In early afternoon on April 17th, the imperial marshall and the imperial herald led Martin Luther through a roundabout route from his lodging to the back entrance of the bishop’s residence, where the rulers and representatives of all the German territories, free cities and lands ruled by bishops and monasteries. Crowds filled all the streets and they wanted to avoid any incidents along the way.
As they entered the chamber where the Diet met, Luther looked around to see all the majesty of the gathered powers of his people. He had never been in the presence of secular power before, having been raised in a common household and joined a monastic community. He did not realize not to focus on the emperor was a breach of custom. On a table in the center of the room were piled many of his books. The imperial marshall warned him not to speak unless spoken to.
The Emperor had chosen an aide of the archbishop of Trier, Johann von der Ecken, to speak for the court. He addressed Luther in German and Latin. The emperor had summoned Luther to determine if he would acknowledge that the books printed under his name were his and if he would stand by his books or retract anything in them. This was at odds with the summons itself, so Luther was unprepared for the question. Luther’s lawyer, a judge in the service of Elector Frederick, asked that all the titles be read aloud. This was done. Not all of Luther’s works were there, but the collection was fairly up-to-date.
Luther spoke in a subdued, soft voice. He acknowledged the books were his. Since his answer was of grave importance to be faithful to God’s word and to preserve his soul, he requested time from the emperor to careful ponder his answer. This caught the court (or most of it) completely by surprise. Some thought the seriousness of his situation moved him to give pause to his resistance. Others suspected the move was a tactic designed by Elector Frederick. After the Emperor and the princes conferred, Von Der Ecken lectured Luther to put the unity of the Church and the peace of the state before his own opinions. He should have known, von der Ecken insisted what he would be asked to do. The Emperor in his leniency would nevertheless grant him a day to think. He was summoned to return the next day. The herald ushered Luther back to his quarters. There Luther was visited by many nobles, all of whom assured him the emperor would honor the safe conduct. To do otherwise would spark a revolt. To all visitors, Luther appeared in very good spirits.
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