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Brand Luther: How an Unheralded Monk Turned His Small Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe--and Started the Protestant Reformation
A revolutionary look at Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the birth of publishing, on the eve of the Reformation’s 500th anniversary When Martin Luther posted his “theses” on the door of the Wittenberg church in 1517, protesting corrupt practices, he was virtually unknown. Within months, his ideas spread across Germany, then all of Europe; within years, their author was not just famous, but infamous, responsible for catalyzing the violent wave of religious reform that would come to be known as the Protestant Reformation and engulfing Europe in decades of bloody war. Luther came of age with the printing press, and the path to glory of neither one was obvious to the casual observer of the time. Printing was, and is, a risky business—the questions were how to know how much to print and how to get there before the competition. Pettegree illustrates Luther's great gifts not simply as a theologian, but as a communicator, indeed, as the world's first mass-media figure, its first brand. He recognized in printing the power of pamphlets, written in the colloquial German of everyday people, to win the battle of ideas. But that wasn't enough—not just words, but the medium itself was the message. Fatefully, Luther had a partner in the form of artist and businessman Lucas Cranach, who together with Wittenberg’s printers created the distinctive look of Luther's pamphlets. Together, Luther and Cranach created a product that spread like wildfire—it was both incredibly successful and widely imitated. Soon Germany was overwhelmed by a blizzard of pamphlets, with Wittenberg at its heart; the Reformation itself would blaze on for more than a hundred years. Publishing in advance of the Reformation’s 500th anniversary, Brand Luther fuses the history of religion, of printing, and of capitalism—the literal marketplace of ideas—into one enthralling story, revolutionizing our understanding of one of the pivotal figures and eras in human history.
379 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 27, 2015
112 people are currently reading
1560 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Pettegree
37 books102 followersI began my career working on aspects of the European Reformation. My first book was a study of religious refugee communities in the sixteenth century, and since then I have published on the Dutch Revolt, and on the Reformation in Germany, France and England, as well as a general survey history of the sixteenth century. In the last years the focus of my research has shifted towards an interest in the history of communication, and especially the history of the book. I run a research group that in 2011 completed a survey of all books published before1601: the Universal Short Title Catalogue. This work continues with work to incorporate new discoveries and continue the survey into the seventeenth century.
In 2010 I published an award-winning study of The Book in the Renaissance, and in 2014 The Invention of News: a study of the birth of a commercial culture of news publication in the four centuries between 1400 and 1800. I return to the Reformation for a study of Luther’s media strategy, published in 2015 by Penguin as Brand Luther, 1517, Printing and the Making of the Reformation. I am now engaged in a study of the book world of the seventeenth century Dutch Republic, to be published in 2019 as Trading Books in the Age of Rembrandt.
I am the lead editor of two monograph series: the St Andrews Studies in Reformation History, and The Library of the Written Word. In 2012-2015 I served a three year term as Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society.
I welcome enquiries from potential postgraduate students working on any aspect of the Reformation or Book History.
In 2010 I published an award-winning study of The Book in the Renaissance, and in 2014 The Invention of News: a study of the birth of a commercial culture of news publication in the four centuries between 1400 and 1800. I return to the Reformation for a study of Luther’s media strategy, published in 2015 by Penguin as Brand Luther, 1517, Printing and the Making of the Reformation. I am now engaged in a study of the book world of the seventeenth century Dutch Republic, to be published in 2019 as Trading Books in the Age of Rembrandt.
I am the lead editor of two monograph series: the St Andrews Studies in Reformation History, and The Library of the Written Word. In 2012-2015 I served a three year term as Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society.
I welcome enquiries from potential postgraduate students working on any aspect of the Reformation or Book History.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
June 1, 2017
Fascinating angle on the Reformation. Brand Luther surprised me in every chapter, and it's been a long time since I've read a book with so much interest. Well researched and written, evenhanded and fair to the figures involved (even Johann Tetzel, who has spent the last 500 years being thrown under the bus by everyone on all sides of the Reformation), Pettegree's book was a pleasure to read, and ably demonstrates the context of Luther and his relationship with printing, how it shaped his role in the Reformation, and how he, in turn, transformed the printing business. Highly recommended.
