Remembering Luther 500 Years Later

With the 500th year anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, scholars are taking a reinvigorated interest into the historical scholarship of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. With this reinvigorated interest has come new additions to the archives. Last Fall Semester, Utah State\u27s Special Collection acquired a rare, early printed document entitled Zwey keyserliche vneynige vnd wydderwertige gepott den Luther betreffend, or in English: Two Imperial Discordant, and Abominable Commandments Concerning Luther. Written in 1524, this document is Holy Roman Emperor Charles Hapsburg V response to the Edict of Worms, wherein Martin Luther was formally declared a heretic and excommunicated. The document itself is composed of four books, wherein Charles V gives voice to his support of the condemnation of Luther. Luther naturally did not take such comments lightly and provides scathing commentary, and annotations, where he reasserts his claims, and condemns the Crown and the Papacy. The book\u27s printing coincides with the German Peasant Revolution, which was the largest public European uprising until the French Revolution. By analyzing the content of this document, and utilizing cutting edge scholarship on the subject of Luther, our goal is to reexamine the role of Luther in the Protestant Reformation. Where does he fit into the Reformation, was he a leader? Was he simply fuel to the fire of revolution? Further, we shall endeavor to provide more clarity as to Luther\u27s legacy. Do we remember him as hero? As liberator or reformer, or was he simply a dissident with conflicting views? Our group is comprised of students in Dr. Susan Cogan\u27s History of Early Modern Europe course. Our names are Slade Winberry, Katie Farr, Jake Renn, and Ireland Yokom. We will be accompanied by a history-major not enrolled in the course named Arie French