Martin Luther: Rebel in an Age of Upheaval

by Heinz Schilling, Rona Johnston (Translator)

Overview

No other German has shaped the history of early-modern Europe more than Martin Luther. In this comprehensive and balanced biography we see Luther as a rebel, but not as a lone hero; as a soldier in a mighty struggle for the universal reform of Christianity and its role in the world. The foundation of Protestantism changed the religious landscape of Europe, and subsequently the world, but the author chooses to show not simply as a reformer, but as an individual. In his study of the Wittenberg monk, Heinz Schilling - one of Germany's leading social and political historians - gives the reader a rounded view of a difficult, contradictory character, who changed the world by virtue of his immense will.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191034343
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	03/24/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	576
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Heinz Schilling was Professor of Early Modern History at the Humboldt University, Berlin until his retirement in 2010. His main areas of research are in early modern European history, including studies in religion, politics, migration studies, foreign policy, and social and cultural history.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Living in an Age of Faith and an Age in Transition
PART ONE: Childhood, Education, and the First Years as a Monk, 1483-1511
1. 1484 - New Departures for Christendom
2. Childhood and Youth
3. Crisis and Flight to the Monastery
PART TWO: Wittenberg and the Beginnings of the Reformation, 1511-1525
4. Wittenberg
5. Eleutherios - The Birth of a Free Man
6. The Reformer - Standing His Ground before Church, Emperor, and Empire
7. Beginning to Labour for the Cause
8. Contesting Interpretation within the Evangelical Camp
9. Arrived in the World -Marriage, Family, and a Large Household
PART THREE: Prophetic Confidence, but Temporal Failure, 1525-1546
10. Evangelical Renewal of Church and Society
11. "But We Christians Are Part of a Different Struggle" - Facing the Demands of the World
12. Conflicted Emotions: God-Given Joy and Apocalyptic Fear
13. Dying in Christ - "We Are All Beggars, That is True"
Epilogue: Failure and Success: Luther and the Modern World

Editorial Reviews

"Shilling's account succeeds in arriving at balanced, but never insipid, conclusions about Luther's supreme contribution to the Reformation without ignoring the destructive aspects of his personality." — Graeme Murdock , The Huguenot Society Journal

"Entering a world saturated with Luther biographies following celebrations of the anniversary of the 95 theses, Heinz Schilling's Martin Luther has done far more than merely hold its own. This tome is an exceptional piece of scholarship produced by a brilliant scholar On every page, the reader feels she is meeting Martin Luther. Schilling's knowledge of Luther's corpus and his times is comprehensive-the result being a biography truly worthy of celebration."—Jon Balserak, Reading Religion

"Although there existed a lot of literature on Martin Luther, there has been a gap as far as his universalism is concerned. Martin Luther fills that gap. It is a meticulously researched book that provides deep analysis of the role of Martin Luther in the rise of Protestantism. It is an insightful and highly scholarly book but it s very readable at the same time. It should be on university curriculums for history. It is a must-read for everyone interested in the history of Europe and religion. Heinz Schilling s scholarship is unmatched in its insight, scholarly value, and authority."—The Washington Book Review

From the Publisher

2017-05-16
A comprehensive biography of the famed reformer.Biographical works about Martin Luther (1483-1546) abound. Here, former history professor Schilling (Early Modern European Civilization and Its Political and Cultural Dynamism, 2008, etc.) seeks to capture "the uncontaminated Luther." As he writes, "this book is not about a Luther in whom we can find the spirit of our own time; this book is about…a Luther whose thoughts and actions are out of kilter with the interests of later generations." The author portrays Luther in the context of his own time, but the long narrative is rather rambling and far better suited to academics than to general readers. Schilling begins with an in-depth exploration of Luther's family background and youth, utilizing the name Luder, which Luther used up until his activism began in earnest. The author goes beyond the scope of most biographies by detouring into lengthy histories of towns involved in Luther's story, the political landscape of the era, and profiles of individuals who were important in Luther's life. Even Luther's choice of clothing is carefully discussed. The further Schilling moves into the course of Luther's story, the more intriguing his exploration of the sociopolitical events that framed the birth of the Reformation. The author makes it a point to dispute myths, none greater than Luther's nailing the famed 95 theses to the Wittenberg Church door—he notes that if the list was nailed there at all, it was probably not done by Luther, and it was certainly not a dramatic event. Throughout, Schilling admirably avoids the fraught territory of psychoanalysis. His work will appeal most to readers who have exhausted other biographies of Luther and are looking for further minutia about the subject. For general readers seeking a meaningful but accessible biography, there are better choices, such as Derek Wilson's Out of the Storm (2008). An academic achievement with limited appeal for the nonscholarly audience.

Kirkus Reviews