The Reformation as a call to discussion

Abstract

There are numerous interpretations of the event that is considered the beginning of the European Reformation of the 16th century, i. e., the publication of the Ninety-Five Theses by Martin Luther in 1517. According to the most popular interpretations, the publication of the Theses was an extraordinary historical event. I argue, however, that the writing of the Theses was an ordinary episode of daily academic life. This claim is justified by excerpts from private letters of Martin Luther from 1517–1518, contemporary historical scholarship of the Reformation era, and analysis of the specific features of European academic life and events from the history of the Church in the 15th–16th centuries. I consider the creation of the Ninety-Five Theses as a part of the more-than-a-century-old academic competition between universities belonging to the traditions of via antiqua and via moderna. In addition, I establish a relationship between, on the one hand, the struggle of the philosophical and theological traditions of via moderna and via antiqua and, on the other hand, the struggle of the ecclesiastical political movements for conciliarism and for the primacy of the pope. I also claim that the true cause of the beginning of the Reformation lies in the conflict between the ecclesiastical authorities, who tried to suppress theological discussions, and the academic community, which considered those discussions their undeniable right.