'Von der freyheyt eynes Christenmenschen' by Martin Luther (Wittenberg, 1520) [Library shelfmark: Crawford.R.206].
Because of political intrigues between Pope Leo X and the Holy Roman Emperor, Martin Luther was granted some breathing space after the papal bull of 1520 was issued.
He used this time to write his major Reformation texts. These include:
- An address to the German nobility, which contains a comprehensive social, educational and economic reform programme
- A treatise about the captivity of the church, which deals with his doctrine of the sacraments
- His revolutionary thoughts on the freedom of Christians (shown here), which he dedicated to the Pope.
This document featured in the display 'The Reformation: What was it all about?' that ran at the National Library from 19 October to 10 December 2017.