Cold Open

It’s June 1517, in the town of Magdeburg, Germany.

Citizens clear the way as a column of robed monks marches through the town’s narrow and filthy streets.

At the head of the solemn procession, the monks carry a large cross, and fluttering in the breeze behind it, the Papal standard - the flag of Pope Leo X. Bringing up the rear is a heavily laden cart…

Yohann Tetzel, a monk in sumptuous robes, stands atop it, blessing the crowd as he passes. Yohann is around fifty, with a broad belly and a kindly face.

As the procession passes, the townspeople flock behind it, all following the cart toward the marketplace.

There, Yohann clambers down to the ground… as the other monks erect the cross in the center of the square and pull folded tables from the back of the cart.

From boxes, the monks grab bundles of parchment certificates which they pile on the tables, and then, finally, they place a large ornate, padlocked chest on the ground.

By now, a large crowd has gathered.

Yohann raises his hands, and, in a cavernous voice, he calls for silence.

Then Yohann begins to speak. His voice echoing across the square, Yohann preaches of God and heaven and the torments of purgatory. He’s eloquent and persuasive. But he’s as much a street hawker as he is a preacher. He’s come here to sell the people of Magdeburg eternal salvation.

Yohann tells the crowd that for just a few coins dropped into his coffer, they can buy what’s called an indulgence – a parchment certificate from the Pope that forgives their sins and guarantees them entry into heaven. For a small extra payment, the townspeople can even secure the release of a soul already in purgatory — a loved one, maybe their mother, father, or even a child.

With his honey words and smiling face, Yohann prays on the people’s guilt, saying: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a rescued soul to heaven springs.” It's not long before a line is winding around the square and Yohann’s wooden chest is filling up with gold.

In the early sixteenth century, the sale of these so-called indulgences is big business for the Catholic Church. Pope Leo X needs money to fund the expensive renovations of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. And men like Yohann Tetzel are only too happy to persuade the poor believers of Europe to give up their coins for a chance of paradise.

But the practice is controversial. Outraged by Yohann’s salesmanship, a young German monk named Martin Luther will protest the sale of indulgences, and his writings will ignite a new religious movement in Europe which will become known as the Protestant Reformation.

It will be the most serious schism in the history of the Catholic Church. And it will begin in earnest when an edict banning Martin’s teaching is issued in the German city of Worms on May 25th, 1521.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is May 25th, 1521: The Edict of Worms.

Act One: Bull

It’s October 31st, 1517, three and a half years before Martin Luther’s teaching will be banned.

In his room at the University of Wittenberg, Martin Luther hunches over his desk with a writing quill in his hand. He thinks for a moment, then dips the quill in ink and scrawls his name at the bottom of a long letter to his bishop, Albert of Brandenburg.

Martin is a monk in his early thirties. A popular professor of biblical studies, he is regarded as one of the brightest minds at the university. And for several years, Martin has been contemplating the nature of Christian faith, repentance, and forgiveness. Increasingly, he sees the sale of indulgences as a corruption, completely incompatible with the teachings of the Bible. and he’s angry about what he sees happening in Germany, where the poor are being encouraged to buy scraps of parchment that will supposedly free them from purgatory. For months, Martin has wrestled with his conscience but done nothing about his concerns. Indulgences are approved by the Pope after all, and Martin knows that opposing them could be seen as questioning the highest authority in the church.

But today he has pushed past his worries and decided to take action by writing a letter to his local bishop. In it, he provides a scholarly explanation of his concerns, entitled “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” – or “Ninety-Five Theses” for short. The young monk thinks this is a cautious, limited, and academic intervention — nothing too abrasive.

But Martin doesn’t just send his letter to the bishop. He decides to share his ideas with other academics as well. and at first, little notice seems to be given to Martin’s ideas. But, early in 1518, somebody translates Martin’s words from the original Latin into ordinary German. And within weeks, copies of his work are circulating throughout Europe. Martin’s arguments are more radical than perhaps even he realized, striking at the heart of the Catholic Church.

Quickly, he becomes one of the most famous and controversial men in Europe. Many in Germany embrace his radical teachings and ideas, and a movement for reform in the church begins to grow.

