Documents representing the beginning and the early development of the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther
Documentary heritage submitted by Germany and recommended for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register in 2015.
© Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
A single-leaf print of the Ninety-Five Theses on the validity of indulgence’ by Martin Luther, printed in Nuremberg by Hieronymus Hoeltzel before the end of 1517.
The documents recommended here represent the beginning and the early development of the Reformation that Martin Luther initiated and that spread from Wittenberg far beyond the German empire of his time and well beyond his own epoch. They document how a religious, ecclesiastical impetus exerted its critical power; directing this force toward the revision of traditional positions, and how it gradually developed into larger societal and political phenomenon which made an impact throughout the world. The selected writings make clear what “Reformation” in this case means. “Reformation” stands for the many aspects of this process of transformation which, based upon the question of the relationship of the human being with God, determined and altered all levels and elements of society and human life – religion, politics, society, culture.