1517, Peter Marshall
1517, Peter Marshall
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1517
Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation

Author: Peter Marshall

Narrator: Anne Flosnik

Unabridged: 8 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/04/2018


Synopsis

Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on 31 October 1517 is one of the most famous events of Western history. It inaugurated the Protestant Reformation, and has for centuries been a powerful and enduring symbol of religious freedom of conscience, and of righteous protest against the abuse of power.

But did it actually really happen?

In this engagingly-written, wide-ranging and insightful work of cultural history, leading Reformation historian Peter Marshall reviews the available evidence, and concludes that, very probably, it did not. The theses-posting is a myth. And yet, Marshall argues, this fact makes the incident all the more historically significant. In tracing how—and why—a "non-event" ended up becoming a defining episode of the modern historical imagination. Marshall compellingly explores the multiple ways in
which the figure of Martin Luther, and the nature of the Reformation itself, have been remembered and used for their own purposes by subsequent generations of Protestants and others—in Germany, Britain, the United States and elsewhere.

As people in Europe, and across the world, prepare to remember, and celebrate, the 500th anniversary of Luther's posting of the theses, this book offers a timely contribution and corrective. The intention is not to "debunk," or to belittle Luther's achievement, but rather to invite renewed reflection on how the past speaks to the present—and on how, all too often, the present creates the past in its own image and likeness.

About Peter Marshall

Peter Marshall is professor of history at the University of Warwick, winner of the Harold J. Grimm Prize for Reformation History, and author of numerous books, including The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction. He lives in Leamington Spa, U.K.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Fariba

1517 is a short but thorough survey of the images of Luther in the past 500 years. Marshall explains the social and political contexts of the different images to show the reader that what people have thought about Luther in each generation has largely been influenced by contemporary events. This boo......more

Goodreads review by Kara

First of all, can we agree that it should be “95” or “ninety-five” but never “ninetyfive”, like WTF. Distinctly weird hyphenation aside, 1517: Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation, is a thoughtful examination of one of those well-celebrated yet mythologized moments in history. Peter Mar......more

This book is not really about Martin Luther or even exclusively about the year 1517. It is more of a detailed study of the posting of the 95 Theses - whether or not it really happened and how the action (whether historical or legend) has been viewed and inspired others throughout the five centuries......more

Goodreads review by Darrick

Peter Marshall is a historian at Warwick University, and an accomplished scholar of the English Reformation, who in this book takes a look at the whole idea of "The Reformation" as a singular event took hold in people's minds by examining the genesis and spread of the "95 Theses" tale. This is the s......more

When I requested this book from Netgalley, I anticipated that it would be more about Martin Luther and the events leading up to the iconic moment he pounded those theses on the church door. I was woefully ignorant. While Peter Marshall gives plenty of background information on the man, Martin Luther......more