Diet of Worms

In 1521, at the Diet of Worms, Luther gave a testimony which set in motion a chain of events. This splintered Roman Catholicism, plunged Europe into centuries of religious warfare, and transformed Europe's political, religious, and cultural landscape forever. After Luther's testimony at the Diet of Worms, Reformation was officially on the cards. What were the causes of the Diet of Worms? And what exactly went on? Let's find out!

Diet of Worms Definition

In 1521, the Diet (assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire met in Worms, Germany. This momentous event is known as the Diet of Worms. Called by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, lecturer and theologian Martin Luther was summoned to respond to charges of heresy. Refusing to recant his views from the Diet of Worms, Luther was declared 'a notorious heretic' by Charles V, and his views were banned across the Holy Roman Empire. While many commentators state that the Protestant Reformation began in 1517, the Diet of Worms marked the first unmistakable division in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Diet of Worms Timeline

Below is a brief timeline outlining the immediate events surrounding the Diet of Worms:

Causes of the Diet of Worms

The reason that Martin Luther was summoned to the Diet of Worms was not remarkable nor dramatic. While there were many firebrand opponents of the Roman Catholic Church in the early 16^th century, Luther was not one of them. A lecturer and theologian, Luther's summoning to the Diet of Worms stemmed from an academic response to a Dominican friar called Johann Tetzel.

At the crux of Martin Luther's Christian beliefs was the notion that only faith and repentance could bring about salvation. Luther vehemently opposed the sale of indulgences – the action of clergy receiving money in return for absolving one's sins.

In 1517, one of the key causes of the Diet of Worms was Luther's claim that Dominican friar Johann Tetzel received a large amount of money from an aristocrat in return for absolving a future sin.

Fig. 1 - Johann Tetzel

As a result, Martin Luther sent a collection of theses to the Archbishop of Mainz, hoping to prompt an academic discussion about indulgences. This collection of theses was called the Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences and has become known more widely as Luther's Ninety-Five Theses.

Ninety-five Theses

In 1517, Martin Luther wrote the Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences (Ninety-five Theses) while teaching at the University of Wittenberg. In this work, Luther asserted that faith and repentance were the keys to salvation before critiquing the material corruption and indulgence within the Church.

Summoned to Augsburg

In 1518, Pope Leo X summoned Martin Luther to Rome. While there were calls among the Church hierarchy for Martin Luther's punishment, Frederick III of Saxony came to Luther's aid.

Fig. 2 - Martin Luther and Cardinal Catejan

Frederick III was a figure of great importance in the Holy Roman Empire; he helped appoint the Holy Roman Emperor and was also a prince. Because he was a prince, Frederick felt a duty of care towards Luther, arranging for him to appear in Augsburg instead of Rome. While the papacy wasn't ordinarily one to cede power to secular figures, they needed Frederick's assistance in choosing the next Holy Roman Empire and the war against the Ottomans.

After three days of interrogation by Cardinal Cajetan, Luther returned home to Wittenberg.

Exsurge Domine

On 15 June 1520, Pope Leo X countered Luther's Ninety-Five Theses with a Papal Bull entitled 'Exsurge Domine'. The Exsurge Domine disputed forty-one of the statements in the Theses and threatened Luther with excommunication if he refused to recant.

Fig. 3 - Exsurge Domine

Martin Luther refused to recant his views, instead deciding to publicly burn a copy of the Exsurge Domine on 10 December 1520. As a result of his actions, Luther was excommunicated on 3 January 1521.

Summoned to Worms

Ordinarily, Martin Luther's actions would have seen him arrested and executed. However, Emperor Charles V had recently promised that his subjects would receive fair and impartial trials. Instead of arrest and execution, Luther was summoned to stand before the Diet of Worms.

Fig. 4 - Holy Roman Emperor Charles V signed the above summons for Luther to appear at the Diet of Worms

Diet of Worms Luther

On 17 April 1521, Martin Luther stood before the Diet of Worms. When asked to renounce his Ninety-Five Theses, he requested more time to deliberate.

Fig. 5 - The Diet of Worms

The following day, Martin Luther stood again before the Diet of Worms. No further deliberation was necessary; Luther refused to renounce his views unless Scriptural or logical evidence was provided. Bound by his beliefs, he stated:

The Edict of Worms

After being excommunicated by Emperor Charles V, Martin Luther found himself in grave danger. Consequently, he spent nine months in hiding at Prince Frederick's castle at Wartburg. However, being an enemy of both Church and state didn't deter Luther. If anything, it drove him to accelerate his reformist activity. Buoyed by his passion to challenge the Catholic Church, Luther used Erasmus' Greek New Testament to translate the New Testament of the Bible into German. This was a seismic contribution to the Reformation as it allowed everyday Germans to read the Bible in their native language.

In an unexpected twist, the Edict of Worms had the opposite effect that Charles V had intended. Many leaders who had not been present at the Diet questioned its validity, and many secular rulers came out in support of Luther.

The Protestant Reformation was in full swing when Luther came out of hiding.

Effects of Diet of Worms

When Martin Luther returned to Wittenberg in 1521, the Protestant Reformation movement had developed beyond his control, demonstrating the true effects of the Diet of Worms. No longer a religious dispute, the crisis had breached the realms of politics, culture, and society. Luther was now not just a religious figure but a hero to anyone who opposed the Emperor. He would remain a figurehead throughout the Lutheran provinces of Germany and during the German Peasant's War and Thirty Years' War.

Diet of Worms Reformation

The Diet of Worms turned Martin Luther from an inauspicious theological critic into an ardent anti-Catholic revolutionary. It extinguished any possibility of resolution between the Catholic Church and its dissenters. Not only did the Diet lay bare the abuses of the Catholic Church, but it also gave dissatisfied peasants a figurehead under which to rally. The Reformation was the most critical of the effects of the Diet of Worms.

Fig. 6 - Luther and his Family

Luther's ideals quickly spread from the religious realm to any group in protest. Throughout the 16^th century, Luther's ideology was appropriated by peasants during the Thirty Years' War, Imperial knights during the Knights' Revolt, and Lutheran princes during the Schmalkaldic War.

It's often easy to forget that the break-up of Roman Catholicism, countless European wars, and centuries of religious turmoil all stemmed from a mere theological critique.