Want to read
December 21, 2023I restrained an impulse to buy Brand Luther, which I discovered yesterday at one of the excellent used bookstores of Seattle's Pike Place Market. I'm already in complete agreement with the book's apparent thesis. The influence of the printing press on the Protestant Reformation is detailed in books such as The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe by Elizabeth L. Eisenstein, Martin Luther: Reformer or Revolutionary? by Donald Kagan (editor), Manifestations of Discontent in Germany on the Eve of the Reformation: A Collection of Documents by Gerald Strauss, and German Antiquity In Renaissance Myth by Frank L. Borchardt, all of which I've read. There isn't enough time to read everything, and the chances are there just isn't enough new here for me to justify the cost and effort. As pleasurable as I might find Brand Luther, I fear it would be, for me, at best redundant.
Still, I'm glad to know that a relatively new, presumably up-to-date, and, I hope, popularly accessible book exists which draws attention to the technological preconditions of the Protestant Reformation, and therefore to the birth of the modern world. I like the book's promotional framing of Martin Luther as "the world's first mass media figure." An excellent tact to impress the significance of Luther upon a reader who might otherwise dismiss him as irrelevant to contemporary concerns. If anything, I might have gone further, and publicized Brand Luther as the story of Martin Luther as the Steve Jobs of the Sixteenth Century, and Wittenberg its Silicon Valley.
P.S. I succumbed to temptation and bought a copy of Brand Luther anyway. It's on my list of books to read in 2024. Review forthcoming...
Still, I'm glad to know that a relatively new, presumably up-to-date, and, I hope, popularly accessible book exists which draws attention to the technological preconditions of the Protestant Reformation, and therefore to the birth of the modern world. I like the book's promotional framing of Martin Luther as "the world's first mass media figure." An excellent tact to impress the significance of Luther upon a reader who might otherwise dismiss him as irrelevant to contemporary concerns. If anything, I might have gone further, and publicized Brand Luther as the story of Martin Luther as the Steve Jobs of the Sixteenth Century, and Wittenberg its Silicon Valley.
P.S. I succumbed to temptation and bought a copy of Brand Luther anyway. It's on my list of books to read in 2024. Review forthcoming...
September 21, 2015
For years the newfangled printing press was only utilized by the church, for the church. Small local publishers turned out books in Latin that had little in common with what we expect in a book today, like consistent and grammatically correct word breaks.
The development of the book as we know it was due to Lucas Cranach who created title pages with decorative elements,with the author's name prominently displayed. And he developed this format for his friend, Martin Luther, best-selling writer of the early 1500s.
Andrew Pettegree's title tells the whole story: Brand Luther: How an Unheralded Monk Turned His Small Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe--and Started the Protestant Reformation. The book tells the stories of a monk turned best-selling author, a one-customer book industry that found an explosive new market, and how a small town became a boom town.
I learned in my Reformation History course that Luther was a Cultural Icon, a mass-media guru who used the latest technology--and gasp, even wrote in the vernacular so non-clerics could read theology and the Bible!
In 1513 when Luther arrived in Wittenberg he though it was a small. ugly village on the edge of civilization. Even the rival of Luther's Patron remarked, "That a single monk, out of such a hole, could undertake a Reformation, is not to be tolerated." The university printing press was the only operation in town, and its printer slow and his book inelegant. By 1543 there were six shops turning out about 90 books a year. Luther single-handedly changed the book business. How the printing industry and the Reformation were intertwined is at the heart of this book
Pettegree has a readable style and his presentation of the history and theology was not difficult to follow. Although not a biography of Luther, or a study in Reformation history, the reader will learn a great deal about both.
Included in the book are illustrations, including the books discussed, and portraits of Luther by Cranach.
1541 Bible translated by Martin Luther, design by Lucas Cranach
I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
The development of the book as we know it was due to Lucas Cranach who created title pages with decorative elements,with the author's name prominently displayed. And he developed this format for his friend, Martin Luther, best-selling writer of the early 1500s.
Andrew Pettegree's title tells the whole story: Brand Luther: How an Unheralded Monk Turned His Small Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe--and Started the Protestant Reformation. The book tells the stories of a monk turned best-selling author, a one-customer book industry that found an explosive new market, and how a small town became a boom town.
