Martin Luther Publishes his Famous 95 Theses

The success of Martin Luther's 95 Theses
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. Luther’s 95 Theses listed all of the problems he had with Pope Leo X’s use of indulgences to entice their followers to give money to erase their sins. Luther scathingly critiques the idea that members of the clergy have the power to absolve people of their sins and remove the need for repentance in exchange for currency. His arguments throughout the book refuse to acknowledge that clergy members have any authority in the forgiveness of sins and one must repent their sins, not pay them off. In addition to this public display of defiance, Luther printed both pamphlet and manuscript forms of the 95 Theses to distribute to the public. Luther’s work gained immense popularity as fellow clergymen who heard about Luther’s book obtained copies and spread his message of reform. The success and popularity of his book created a new genre of book printing which he and his printers massively profited from: religious pamphlets.

Martin Luther's Success after his 95 Theses
Luther went to publish and print 18 more religious pamphlets, most of them expanding on points made in the 95 Theses. He also published two books To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation and The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, both of which further defend his points made in his 95 Theses. These short and numerous publications allowed people to become invested in Luther’s messages and want to purchase each of his new prints as it allowed people to actively follow an issue they are invested in. The extremely high demand for Luther’s works made printers everywhere want to produce reprints of his original works. Since Luther’s books were both in high demand and in high production, his message of reformation was able to spread far across Europe and transformed Wittenberg from a small college city to a bustling business center filled with traders and publishers.