Works of Martin Luther Part 16

[181] i. e., Even when the ma.s.s is decently said.

[182] See above, p. 72, note 1.

[183] See above, p. 104.

[184] _Das geistliche Unrecht_.

[185] The _Treatise concerning the Ban_, above, pp. 33 ff.

[186] i. e., To those who teach and enforce the canon law.

[187] Luther means the saint's-days and minor religious holidays. See also the _Discourse on Good Works_, Vol. I, pp. 240 f.

[188] Or "congregation."

[189] i. e., City-council.

[190] _Kirchweihen_, i. e., the anniversary celebration of the consecration of a church. These days had become feast days for the parish, and were observed in anything but a spiritual fashion.

[191] i. e., Occasions for drunkenness, gain and gambling.

[192] See above, pp. 96 f.

[193] See above, p. 98, note 2.

[194] Letters ent.i.tling their holder to the benefits of the ma.s.ses founded by the sodalities or confraternities. See Benrath, p. 103.

[195] See above, p. 98, and Vol. I, p. 22.

[196] The pun is untranslatable,--_Netz, Gesetz solt ich sagen_.

[197] What the pope sold was release from the "snares" and "nets,"

viz., dispensation.

[198] i. e., Even into the law of the church.

[199] _Die wilden Kapellen und Feldkirchen_, i. e., churches which are built in the country, where there are no congregations.

[200] A little town in East Prussia, where was displayed a sacramental wafer, said to have been miraculously preserved from a fire which destroyed the church in 1383. It was alleged that at certain times this wafer exuded drops of blood, reverenced as the blood of Christ, and many miracles were said to have been performed by it. Wilsnack early became a favorite resort for pilgrims. In 1412 the archbishop of Prague, at the instigation of John Hus, forbade the Bohemians to go there. Despite the protests of the Universities of Leipzig and Erfurt, Pope Eugenius IV in 1446 granted special indulgences for this pilgrimage, and the popularity of the shrine was undiminished until the time of the Reformation. Cf. _Realencyk_, xxi, pp. 347 ff.

[201] In Mecklenburg, where another relic of "the Holy Blood" was displayed after 1491. C. Benrath, pp. 104 f.

[202] The "Holy Coat of Trier" was believed by the credulous to be the seamless coat of Christ, which the soldiers did not rend. It was first exhibited in 1512, but was said to have been presented to the cathedral church of Trier by the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great.

[203] Pilgrimage to the Grimmenthal in Meiningen began in 1499. An image of the Virgin, declared to have been miraculously created, was displayed there, and was alleged to work wonderful cures, especially of syphilis.

[204] The "Fair Virgin (_die schone Maria_) of Regensburg" was an image of the Virgin similar to that exhibited in the Grimmenthal. The shrine was opened March 25, 1519, and within a month 50,000 pilgrims are said to have worshipped there. (_Weimar Ed._, VI, 447, note 1).

For another explanation see Benrath, p. 105.

[205] The pilgrimages were a source of large revenue, derived from the sale of medals which were worn as amulets, the fees for ma.s.ses at the shrines, and the free-will offerings of the pilgrims. A large part of this revenue accrued to the bishop of the diocese, though the popes never overlooked the profits which the sale of indulgences or worship at these shrines could produce. In the _Gravamina_ of 1521 complaint is made that the bishops demand at least 25 to 33 per cent, of the offerings made at shrines of pilgrimage (Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 687).

[206] i. e., Every bishop.

[207] The possession of a saint gave a church a certain reputation and distinction, which was sufficiently coveted to make local Church authorities willing to pay roundly for the canonisation of a departed bishop or other local dignitary. Cf. Hutten's _Vadiscus_ (Bocking, IV, 232).

[208] Archbishop of Florence (died 1450). He was canonised, May 31, 1523, by Pope Hadrian VI. When Luther wrote this the process of canonisation had already begun.

[209] _Indulta_, i. e., grants of special privilege.

[210] "Lead," the leaden seal attached to the bull; "hide", the parchment on which it is written; "the string," the ribbon or silken cord from which the seals depend; "wax," the seal holding the cord to the parchment.

[211] Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, Carmelites and Servites.

[212] _Botschaten_, interpreted by _Benrath_ (p. 105), Clemen (I, 406, note) and Weimar Ed. (VI, 406, note 1) as a reference to the _stationarii_. They were wandering beggars who, for an alms, would enroll the contributor in the list of beneficiaries of their patron saint, an alleged insurance against disease, accident, etc. They were cla.s.sified according to the names of their patron saints, St. Anthony, St. Hubert, St. Valentine, etc. Protests against their operations were raised at the Diets of Worms (1521) and Nurnberg (1523). Included in these protests are the _terminarii_, i.e., the collectors of alms sent out by the mendicant orders. See Wrede, _op. cit._, II, 678, 688, III, 651, and Benrath, loc. cit.