This does not go unnoticed by the Pope. In October 1518, Pope Leo X forces Martin to explain himself and subjects him to a heresy examination in Germany, but this move only emboldens Martin who feels that the Pope is now trying to silence him. The three-day hearing with the Papal legate descends into a shouting match, as the men trade Biblical verses and theological arguments. By its end, Martin still refuses to recant his beliefs. and to avoid arrest, Martin is smuggled out of town by his supporters, his fame only burnished by the fractious hearing.

Back in Rome, the Pope grows more determined than ever to stamp out Martin’s growing movement. At the beginning of 1520, he orders a meeting of cardinals and lawyers to examine Martin’s original claims, and by May, they have delivered their verdict.

Two and a half years after Martin released his “Ninety-Five Theses,” at a country estate on the outskirts of Rome, Pope Leo X sits down at a desk in his opulent library. Spread out on the table in front of him is the draft of a decree known as a Papal bull, ready for Leo’s approval. He picks it up to read. It’s entitled: "Bull against the errors of Martin Luther and his followers."

Its densely written text itemizes 42 alleged heresies in Martin Luther’s work. It decrees that unless Martin recants these heresies within sixty days of receiving the Bull, he will be declared a heretic and arrested, and all his works will be burned. With the Pope’s approval, the Bull is dispatched and, two months later, it is published across Europe.

But, still, Martin does not recant. His reply to the Pope’s decree is public and dramatic. On December 10th, 1520, a bonfire is lit in Wittenberg. But it’s not Martin’s books that are thrown into the fire. Instead, Martin tosses a copy of the Papal Bull into the flames.

After this display, reconciliation with the Pope will seem impossible. But in the spring of 1521 in the German city of Worms, an extraordinary meeting will take place, and there will be one last attempt at saving the church from a damaging split. But, in the end, its outcome will spark a revolution and contribute to the greatest division the church has ever seen.

Act Two: Worms

It’s early April 1521, a month before the Edict of Worms will be issued.

A horse-drawn wagon lurches over a rough country road in central Germany. Sitting in the back is Martin Luther, accompanied by a few of his students and colleagues from the University of Wittenberg.

A cold wind whips across the open fields and Martin wraps his cloak tighter around his thin body as he gazes at the horizon. In the distance, there’s a smudge of smoke. It’s the town of Erfurt — one of the group's stops on their way to the city of Worms.

Martin and his colleagues have been summoned to the distant town by the most powerful man in the world: the young Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. This 21-year-old rules over Germany – and much of the rest of Europe as well. He’s a devout Catholic who despises Martin’s work, so he’s eager to enforce the Papal Bull against the rebellious monk and have him tried as a heretic.

But Charles also knows that many people in Germany are sympathetic to Martin and have ignored the Pope’s demands to arrest him. Chief among them is Martin’s benefactor, the influential Frederick of Saxony. Frederick believes that before Martin is condemned, the monk must have a hearing before a council of learned men.

And since Charles relies on Frederick’s support to rule as Holy Roman Emperor, reluctantly, he has agreed to the suggestion. Promising a safe passage, the Emperor has asked Martin to come to the city of Worms for a hearing. Hope is that if Martin can be persuaded to soften his incendiary statements, a reconciliation with the Church can still be secured. But Martin has already unleashed something in Germany: a popular revolt against the Catholic Church and its teachings.

As Martin’s wagon draws closer to Erfurt, the town gates swing open, and a party of forty men on horseback trot down the road toward the wagon. Martin’s companions glance at one another, worried that the townsmen intend to arrest them. But when the horsemen ride up, the fears quickly fade. The men have not come to arrest Martin – they’re here to escort him into town where a hero’s welcome awaits.

As Martin enters through the gate, people climb up the walls and perch on window ledges to catch a glimpse of the charismatic monk. When Martin preaches in the town that Sunday, the congregation is so large that it spills into the streets. By the end of his brief visit, it’s clear that whatever happens at Martin’s hearing, it won’t be easy for the Catholic Church to quell what the monk has begun.

When Martin arrives in Worms ten days later, he is greeted with even greater excitement than in Erfurt. Thousands of local people surge out of the city to welcome him, and trumpets play in the tower of the cathedral as Martin parades through the streets to his lodgings.

But Martin is not the only famous face in Worms. An Imperial Diet is underway in the city - a gathering of the most powerful men in Germany, including Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor himself. They’ve all come to Worms to discuss issues of imperial governance, public peace, and foreign and economic policy. These are the men that will hear Martin’s case.

