Etwas Besseres als die Freiheit (German Edition)

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For some, such as saints, John 5: Most, however, had to await a final judgement as described in Matthew The potential punishments took time; thus, some souls had to pass through a purifying period before being granted eternal life in heaven. This idea of an intermediate stage has a long tradition In precise terms, purgatory offered satisfaction to sinners who had taken the first steps towards penance but who had not managed to perform the acts imposed during their lifetime. This is where indulgence, and indulgences, come in. Acts of penance were accordingly still required and not completely eliminated.

Editio Lipsiensis secunda post Aemilii Ludovici Richteri, curas ad librorum manu scriptorum et editionis Romanae fidem recognovit et adnotatione critica instruxit Aemilius Friedberg, 2: Decretalium collectione, Leipzig [reprint Graz ], — Starting in Rome, such offers were at first geographically restricted and then became available all over Europe, taking a wide variety of cultural forms.

The requirement to be physically present in Rome to be granted indulgence was relaxed and other means of involving relevant places or people were developed. Connections between, for example, an Italian church and its offers of indulgence and venues in Germany were legally fixed — and, as it turned out, later revoked — in papal documents. Relics were another means of participating in the thesaurus ecclesiae , and thus, in indulgence, in that they granted personal or physical contact to valued figures of the Christian past.

For a brief account with valuable updates: Beobachtungen zu Texten, Bildern und Ritualen um in Mitteldeutschland, in: Pilgrimages provided another pathway to indulgence, if they involved visiting places with valued relics on special dates for particular benefits. By the end of the 15th century, indulgences had turned from an exclusive to an extensive good. As in in Rome, it started off as a locally and temporally restricted offering, and within a century had met with huge demand resulting occasionally in inflationary supply.

The national and international dimensions of this have recently been carefully documented and critically reviewed, both for England and the rest of Europe. Swanson, Indulgences in Late Medieval England. Classic Protestant perspectives have tended significantly to devalue and degrade the medieval indulgence trade. Nevertheless, even in older scholarship there is a tradition of reassessing the status of this practice.

Indulgences as a Social Factor in the Middle Ages. With a foreword by Eugene C. Barker, New York The latest edition of the original work has appeared with some bibliographical additions: Indulgence campaigns, according to Paulus, did not just accumulate and alienate capital by exporting it from the territories, but the resources raised were substantially reinvested in local and regional infrastructure, e. In more recent Protestant scholarship, a new awareness has developed about the spiritual dimensions of indulgence practices.

According to Hamm, conflicting contemporary responses were close yet different: Berndt Hamm, Ablass und Reformation. Social and economic studies of German indulgence campaigns are very valuable. Wilhelm Ernst Winterhager Ein Beitrag zu Voraussetzungen und Einordnungen der Reformation, in: By comparing the geographical and financial aspects of indulgence sales in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation around , he noted two significant developments.

In the years before Luther issued the 95 Theses , organized indulgence sales had narrowed from Empire-wide to territorial campaigns.

In big cities such as Nuremberg and Frankfurt am Main, revenues raised by indulgence commissioners fell dramatically in some areas and remained substantial in others. This gave rise to the second development: The infamous campaign organized by Albrecht of Mainz falls into this category. When Albrecht of Mainz negotiated in the option of becoming archbishop of Magdeburg, his representatives had strong reservations after the papal side suggested that Albrecht should promote the indulgence campaign as a means of financing the deal.

Others, including Albrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach, turned down such offers, raising similar concerns. The indulgence trade organized by Albrecht from to was confined to his territories of Mainz, Magdeburg, and Brandenburg. All this has to be borne in mind when we come back to the letter which Luther wrote to Albrecht of Mainz enclosing the 95 Theses. It refers to practices in neighbouring regions in which a limited, but highly effective, campaign was being conducted.

These areas added up to more than half of the German territories within the Holy Roman Empire. Most of the other parts were handled by Arcimboldi, who was also involved in Sweden and Finland. Maps of the campaign offer an excellent overview of the territories and countries involved: November , Berlin , — Territorial, regional, or local resistance was feasible, but it was subject to Roman and canon law as well as to the pragmatic consideration of how far Albrecht of Mainz was prepared to go in his legal response given the risk of further opposition from other territorial rulers.

The Albertine Duke of Saxony, George, actively prevented the sale in his territory, since he objected to the loss of revenue that would have resulted in his area. Like all other sovereigns — except Albrecht of Mainz, the Emperor who had received a substantial sum for his permission, Was Tetzel zum erfolgreichen Ablasskommissar machte, in: Beobachtungen zur vorreformatorischen Ablasspolitik der Wettiner, in: Rehberg, Ablasskampagnen, —33, here: Still, the difference between plenary indulgences — the remission of all sins — and partial indulgences, as abundant as they may have been, remained.

Only a year before denying the latest campaign access to his territories, Frederick the Wise had requested permission from the Pope to increase the number of indulgence associated with his relic collection in Wittenberg. Paulus, Geschichte 3, The bull describes in great detail the offences to be dealt with and the applicable financial contributions.