I learned in my Reformation History course that Luther was a Cultural Icon, a mass-media guru who used the latest technology--and gasp, even wrote in the vernacular so non-clerics could read theology and the Bible!
In 1513 when Luther arrived in Wittenberg he though it was a small. ugly village on the edge of civilization. Even the rival of Luther's Patron remarked, "That a single monk, out of such a hole, could undertake a Reformation, is not to be tolerated." The university printing press was the only operation in town, and its printer slow and his book inelegant. By 1543 there were six shops turning out about 90 books a year. Luther single-handedly changed the book business. How the printing industry and the Reformation were intertwined is at the heart of this book
Pettegree has a readable style and his presentation of the history and theology was not difficult to follow. Although not a biography of Luther, or a study in Reformation history, the reader will learn a great deal about both.
Included in the book are illustrations, including the books discussed, and portraits of Luther by Cranach.
1541 Bible translated by Martin Luther, design by Lucas Cranach
I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
November 14, 2022
An excellent book that does exactly what it says in the subtitle, revealing how Martin Luther became the first master of mass communication. I have read a few books on Luther and the German Reformation recently and thought that I might be overdoing it by reading this one as well, I could not have been more wrong. This book is a joy to read.
August 16, 2025
Książka opowiada o fascynujących zależnościach druku i Lutra/Reformacji. Autor popada niekiedy w ton lekko hagiograficzny, ale ogólnie rzecz biorąc w całkiem zajmujący i jak się wydaje rzetelny sposób opisuje zawiłe koleje losu pierwszych dekad protestantyzmu. Jako tło muzyczne do czytania tej książki polecam album "Tugend und Untugend: German Music from the Time of Luther" wydany przez Naxos.
Gdybym miał oceniać polskie wydanie, to byłaby jedna gwiazdka mniej, ale za jego rażące niedoróbki odpowiada Wydawnictwo Krytyki Politycznej, a nie autor.
Gdybym miał oceniać polskie wydanie, to byłaby jedna gwiazdka mniej, ale za jego rażące niedoróbki odpowiada Wydawnictwo Krytyki Politycznej, a nie autor.
March 23, 2025
History + theology + books = a fun read.
“Thus we return to the paradox with which we began this book: printing was essential to the creation of Martin Luther, but Luther was also a determining, shaping force in the German printing industry. … After Luther, print and public communication would never be the same. It was an extraordinary legacy for an extraordinary man.” (338)
“Thus we return to the paradox with which we began this book: printing was essential to the creation of Martin Luther, but Luther was also a determining, shaping force in the German printing industry. … After Luther, print and public communication would never be the same. It was an extraordinary legacy for an extraordinary man.” (338)
October 30, 2015
How can an unpublished, obscure Roman Catholic monk move from the shadows to the world stage in a matter of years. This is the subject of Andrew Pettegree’s book, Brand Luther. Pettegree walks meticulously through the events of the Reformer’s life; events that would mark a nation and rock the world. This is Brand Luther.
The author sets the stage by alerting readers to Luther’s fascinating background. From his birth in Eisleben to his university days in Erfurt, and his teaching days at in Wittenberg, Pettegree establishes Luther’s cultural context along with vivid allusions to the theological landscape. Ultimately, his design is to show how Luther rises to prominence in a most unusual way.
Brand Luther is unique in that it captures the pathos of the 16th century. The author delves into matters that pertain to culture, theology, economics, and personal emotion - to name a few. The author has an uncanny ability of navigating readers on the path that Luther walked and placing them in the emotional state he experienced and the physical ailments he endured. The turmoil that Luther felt and the threat of impending death looms like London fog on a cold autumn evening.
The author argues that Luther’s writing along with the establishment of the printing press are integral to his success, not to mention the gains of the Protestant Reformation: “Many things conspired to ensure Luther’s unlikely survival through the first years of the Reformation, but one of them was undoubtedly print.” The book is filled with evidence that points in this direction which bolsters the author’s thesis along the way.
