THIS year is the 500th anniversary ofthe beginning of the Reformation.

On 31st October 1517 Martin Luthernailed 95 theses or statements to thedoor of the castle church at Wittenbergin Germany. (See map, Figure 2) Martinwas a professor of biblical studies at theUniversity of Wittenberg, which had beenfounded in 1502 by Frederick, duke ofSaxony, and he objected to certain prac-tices common in the Church throughoutEurope. He felt that they were wrongand in his theses he listed them andexplained his objections. Prominentamong the practices that he objected towas the sale of indulgences. By payingmoney to an agent of the Church a per-son could shorten the time a departedloved-one would spend in purgatory,which was believed to be the place wherepeople were purged of their sins beforebeing accepted into heaven. The personwas given a document (the indulgence)

which certified the transaction. Martin’saction caused many of the more edu-cated people in Germany to questionthese practices and demand reform.There had been previous reform move-

ments such as that initiated by JohnWycliffe in England in the 14th centuryand by Jan Hus in Bohemia in the 15th

century but they had little impact. Afterprinting with movable type was inventedby Johann Gutenberg in about 1450calls for reform could be widely dissem-inated in the form of pamphlets, and themovement, which was centred on Martin,increased in strength. As he continuedto speak out against what he felt waswrong, people all over Europe heardhim and responded. Soon Christendomand the world were changed forever. Martin was born at Eisleben in Ger-

many in 1483. In 1507 he became a priestand lectured at the University of Witten-berg. The time from 1517 to 1521 wasparticularly important for Martinand a seminal period in the history of

Martin Luther in six easy lessons

by Peter E. LewisFigure 1 – Silver medal of 1630 showing Martin Luther pointing to the Bible.

Figure 2 – Map of Germany. The borders are those of modern Germany. In the 16th century Germany consisted of many states of various sizes. (Author’s drawing)

Figure 3 – Picture on the inside of the reverseof a screw-medal made in 1730 to commemo-rate the Augsburg Confession of 1530.

Figure 5 – Reverse of the screw-medal show-ing King Gustav II of Sweden on a horse tram-pling a man representing the enemies of theReformation. In 1621 he began a war againstthe Catholic rulers of Poland.

Figure 4 – Obverse of the screw-medal showingCharles V presiding at the Diet of Augsburgin 1530.

the Reformation. In a schraubmedaille(screw-medal) made in 1730 at Augsburgthere are six tiny pictures illustratingsix events in Martin’s life during thatperiod. The pictures are on a round pieceof paper attached to the back of the rev-erse. (Figure 3) The medal is 45 mms indiameter and was made to commemoratethe 200th anniversary of the AugsburgConfession, which explained the faithof the Lutheran Church. In 1530 theemperor Charles V held a diet (assembly)at Augsburg and on the obverse of themedal Philip Melanchthon, a friend ofMartin, reads the Augsburg Confessionto him. (Figure 4) On the reverse theSwedish king, Gustav II, is on a horsetrampling a man who represents theenemies of the Reformation. (Figure 5)

Lesson 1In the first picture in the medal (Fig-

ure 6) Martin is nailing the 95 thesesto the wooden door of the castle church

at Wittenberg. A painting made in 1872by Ferdinand Pauwels shows the sameevent. (Figure 7) The wooden door nolonger exists because the original churchwas destroyed by fire, but the modernchurch has a huge bronze door with the95 theses on it. (Figure 8) This churchis shown on a 5-mark coin issued in 1983by the German Democratic Republic(East Germany). (Figure 9) On the cointhe church’s tall tower is evident, but itwas in the tower of the monastery atWittenberg in 1516 where Martin hadwhat has been called his “tower experi-ence.” He was reading in the Bible Paul’sletter to the Romans, and when he readthe sentence, “The righteous will live byfaith,” he understood that being acceptedby God does not depend on anything theChristian does. He realized that thewhole idea of penance (punishment forsins) was wrong, and paying money forindulgences became abhorrent to him.

