Luther’s Fortress: Martin Luther and His Reformation Under Siege

The Woodrow Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program, present

Luther’s Fortress: Martin Luther and His Reformation Under Siege

Monday, 4 May, 2015, 2:00pm-3:30pm
Woodrow Wilson Center, 6th Floor Flom Auditorium

Event description: In Luther’s Fortress, acclaimed historian James Reston, Jr. describes a crucial but little-known episode in Martin Luther’s life and reveals its pivotal role in the history of Christianity.

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 spent his time at Wartburg strengthening his movement and refining his theology in ways that would guarantee the survival of Protestantism. He devoted himself to biblical study and spiritual contemplation; he fought both his papist critics and his own inner demons (and, legend has it, the devil himself); and he held together his fractious and increasingly radicalized reform movement from afar. During this time Luther also crystallized some of his most significant ideas about Christianity and translated the New Testament into German—an accomplishment that, perhaps more than any other, solidified his legacy and spread his bold new religious philosophy across Europe.

Drawing on Luther’s correspondence, notes, and other writings, Reston presents an earthy, gripping portrait of the Reformation’s architect during his time in excommunication.