Brand Luther is a serious work of history which spans nearly 400 pages but the book reads like a novel - quite an accomplishment for a scholarly work!
Essential reading for students of the Reformation!
The author sets the stage by alerting readers to Luther’s fascinating background. From his birth in Eisleben to his university days in Erfurt, and his teaching days at in Wittenberg, Pettegree establishes Luther’s cultural context along with vivid allusions to the theological landscape. Ultimately, his design is to show how Luther rises to prominence in a most unusual way.
Brand Luther is unique in that it captures the pathos of the 16th century. The author delves into matters that pertain to culture, theology, economics, and personal emotion - to name a few. The author has an uncanny ability of navigating readers on the path that Luther walked and placing them in the emotional state he experienced and the physical ailments he endured. The turmoil that Luther felt and the threat of impending death looms like London fog on a cold autumn evening.
The author argues that Luther’s writing along with the establishment of the printing press are integral to his success, not to mention the gains of the Protestant Reformation: “Many things conspired to ensure Luther’s unlikely survival through the first years of the Reformation, but one of them was undoubtedly print.” The book is filled with evidence that points in this direction which bolsters the author’s thesis along the way.
Brand Luther is a serious work of history which spans nearly 400 pages but the book reads like a novel - quite an accomplishment for a scholarly work!
Essential reading for students of the Reformation!
July 5, 2017
A somewhat scholarly but nevertheless fascinating account of how Martin Luther became a best-selling author by brilliantly using the fledgling German printing industry to spread the idea of the Protestant Reformation, thereby simultaneously transforming both the world of printing and the world of the church.
July 15, 2017
I had no idea before reading this book about the impact Martin Luther had on the German printing and publishing industry. Highly recommended!
March 24, 2018
Surprisingly interesting. This certainly isn't a traditional biography of Martin Luther, nor does it delve too deeply into theology -- and in both respects, that was (for my purposes) all to the good. What author Andrew Pettegree focuses on instead, as indicated by the subtitle, is how the emerging technology of the printing press was critical to Luther's success, and how Luther was critical to the development of print publishing in 16th C. Germany. If that sounds like a somewhat arcane topic. . . well, I guess it is. But Pettegree writes clearly and well, and really knows his stuff, so although at times the book may be a bit repetitive and over-packed with details about 16th C. printing, in the end I felt that Pettegree provided some keen insights about the beginnings of the modern era in the West -- or perhaps I should call it the Era of the Printed Word -- that I should have learned in high school.
I have a distant memory that my high school textbook mentioned among the *Important Events* of Western Civilization the invention of the printing press, the Reformation, and the beginnings of the use of vernacular across Europe, but I don't remember understanding the significance of these events or how they related to each other. Pettegree puts these pieces together, focusing on Luther as a writer/communicator/propagandist whose appreciation of the importance of print technology helped him become the most famous man in Europe. First, far better than his contemporary friends and foes, Luther quickly learned how to use printed books and pamphlets to spread his views widely and effectively. He obsessed not just about the words he wrote but about the timing, accuracy, visual appeal, and effective distribution of these printed works. Second, by writing in plain German, rather than in Latin, he increased his potential audience many, many times over. This was good for the local printers' pocketbooks, but it also was critical for Luther because it meant that many of his countrymen (notably including the elites who could help protect him and further his views) -- not just other Church men -- could understand his arguments. Just a few decades before Luther's birth, books were extremely rare and expensive objects that were hand copied, and therefore owned by only the wealthy few; but during Luther's lifetime hundreds of thousands of copies of his writings were printed and distributed throughout Germany. And a Church that for centuries was used to conducting academic theological debates in Latin did not always have a ready response.
