[1] _Unserm furnchmen nach_. See Introduction, p. 57.
[2] An ironical comparison of the monks' cowl and tonsure with the
headgear of the jester.
[3] i. e., Which one turns out to be the real fool.
[4] The proverb ran, _Monachus semper praesens_, "a monk is always
there." See Wander, _Deutsches Sprichworterlexicon_, under Monch, No.
130.
[5] Evidently a reference to the _Gravamina of the German Nation_; see
Gebhardt, _Die Grav. der Deutschen Nation_, Breslau, 1895.
[6] Councils of the Church, especially those of Constance (1414-18),
and of Basel (1431-39).
[7] Charles V. was elected Emperor in 1519, when but twenty years of
age. Hutten expresses his "hopes of good" from Charles in _Vadiscus_
(Bocking, IV, 156).
[8] Frederick Barbarossa (1152-1100).
[9] Frederick II (1212-1250), grandson of Barbarossa and last of the
great Hohenstaufen Emperors. He died under excommunication.
[10] Pope Julius II (1503-1513). Notorious among the popes for his
unscrupulous pursuit of political power, he was continually involved
in war with one and another of the European powers over the possession
of territories in Italy.
[11] Luther's recollection of the figures was faulty.
[12] The term "Romanist" is applied by Luther to the champions of the
extreme form of papal supremacy. C. Vol. I, p. 343 f.
[13] i. e., The three rods for the punishment of an evil pope.
[14] _Spuknisse_, literally "ghosts." The gist of the sentence is,
"the Romanists have frightened the world with ghost-stories."
[15] _Olegotze_--"an image anointed with holy oil to make it sacred";
in modern German, "a blockhead."
[16] Lay-baptism in view of imminent death is a practice as old as the
Christian Church. The right of the laity to administer baptism in such
cases was expressly recognized by the Council of Elvira, in the year
306, and the decree of that Council became a part of the law of the
Church. The right of the laity to give absolution in such cases rests
on the principle that in the absence of the appointed official of the
Church any Christian can do for any other Christian the things that
are absolutely necessary or salvation, for "necessity knows no law."
Cf. Vol. I, p. 30, note 2.
[17] The canon law, called by Luther throughout this treatise and
elsewhere, the "spiritual law," is a general name for the decrees of
councils ("canons" in the strict sense) and decisions of the popes
("decretals," "constitutions," etc.), promulgated by authority of the
popes, and collected in the so-called _Corpus juris canonici_. It
comprised the whole body of Church law, and embodied in legal forms
the mediaeval theory of papal absolutism, which accounts for the
bitterness with which Luther speaks of it, especially in this
treatise. The Corpus includes the following collections of canons and
decretals: The _Decretum of Gratian_ (1142), the _Liber Extra_ (1234),
the _Liber Sextus_ (1298), the _Constitutiones Clementinae_ (1318 or
1317), and the two books of _Extravagantes_ ,--the _Extravagantes of
John XXII_, and the _Extravagantes communes_. The last pope whose
decrees are included is Sixtus IV (died 1484). See _Catholic
Encyclop._,IV, pp. 391 ff.
[18] Augustine, the master-theologian of the Ancient Church, bishop of
Hippo in Africa from 395-430.
[19] Ambrose, bishop of Milan from 374-397, had not yet been baptised
at the time of his election to the episcopate, which was forced upon
him by the unanimous voice of the people of the city.
[20] Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, 247-258, is said to have consented
to accept the office only when the congregation surrounded his house
and besought him to yield to their entreaties.
[21] _Was ausz der Tauff krochen ist_.
[22] The _character indelebilis_, or "indelible mark," received
authoritative statement in the bull _Exultate Deo_ (1439). Eugenius
IV, summing up the Decrees of the Council of Florence, says: "Among
these sacraments there are three--baptism, confirmation, and
orders--which indelibly impress upon the soul a character, i. e., a
certain spiritual mark which distinguishes them from the rest" (Mirbt,
_Quellen_, 2d ed., No. 150). The Council of Trent in its XXIII.
Session, July 15, 1563 (Mirbt, No. 312), defined the correct Roman
teaching as follows: "Since in the sacrament of orders, as in baptism
and confirmation, a character is impressed which cannot be destroyed
or taken away, the Holy Synod justly condemns the opinion of those who
assert that the priests of the New Testament have only temporary
power, and that those once rightly ordained can again be made laymen,
if they do not exercise the ministry of the Word of God."
[23] i. e., They are all Christians, among whom there can be no
essential difference.
[24] The sharp distinction which the Roman Church drew between clergy
and laity found practical application in the contention that the
clergy should be exempt from the jurisdiction of the civil courts,
This is the so-called _privilegium fori_, "benefit of clergy." It was
further claimed that the government of the clergy and the
administration of Church property must be entirely in the hands of the
Church authorities, and that no lay rulers might either make or
enforce laws which in any way affected the Church. See Lea, _Studies
in Church History_, 169-219 and _Prot. Realencyk._, VI, 594.
[25] It was the contention of the Church authorities that priests
charged with infraction of the laws of the state should first be tried
in the ecclesiastical courts. If found guilty, they were degraded from
the priesthood and handed over to the state authorities for
punishment. Formula for degradation in the canon law, C. 2 in VI, _de
poen._ (V, 9). See _Prot. Realencyk._, VI, 589.
[26] The interdict is the prohibition of the administration of the
sacraments and of the other rites of the Church within the territory
upon which the interdict is laid (_Realencyk._, IX, 208 f.). Its use
was not uncommon in the Middle Ages, and during the time that the
power of the popes was at its height it proved an effective means of
bringing refractory rulers to terms. A famous instance is the
interdict laid upon the Kingdom of England by Innocent III in 1208.
Interdicts of more limited local extent were quite frequent. The use
of the interdict as punishment for trifling infractions of church law
was a subject of complaint at the diets of Worms (1521) and Nurnberg
(1524). See A. Wrede, _Deutsche Reichstagsakten unter Kaiser Karl V._,
II, pp. 685 f, III, 665.
[27] The statement of which Luther here complains is found in the
Decretum of Gratian, _Dist. XL, c. 6, Si papa_. In his _Epitome_ (see
Introduction, p. 58), Prierias had quoted this canon against Luther,
as follows: "_A Pontifex indubitatus_ (i. e., a pope who is not
accused of heresy or schism) cannot lawfully be deposed or judged
either by a council or by the whole world, even if he is so scandalous
as to lead people with him by crowds into the possession of hell."
Luther's comment is: "Be astonished, O heaven; shudder, O earth!
Behold, O Christians, what Rome is!" (_Weimar Ed._, VI, 336).
[28] Gregory the Great, pope 590-604. The passage is found in Migne,
LXXVI, 203; LXXVII, 34.
[29] Antichrist, the incarnation of all that is hostile to Christ and
His Kingdom. His appearance is prophesied in 2 Thess. 2:3-10 (the "man
of sin, sitting in the temple of God"); 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3, and Rev.
