by CLR Peterson | Aug 25, 2017 | 500th anniversary, Martin Luther, Reformation
Luther Sites
Which location has ties to the Reformation?
Germany is the obvious answer, with many cities and towns where Luther lived and traveled (Eisleben, Erfurt, Wittenberg, Worms, and Coburg, to name a few). Although Germany celebrates and hosts the Reformation’s 500th anniversary, the movement to reform or move away from the Church of Rome extended far beyond the borders of what is today a single nation.
A visit to every site connected with the Reformation or earlier reform movements would also take you to these locations:
- France (the Cathars in the southwest; and Strasbourg, with Martin Bucer and followers)
- Czech Republic (Jan Huss and followers)
- Northern Italy (the Waldensians)
- Switzerland (Zurich—Huldrych Zwingli and followers; and Geneva—Jean Calvin and followers)
- Scotland (John Knox and followers)
- England (begun under King Henry VIII)
- Sweden (begun by the Petri brothers)
If you plan to make a complete Reformation tour, you’ll have the pleasure of visiting all these places. Enjoy!
If you’ve visited some of these sites, which were most meaningful to you?
by CLR Peterson | Jul 20, 2017 | 500th anniversary, Martin Luther, Reformation, Renaissance
Book printer, 1568, Jost Amman – “Eygentliche Beschreibung aller Stände auff Erden, hoher und nidriger, geistlicher und weltlicher, aller Künsten, Handwercken und Händeln …”, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=207246
Editor’s note: blog posts will alternate between 1) the lead-up to the Reformation and 2) the Reformation’s 500th anniversary. Today we begin with resources related to the Reformation’s 500th anniversary.
October 31 1517: Martin Luther and the Day that Changed the World, by Martin E. Marty, Paraclete Press, 2016 (focus on Luther’s significance and the ecumenical movement)
http://lutheranreformation.org/history/ (website dedicated to Reformation’s 500th anniversary, many topics and events)
Brand Luther, by Andrew Pettegree. Penguin Random House, 2016. (about Luther’s use of the printing press)
Here I Walk: A Thousand Miles on Foot to Rome With Martin Luther, by Andrew L. Wilson. Brazos Press, 2016 (the recent travel narrative of a couple who tried to follow Luther’s route)
Luther and the Reformation, video production by Rick Steves https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/tv-specials/luther
“This week’s best radio: Martin Luther and the Reformation,” https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/apr/29/david-hepworth-radio-preview-martin-luther-reformation (UK radio programs about the Reformation; can be downloaded)
Art exhibit on Luther’s 95 Theses: http://www.dw.com/en/martin-luthers-influence-told-through-95-treasures-and-95-people/a-38843358
Luther and Katharina: A Novel of Love and Rebellion, by Jody Hedlund. Waterbrook Multnomah, 2015 (fictionalized romance of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora)
“Luther is famous, but we know little about him,” http://www.dw.com/en/luther-is-famous-but-we-know-little-about-him/a-37907857 (German article about Luther)
“Reading the Reformation in 2017,” by Bruce Gordon, Christianity Today, Jan/Feb 2017, pp. 47-51 (review article about recent Reformation-related books)
What are your favorite not-too-heavy Reformation 500 resources?
by CLR Peterson | Jul 8, 2017 | 500th anniversary, Martin Luther, Reformation, Renaissance
Hands of God and Man, detail from Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, Public Domain via Wikimedia
Why this blog?
As October 31st, 2017 approaches, media coverage of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation increases daily. What more should be said, and why by me, a devotée of the Renaissance since a college semester spent in Italy?
Simply put, focusing on the Reformation without the Renaissance would be like paying attention to one twin while ignoring the other. For good and for ill, the Renaissance shaped the Reformation. To understand the Reformation, we must appreciate its twin movement of modernity, the Renaissance.
Why me?
The Renaissance and Reformation period was my mental world for years as I earned my PhD in History at Stanford University. Under my mentor, Lewis W. Spitz, my understanding and appreciation of the Reformation grew to rival my passion for the Renaissance.
I’ve continued to expand my knowledge of the Renaissance/Reformation era as I’ve researched and written my forthcoming historical novel, Lucia’s Renaissance. (When Martin Luther’s writings ignite a young girl’s faith, she must choose—abandon her beliefs or risk her life in the turbulent world of late Renaissance Italy.)
Join me in exploring the stories of the key figures as Renaissance meets Reform!