Lesson 2In the second picture in the medal

(Figure 10) a well-dressed gentlemanis putting coins on a table to pay for anindulgence which is being held by JohannTetzel, the Dominican friar in charge ofselling indulgences in Germany. Thegentleman expects remission of his sinsor those of a loved one who died and isnow in purgatory. The coins will go intothe coffer, the box made secure by metalbands, which is on the floor. The moneywill go towards rebuilding St Peter’sChurch in Rome or to pay the debts of thearchbishop of Mainz who spent a lot ofmoney to acquire his see. Because numis-matists know which coins circulated in

Saxony in the early 16th century we cansay which coins might have been on thetable to buy an indulgence in Saxony in1517. A likely coin is the gross, a largesilver coin that was issued by the dukesof Saxony from 1500 to 1507. (Figure 11)Duke Frederick the Wise had a lot ofmoney and was able to finance the Uni-versity of Wittenberg because over theyears he had acquired a large number ofrelics including a thorn from the crownof thorns and a hair from Jesus’ beard.Wittenberg prospered as pilgrims flockedto the city to see these wondrous objects.

Figure 6 – Lesson 1. Martin is nailing his 95theses to the door of the castle church atWittenberg.

Figure 7 – Painting made in 1872 by Ferdinand Pauwels. It shows Martin nailing his 95 theses to the church door. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 8 – Door of the modern church at Wit-tenberg. (Wikimedia Commons)

Frederick was not called “the wise” fornothing! Similarly devout Germans wereeager to buy indulgences, and a popularditty was, “When the coin in the cofferrings, a soul from purgatory springs.”

Lesson 3The archbishop of Mainz reported

Martin to Pope Leo X who authorizedCardinal Cajetan to interview Martinat Augsburg in 1518. The cardinal was aleading theologian and the papal legate(representative) in Germany. In Figure12 the cardinal is wearing his red biretta(cardinal’s hat) and is seated while Mar-tin has to stand. The cardinal wantedMartin to retract his criticism of indul-gences but Martin argued that the pope

had no authority to remit punishmentsbeing suffered by souls in purgatory andhe pointed out that there was no supportfor such a claim in the Bible. The cardi-nal became angry and told him to get out.Martin said he simply turned on hisheel and left while the cardinal was stillshouting.

Lesson 4Johann Eck was a German scholar

who opposed Martin, and a public debatewas arranged at Leipzig in 1519. InFigure 13 Eck is seated on the right.Martin was convinced that the Bible wasthe supreme authority in matters of faith,and Eck manoeuvred Martin into defen-ding some of the teaching of the reformerJan Hus, who had been condemned as aheretic and burnt at the stake in 1415.(Figure 14) Hus came from Bohemia,which is now the Czech Republic, andhad been influenced by the 14th centuryEnglish reformer, John Wycliffe, whoinstigated the translation of the LatinBible into English. Following the debateEck went to Rome to seek Martin’s con-demnation by the pope.

Lesson 5In Rome Johann Eck and Cardinal

Cajetan composed a papal bull that wasapproved by the pope, Leo X. A papal bullwas a statement from the pope and so-called because of the lead seal (bulla) that

was attached to the document. (Figure15) It was entitled, Exsurge Domine,which is Latin for “Arise, O Lord.” Thesewords began the first part of the state-ment, “Arise, O Lord, and judge yourcause. A wild boar has invaded yourvineyard.” It goes on to condemn Martinand threaten him with excommunication(exclusion from the Church) if he does notrecant within 60 days. In Figure 16 thepope has set fire to Martin’s books, butMartin is defiant and in January 1521 heis formally excommunicated by the pope.

Lesson 6In Germany Martin gains much sup-

port and in Wittenberg the students build

Figure 9 – 5-mark coin of East Germany minted in 1983 showing the schlosskirche (castle church) at Wittenberg.

Figure 10 – Lesson 2. A gentleman is buyingan indulgence.

Figure 12 – Lesson 3. Martin is arguing withCardinal Cajetan.