The latter included temporarily redirecting to the campaign existing endowments to churches or brotherhoods. Acquirers of indulgences could select the priest to whom they made confession, and special documents instructed confessors accordingly. The offer of complete remission of all sins applied to laypeople and clerics alike, dead or alive. The thesaurus ecclesiae The bull itself did not trigger the campaign immediately since the subsequent negotiations took time. In Albrecht of Mainz was legally guaranteed half of the profits, but the operations in his territories could not start until By then, the sale organized by Arcimboldi was up and running, and it is likely that Luther had already come across preachers from this leg of the campaign in Apart from personal interactions, printing played an important role in publicizing the particular terms of the indulgence, as recent discoveries have shown.

Summaries of the papal bull appeared in broadsides, fragments of which have been identified in both Latin and German. The complete text of the German summary can be reconstructed from a quarto edition that had been considered missing since , On the print cf. To our knowledge, this summary of the bull represents the most popular printed text containing information on the terms and conditions of the offering.

The German version entirely matches the Latin fragments; it can be concluded that one text was distributed in two languages and printed in at least two different formats.

The title page does not survive, For a suggestion on this see Bubenheimer, Petersablass, See the first note to thesis 4 in the 95 Theses , p. The bull and its publicity material might appear imprecise, but they do in fact use an established term for plenary indulgences. The bull itself involves another pair of terms which have found their way into the vernacular summary by referring to indulgences and other benefits: Summa , Avr, , A4v. It is not just the sermons of indulgence preachers, but also this very document which spread the word about the indulgence campaign among large numbers of people.

As a preacher, Luther began to deal with the topic of indulgences and recent developments related to them either in late or in early For a summary of earlier suggestions cf. WA 1, 94, note 1. The first relevant text survives within a sequence of sermons delivered from to and is recorded in Latin. WA 1, 20—, here: For useful summaries and references: Erwin Iserloh, Luther zwischen Reform und Reformation. The language has been interpreted as indicating that the sermon was intended for publication; Karl Knaake in WA 1, In any case, the sermon proposes that man is saved by divine grace alone and it firmly opposes indulgence teaching that undermines this fundamental understanding.

In general, Luther summarizes penance as theologically consisting of three parts: See also the note to thesis 12 of the 95 Theses , p. Even in this early sermon, Luther emphasised that all of these aspects are vital, but must be understood and applied internally, spiritually. In short, this sermon already provides the backbone of the 95 Theses and the Sermon on Indulgences and Grace.

Both texts start off with the established theological understanding of penance. Peter Lombard, The Sentences. On the Doctrine of Signs.

Independence never an inevitability

For the tripartite structure referred to by Luther see Lombard, Sentences, The Sermon names the three related components in its first point, while readers of the disputation have to combine theses 2 and 12 or later 30, 35, 39—40, and 87 in order to identify and connect the relevant terms on the basis of their previous knowledge.

Both texts proceed to deal with further scholastic statements on theoretical or practical aspects. More or less implicitly, Luther relates these to their appropriate authorities: It is clear that Luther advocates a revision of later developments relating to indulgences on the basis of biblical authority. The 95 Theses in pamphlet format, [Basel: The 95 Theses start off with a biblical understanding of penance, while the Sermon on Indulgences and Grace , as a popular piece of writing, opens with a definition of terms.

One of the great advantages of the Sermon over the 95 Theses is its clear structure. Its title presents two terms, which correspond to two sections into which the twenty points are organized see the black border in the table below. The combination of terms provides a striking response to the vernacular summary of the papal bull. At the same time, the formal structure of the Sermon corresponds to the Latin and German Summa in its length and division into around twenty points. Ulrich Bubenheimer, Reliquienfest und Ablass in Halle. A summary of its contents below illustrates its structure and highlights how Luther introduces particular elements of scholastic teaching traditions, questions their authority, and compares them with what he understands the corresponding biblical foundation to be.

When we compare the 95 Theses with the Sermon von Ablass und Gnade , Martin Luther, Deutsch-Deutsche Studienausgabe, 1: Glaube und Leben, ed. For the English translation see below, pp. The Sermon was conceived above all as a popular piece of writing.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The initial editions were produced by Johann Rhau-Grunenberg in Wittenberg, who came out with at least four of them in Irene Dingel and Henning P. Dynamik und Transformation, in: See also the print history of the Taylorian copies in this edition, pp. In the same year, printing houses in Leipzig, Nuremberg, Augsburg, and Basel followed suit. Within less than one year, at least 14 editions had appeared. Public demand continued in and with at least another nine editions from Wittenberg, Leipzig, Augsburg, Basel, and Breslau.

A version in Low German was published in Braunschweig in Otto Clemen concluded that the public success of the Sermon killed off the 95 Theses. Unter Mitwirkung von Albert Lietzmann, 1, Bonn , More recently, it has been argued that the Sermon actually brought the theses to life. Indeed, some of the contents of the theses were moved into the more popular format of the Sermon. His Resolutiones were an academic step in this direction, the Sermon a popular one. This reference is important in determining the terminus post quem for our Sermon. Older scholarship dated the compilation of the Sermon to the previous year and saw in the remark to Scheurl another publication project that remained unrealized.