13. In the early Church the Fathers sometimes thought the prophecies
fulfilled in the person of some especially pestilent heretic. Wyclif
applied the term to the pope,--"the pope would seem to be not the
vicar of Christ, but the vicar of Antichrist" (see Loos,
_Dogmengeschichte_, 4th ed., p. 649). On Dec. 11, 1518, Luther wrote
to Link: "You can see whether my suspicion is correct that at the
Roman court the true Antichrist rules of whom St. Paul speaks"; and
March 13, 1519, he wrote to Spalatin: "I am not sure but that the pope
is Antichrist or his apostle." It was the worldly pretensions of the
papacy which suggested the idea both to Wyclif and to Luther. By the
year 1520 Luther had come to the definite conclusion that the pope was
the "man of sin, sitting in the temple of God," and this opinion he
never surrendered.
[30] See above, p. 65.
[31] According to academic usage, the holder of a Master's degree was
authorised to expound the subject named in the degree.
[32] The doctrine of papal infallibility was never officially
sanctioned in the Middle Ages, but the claim of infallibility was
repeatedly made by the champions of the more extreme view of papal
power, e. g., Augustinus Triumphus (died 1328) in his _Summa de
potestate Papae_. In his attack upon the XCV Theses (_Dialogus de
potestate Papae_, Dec, 1517) Prierias had asserted, "The supreme
pontiff (i. e., the pope) cannot err when giving a decision as
pontiff, i. e., speaking officially (_ex officio_), and doing what in
him lies to learn the truth"; and again, "Whoever does not rest upon
the teaching of the Roman Church and the supreme pontiff as an
infallible rule of faith, from which even Holy Scripture draws its
vigor and authority, is a heretic" (_Erl. Ed., op. var. arg._, I,
348). In the _Epitome_ he had said: "Even though the pope as an
individual (_singularis persona_) can do wrong and hold a wrong faith,
nevertheless as pope he cannot give a wrong decision" (_Weimar Ed._,
VI, 337).
[33] Most recently in Prierias's _Epitome_. See preceding note.
[34] Luther had discussed the whole subject of the power of the keys
in a Latin treatise, _Resolutio super propositione xiii. de potestate
papae_, of 1519 (_Weimar Ed._, II, pp. 185 ff.), and in the German
treatise _The Papacy at Rome_ (Vol. I, pp. 337-394).
[35] Pp. 66 ff.
[36] Another contention of Prierias. In 1518 (Nov. 25th) Luther had
appealed his cause from the decision of the pope, which he foresaw
would be adverse, to the decision of a council to be held at some
future time. In the _Epitome_ Prierias discusses this appeal,
asserting, among other things, that "when there is one undisputed
pontiff, it belongs to him alone to call a council," and that "the
decrees of councils neither bind nor hold (_nullum ligant vel
astringunt_) unless they are confirmed by authority of the Roman
pontiff" (_Weimar Ed._, VI, 335).
[37] i. e., A mere gathering of people.
[38] The Council of Nicaea, the first of the great councils of the
Church, assembled in 325 for the settlement of the Arian controversy.
Luther's statement that it was called by the Emperor Constantine, and
that its decisions did not derive their validity from any papal
confirmation, is historically correct. On Luther's statements about
this council, see _Schaffer, _Luther als Kirchenhistoriker_, pp. 291
ff.; Kohler, Luther und die Kg., pp. 148 ff.
[39] Luther is here referring to the earlier so-called "ecumenical"
councils.
[40] i. e., A council which will not be subject to the pope. Cf.
_Erl. Ed._, xxvi, 112.
[41] i. e., They belong to the "spiritual estate"; see above, p. 69.
[42] _Der Haufe_, i. e. Christians considered _en masse_, without
regard to official position in the Church.
[43] The papal crown dates from the XI Century; the triple crown, or
tiara, from the beginning of the XIV. It was intended to signify that
very superiority of the pope to the rulers of this world, of which
Luther here complains. See _Realencyk._, X, 532, and literature there
cited.
[44] A statement made by Augustinus Triumphus. See above, p. 73, note
5; and below, p. 246.
[45] The Cardinal della Rovere, afterwards Pope Julius II, held at one
time the archbishopric of Avignon, the bishoprics of Bologna,
Lausanne, Coutances, Viviers, Mende, Ostia and Velletri, and the
abbacies of Nonantola and Grottaferrata. This is but one illustration
of the scandalous pluralism practised by the cardinals. Cf. Lea, in
_Cambridge Mod. Hist._, I, pp. 650 f.
[46] The complaint that the cardinals were provided with incomes by
appointment to German benefices goes back to the Council of Constance
(1415). C. Benrath, p. 87, note 17.
[47] The creation of new cardinals was a lucrative proceeding for the
popes. On July 31, 1517, Leo X created thirty-one cardinals, and is
said to have received from the new appointees about 300,000 ducats.
Needless to say, the cardinals expected to make up the fees out of the
income of their livings. See _Weimar Ed._, VI, 417, note I, and
Pastor, _Gesch. der Papste_ IV, I, 137. C. Hutten's _Vadiscus_
(Bocking IV, 188).
[48] The famous Benedictine monastery just outside the city of
Bamberg.
[49] The proposal made at Constance (see above, p. 82, note 2) was
more generous. It suggested a salary of three to four thousand gulden.
[50] As early as the XIV Century both England and France had enacted
laws prohibiting the very practices of which Luther here complains. It
should be noted, however, that these laws were enforced only
occasionally, and never very strictly.
[51] The papal court or curia consisted of all the officials of
various sorts who were employed in the transaction of papal business,
including those who were in immediate attendance upon the person of
the pope, the so-called "papal family." On the number of such
officials in the XVI Century, see Benrath, p. 88, note 18, where
reference is made to 949 offices, exclusive of those which had to do
with the administration of the city of Rome and of the States of the
Church, and not including the members of the pope's "family." The
_Gravamina_ of 1521 complain that the increase of these offices in
recent years has added greatly to the financial burdens of the German
Church (Wrede, _Deutsche Reichstagsakten unter Kaiser Karl V_, II,
675).
[52] On the annates, see Vol. I, p. 383, note 1. Early in their
history, which dates from the beginning of the XIV. Century, the
annates (_fructus medii temporis_) had become a fixed tax on all
Church offices which fell vacant, and the complaint of extortion in
their appraisement and collection was frequently raised. The Council
of Constance restricted the obligation to bishoprics and abbacies, and
such other benefices as had a yearly income of more than 24 gulden.
The Council of Basel (1430) resolved to abolish them entirely, but the
resolution of the Council was inoperative, and in the Concordat of
Vienna (1448) the German nation agreed to abide by the decision of
Constance. On the use of the term "annates" to include other payments
to the curia, especially the _servitia_, see Catholic Encyclopedia, I,
pp. 537 f.
