Maximillian I is dead.  Who will be elected the new King of the Romans aka the Emperor of the Holy Roman Emperor?  This time we discuss the Hapsburgs, revisit Maximillian, and discuss the contenders for ultimate prize.  At the end, there is one winner.  But of course, elections have consequences.  

It is January 12, 1519, and Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I has died.  The Luther question is put on the back burner while the powers that be jockeys for position to select a new emperor.  Before we delve into the selection and election of a new emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), this episode will be a lightning round of information about the Holy Roman Empire itself.  It encapsulates information presented way back in episodes 3,4,5, & 6.   Happy Listening!

After the blow-up in Augsburg and Luther's refusal to recant, and his subsequent escape, Cardinal Cajetan and Pope Leo X are demanding Luther be sent to Rome.  Frederick the Wise has a problem on his hands, how to solve the "Luther Affair?"

Enter stage left a new character at the dawn of the Reformation: the new professor of Greek at the University in Wittenberg: Philipp Schwartzerdt aka Philipp Melanchthon.

Martin Luther is "invited" to a special meeting in Augsburg in October of 1518 with Cardinal Cajetan.  Can you say, recant?  

We pick up the story after the Heidelberg Disputation, and discuss the relationship between Martin Luther and Johannes Eck, and Eck's criticism of the 95 Theses.  Cardinal Cajetan enters the narrative, as we set the scene for Luther's  upcoming trial at Augsburg.  Happy Listening!

Wow:  Finally a new episode!  In this episode, we explore Martin Luther's Sermon on Indulgences and Grace and the Heidelberg Disputation.  Happy Listening!

This is a rather eclectic episode, digging into literacy and communication methods in the late Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation.  The move from Latin to writing in the vernacular.  We'll also discuss the tortured history of heretics, especially Jan Hus, and whether reformers like Martin Luther had a reason to be a little fearful.

Happy Listening!