Description
Book SynopsisIn 1521, the Catholic Church declared war on Martin Luther. The German monk had already been excommunicated the year before, after nailing his Ninety-Five Theses,which accused the Church of rampant corruption,to the door of a Saxon church. Now, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V called for Luther to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic. The edict was akin to a death sentence: If Luther was caught, he would almost inevitably be burned at the stake, his fragile movement crushed, and the nascent Protestant Reformation strangled in its cradle.In Luther''s Fortress , acclaimed historian James Reston, Jr. describes this crucial but little-known episode in Luther''s life and reveals its pivotal role in Christian history. Realizing the danger to their leader, Luther''s followers spirited him away to Wartburg Castle, deep in central Germany. There he hid for the next ten months, as his fate,and that of the Reformation,hung in the balance. Yet instead of cowering in fear, Luther sp
Trade Review"[A] crisply written narrative... The author details in exemplary fashion what was so important and influential about his subject's life and works... A fine, scholarly but accessible treatment of a key period in the life of one of the most influential persons in the history of Christianity." --Library Journal "[A] cogent history... Reston's superb juxtaposition of Luther's solitude in Wartburg and the instability in both Rome and Wittenberg demonstrates how truly perilous a moment this was in the history of the burgeoning Reformation." --Publishers Weekly "An engaging study of a short but explosive period in the life of the great reformer and translator of the Bible... In a swift-moving narrative, Reston examines all of the aspects of this tumultuous time for the reformer. An intensive journey inside Luther's thinking as it was forming in opposition to the church." --Kirkus Reviews
Table of ContentsPrologue One. The Birth of a Contrarian Two. Worms Three. Appointment at Altenstein Four. Patmos Five. Lowly Monk Versus Lofty King Six Unclean Thoughts, Devouring Fires Seven. Rivals Surface Eight. Wrestling the Devil Nine. The New Creature Ten. A Clandestine Mission Eleven. Twenty-Seven Books in Ten Weeks Twelve. Rome Thirteen. All Alone Fourteen. Fanatics Take Over Fifteen. Liberation Sixteen. Consolidation Seventeen. Fruition Epilogue