Luther here alleges that the annates are not applied to their
ostensible purpose, viz., the Crusade. This charge is repeated in the
_Gravamina_ of the German Nation presented to the Diet of Worms
(1521), with the additional allegation that the amount demanded in the
way of annates has materially increased (A. Wrede, _Deutsche
Reichstagsakten unter Kaiser Karl V._, II, pp. 675 f.). Similar
complaints had been made at the Diet of Augsburg (1518), and were
repeated at the Diet of Nurnberg (Wrede, _op. cit._, III, 660).
Hutten calls the annates "a good at robbery" (_Ed._ Bocking, IV, 207).
In England the annates were abolished by Act of Parliament (April 10,
1532)
[53] On the crusading-indulgences, see Vol. I, p. 18.
[54] i. e., As was done by the Council of Basel. See above, p. 84,
note i.
[55] The canons are the clergy attached to a cathedral church who
constituted the "chapter" of that cathedral, and to whom the right to
elect the bishop normally belonged.
[56] This whole section deals with the abuse of the "right of
reservation," i. e., the alleged right of the pope to appoint directly
to vacant church positions. According to papal theory the right of
appointment belonged absolutely to the pope, who graciously yielded
the right to others under certain circumstances, reserving it to
himself in other cases. The practice of reserving the appointments
seems to date from the XII Century, and was originally an arbitrary
exercise of papal authority. The rules which came to govern the
reservation of appointments were regarded as limitations upon the
authority of the pope, The rule of the "papal months," as it obtained
in Germany in Luther's time, is found in the Concordat of Vienna of
1448 (Mirbt, _Quellen_, 2d ed., No. 261, pp. 167 f.). It provides that
livings, with the exception of the higher dignities in the cathedrals
and the chief posts in the monasteries, which all vacant in the months
of February, April, June, August, October and December, shall be
filled by the ordinary method--election, presentation, appointment by
the bishop, etc.--but that vacancies occurring in the other months
shall be filled by appointment of the pope.
[57] i. e., Church offices which carried with them certain rights of
jurisdiction and gave their possessors a certain honorary precedence
over other officials of the Church. See Meyer in _Realencyk._, IV,
658.
[58] Charles V, though elected emperor, was not crowned until October
22d.
[59] i. e., A living which has not hitherto been filled by papal
appointment.
[60] This rule, like that of the "papal months," is found in the
Concordat of Vienna. Luther's complaint is reiterated in the
_Gravamina_ of 1521. (Wrede, _Deutsche Reichstagsakten_, etc., II,
673.)
[61] _Des Papstes und der Cardinale Gesinde_, i. e., all those who
were counted members of the "family" or "household" (called
_Dienstverwandte_ in the Gravamina of 1521) of the pope or of any of
the cardinals. The term included those who were in immediate
attendance upon the pope or the cardinals, and all those to whom, by
virtue of any special connection with the curia, the name "papal
servant" could be made to apply. These are the "courtesans" to whom
Luther afterwards refers.
[62] In 1513 Albrecht of Brandenburg was made Archbishop of Magdeburg
and later in the same year Administrator of Halberstadt; in 1514 he
became Archbishop of Mainz as well. In 1518 he was made cardinal.
[63] This rule, like the others mentioned above, is contained in the
Concordat of Vienna.
[64] Cf. The _Gravamina_ of 1521, No. 20, _Von anfechtung der
cordissanen_ (see above, p. 88, note 3), where the name _cordissei_ is
applied to the practice of attacking titles to benefices. (Wrede, _op.
cit._, II, pp. 677 f.)
[65] The _pallium_ is a woolen shoulder-cape which is the emblem of
the archbishop's office, and which must be secured from Rome. The
bestowal of the _pallium_ by the pope is a very ancient custom.
Gregory I (590-604) mentions it as _prisca consuetudo_ (_Dist._, C.c.
3). The canon law prescribes (_Dist. C. c. I_) that the
archbishop-elect must secure the _pallium_ from Rome within three
months of his election; otherwise he is forbidden to discharge any of
the duties of his office. It is regarded as the necessary complement
of his election and consecration, conferring the "plenitude of the
pontifical office," and the name of archbishop. Luther's charge that
it had to be purchased "with a great sum of money" is substantiated by
similar complaints from the XII Century on, though the language of the
canon law makes it evident that Luther's other contention is also
correct, viz., that the _pallium_ was originally bestowed gratis. The
sum required from the different archbishops varied with the wealth of
their sees, and was a fixed sum in each case. The _Gravamina_ of 1521
complain that the price has been raised: "Although according to
ancient ordinance the bishoprics of Mainz, Cologne, Salzburg, etc.,
were bound to pay or the _pallium_ about 10,000 gulden and no more,
they can now scarcely get a _pallium_ from Rome for 20 or 24 thousand
gulden." (Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 675.)
[66] The oath of allegiance to the pope was required before the
pallium could be bestowed (_Dist. C, c._ I). The canon law describes
this oath as one "of allegiance, obedience and unity" (X, I, 6, c. 4).
[67] See above, p. 86, note 2.
[68] cf. Luther to Spalatin, June 25, 1520 (Enders, II, 424; Smith,
No. 271).
[69] i. e., The benefices are treated as though they were vacant.
[70] In the case of certain endowed benefices the right to nominate
the incumbent was vested in individuals, usually of the nobility, and
was hereditary in their family, This is the so-called _jus patronum_,
or "right of patronage." The complaint that this right is disregarded
is frequent in the _Gravamina_ of 1521.
[71] _Commendation_ was one of the practices by which the pope evaded
the provision of the canon law which prescribed that the same man
should not hold two livings with the cure of souls. The man who
received an office in _commendam_ was not required to fulfil the
duties attached to the position and when a living or an abbacy was
granted in this way during the incumbency of another, the recipient
received its entire income during a subsequent vacancy. The practice
was most common in the case of abbacies. At the Diet of Worms (1521),
Duke George of Saxony, an outspoken opponent of Luther, was as
emphatic in his protest against this practice as Luther himself
(Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 665); his protest was incorporated in the
_Gravamina_ (_ibid._, 672), and reappears in the Appendix (_ibid._,
708).
[72] A monk who deserted his monastery was known as an "apostate."
[73] i. e., Offices which cannot be united in the hands of one man.
See e. g., note 3, p. 91.
[74] A gloss is a note explanatory of a word or passage of doubtful
meaning. The glosses are the earliest form of commentary on the Bible.
The glosses of the canon law are the more or less authoritative
comments of the teachers, and date from the time when the study of the
canon law became a part of the theological curriculum. Their aim is
chiefly to show how the law applies to practical cases which may
arise. The so-called _glossa ordinaria_ had in Luther's time an
authority almost equal to that of the _corpus juris_ itself. Cf.
_Cath. Encyc._, VI, pp. 588 f.
[75] The thing which was bought was, of course, the dispensation, or
permission to avail oneself of the gloss.
[76] _Dataria_ is the name for that department of the curia which had
to deal with the granting of dispensations and the disposal of
benefices. _Datarius_ is the title of the official who presided over
this department.
