The Ninety-Five Theses of Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German theologian, priest, and professor whose challenge to the Catholic Church ignited the Protestant Reformation and permanently altered the course of Western civilisation. Born in Eisleben, Saxony, he entered an Augustinian monastery after a terrifying thunderstorm and was ordained in 1507. His Ninety-Five Theses (1517), protesting the sale of indulgences, spread rapidly through the new technology of the printing press and made him the most famous man in Europe almost overnight. Excommunicated and outlawed, Luther translated the Bible into vernacular German, creating a landmark of the language and making Scripture accessible to ordinary readers. His prolific output — sermons, treatises, hymns, letters, and table talk — fills over a hundred volumes. Luther's insistence on salvation by faith alone and the authority of Scripture over papal decree reshaped Christianity and influenced political, educational, and cultural life across the continent.