Several things came to mind as I worked on the Reformation-themed bulletin board display in the library last month. (Many thanks to Judy Stone for her good work in putting up this display)
First, I was reminded afresh what a tumultuous time the Reformation era was. Charges and counter-charges, threats, rebuffs, and recriminations, many of which were tinged with, if not soaked in, violence, were commonplace among both religious and political leaders. For ordinary villagers and townsfolk who were caught in the cross-fire of this struggle for control it must have been an extraordinarily confusing and disorienting time. Perhaps, like so many other eras of cataclysmic change and excess, it was simultaneously the best and the worst of times.
Also, it underscored how, in any age, loss of control and fear fuel the impulse to censorship. One can be sympathetic to these feelings, the desire to deny access to someone "for their own good." When much is at stake, when there is a lot to lose, the impulse to censor can become overwhelming. Done with a heavy hand, with fire and sword, however, it rarely works and mostly succeeds in diminishing the censors.
A very interesting book on the stand-off between Luther and Church hierarchy at the Diet of Worms in 1521 is Confrontation at Worms; Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms by De Lamar Jensen. It includes the full text of the Edict of Worms issued by Emperor Charles V following the Diet in which Luther's writings were mandated for destruction. Jensen's commentary provides a detailed and engaging account of this seminal event in the history of the Reformation.
Bruce Eldevik
I never heard De Lamar JensenConfrontation at Worms; Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms book before. Would you mind to share more about it? Thanks!
Posted by: Gaithersburg Pharmacy | September 23, 2009 at 06:30 PM