I have a distant memory that my high school textbook mentioned among the *Important Events* of Western Civilization the invention of the printing press, the Reformation, and the beginnings of the use of vernacular across Europe, but I don't remember understanding the significance of these events or how they related to each other. Pettegree puts these pieces together, focusing on Luther as a writer/communicator/propagandist whose appreciation of the importance of print technology helped him become the most famous man in Europe. First, far better than his contemporary friends and foes, Luther quickly learned how to use printed books and pamphlets to spread his views widely and effectively. He obsessed not just about the words he wrote but about the timing, accuracy, visual appeal, and effective distribution of these printed works. Second, by writing in plain German, rather than in Latin, he increased his potential audience many, many times over. This was good for the local printers' pocketbooks, but it also was critical for Luther because it meant that many of his countrymen (notably including the elites who could help protect him and further his views) -- not just other Church men -- could understand his arguments. Just a few decades before Luther's birth, books were extremely rare and expensive objects that were hand copied, and therefore owned by only the wealthy few; but during Luther's lifetime hundreds of thousands of copies of his writings were printed and distributed throughout Germany. And a Church that for centuries was used to conducting academic theological debates in Latin did not always have a ready response.
June 5, 2024
Long, unwieldy subtitles are par for the course these days, so I won’t blame the author for “Brand Luther: How an Unheralded Monk Turned His Small Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe – and Started the Protestant Revolution” (Penguin Press, 2016) when the first two words alone would have sufficed. “Brand Luther” was meant to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of Luther posting his infamous ninety-five theses onto the church door in Wittenberg and thereby turning his sleepy university town in northwestern Germany into a center of a controversy the size of which he could barely imagine. Author Andrew Pettegree is a professor at St. Andrews University and has written several books on the intersection of early modern history (especially the Reformation), communication, and early print culture.
The thesis of Pettegree’s book is that Luther and Wittenberg University had a special synergistic relationship. Without Luther’s acerbic, unrelenting wit, Wittenberg would have remained as obscure as it was before Luther arrived; equally, without the special tools and scholarship that the university provided him, Luther would have lived out his life as a quiet, unassuming monk. Luther’s theology grew increasingly popular but reached an even larger audience being written in Luther’s vernacular German (as opposed to the lingua franca of Latin). Together with the artwork of Lucas Cranach, he helped not only change the theological Overton window on ideas about the role of the pope, free will, and indulgences, but did so in a way that turned Luther into a household name.
Luther was meticulous in ensuring his short Flugschriften (acerbic, short pamphlets on various theological topics) would appeal to a broader public, publishing them in small, portable editions that were both inexpensive and easy to read. When he translated the Old Testament, he published it in installments spread out over a long period so people would have the money to afford to read it in its entirety. One of the centerpieces of the book is the relationship between Luther and Lucas Cranach, with whom he had a robust friendly relationship. Both realized that the work they did together amplified the reputation of the other. Cranach’s talents were so valued because he was able to visually represent Luther’s ideas and arrange his images on the page so that they were better suited for the new literary forms of the pamphlet and the book.
Publishers were quick to notice the popularity of Luther’s ideas. His publications almost single-handedly kept many of the printers in and around Wittenberg in business, thereby publicizing the often-recondite subjects of theological debate. Luther railed against the idea that churchgoers needed priests to interpret the Bible for them. He urged his followers to read the Bible for themselves – in their own language, not the language of the Church – and let their own conscience be the arbiter of how it moved and affected them.
This is a fantastic book that serves to highlight the major points of Luther’s life while also describing how he went on to not only fundamentally change the Church but also deeply thought about the ways in which he marketed his ideas to a broad readership. Words like “brand” and “marketing” are now tied up with a kind of corporatism and capitalism that didn’t exist half a millennium ago. However, Pettegree makes an outstanding argument that Luther created something ineffably “Lutheran” in his writing – in his aesthetic, his typography, in his unrelenting vituperation against anything about the Church that irritated him even a bit - and the editorial decisions he made upon publishing. In doing so, he created an enduring reputation for himself, his ideas, and launched Wittenberg into being one of the greatest centers of book publication in Europe. “Brand Luther” combined with another book I read for Historathon2023 – Michael Massing’s brilliant “Fatal Discord” – is a wonderful mini-education on the first few decades of the Reformation and Martin Luther’s sui generis role in it.
The thesis of Pettegree’s book is that Luther and Wittenberg University had a special synergistic relationship. Without Luther’s acerbic, unrelenting wit, Wittenberg would have remained as obscure as it was before Luther arrived; equally, without the special tools and scholarship that the university provided him, Luther would have lived out his life as a quiet, unassuming monk. Luther’s theology grew increasingly popular but reached an even larger audience being written in Luther’s vernacular German (as opposed to the lingua franca of Latin). Together with the artwork of Lucas Cranach, he helped not only change the theological Overton window on ideas about the role of the pope, free will, and indulgences, but did so in a way that turned Luther into a household name.