A day after the monk’s ecstatic welcome in Worms, Martin is led into a small audience chamber in the palace of the local bishop. There, Charles V sits on the gilded imperial throne and stares down his long nose at the troublesome priest.

Huge piles of books and pamphlets stand stacked on a windowsill. The chairman steps forward and asks Martin if they are his works. And Martin confirms they are. Then he’s asked, “Do you recant, in whole or in part, what you have written?”

This is the key question and the whole room falls silent. There’s a long pause, and then, finally, Martin requests an adjournment to consider his answer — so many of his works have been gathered, he cannot immediately say which, if any, he would now reject.

There’s a murmur of irritation from some in the crowd, but it’s quickly drowned out by shouts from Martin’s supporters. With a scowl, the Emperor grants Martin’s request. The hearing reconvenes the following evening, and still more people cram into the audience chamber and the Emperor’s guards must elbow through the crowd as they escort Charles to his throne.

This time, the young Emperor is determined that he will have answers. And for his part, Martin knows that what is said in this room will echo around Europe, and he doesn’t want to waste this chance. When he’s asked for an answer to the question from the day before, Martin delivers a long and brilliant speech that turns the spotlight on his accusers, asking them who they truly serve: God or the man in the Vatican.

Angered, the chairman of the hearing pushes for a simple answer – does Martin recant his works or not? Cornered, at last, Martin must speak plainly. He says, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason… – for my conscience is captive to the word of God – I cannot and I will not recant anything.”

With this, the hearing will end in uproar. The defiant Martin will be led through the streets by cheering supporters, his arms held aloft in triumph. But Martin’s enemies will be pleased too. The monk has confessed in public. Now, all that will be left for the Emperor to do is issue the Edict that will confirm Martin as a heretic and deliver him to the Catholic Church for certain execution.

Act Three: Schism

It’s May 25th, 1521, in the city of Worms, Germany.

At the final assembly of the Imperial Diet, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V presents an edict to the dignitaries – his Imperial mandate against Martin Luther. In it, Charles declares that as Emperor, it is his duty to defend the Catholic Church. Martin has publicly confessed to heresies. He has not recanted despite numerous opportunities to do so. So, he must therefore be arrested and executed.

But Martin isn’t in Worms anymore to face this punishment. Following his hearing, the popular preacher was allowed to leave the city unharmed. Charles V had promised him safe passage home. But Martin and his supporters didn’t want to take any chances, so they came up with a plan to whisk the monk away to safety with a fake kidnapping.

In a forest a hundred miles from Worms, Martin’s wagon was ambushed by armed men. The monk was bundled into the back of a horse and ridden off into the trees. Everyone assumed that he had been kidnapped and murdered by Catholic zealots. But in fact, Martin was taken into the protection of his benefactor, Frederick of Saxony.

He's still in hiding when the Edict of Worms is issued. The Edict not only condemns Martin as a heretic but also forbids the sharing or promotion of his ideas. Effectively, the Edict banishes Martin’s growing number of followers from the Catholic Church.

The Emperor, Charles V, claims that the Edict has the “unanimous counsel and consent” of the Imperial Diet. But it took weeks of negotiation for the text to be agreed on and, despite the emperor’s wishes, it will never be enforced in Germany. Because the Edict is not a signal of the unified strength of the church. Instead, it’s confirmation that the church is breaking apart.

When Martin sat down to write his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, he could never have imagined what he would unleash. A scholarly debate over the sale of indulgences quickly became something far greater and more disruptive. Martin’s works challenged how European culture and society had been organized for generations. He kicked at the foundations of the Catholic Church – and the Catholic Church began to shake.

Martin’s ideas will launch what becomes known as the Protestant Reformation. It is a religious revolution which will spark wars and atrocities and change the political map of Europe forever, and it will begin when Martin Luther was condemned, his ideas were outlawed and his followers were banished by the Edict of Worms, issued by the Holy Roman Emperor on May 25th, 1521.

Outro

Next on History Daily. May 26th, 1896. The Wall Street Journal begins printing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the nation’s oldest market index still in use today.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by William Simpson.

Produced by Alexandra Currie-Buckner.

Executive Producers are Steven Walters for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.