Luther Burns the Bull — and Other Things

On December 10, 1520, the grace period given Martin Luther in Pope Leo X‘s bull Exsurge Domine expired. The proclamation labeled Luther’s views heretical and gave him sixty days to condemn his own views or be excommunicated. No one, least of all, Martin Luther, expected him to do so. The document also ordered the burning of Luther’s books. Very few places, all devoted to the papacy, actually succeeded in doing so. When the rumor spread that Leipzig, just across the river Elbe from Wittenberg had done so, Luther’s friends planned a response.

On that morning, Philipp Melanchthon announced that the University would respond by burning truly heretical books. They gathered several editions of the Canon Law, the works responsible for turning confession into an ordeal and the books of Eck an other opponents of Luther. John Agricola, an early friend of Luther, organized the bonfire, set just outside the city gate. He could not convince any of the professors to give up their copies of scholastic theology, so they were content to burn what they had. In the middle of the burning, Luther comes up and throws in his copy of the bull. With this action, Luther and his friends parted company with the Pope and all those loyal to him. Then he and the university professors returned to the city. The students, however, organized a funeral for the canon law, complete with songs. Rumor embellished the action. Luther wrote Spalatin to inform the Elector, who gave it tacit approval.