Luther was meticulous in ensuring his short Flugschriften (acerbic, short pamphlets on various theological topics) would appeal to a broader public, publishing them in small, portable editions that were both inexpensive and easy to read. When he translated the Old Testament, he published it in installments spread out over a long period so people would have the money to afford to read it in its entirety. One of the centerpieces of the book is the relationship between Luther and Lucas Cranach, with whom he had a robust friendly relationship. Both realized that the work they did together amplified the reputation of the other. Cranach’s talents were so valued because he was able to visually represent Luther’s ideas and arrange his images on the page so that they were better suited for the new literary forms of the pamphlet and the book.
Publishers were quick to notice the popularity of Luther’s ideas. His publications almost single-handedly kept many of the printers in and around Wittenberg in business, thereby publicizing the often-recondite subjects of theological debate. Luther railed against the idea that churchgoers needed priests to interpret the Bible for them. He urged his followers to read the Bible for themselves – in their own language, not the language of the Church – and let their own conscience be the arbiter of how it moved and affected them.
This is a fantastic book that serves to highlight the major points of Luther’s life while also describing how he went on to not only fundamentally change the Church but also deeply thought about the ways in which he marketed his ideas to a broad readership. Words like “brand” and “marketing” are now tied up with a kind of corporatism and capitalism that didn’t exist half a millennium ago. However, Pettegree makes an outstanding argument that Luther created something ineffably “Lutheran” in his writing – in his aesthetic, his typography, in his unrelenting vituperation against anything about the Church that irritated him even a bit - and the editorial decisions he made upon publishing. In doing so, he created an enduring reputation for himself, his ideas, and launched Wittenberg into being one of the greatest centers of book publication in Europe. “Brand Luther” combined with another book I read for Historathon2023 – Michael Massing’s brilliant “Fatal Discord” – is a wonderful mini-education on the first few decades of the Reformation and Martin Luther’s sui generis role in it.
May 21, 2017
Martin Luther's theological revolution would have gone nowhere without the power of the printing press. His uncommon writing talent, his elegance of expression and editorial vigor as well as his personal magnetism propelled the reformation movement forward. He was heavily involved with the nuts and bolts of the printing process: typeface readability, aesthetic page design, paper quality. Having once worked as a printer in a small letterpress shop, I identified with his concerns. Luther didn't care about making money from his works (indeed, one print shop after another freely pirated his booklets). Result: two new eras were launched, the Protestant Reformation and the printing industry. Overall, I found this book a perceptive and engaging analysis of the era (1517-46). Also, I gained new insights into Luther's life.
March 27, 2018
I read this book for book club and didn't realize it was more about the Reformation's influence on printing in 16th C Germany than about Luther. As such, it wasn't bad, though I wasn't too interested. It went through Luther's life completely, but much of his doctrine was just hinted at. A disappointment for me.
Nicely written. Easy to understand. Some repetition.
Nicely written. Easy to understand. Some repetition.
January 2, 2017
A view of Luther's life through the lens of publishing. Especially good for those with some familiarity with Luther's life as there are all sorts of goodies I have never seen in other biographies. Excellent.
June 12, 2019
This might be one of the best books on the German Reformation I have yet read. That it lends a unique view of the Reformation through the publishing aspect certainly helps. (Had to read this as a text for my ULondon Reformation History course.)
November 5, 2024
I picked this up at a used book store.
Brand Luther approaches Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation through the lens of printing / mass communication. The story of how printing was indispensable to success of the Martin Luther (and the broader Protestant Reformation) is well known. Pettegree doesn’t just retell this story. He shows how Martin Luther was instrumental in changing the printing industry in Germany. Martin Luther didn’t just co-opt an existing industry—he transformed it.
