Abstract
An almost endless stream of books, accompanied by every other type of media, have been published to mark the 500th anniversary of the posting of Martin Luther’s 95 theses in October 1517. This book concerns the fiery controversy provoked by Luther that grew into a blaze of European significance and eventually affected the entire world. Its main focus is upon Luther himself, though it only covers the years 1517 to 1522. ‘A Word After’ briefly recounts what happened to the main players from 1523 until Luther’s death in 1546.
Professor Harline is well known for his engaging and narrative approach to religious history, though the chatty style, novel-like structure and absence of references is not normal fare in Oxford University Press historical publications. In ‘A Word Before’, the author explains the book is ‘meant especially for readers who know the name of Luther but aren’t exactly sure why’ and that he has only recounted the Reformer’s ‘first few trembly years of fame’. (p. 1)
Harline has written a page-turner with plenty of cliff-hangers, selecting his material on Luther and other players, such as Prince Frederick the Wise of Saxony or Pope Leo X, to emphasise the contingency of historical events. Along the way readers are entertained, or sometimes distracted, by the myriad of details about life, politics and religion in those five years. Harline revels in the narrative technique of beginning near the end of an episode and then back-tracking to explain the way it happened. The chapter describing the Diet of Worms, for example, opens with Luther entering the city to cheering crowds and then spends more than a dozen pages getting the reader back to that occasion. While making space for interpretative byways and anecdotes, this device sometimes confuses the chronology of events. Two fine, uncluttered maps help guide the reader through the Holy Roman Empire and the streets of Luther’s Wittenberg and the illustrations in each chapter provide additional visual points. A section on Sources and further reading navigates the reader through the density of scholarship on Luther and the period and a helpful index makes it easier to locate specific themes or events that are not obvious from chapter titles.
Harline is a great storyteller and by the end of the book readers will have a clear sense of ‘the rise of Luther’ and how he provoked and was swept up by the political, social and theological complexities of those early years. It was perhaps inevitable in the anniversary year that a second phrase, ‘the Birth of the Reformation’, was added to the subtitle and it suggests a range of analysis that does not fit the book’s design. This is a ‘good read’ for those new to Luther or who seek a novel perspective on a too-familiar tale.