However, two other letters clearly refer to the Sermon. The document is undated and has been placed partially by conjecture, Following this Clemen, Werke, The second relevant letter marks the terminus ante quem for the Sermon. The timeframe from the first week of March to the first week of May is narrowed down even further when we look at the Sermon itself.

Several points relate to a publication For Nikolaus Paulus references to this cf.

Freiheit = Gold (Hey Boy!) (English translation)

Point 9 of the Sermon rejects a terminological distinction that had been discussed in a series of disputation theses at Frankfurt an der Oder. The context is explained by Martin Ohst, Pflichtbeichte. After prints had become locally available, students burned them. Luther publicly opposed this action in his sermon on the 19 March , WA 1, the sermon from the 17 March , WA 1, —73, bears no reference. Br 1, , and to Trutfetter WA. To summarize the relationship between the Sermon and the 95 Theses , one might describe them as contrasting and complementary. They differ in their mix of scholarly and popular elements, but each offers a combination of both.

While the Sermon introduces academic distinctions only to refute them, the 95 Theses present popular criticism of indulgence theory and practice to learned and ecclesiastically aware readers. Reaffirming Winterhager see note 49 this was emphasised by Thomas Kaufmann, Luthers 95 Thesen in ihrem historischen Zusammenhang, in: The 95 Theses finish off with a sequence of popular concerns and complaints theses 81—89, along with the concluding thesis Another clearly defined sequence theses 42—51 deals with what should be taught to Christians including the laity.

The Sermon has a corresponding section points 15—17 which includes specific pieces of advice. Both texts are based on the assumption that church doctrine on indulgences has not been finalised: Another text that Luther sent to Albrecht of Mainz along with his letter and the 95 Theses should be mentioned in this context. This is a Tractatus de Indulgentiis, Br 12, 5—10 with useful introductory remarks WA.

The text is interesting, since it contains a statement by Luther of at least one of the arguments attributed to the laity in the 95 Theses. The 95 Theses and the accompanying letter to Albrecht of Mainz go beyond the main public protagonists and engage at a senior level with the organisation of the current indulgence campaign by referring directly to instructions in the contents of an official document provided for personnel involved in the campaign.

For translated parts see Hillerbrand, Reformation, 14— This Instructio summaria ad Subcommissarios, Penetentiarios et Confessores , used by Albrecht of Mainz, is a follow-up to related documents of earlier campaigns and was printed by Melchior Lotter in Leipzig. For the latest corrections to the earlier Instructiones confessorum , which were used in both Mainz and Magdeburg, see Bubenheimer, Petersablass, — Br 1, ; for a partial translation see Hillerbrand, Reformation, 26— One might wonder whether this expectation was realistic or proportionate.

Bearing in mind the territorial opposition to the campaigns and increasing popular criticism of indulgences of which church representatives were aware , one might have expected a variety of reactions in the episcopacy at the time. Kaufmann, Thesen, with note As for the wider historical repercussions of the events set out above, the 95 Theses reached Rome via at least three channels: Albrecht of Mainz together with his advisors, the Dominican Order around Tetzel, For a summary cf.

The 95 Theses and, more precisely, the way in which they were publicized, urged clarification on fundamental and topical questions. Within the course of one year they succeeded: By this time, of course, the debate had moved on. The Sermon on Indulgences and Grace was a major popular factor in this. Today it allows readers to gain a sense of the very text from which numerous contemporary readers formed their first impressions of Luther. By progressing from the Sermon to the 95 Theses we gain an awareness of some of the implications which developed from it, including on papal power, biblical authority, and the participation of the laity.

Examples from the following years include: Opinion polls aside, there has never been a majority support for independence in any regional election held since , leading to a questionable legitimacy. The Spanish authorities, the main political parties and the government have repeatedly declared that the separation of a part of Spain from the national territory is illegal. Here lie the origins of legal mechanisms being used again now against Puigdemont and his colleagues to confront the independence movement: From and with more intensity from , Catalan institutions embarked on an intense international lobbying campaign to obtain international support and achieve the aim of becoming a new member state of the European Union.

These three elements, ambivalent social and political support, a state explicitly hostile to any attempt at separation and a complete absence of international support, have led to the almost complete defeat for Catalan independence. The capture and imprisonment of Puigdemont symbolically closes this phase. Between and , the Catalan movement for independence displayed extraordinary capacity for mobilisation, managing to bring a million people onto the streets of Barcelona almost every year.

The movement was peaceful, optimistic and celebratory, confident that separation from Spain was eminently achievable and imminent. However, this relentlessly upbeat outlook seemed to prevent recognition of hard political reality. In spite of public statements from a range of international leaders, including the European Union, supporting the continued unity of Spain, the movement told itself that when the time came, recognition for Catalonia was inevitable. While arguably it had little choice, the EU has backed Spain in the Catalan dispute.

One consequence has been a eurosceptic turn within the Catalan independence movement over perceived betrayal by Brussels. The Catalan movement for independence, as well as a number of internal and strategic errors, seriously misjudged the interest and willingness of the EU to countenance the break up of Spain. Participants watched a couple of presentation videos, and then had the opportunity to put questions to experienced LibreOffice developers.

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