Top of page

Book/Printed Material Ninety-Five Theses. Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum

About this Item

Title

  • Ninety-Five Theses.

Other Title

  • Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum

Summary

  • Martin Luther's Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum of 1517, commonly known as the Ninety-Five Theses, is considered the central document of the Protestant Reformation. Its complete title reads: "Out of love and zeal for clarifying the truth, these items written below will be debated at Wittenberg. Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology and an official professor at Wittenberg, will speak in their defense. He asks this in the matter: That those who are unable to be present to debate with us in speech should, though absent from the scene, treat the matter by correspondence. In the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen." The document went on to list 95 clerical abuses, chiefly relating to the sale of indulgences (payment for remission of earthly punishment of sins) by the Roman Catholic Church. Luther (1483--1546), a German priest and professor of theology, became the most important figure in the great religious revolt against the Catholic Church known as the Reformation. While he intended to use the 95 theses as the basis for an academic dispute, his indictment of church practices rapidly spread, thanks to the then still-new art of printing. By the end of 1517, three editions of the theses were published in Germany, in Leipzig, Nuremberg, and Basel, by printers who did not supply their names. It is estimated that each of these early editions was of about 300 copies, of which very few survived. This copy in the collections of the Berlin State Library was printed in Nuremberg by Hieronymus Höltzel. It was discovered in a London bookshop in 1891 by the director of the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) and presented to the Royal Library by the Prussian Ministry for Education and Culture.

Names

  • Luther, Martin, 1483-1546 Author.

Created / Published

  • Nuremberg : Hieronymus Höltzel, 1517.

Headings

  • -  Germany--Saxony-Anhalt--Wittenberg
  • -  1517
  • -  Catholic Church
  • -  Reformation
  • -  Theology

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 folio.
  • -  Original resource at: Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
  • -  Content in Latin.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • World History

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667736

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Luther, Martin, Author. Ninety-Five Theses. Nuremberg: Hieronymus Höltzel, 1517. Image. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667736/.

APA citation style:

Luther, M. (1517) Ninety-Five Theses. Nuremberg: Hieronymus Höltzel. [Image] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667736/.

MLA citation style:

Luther, Martin, Author. Ninety-Five Theses. Nuremberg: Hieronymus Höltzel, 1517. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667736/>.