Figure 11 – Silver gross issued by the dukes ofSaxony from 1500 to 1507. On the obverse anangel holds a shield with crossed swords onit. Crossed blue swords have been the mark ofthe porcelain produced at the Meissen factorysince 1710. Meissen is in Saxony.

a pyre of old books and documents. InFigure 17Martin is about to throw thepapal bull into the flames. He continuedto criticize the Church, and Duke Fred-erick, his patron and protector, obtaineda guarantee of safety from the emperor,Charles V, so that Martin would be ableto attend the diet at Worms in 1521 andbe allowed to speak. At the diet Martinsaid he would recant if convinced ofhis error by Scripture or plain reason,otherwise he could not go against hisconscience. He then made his famousstatement, “Here I stand. I can do noother.” Being against disorder in theempire Charles cut short the proceedings,

but with Duke Frederick’s help Martinescaped to the great castle of Wartburgat Eisenach, which is about halfwaybetween Worms and Wittenberg. (Fig-ure 18) At Worms the diet passed theEdict of Worms making Martin an outlaw. In the castle Martin began to trans-

late the New Testament into German.(Figure 19) Instead of just translatingthe Latin version known as the Vulgate(common) he translated the Greek in

Figure 14 – Silver medallion made in 1715 tocommemorate the 300th anniversary of theexecution of Jan Hus. He came from Husinec,which means “goose town”, and his name inEnglish would be John Goose. Luther approvedof much of his teaching.

Figure 13 – Lesson 4. Martin is in a disputewith Johann Eck.

Figure 15 – Lead seal (bulla) of Pope ClementXII (1730-1740). Papal seals have the pope’sname on one side and the heads of saintsPeter and Paul on the other. They are attachedto the document by a cord.

Continued overleaf

Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P/Code . . . . . . . . . .

Yes, I’d like your latest catalogue

PO Box 1616, Ballarat Mail Centre Victoria 3354 AustraliaPhone: (03) 5330 1486 Email: coins@netconnect.com.auVisit our ONLINE BIDSITE:www.coinmall.com/cointrends

PostalBid SaleWe offer regularsales of 5,000+lots, including

World Coins - Most Countries A to Z (2,000+ lots) inall metals including Gold.Australia -Pre Decimal,Gold, Banknotes,Decimal,Tradesmen’s Tokens (800+ lots)Medallions -Share Script (Gold Mining)World Banknotes -Ancients - Roman Coins.Great Britain -Hammered, Milled &Modern Coins, LargeSelection of Tokens & Medallions

A wide range of lots tosuit almost any collecting

interest and budget -Lots from $5 to $5,000.

Please request ourFREE Catalogue.

�

Figure 16 – Lesson 5. The pope burns Luther’sbooks.

which the New Testament was originallywritten. His German New Testamentwas first printed in 1523 and he subse-quently translated the Old Testament

from the original Hebrew. He wrote inplain German that was easy to under-stand and it had a lasting influence onthe German language, just as WilliamTyndale had on the English languagewhen he translated the Greek New Tes-tament into English in 1525. Moreover,in the marginal notes and introductionsto the various parts of the Bible Martingave his interpretation of the text, andhis understanding became the basis ofwhat became known as “Evangelicalism”.According to Derek Wilson, the authorof Out of the Storm: The Life and Legacyof Martin Luther (London: Hutchinson,2007), “This was far and away the mostimportant contribution of Martin Lutherto the history of religion.”Duke Frederick died in 1525 but his

successors and some other princes sup-ported Martin. One of the most power-

ful of these princes was Albert, duke ofPrussia. So strong was his commitmentto the Reformation that his coins haveMartin’s key biblical sentence on them:IVSTVS EX FIDE VIVIT, which is Latinfor, “The righteous live by faith.” (Fig-ure 20) At the Second Diet of Speyer in1529 the princes who supported Martinprotested anti-Lutheran measures andwere called “Protestants”. The name hasbeen used ever since for Christians whotrace the origin of their denomination toMartin. In 1530 because Martin was an out-

law, his friend Melanchthon attendedthe Diet of Augsburg on his behalf andread the Augsburg Confession to theemperor. (Figure 4) In 1546 Martin diedat Eisleben where he was born. He isburied in the castle church at Witten-berg where the Reformation began.

Note: The items illustrated are from theauthor’s collection.

� � �

Figure 18 – Wartburg Castle at Eisenach. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 19 – This notgeld (emergency) banknote from the 1920s shows Martin translating the New Testament from Greek into German in Wartburg Castle.

Figure 17 – Lesson 6. Martin throws the papalbull into a bonfire.

Figure 20 – Silver groschen of Albert, duke ofPrussia. The obverse legend is from Romans1:17 with the date 1544.

Subscribe to CAB now. It’s cheaper andyou get it before

it appears in the newsagencies.See subscription form

on page XX.