Road to the Reformation

December 18, 1517
In February of the following year, Luther wrote to George Spalatin:
"Alms and kindness towards one’s neighbors are far higher than indulgences. Therefore, I admonish you to buy no indulgences, as long as you have poor neighbors to whom you can give the indulgence money. . . . I firmly believe that those who neglect the poor and purchase indulgences merit condemnation."

December 1, 1517
Archbishop Albrecht only received Luther’s letter with the ninety-five theses and treatise on indulgences in late November. On December 1, 1517, he forwarded the text to the university in Mainz and asked the theologians there to respond within ten days.

That response criticized Luther’s discounting of the pope’s authority in the theses but did little to challenge his other argumentation. Even before Albrecht received their answer, he had forwarded the case to Rome for further clarification.

November 28, 1517
The bishop of Merseburg, who also rejected the indulgence trade, suggested in late November 1517 that Luther’s theses be posted in public places to warn believers about the "humbuggery and hoaxes" of the indulgence preachers.

November 15, 1517
The famous "theses doors" of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, where Luther—at least according to legend—posted the ninety-five theses. The wooden doors dating back to the sixteenth century were destroyed when the church burned during the Seven Years' War in 1760. The current bronze doors, which include the entire text of the ninety-five theses, were a gift to the city from the Prussian king, Wilhelm IV, in 1858.

November 11, 1517
On November 11, Martin Luther sent his theses against the practice of indulgences to Johann Lang. He signed his letter "Martinus Eleutherius"—Martin the Free! Until around this time, he had been known as Martin Luder, but during this period, he switched to the "Luther" spelling.

November 9, 1517
As the indulgence controversy picked up steam, Luther’s arguments began being paired with polemical images. One of the most famous series of these is Lucas Cranach’s Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist, from 1521, which juxtaposes images of Christ—in the example below, driving the money-changers from the temple—with depictions of a corrupt Roman Church—in this case the pope, selling indulgences.

November 8, 1517
A page from the Basel edition of Luther’s Ninety-five Theses:

November 7, 1517
The single broadsheet edition of Luther’s theses printed by Michael Lotter in Leipzig:

November 5, 1517
George Spalatin wrote to Luther to complain that he had not been sent a copy of the ninety-five theses. His letter suggests that they had already become a topic of intense discussion at the court.

Regardless of the specifics of how Luther’s ninety-five theses against the indulgence trade were made public, their reception and distribution says something about the environment and society into which this spark fell.

I’ve reflected a bit more on this question on my blog, and I’d love to hear what you think!
http://writinghistory.de/wildfires-and-wittenberg/ (from Ellen Yutzy Glebe)

Wildfires and Wittenberg - Writing History Who’s responsible for the fire? Last fall several wildfires raged in western NC. Ash rained down on my former high school; some schools closed due to the smoke, and some local residents lost everything, even their lives. At least a few of these fires were...

There is a long tradition of celebrating the Reformation in Germany. This painting shows the central square in Wittenberg decorated for the celebration of Luther’s 450th birthday in 1933.