Martin Luther
Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German Augustinian friar and theology professor at Wittenberg whose challenge to the Catholic practice of selling indulgences—the 95 Theses (1517)—triggered the Protestant Reformation. Luther's three core principles—sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia—dismantled the theological basis of papal authority. Excommunicated in 1521 and condemned at the Diet of Worms, he was protected by Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, and spent a year translating the New Testament into vernacular German—a work that standardised the German language as Tyndale's Bible standardised English. Luther's theology was socially conservative: he opposed the Peasants' Revolt (1524–1525) with brutal language. His marriage to Katherine von Bora (1525), a former nun, modelled the Protestant clerical family. He died in 1546 having permanently transformed Western Christianity, European politics, and the relationship between individual conscience and institutional authority.
- Lived: 1483 CE – 1546 CE
- Nationality: german
- Roles: theologian, reformer, religious_figure