[77] See above, p. 88, note 2. For a catalogue of papal appointments
bestowed upon two "courtesans," Johannes Zink und Johannes
Ingenwinkel, see Schulte, _Die Fugger in Rom_, I, pp. 282, 291 ff.
Between 1513 and 1521, Zink received 56 appointments, and Ingenwinkel
received, between 1496 and 1521, no fewer than 106.
[78] See above, p. 87, note 1.
[79] So Albrecht of Mainz bore the title of "administrator" of
Halberstadt.
[80] The name of this practice was "regression" (_regressus_).
[81] The complaint was made at Worms (1521) that it was impossible for
a German to secure a clear title to a benefice at Rome unless he
applied for it in the name of an Italian, to whom he was obliged to
pay a percentage of the income, a yearly pension, for a fixed sum of
money for the use of his name (Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 712).
[82] _Simony_--the sin of Simon Magus (Acts 8:18-20)--the sin
committed by the sale or the purchase of an office or position which
is normally conferred by a ritual act of the Church. In the ancient
and earlier mediaeval Church the use of money to secure preferment was
held to invalidate the title of the guilty party to the position thus
secured, and the acceptance of money for such a purpose was an offence
punishable by deposition and degradation. The "heresy of Simon" was
conceived to be the greatest of all heresies. The traffic in Church
offices, which became a flagrant abuse from the time of John XXII
(1316-1334), would have been regarded in earlier days as the most
atrocious simony.
[83] The _reservatio mentalis_ or _in pectore_ is the natural
consequence of the papal theory that the right of appointment to all
Church offices of every grade belongs to the pope (see above, p. 86,
note 3). According to the theory of the canonists (Lancelotti,
_Institutiones juris canonici. Lib. I, Tit._ XXVII) this right is
exercised either _per petitionem alterius_, i. e., by confirmation of
the election, appointment, etc., of others, or _proprio motu_, i. e.,
"on his own motion." In ordinary cases the exercise of the appointing
power was limited by rules, which though bitterly complained of (see
above, pp. 86 ff, and notes), were generally understood, but the
theory allowed any given case to be made an exception to the rules. Of
such a case it was said that it was "reserved in the heart of the
Pope," and the appointment was then made "on his own motion." Hutten
says of this _reservatio in pectore_ that "it is an easy, agile and
slippery thing, and bears no comparison to any other form of cheating"
(Ed. Booking, IV, 215).
[84] For a similar instance quoted at Worms (1521), see Wrede, _op.
cit._, II, 710.
[85] The three chief centers of foreign commerce in the XV and the
early XVI Century. The annual fairs (_Jahrmarkt_), held at stated
times in various cities, brought great numbers of merchants together
from widely distant points, and were the times when the greater part
of the wholesale business for the year was done.;
[86] Built by Innocent VIII (1454-1490).
[87] See above, p. 93, note 2.
[88] The Church law forbade the taking of interest on loans of money.
[89] During the Middle Ages all questions touching marriage and
divorce, including, therefore, the question of the legitimacy of
children, were governed by the laws of the Church, on the theory that
marriage was a sacrament.
[90] i. e., By buying dispensations.
[91] The sums paid or special dispensations were so called.
[92] The toll which the "robber-barons" of the Rhine levied upon
merchants passing through their domains.
[93] _Ja wend das blat umb szo indistu es_--The translators have
adopted the interpretation of O. Clemen, _L's. Werke_, I, 383.
[94] The Fuggers of Augsburg were the greatest of the German
capitalists in the XVI Century. They were international bankers, "the
Rothschilds of the XVI Century." Their control of large capital
enabled them to advance large sums of money to the territorial rulers,
who were in a chronic state of need. In return for these favors they
received monopolistic concessions by which their capital was further
increased. The spiritual, as well as the temporal lords, availed
themselves regularly of the services of this accommodating firm. They
were the pope's financial representatives in Germany. On their
connection with the indulgence against which Luther protested, see
Vol. I, p. 21; on their relations with the papacy, see Schulte, _Die
Fugger in Rom_, 2 Vols., Leipzig, 1904.
[95] Certificates entitling the holder to choose his own confessor and
authorizing the confessor to absolve him from certain classes of
"reserved" sins; referred to in the XCV Theses as _confessionalia_.
Cf. Vol. I, p. 22.
[96] Certificates granting their possessor permission to eat milk,
eggs, butter and cheese on fast days.
[97] The word is used here in the broad sense, and means dispensations
of all sorts, including those just mentioned, relating to penance.
[98] Equivalent to "carrying coals to Newcastle."
[99] The _Campo di Fiore_, a Roman market-place, restored and adorned
at great expense by Eugenius IV (1431-1447), and his successors.
[100] A part of the Vatican palace notorious as the banqueting-hall of
Alexander VI (1402-1503), turned by Julius II (1503-1513) into a
museum for the housing of his wonderful and expensive collection of
ancient works of art. Luther is hinting that the indulgence money has
been spent on these objects rather than on the maintenance of the
Church. Cf. Clemen, I, 384, note 15.
[101] i. e., The offices and positions in Rome which were for sale.
See Benrath, p. 88, note 18; p. 95, note 36.
[102] See above, p. 84, note 1.
[103] The passage is chapter 31, _Filiis vel nepotibus_. It provides
that in case the income of endowments bequeathed to the Church is
misused, and appeals to the bishop and archbishop fail to correct the
misuse, the heirs of the testator may appeal to the royal courts.
Luther wishes this principle applied to the annates.
[104] See above, pp. 91 f.
[105] See above, p. 91.
[106] See above, p. 94.
[107] i. e.. Promises to bestow on certain persons livings not yet
vacant. Complaint of the evils arising out of the practice was
continually heard from the year 1416. For the complaints made at Worms
(1521), see Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 710.
[108] See above, pp. 86 f.
[109] See above, pp. 92 f.
[110] See above, p. 93.
[111] See above, p. 89.
[112] Rules for the transaction of papal business, including such
matters as appointments and the like. At Worms (1521) the Estates
complain that these rules are made to the advantage of the
"courtesans" and the disadvantage of the Germans. (Wrede, _op. cit._,
II, pp. 675 f.)
[113] The local Church authorities, here equivalent to "the bishops."
On use of term see _Realencyk._, XIV, 424.
[114] The sign of the episcopal office; as regards archbishops, the
_pallium_; see above, p. 8q, and note.
[115] See above, p. 87, note 1.
[116] The first of the ecumenical councils (A. D. 325). The decree to
which Luther here refers is canon IV of that Council. Cf. Kohler, _L.
und die Kg._, pp. 139 ff.
[117] The primate is the ranking archbishop of a country.
[118] "Exemption" was the practice by which monastic houses were
withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the bishops and made directly
subject to the pope. The practice seems to have originated in the X
Century with the famous monastery of Cluny (918), but it was almost
universal in the case of the houses of the mendicant orders. The
bishops made it a constant subject of complaint, and the Lateran
Council (Dec. 19, 1516) passed a decree abolishing all monastic
exemptions, though the decree does not seem to have been effective.
