Background
Luther went back to Wittenberg in 1522 and began to reform the church. When he was at Wartburg castle, he translated the New Testament into German. He sold many copies within a couple of years. Because a small percent of people in Germany were able to read, the main way of getting Luther’s message to the people was through teaching sermons. These Lutheran sermons focused on following the message of the Bible, and this message was very popular among the people. Many cities soon began to reform their churches as Luther had done in Wittenberg.
There were also many pamphlets created that put the pope in a bad light. They contained portraits that showed him as the antichrist and contained many slogans that were aimed at the papacy. Luther also used music as a means of spreading his message of reform.
There were also many pamphlets created that put the pope in a bad light. They contained portraits that showed him as the antichrist and contained many slogans that were aimed at the papacy. Luther also used music as a means of spreading his message of reform.
The Spread of Luther’s Ideas
Lutheranism spread throughout Germany, in the ecclesiastical states of the north and to the imperial cities of the south. Nuremberg was the first imperial city to convert to Lutheranism in 1525. Many of the people who converted to Lutheranism were clergy, and they normally had money, meaning they were able to have more sway among the ruling class in the cities. Luther soon found out, however, that it was not as easy as he thought to spread the word of God. Men like Andreas Carlstadt wanted to reform even more radically than Luther by eliminating many Catholic traditions. Luther also got some heat from the Christian humanists such as Erasmus, because they didn’t want Christendom to become split. There were some younger Christian humanists, however, like Philip Melanchthon, who liked Luther’s ideas and decided to support him.
The Peasant’s War
These previous oppositions paled in comparison to the problem of the peasants, however. Many peasants were unhappy with the fact that even though the economy was getting better, they weren’t affected, and they were still being treated poorly by their lords. The peasants looked to Luther for help, but it was an ex-follower of Luther’s, Thomas Müntzer, who lit a flame under the peasants. Then the peasant revolts began, first in 1524 in southwestern Germany, and spread up from there. Luther produced a pamphlet telling the noblemen and lords to kill and get rid of the revolting peasants. Luther backed up the lords because he knew that in order for his reformation to gain ground, he would need their full support. In Luther’s mind, the authority was put in place by God, and obedience of the authority would help him spread his teachings. About a year after the revolts first began, the German lords and princes had brutally ceased the peasant revolts. Luther by this time was heavily relying on the support of these state authorities.