire (Part 1)  In this episode we leave Martin Luther after his birth in 1483, and go back to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the rise of the Frankish Kings, culminating with the coronation of Charlemagne, the father of Europe.  

This "pilot" episode details how and why this podcast is beginning, with an overview of the story arch and scope of the podcast. Namely, the life of Martin Luther, in tandem with the events of the Reformation.  The series will also capture many of the events, inventions, daily life and personalities of the 15th & 16th centuries.  

It is January 12, 1519, and Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I has died.  The Luther question is put on the back burner while the powers that be jockeys for position to select a new emperor.  Before we delve into the selection and election of a new emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), this episode will be a lightning round of information about the Holy Roman Empire itself.  It encapsulates information presented way back in episodes 3,4,5, & 6.   Happy Listening!

After the blow-up in Augsburg and Luther's refusal to recant, and his subsequent escape, Cardinal Cajetan and Pope Leo X are demanding Luther be sent to Rome.  Frederick the Wise has a problem on his hands, how to solve the "Luther Affair?"

Enter stage left a new character at the dawn of the Reformation: the new professor of Greek at the University in Wittenberg: Philipp Schwartzerdt aka Philipp Melanchthon.

Martin Luther is "invited" to a special meeting in Augsburg in October of 1518 with Cardinal Cajetan.  Can you say, recant?  

We pick up the story after the Heidelberg Disputation, and discuss the relationship between Martin Luther and Johannes Eck, and Eck's criticism of the 95 Theses.  Cardinal Cajetan enters the narrative, as we set the scene for Luther's  upcoming trial at Augsburg.  Happy Listening!

Wow:  Finally a new episode!  In this episode, we explore Martin Luther's Sermon on Indulgences and Grace and the Heidelberg Disputation.  Happy Listening!