Pettegree argues that book printing was highly speculative in the early 1500s. Long books took a long time to produce and were difficult to sell. Books weren’t profitable for printers. Single sheets and short pamphlets were a more reliable source of income for printers. Indulgence certificates and their associates sermons were a huge part of the printing industry at the time. Luther transformed printing by writing/distributing his works in a way that was profitable for printers. He wrote short works in the vernacular tongue. These works could be produced quickly in bulk without large investment by the printer. His works quickly sold. They were cheap by virtue of being short and the market was large by virtue of being written in German rather than Latin.
Brand Luther approaches Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation through the lens of printing / mass communication. The story of how printing was indispensable to success of the Martin Luther (and the broader Protestant Reformation) is well known. Pettegree doesn’t just retell this story. He shows how Martin Luther was instrumental in changing the printing industry in Germany. Martin Luther didn’t just co-opt an existing industry—he transformed it.
Pettegree argues that book printing was highly speculative in the early 1500s. Long books took a long time to produce and were difficult to sell. Books weren’t profitable for printers. Single sheets and short pamphlets were a more reliable source of income for printers. Indulgence certificates and their associates sermons were a huge part of the printing industry at the time. Luther transformed printing by writing/distributing his works in a way that was profitable for printers. He wrote short works in the vernacular tongue. These works could be produced quickly in bulk without large investment by the printer. His works quickly sold. They were cheap by virtue of being short and the market was large by virtue of being written in German rather than Latin.
April 6, 2019
I was tempted to get this book because of a positive review and I am immensely thankful to the reviewer. I have read several books on Luther but this is probably my favourite. Andrew Pettegree is a professor of modern history at the University of St Andrews and the founding director of the St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute. He knows his stuff! This is not just a biography of Luther, but rather a look at how the printing press and Luther's gifts combined to create a revolution. It is superbly written, historically detailed (and accurate) and because of its depth provides a real new perspective and fresh insight on Luther (even on the question of Luther and the Jews). This is first-rate history, politics and theology. Highly recommended.
"Naturally he gave the credit to the direct intervention of a beneficent deity: printing, he believed, was technology heaven-sent to spread God's word and banish error"
"Naturally he gave the credit to the direct intervention of a beneficent deity: printing, he believed, was technology heaven-sent to spread God's word and banish error"
December 12, 2023
This was a wonderful book that connected Martin Luther and his use of the printing press for the Reformation. While these ideas have crisscrossed in other Reformation publications, this book made the connection between Luther and publishing most explicit, presenting a fresh look at Luther and his legacy. Pettegree made a convincing case that Wittenberg was not a publishing center, but due to Luther and his writing for clerical but especially lay audiences, Wittenberg's notoriety grew. He connects the effects of his printed works on Luther's lifestyle.
Pettegree writes in an engaging and enjoyable style. Brand Luther follows the beginning of Luther's time in the Reformation through until his death. I would have enjoyed if Pettegree would have commented more on other Reformation figures and their use of the printing press.
For those who are interested in Reformation studies, this is a must read!
Pettegree writes in an engaging and enjoyable style. Brand Luther follows the beginning of Luther's time in the Reformation through until his death. I would have enjoyed if Pettegree would have commented more on other Reformation figures and their use of the printing press.
For those who are interested in Reformation studies, this is a must read!
June 20, 2017
Pettegree provides a fresh perspective on the history of Martin Luther and the Reformation coming at it from a unique perspective--the printing industry of Luther's era. One of the best new historiographical contributions to the lead-up to the 500th anniversary celebration of the Reformation this year.
March 10, 2021
An excellent book tracing the connections between the Reformation and the rise of print in Wittenberg and Germany. Excellent research and scholarship that is also well written and readable. Anyone interested in book history, the Reformation, Germany in the early modern period, or just general European history should read this book.
October 28, 2021
You’d think we’ve read all there is to read about Luther, but this book surprised and enlightened me. He looks at how the printing press changed Luther, the Protestant movement, and the city of Wittenberg in the early sixteenth century. If you can tolerate some of the needless repetition, you’ll learn many fascinating tidbits.
November 9, 2017
Fascinating first half, second quarter was somewhat boring and too much into the weeds, last quarter pretty good.