See _Creighton_, History of the Papacy, V, 266.
[119] i. e., Antichrist. See above, p. 73, note 2.
[120] The papal interference in the conduct of the local Church courts
was as flagrant as in the appointments, of which Luther has heretofore
spoken. At Worms (1521) it was complained that cases were cited to
Rome as a court of first instance, and the demand was made that a
regular course of appeals should be re-established. Wrede, _op. cit._,
II, 672, 718.
[121] The reference is Canon V of the Council of Sardica (A. D. 343),
incorporated in the canon law as a canon of Nicaea (_Pt. II, qu. 6, c.
5_). See Kohler, _L. und die Kg._, 151.
[122] i. e., Appealed to Rome for decision. This is the subject of the
first of the 102 _Gravamina_ of 1521 (Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 672).
[123] The judges in the bishops' courts. The complaint is that they
interfere with the administration of justice by citing into their
courts cases which properly belong in the lay courts, and enforce
their verdicts (usually fines) by means of ecclesiastical censures.
The charges against these courts are specified in the _Gravamina_ of
1521, Nos. 73-100 (Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 694-703).
[124] The _signatura gratiae_ and the _signatura justitiae_ were the
bureaus through which the pope regulated those matters of
administration which belonged to his own special prerogative.
[125] See above, pp. 88 f.
[126] See above, p. 88, note 3.
[127] See above, p. 94.
[128] i. e., The cases in which a priest was forbidden to give
absolution. The reference here is to cases in which only the pope
could absolve. Cf. _The XCV Theses_, Vol. I, p. 30.
[129] A papal bull published annually at Rome on Holy Thursday. It was
directed against heretics, but to the condemnation of the heretics and
their heresies was added a list of offences which could receive
absolution only from the pope, or by his authorisation. In 1522 Luther
translated this bull into German as a New Year present for the pope
(_Weimar Ed._, VIII, 691). On Luther's earlier utterances concerning
it, see Kohler, _L. u. die Kg._, pp. 59 2.
[130] The breve is a papal decree, of equal authority with the bull,
but differing from it in form, and usually dealing with matters of
smaller importance.
[131] Cf. Luther's earlier statement to the same effect in _A
Discussion of Confession_, Vol. I, pp. 96 f.
[132] See above, p. 99.
[133] The Fifth Lateran Council (1512-17).
[134] See above, p. 90, note 1.
[135] In the canon law, _Decretal. Greg. lib. i, tit. 6, cap. 4_. The
decretal forbids the bestowing of the pallium (see above, p. 89, note
3) on an archbishop elect, until he shall first have sworn allegiance
to the Holy See.
[136] The induction of Church officials into office. The term was used
particularly of the greater offices--those of bishop and abbot. These
offices carried with them the enjoyment of certain incomes, and the
possession of certain temporal powers. For this reason the right of
investiture was a bone of contention between popes and emperors during
the Middle Ages.
[137] Especially in the time of the Emperors Henry IV and V
(1056-1125).
[138] The German Empire was regarded during the Middle Ages as a
continuation of the Roman Empire. (See below, p. 153.) The right to
crown an emperor was held to be the prerogative of the pope; until the
pope bestowed the imperial crown, the emperor bore the title, "King of
the Romans."
[139] In the canon law, _Decretal. Greg. lib. i, tit. 33, cap. 6._
[140] In the treatise, _Resolutio Lutheriana super propositione XIII,
de potestate papae_ (1520). _Weimar Ed._, II, pp. 217 ff.; _Erl. Ed.,
op. var. arg._, Ill, pp. 293 ff.
[141] See p. 70.
[142] cf. _The Papacy at Rome_, Vol. I, pp. 357 f.
[143] A decree of Pope Clement V of 1313, incorporated subsequently in
the canon law, _Clement, lib. ii, tit. 11, cap. 2._
[144] A forged document of the VIII Century, professing to come from
the hand of the Emperor Constantine (306-337). The Donation conveyed
to the pope title to the city of Rome (the capital had been removed to
Constantinople), certain lands in Italy and "the islands of the sea."
It was used by the popes of the Middle Ages to support their claims to
worldly power, and its genuineness was not disputed. In 1440, however,
Laurentius Valla, an Italian humanist, published a work in which he
proved that the Donation was a forgery. This work was republished in
Germany by Ulrich von Hutten in 1517, and seems to have come to
Luther's attention in the early part of 1520, just before the
composition of the present treatise (C. Enders II, 332). Luther
subsequently (1537) issued an annotated translation of the text of the
Donation (_Erl. Ed._, XXV, pp. 176 ff.).
[145] The papal claim to temporal sovereignty over this little
kingdom, which comprised the island of Sicily and certain territories
in Southern Italy, goes back to the XI Century, and was steadily
asserted during the whole of the later Middle Ages. It was one of the
questions at issue in the conflict between the Emperor Frederick II
(1200-1260) and the popes, and played an important part in the history
of the stormy times which followed the all of the Hohenstaufen. The
popes claimed the right to award the kingdom to a ruler who would
swear allegiance to the Holy See. The right to the kingdom was at this
time contested between the royal houses of France and of Spain, of
which latter house the Emperor Charles V was the head.
[146] The popes claimed temporal sovereignty over a strip of territory
in Italy, beginning at Rome and stretching in a northeasterly
direction across the peninsula to a point on the Adriatic south of
Venice, including the cities and lands which Luther mentions. This
formed the so-called "States of the Church." The attempt to
consolidate the States and make the papal sovereignty effective
involved Popes Alexander VI (1492-1503) and Julius II (1503-1513) in
war and entangled them in political alliances with the European powers
and petty Italian states. It resulted at last in actual war between
Pope Clement VII and the Emperor Charles V (1526-1527). See Cambridge
_Modern History_, I, 104-143; 219-252, and literature cited pp.
706-713; 727 f.
[147] A free translation of the Vulgate, _Nemo militans Deo_.
[148] The kissing of the pope's feet was a part of the "adoration"
which he claimed as his right. See above, p. 108.
[149] The three paragraphs enclosed in brackets were added by Luther
to the 2d edition; see Introduction, p. 59.
[150] The holy places of Rome had long been favorite objects of
pilgrimage, and the practice had been zealously fostered by the popes
through the institution of the "golden" or "jubilee years." Cf. Vol.
I, p. 18, and below, p. 114.
[151] Cf. the Italian proverb, "God is everywhere except at Rome;
there He has a vicar."
[152] Cf. Hutten's saying in _Vadiscus_: "Three things there are which
those who go to Rome usually bring home with them, a bad conscience, a
ruined stomach and an empty purse." (Ed. Bocking, IV, p. 169.)
[153] The "golden" or "jubilee years" were the years when special
rewards were attached to worship at the shrines of Rome. The custom
was instituted by Boniface VIII in 1300, and it was the intention to
make every hundredth year a jubilee. In 1343 the interval between
jubilees was fixed at fifty, in 1389 at thirty-three, in 1473 at
twenty-five years. Cf. Vol. I, p. 18.
