Martin Luther Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Legacy and commemoration== [[File:Countries by percentage of Protestants.svg|thumb|Worldwide Protestantism in 2010]] Luther made effective use of [[Johannes Gutenberg]]'s printing press to spread his views. He switched from Latin to German in his writing to appeal to a broader audience. Between 1500 and 1530, Luther's works represented one fifth of all materials printed in Germany.<ref>Wall Street Journal, "The Monk Who Shook the World", Richard J. Evans, 31 March 2017</ref> In the 1530s and 1540s, printed images of Luther that emphasized his monumental size were crucial to the spread of Protestantism. In contrast to images of frail Catholic saints, Luther was presented as a stout man with a "double chin, strong mouth, piercing deep-set eyes, fleshy face, and squat neck." He was shown to be physically imposing, an equal in stature to the secular German princes with whom he would join forces to spread Lutheranism. His large body also let the viewer know that he did not shun earthly pleasures like drinking—behavior that was a stark contrast to the ascetic life of the medieval religious orders. Images from this period include the woodcuts by [[Hans Brosamer]] (1530) and [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] and [[Lucas Cranach the Younger]] (1546).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Roper|first=Lyndal|author-link=Lyndal Roper|title=Martin Luther's Body: The 'Stout Doctor' and His Biographers|journal=American Historical Review|date=April 2010|volume=115|issue=2|pages=351–362|doi=10.1086/ahr.115.2.351|pmid=20509226|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[File:Eisenach Germany Lutherdenkmal-Eisenach-03.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Luther Monument]] in [[Eisenach]], Germany]] Luther is honoured on 18 February with a commemoration in the [[Calendar of saints (Lutheran)|Lutheran Calendar of Saints]] and in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal (United States) Calendar of Saints]]. In the [[Church of England]]'s [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Calendar of Saints]] he is [[Commemoration (Anglicanism)|commemorated]] on 31 October.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=9 April 2021|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref> Luther is honored in various ways by Christian traditions coming out directly from the Protestant Reformation, i.e. Lutheranism, the [[Calvinism|Reformed tradition]], and [[Anglicanism]]. Branches of Protestantism that emerged afterwards vary in their remembrance and veneration of Luther, ranging from a complete lack of a single mention of him to a commemoration almost comparable to the way Lutherans commemorate and remember his persona. There is no known condemnation of Luther by Protestants themselves. [[File:Martin Luther College Aerial Photo - 2010s.jpg|thumb|[[Martin Luther College]] in [[New Ulm, Minnesota]], U.S.]] Various sites both inside and outside Germany (supposedly) visited by Martin Luther throughout his lifetime commemorate it with local memorials. [[Saxony-Anhalt]] has two towns officially named after Luther, [[Lutherstadt Eisleben]] and [[Lutherstadt Wittenberg]]. [[Mansfeld]] is sometimes called Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, although the state government has not decided to put the ''[[Lutherstadt]]'' suffix in its official name. [[Reformation Day]] commemorates the publication of the ''Ninety-five Theses'' in 1517 by Martin Luther; it has been historically important in the following European entities. It is a civic holiday in the German states of [[Brandenburg]], [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]], [[Saxony]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]], [[Thuringia]], [[Schleswig-Holstein]] and [[Hamburg]]. Two further states ([[Lower Saxony]] and [[Bremen]]) are pending a vote on introducing it. Slovenia celebrates it because of the profound contribution of the Reformation to its culture. Austria allows Protestant children not to go to school that day, and Protestant workers have a right to leave work in order to participate in a church service. Switzerland celebrates the holiday on the first Sunday after 31 October. It is also celebrated elsewhere around the world. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page