[213] _Wallbruder_, the professional pilgrims who spent their lives in wandering from one place of pilgrimage to another and subsisted on the alms of the faithful.

[214] i. e., If the plan above proposed were adopted.

[215] See above, p. 129, note 1.

[216] See _Treatise on the New Testament_, Vol. I, pp. 308 ff.

[217] In the _Babylonian Captivity_ (below, pp. 291 f.) Luther definitely excludes penance from the number of sacraments, but see also p. 177.

[218] The sodalities ("fraternities," "confraternities"), still an important inst.i.tution in the Roman Church, flourished especially in the XVI Century. They are a.s.sociations for devotional purposes. The members of the sodalities are obligated to the recitation of certain prayers and the attendance upon certain ma.s.ses at stipulated times. By virtue of membership in the a.s.sociation each member is believed to partic.i.p.ate in the benefits accruing from these "good works" of all the members. In the case of most of the sodalities membership ent.i.tled the member to the enjoyment of certain indulgences. In 1520 Wittenberg boasted of 20 such fraternities, Cologne of 80, Hamburg of more than 100 (Realencyk., Ill, 437). In 1519 Degenhard Peffinger, of Wittenberg, was a member of 8 such fraternities in his home city, and of 27 in other places. For Luther's view of the sodalities see above, pp. 8, 26 ff. On the whole subject see Benrath, pp. 106 f.; Kolde in _Realencyk._, III, pp. 434 ff.; Lea, _Hist. of Conf. and Indulg_, III, pp. 470 ff.

[219] See above, p. 98, note 2.

[220] See above, p. 128, note 5.

[221] The excesses committed at the feasts of the religious societies were often a public scandal. See Lea, _Hist, of Conf. and Indulg_, III, pp. 437 ff.

[222] "Faculties" were extraordinary powers, usually for the granting of indulgences and of absolution in "reserved cases" (see above, p.

105, note 3). They were bestowed by the pope and could be revoked by him at any time. Sometimes they were given to local Church officials, but were usually held by the legates or commissaries sent from Rome.

Complaints were made at the Diets of Worms (1520) and Nurnberg (1523) that the papal commissaries and legates interfered with the ordinary methods of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and appointment. See Weede, _op. cit._, II, 673, III, 653.

[223] Wladislav I forced the Sultan to sue for peace in 1443. At the instigation of the papal legate, Cardinal Caesarini, who represented that the treaty had not been approved by the pope, and absolved the king from the fulfilment of its conditions, he renewed the war in 1444. At the battle of Varna, Nov. 10th, 1444, the Hungarians were decisively defeated, and Wladislav and Caesarini both killed. See Creighton, _Hist. of the Papacy_, III, 67.

[224] John Hus and Jerome of Prague were convicted of heresy by the Council of Constance and burned at the stake, the former July 6th, 1415, the latter May 30th, 1416. Hus had come to Constance under the safe-conduct of the Emperor Sigismund. Luther is in error when he a.s.sumes that Jerome had a similar safe-conduct. In September, 1415, the Council pa.s.sed a decree which a.s.serted that "neither by natural, divine or human law was any promise to be observed to the prejudice of the catholic faith." On the whole matter of the safe-conduct and its violation see Lea, _Hist. of the Inquisition in the M.A._, II, pp. 453 ff.

[225] The League of Cambray, negotiated in 1508 for war against Venice. In 1510 Venice made terms with the pope and detached him from the alliance, and the result was war between the pope and the King of France. See Cambridge _Modern History_, I, pp. 130 ii., and literature there cited.

[226] i. e. The Hussites. After the martyrdom of Hus his followers maintained for a time a strong organisation in Bohemia, and resisted with arms all attempts to force them into conformity with the Roman Church. The Council of Basel succeeded (1434) in reconciling the more moderate party among the Bohemians (the Calixtines) by allowing the administration of the cup to the laity. The more extreme party, however, refused to subscribe the _Compactata_ of Basel. Though they soon ceased to be a actor in the political situation, they remained outside the Church and perpetuated the teachings of Hus in sectarian organisations. The most important of these, the so-called Bohemian Brethren, had extended into Poland and Prussia before Luther's time.

See _Realencyk._, Ill, 465-467.

[227] See above, p. 140, note 1.