[154] Cf. the statements in the _Treatise on Baptism_ and the
_Discussion of Confession_, Vol. I, pp. 68 ff., 98.
[155] The houses, or monasteries, of the mendicant or "begging"
orders--the "friars." The members of these orders were sworn to
support themselves on the alms of the faithful.
[156] The three leading mendicant orders were the Franciscan (the
Minorites, or "little brothers"), founded by St. Francis of Assisi
(died 1226), the Dominican (the "preaching brothers"), founded by St.
Dominic (died 1221), and the Augustinian Hermits, to which Luther
himself belonged, and which claimed foundation by St. Augustine (died
430).
[157] The interference of the friars in the duties of the parish
clergy was a continual subject of complaint through this period.
[158] By the middle of the XV Century there were eight distinct sects
within the Franciscan order alone (See _Realencyk._, VI, pp. 212 ff.),
and Luther had himself taken part in a vigorous dispute between two
parties in the Augustinian order.
[159] St. Agnes the Martyr, put to death in the beginning of the IV
Century, one of the favorite saints of the Middle Ages. See Schafer,
_L. als Kirchenhistoriker_, p. 235.
[160] One of the most famous of the German convents, founded in 936.
[161] The celebrated Church Father (died 420). The passages referred
to are in _Migne_, XXII, 656, and XXVI, 562.
[162] Or "community" (_Gemeine_). Cf. _The Papacy at Rome_, Vol. I.
p. 345, note 4. See also _Dass eine christl. Gemeine Recht und Macht
habe_, etc. _Weimar Ed._ XI, pp. 408 ff.
[163] Or "congregation." See note 2.
[164] i. e.. At a time later than that of the Apostles.
[165] The first absolute prohibition of marriage to the clergy is
contained in a decree of Pope Siricius and dated 385. See H. C. Lea,
_History of Sacerdotal Celibacy_, 3d ed. (1907), I, pp. 59 ff.
[166] The priests of the Greek Church are required to marry, and the
controversy over celibacy was involved in the division between the
Greek and Roman Churches.
[167] Cf. Hutten's _Vadiscus_ (Bocking, IV, 199).
[168] i. e., Lie in Roman appointment.
[169] i. e., The ministry in the congregation. See above, p. 119.
[170] _Quantum ragilitas humana permittit_. A qualification of the
vow.
[171] i. e., Celibacy. _Non promitto castitatem_.
[172] _Fragilitas humana non permittit caste vivere_.
[173] _Angelica fortitudo at coelestis virtus_.
[174] The court-jester was allowed unusual freedom of speech. See
Prefatory Letter above, p. 62.
[175] The laws governing marriage were entirely the laws of the
Church. The canon law prohibited marriage of blood-relatives as far as
the seventh degree of consanguinity. In 1204 the prohibition was
restricted to the first our degrees; lawful marriage within these
degrees was possible only by dispensation, which was not all too
difficult to secure, especially by those who were willing to pay for
it (see above, p. 96). The relation of god-parents to god-children was
also held to establish a "spiritual consanguinity" which might serve
as a bar to lawful marriage. See Benrath, p. 103, note 74, and in the
Babylonian Captivity, below, p. 265.
[176] This Luther actually did. When he burned the papal bull of
excommunication (Dec. 10, 1520) a copy of the canon law was also given
to the flames.
[177] i. e., The marriage of the clergy.
[178] On this sort of reserved cases see Discussion of Confession,
Vol. I, pp. 96 ff.
[179] "Irregularity" is the condition of any member of a monastic
order who has violated the prescriptions of the order and been
deprived, in consequence, of the benefits enjoyed by those who live
under the _regula_, viz., the rule of the order.
[180] The three kinds of masses are really but one thing, viz., masses
for the dead, celebrated on certain fixed days in each year, in
consideration of the enjoyment of certain incomes, received either out
of bequeathed endowments or from the heirs of the supposed
beneficiaries.
[181] i. e., Even when the mass is decently said.
[182] See above, p. 72, note 1.
[183] See above, p. 104.
[184] _Das geistliche Unrecht_.
[185] The _Treatise concerning the Ban_, above, pp. 33 ff.
[186] i. e., To those who teach and enforce the canon law.
[187] Luther means the saint's-days and minor religious holidays. See
also the _Discourse on Good Works_, Vol. I, pp. 240 f.
[188] Or "congregation."
[189] i. e., City-council.
[190] _Kirchweihen_, i. e., the anniversary celebration of the
consecration of a church. These days had become feast days for the
parish, and were observed in anything but a spiritual fashion.
[191] i. e., Occasions for drunkenness, gain and gambling.
[192] See above, pp. 96 f.
[193] See above, p. 98, note 2.
[194] Letters entitling their holder to the benefits of the masses
founded by the sodalities or confraternities. See Benrath, p. 103.
[195] See above, p. 98, and Vol. I, p. 22.
[196] The pun is untranslatable,--_Netz, Gesetz solt ich sagen_.
[197] What the pope sold was release from the "snares" and "nets,"
viz., dispensation.
[198] i. e., Even into the law of the church.
[199] _Die wilden Kapellen und Feldkirchen_, i. e., churches which are
built in the country, where there are no congregations.
[200] A little town in East Prussia, where was displayed a sacramental
wafer, said to have been miraculously preserved from a fire which
destroyed the church in 1383. It was alleged that at certain times
this wafer exuded drops of blood, reverenced as the blood of Christ,
and many miracles were said to have been performed by it. Wilsnack
early became a favorite resort for pilgrims. In 1412 the archbishop of
Prague, at the instigation of John Hus, forbade the Bohemians to go
there. Despite the protests of the Universities of Leipzig and Erfurt,
Pope Eugenius IV in 1446 granted special indulgences for this
pilgrimage, and the popularity of the shrine was undiminished until
the time of the Reformation. Cf. _Realencyk_, xxi, pp. 347 ff.
[201] In Mecklenburg, where another relic of "the Holy Blood" was
displayed after 1491. C. Benrath, pp. 104 f.
[202] The "Holy Coat of Trier" was believed by the credulous to be the
seamless coat of Christ, which the soldiers did not rend. It was first
exhibited in 1512, but was said to have been presented to the
cathedral church of Trier by the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine
the Great.
[203] Pilgrimage to the Grimmenthal in Meiningen began in 1499. An
image of the Virgin, declared to have been miraculously created, was
displayed there, and was alleged to work wonderful cures, especially
of syphilis.
[204] The "Fair Virgin (_die schone Maria_) of Regensburg" was an
image of the Virgin similar to that exhibited in the Grimmenthal. The
shrine was opened March 25, 1519, and within a month 50,000 pilgrims
are said to have worshipped there. (_Weimar Ed._, VI, 447, note 1).
For another explanation see Benrath, p. 105.
