Catholic Europe v. Martin Luther
Introduction:
Background: It is the year 1541, and Martin Luther is appearing before the Imperial Diet of Worms for a second time. It has been 20 years since the last time that the former German Monk, Professor and Theologian stood before the Diet, and he has since begun his own religion and set Europe aflame with his revolutionary theology. Martin Luther now stands trial for the effects his ideology has reaped in Europe over the past two decades. The specific charges are as follows:
Count 1 - Development and preaching of heretical doctrines
Count 2 - Inciting members of the Catholic Church to rebel against the authority and established doctrines of the universal Church and a willful denial of the authority of the Pope and Catholic Church
Count 3 - Inciting the German peasants to rebel and then having them murdered to suppress the rebellion
Count 4 - Inciting the German nobility to oppose the sovereign rule of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, and therefore destabilizing the Holy Roman Empire
Count 5 - Instigating the formation of other heretical sects of Christianity separate from the Catholic Church
Panel Debate Assignment:
You will be assigned a role either for or against the charges listed above.
Primary Trial Roles will write a detailed statement using SOURCE CITATIONS to argue in favor or against the charges listed above. Your statement must address EACH of the charges listed above. You will then argue before the Jury Panel of Electors of the Holy Roman Empire whether or not Martin Luther is guilty of the charges listed. Your response must be printed by the time the trial begins.
Diet of Electors of the Holy Roman Empire will act as the lawyers of this trial. Your job is to ask questions of the witnesses, but you will also serve as the Jury that decides the fate of Martin Luther. You will write a detailed statement using SOURCE CITATIONS to argue in favor or against the charges listed above. Your statement must address EACH of the charges listed above. You will then listen to the arguments made before the Diet and see if the witnesses can convince you to find in favor or against Martin Luther for the charges listed above.
Primary Trial Roles:
Prosecution: Defense:
Pope Clement VII Martin Luther
Emperor Charles V Philip Melanchthon
Desiderius Erasmus Elector Frederick of Saxony
Johann Tetzel German Commoner
John Eck Ulrich Zwingli
Ignatius Loyola John Calvin
German Commoner King Henry VIII
Diet of Electors of the Holy Roman Empire
Prep Materials:
Mock Trials Procedure & Evidence Questions.pdf
Resources:
P&S Reader - Protestant Reformation.pdf
Taking Sides - Martin Luther.pdf
Martin Luther and the Peasant Revolt.pdf
Fordham University, catalogue of primary sources