[205] The pilgrimages were a source of large revenue, derived from the
sale of medals which were worn as amulets, the fees for masses at the
shrines, and the free-will offerings of the pilgrims. A large part of
this revenue accrued to the bishop of the diocese, though the popes
never overlooked the profits which the sale of indulgences or worship
at these shrines could produce. In the _Gravamina_ of 1521 complaint
is made that the bishops demand at least 25 to 33 per cent, of the
offerings made at shrines of pilgrimage (Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 687).
[206] i. e., Every bishop.
[207] The possession of a saint gave a church a certain reputation and
distinction, which was sufficiently coveted to make local Church
authorities willing to pay roundly for the canonisation of a departed
bishop or other local dignitary. Cf. Hutten's _Vadiscus_ (Bocking, IV,
232).
[208] Archbishop of Florence (died 1450). He was canonised, May 31,
1523, by Pope Hadrian VI. When Luther wrote this the process of
canonisation had already begun.
[209] _Indulta_, i. e., grants of special privilege.
[210] "Lead," the leaden seal attached to the bull; "hide", the
parchment on which it is written; "the string," the ribbon or silken
cord from which the seals depend; "wax," the seal holding the cord to
the parchment.
[211] Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, Carmelites and Servites.
[212] _Botschaten_, interpreted by _Benrath_ (p. 105), Clemen (I, 406,
note) and Weimar Ed. (VI, 406, note 1) as a reference to the
_stationarii_. They were wandering beggars who, for an alms, would
enroll the contributor in the list of beneficiaries of their patron
saint, an alleged insurance against disease, accident, etc. They were
classified according to the names of their patron saints, St. Anthony,
St. Hubert, St. Valentine, etc. Protests against their operations were
raised at the Diets of Worms (1521) and Nurnberg (1523). Included in
these protests are the _terminarii_, i.e., the collectors of alms sent
out by the mendicant orders. See Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 678, 688, III,
651, and Benrath, loc. cit.
[213] _Wallbruder_, the professional pilgrims who spent their lives in
wandering from one place of pilgrimage to another and subsisted on the
alms of the faithful.
[214] i. e., If the plan above proposed were adopted.
[215] See above, p. 129, note 1.
[216] See _Treatise on the New Testament_, Vol. I, pp. 308 ff.
[217] In the _Babylonian Captivity_ (below, pp. 291 f.) Luther
definitely excludes penance from the number of sacraments, but see
also p. 177.
[218] The sodalities ("fraternities," "confraternities"), still an
important institution in the Roman Church, flourished especially in
the XVI Century. They are associations for devotional purposes. The
members of the sodalities are obligated to the recitation of certain
prayers and the attendance upon certain masses at stipulated times. By
virtue of membership in the association each member is believed to
participate in the benefits accruing from these "good works" of all
the members. In the case of most of the sodalities membership entitled
the member to the enjoyment of certain indulgences. In 1520 Wittenberg
boasted of 20 such fraternities, Cologne of 80, Hamburg of more than
100 (Realencyk., Ill, 437). In 1519 Degenhard Peffinger, of
Wittenberg, was a member of 8 such fraternities in his home city, and
of 27 in other places. For Luther's view of the sodalities see above,
pp. 8, 26 ff. On the whole subject see Benrath, pp. 106 f.; Kolde in
_Realencyk._, III, pp. 434 ff.; Lea, _Hist. of Conf. and Indulg_, III,
pp. 470 ff.
[219] See above, p. 98, note 2.
[220] See above, p. 128, note 5.
[221] The excesses committed at the feasts of the religious societies
were often a public scandal. See Lea, _Hist, of Conf. and Indulg_,
III, pp. 437 ff.
[222] "Faculties" were extraordinary powers, usually for the granting
of indulgences and of absolution in "reserved cases" (see above, p.
105, note 3). They were bestowed by the pope and could be revoked by
him at any time. Sometimes they were given to local Church officials,
but were usually held by the legates or commissaries sent from Rome.
Complaints were made at the Diets of Worms (1520) and Nurnberg (1523)
that the papal commissaries and legates interfered with the ordinary
methods of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and appointment. See Weede,
_op. cit._, II, 673, III, 653.
[223] Wladislav I forced the Sultan to sue for peace in 1443. At the
instigation of the papal legate, Cardinal Caesarini, who represented
that the treaty had not been approved by the pope, and absolved the
king from the fulfilment of its conditions, he renewed the war in
1444. At the battle of Varna, Nov. 10th, 1444, the Hungarians were
decisively defeated, and Wladislav and Caesarini both killed. See
Creighton, _Hist. of the Papacy_, III, 67.
[224] John Hus and Jerome of Prague were convicted of heresy by the
Council of Constance and burned at the stake, the former July 6th,
1415, the latter May 30th, 1416. Hus had come to Constance under the
safe-conduct of the Emperor Sigismund. Luther is in error when he
assumes that Jerome had a similar safe-conduct. In September, 1415,
the Council passed a decree which asserted that "neither by natural,
divine or human law was any promise to be observed to the prejudice of
the catholic faith." On the whole matter of the safe-conduct and its
violation see Lea, _Hist. of the Inquisition in the M.A._, II, pp. 453
ff.
[225] The League of Cambray, negotiated in 1508 for war against
Venice. In 1510 Venice made terms with the pope and detached him from
the alliance, and the result was war between the pope and the King of
France. See Cambridge _Modern History_, I, pp. 130 ii., and literature
there cited.
[226] i. e. The Hussites. After the martyrdom of Hus his followers
maintained for a time a strong organisation in Bohemia, and resisted
with arms all attempts to force them into conformity with the Roman
Church. The Council of Basel succeeded (1434) in reconciling the more
moderate party among the Bohemians (the Calixtines) by allowing the
administration of the cup to the laity. The more extreme party,
however, refused to subscribe the _Compactata_ of Basel. Though they
soon ceased to be a actor in the political situation, they remained
outside the Church and perpetuated the teachings of Hus in sectarian
organisations. The most important of these, the so-called Bohemian
Brethren, had extended into Poland and Prussia before Luther's time.
See _Realencyk._, Ill, 465-467.
[227] See above, p. 140, note 1.
[228] See Kohler, _L. und die Kirchengesch._, 139, 151.
[229] The Archbishop of Prague was primate of the Church in Bohemia.
[230] The dioceses of these bishops were contiguous to that of the
Archbishop of Prague.
[231] Bishop of Carthage, 240-258 A. D.
[232] _Lass man ihn ein gut jar ha ben_, literally, "Bid him
good-day."
[233] One of the chief points of controversy between the Roman Church
and the Hussites. The Roman Church administered to the laity only the
bread, the Hussites used both elements. See below, pp. 178 f.
[234] Luther had not yet reached the conviction that the
administration of the cup to the laity was a necessity, but see the
argument in _the Babylonian Captivity_, below, pp. 178 ff.
[235] The Bohemian Brethren, who are here distinguished from the
Hussites, Cf. _Realencyk._, Ill, 452, 49.
[236] St. Thomas Aquinas, the great Dominican theologian of the XIII.
Century (1225-74), whose influence is still dominant in Roman
theology.
[237] The view of the sacramental presence adopted by William of
Occam. For Luther's own view at this time, see below, pp. 187 ff.
[238] i. e., If they did not believe in the real presence of the body
and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper.
[239] Places for training youths in Greek glory.
[240] The philosophy of Aristotle dominated the mediaeval universities.
It not only provided the forms in which theological and religious
truth came to expression, but it was the basis of all scientific study
in every department. The man who did not know Aristotle was an
ignoramus.
[241] Or, "I have read him." Luther's _lesen_ allows of either
interpretation.
[242] Duns Scotus, died 1308. In the XV and XVI Centuries he was
regarded as the rival of Thomas Aquinas for first place among the
theological teachers of the Church.
[243] i. e., In the universities.
[244] See above, pp. 94 f.
[245] i. e., "The chamber of his heart." Boniface VIII (1294-1303) had
decreed, _Romanus pontiex jura omnia in scrinio pectoris sui censetur
habere_, "the Roman pontiff has all laws in the chamber of his heart."
This decree was received into the canon law (_c._ I, de const. In VIto
(I, 2)).
[246] _Doctores decretorum_, "Doctor of Decrees," an academic degree
occasionally given to professors of Canon Law; _doctor scrinii
papalis_, "Doctor of the Papal Heart."
[247] The introduction of Roman law into Germany, as the accepted law
of the empire, had begun in the XII Century. With the decay of the
feudal system and the increasing desire of the rulers to provide their
government with some effective legal system, its application became
more widespread, until by the end of the XV Century it was the
accepted system of the empire. The attempt to apply this ancient law
to conditions utterly different from those of the time when it was
formulated, and the continual conflict between the Roman law, the
feudal customs and the remnants of Germanic legal ideas, naturally
gave rise to a state of affairs which Luther could justly speak of as
"a wilderness."
[248] "Sentences" (_Sententiae, libri sententiarum_) was the title of
the text-books in theology. Theological instruction was largely by way
of comment on the most famous book of Sentences, that of Peter
Lombard.
[249] Cf. Vol. I, p. 7.
[250] i. e., Doctors.
[251] The head-dress of the doctors.
[252] See above, p. 118, note 2.
[253] i. e., The monasteries and nunneries.
[254] i. e.. The name of Christian.
[255] This section did not appear in the first edition; see
Introduction, p. 59.
[256] Charles the Great, King of the Franks, was crowned Roman Emperor
by Pope Leo III in the year 800 A. D. He was a German, but regarded
himself successor to the line of emperors who had ruled at Rome. The
fiction was fostered by the popes, and the German kings, after
receiving the papal coronation, were called Roman Emperors. From this
came the name of the German Empire of the Middle Ages, "the Holy Roman
Empire of the German Nation." The popes of the later Middle Ages
claimed that the bestowal of the imperial dignity lay in the power of
the pope, and Pope Clement V (1313) even claimed that in the event of
a vacancy the pope was the possessor of the imperial power (cf. above,
p. 109). On the whole subject see Bryce, _Holy Roman Empire_, 2d ed.
(1904), and literature there cited.
[257] The city of Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410.
[258] Luther is characteristically careless about his chronology. By
the "Turkish Empire" he means the Mohammedan power.
[259] _So sol man die Deutschen teuschen und mit teuschen teuschenn_,
i.e., made Germans (_Deutsche_) by cheating (_teuschen_) them.
[260] See _Cambridge Mediaeval History_, I (1911), pp. 244 f.
[261] Such a law as Luther here suggests was proposed to the Diet of
Worms (1521). Text in Wrede, _Reischstagsakten_, II, 335-341.
[262] Cf. Luther's _Sermon von Kaubandlung und Wucher_, of 1524.
(_Weim. Ed. XV_, pp. 293)
[263] Spices were one of the chief articles of foreign commerce in the
XVI Century. The discovery of the cape-route to India had given the
Portuguese a practical monopoly of this trade. A comparative statement
of the cost of spices for a period of years was reported to the Diet
of Nurnberg (1523). See Wrede, _op. cit._, III, 576.
[264] The _Zinskauf_ or _Rentenkauf_ was a means or evading the
prohibition of usury. The buyer purchased an annuity, but the purchase
price was not regarded as a loan, or it could not be recalled, and the
annual payments could not therefore be called interest.
[265] The practice was legalised by the Lateran Council, 1512.
[266] The XVI Century was the hey-day of the great trading-companies,
among which the Fuggers of Augsburg (see above, p. 97, note 5) easily
took first place. The effort of these companies was directed toward
securing monopolies in the staple articles of commerce, and their
ability to finance large enterprises made it possible for them to gain
practical control of the home markets. The sharp rise in the cost of
living which took place on the first half of the XVI Century was laid
at their door. The Diet of Cologne (1512) had passed a stringent law
against monopolies which had, however, failed to suppress them. The
Diet of Worms (1521) debated the subject (Wrede, _Reichstagsakten_ II,
pp. 355 iff.) "in somewhat heated language" (_ibid._, 842), but failed
to agree upon methods of suppression. The subject was discussed again
at the Diet of Nurnberg (1523) and various remedies were proposed
(ibid., Ill, 556-599).
[267] The profits of the trading-companies were enormous. The 9 per
cent, annually of the Welser (Ehrenberg, _Zeitalter der Fugger_, I,
195), pales into insignificance beside the 1634 per cent, by which the
fortune of the Fuggers grew in twenty-one years (Schulte, _Die Fugger
in Rom_, I, 3). In 1511 a certain Bartholomew Rem invested 900 gulden
in the Hochstetter company of Augsburg; by 1517 he claimed 33,000
gulden profit. The company was willing to settle at 26,000, and the
resulting litigation caused the figures to become public (Wrede, _op.
cit._, II, 842, note 4; III, pp. 574 ff.). On Luther's view of
capitalism see Eck, _Introduction to the Sermon von Kaushandlungund
Wucher_, in _Berl. Ed._, VII, 494-513.
[268] The Diets of Augsburg (1500) and Cologne (1512) had passed
edicts against drunkenness. A committee of the Diet of Worms (1521)
recommended that these earlier edicts be reaffirmed (Wrede, _op.
cit._, II, pp. 343 f.), but the Diet adjourned without acting on the
recommendation (ibid., 737)
[269] _Sie wollen ausbuben, so sich's vielmehr hineinbubt_.
[270] Cf. Muller, _Luther's theol. Quellen_, 1912, ch. I.
[271] In the _Confitendi Ratio_ Luther had set the age for men at
eighteen to twenty, or women at fifteen to sixteen years. See Vol. I,
p. 100.
[272] Translated in this edition, Vol. I, pp. 184 ff; see especially
pp. 266 ff.
[273] These sentences did not appear in the first edition.
[274] See _Letter to Staupitz_, Vol. I, p. 43.
[275] This "little song" is the _Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity
of the Church_. See below, pp. 170 ff.