December 11, 2017
izsmeļošs vēsturisks ieskats reformācijā un norisēs, kas 16. gadsimtā Mārtiņu Luteru padarīja par zvaigzni ne tikai reliģiskajās, bet arī publicistikas debesīs. meistarīgs savijums starp reformācijas norisi un idejām un to, kā attīstījās vietējā izdevējdarbība, pateicoties Lutera publikācijām un aicinājumiem apšaubīt Katoļu baznīcas pieņemto kārtību.
May 27, 2023
reminded me of outliers by Malcolm Gladwell but in a good way. We spend a lot of time watching viral videos or reading viral tweets and wonder how they blow up. This is the explanation of how and why Martin Luther went viral when others would've been ignored or killed.
March 4, 2017
An interesting idea connecting print and Luther together as both were on the rise.
May 18, 2019
In this original approach, Luther’s life is examined with an accent on media, in the general sense of the term, and Luther’s control of it. It led to his success in the early sixteenth century. There existed a number of fortuitous pre-existing factors that helped him, though. Disillusionment with the Roman Church was already festering; Germany being a country of so many small states meant that there could be no organised censorship; the German printing industry was ripe for the opportunity he was able to provide; the use of German instead of Latin stood to dramatically expand the reach of new ideas. Added to these were Luther’s charisma and the talent with which he was able to surround himself; the refusal of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Wittenberg, to restrain him; the branding effect of Marcus Cranach’s illustrations, and the very names of Luther and Wittenberg. The absence of copyright meant that the printed word could spread rapidly to neighbouring jurisdictions. Printers’ financial risks were for once extremely low because their first productions for Luther were small, and the population lapped them up far more than any Catholic ripostes. Luther cleverly spread his favours among printers so as to prevent anti-competitive practices. It was a time when an author could yield power over the printer. Luther even encouraged new printers to set up in Wittenberg, and he spent much time on site ensuring the quality of their work. One loser in all this was the previously dominant Leipzig printing industry; Duke George of Saxony’s clamp down on reformist literature meant that it crashed. However, it should be said that for the majority of Germans the pulpit was their source of information on the reformation. Luther’s good image was fostered by becoming a family man with a range of ideas to further society. He campaigned for universal education and state-run schools for boys and girls.
January 27, 2016
Can you imagine a world without books? Me, either. This book was mainly about the impact that Martin Luther and the beginnings of the reformation had on book printers and book dissemination. Gutenberg, inventor of movable type, went bankrupt due to a lack of a market. Pettegree indicates that prior to Luther, books were mainly for academic purposes (and in Latin) although a major market was ecclesiastic, either for use in church services, or in times closer to Luther's, for printing of indulgences, the ultimate in "get out of jail" certificates, that were a major source of funding for both the Pope and for local churches. As you may recall, Luther's initial revolt was against these indulgences. Luther was extremely prolific and published in German, and apparently injected new life into the printing business since his publications were often short (easy to print and to sell) and very popular. The book was not especially well written-- there is lots of repetition, and poor explanations of the complexities of the times (sometimes it seemed that Pettegree assumed his readers would already know a lot of that, but it is obscure to me). It was a tough slog, but I finished, and I learned quite a bit about 16th century printing, politics and religion; but it will take more investigating to consolidate the information.
December 26, 2015
Brand Luther
How an Unheralded Monk Turned His Small Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe--and Started the Protestant Reformation
by Andrew Pettegree
PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press
Penguin Press
Christian
Pub Date Oct 27, 2015
In this book we learn about Martin Luther's place in the Reformation. This book also tells the story of books. And the impact Martin Luther had on the publishing industry in Europe in the sixteenth century.
Martin Luther was not only a theologian but a writer of great skill, as well as a preacher.
Martin Luther's early years in Wittenberg were a time of exploration and discovery.
Between 1518 and1519 Martin Luther became a public figure. His new place as a public figure would lead to trips outside of Wittenberg both short and longer more arduous journeys.
We learn in this book that the Reformation brought books into the hands of those who could only dream of owning books before the Reformation.
This book not only talks about Martin Luther's place in the Reformation but the role he and his writings played in bringing life to the printing industry.
I give this book five out of five stars
Happy Reading and Merry Christmas
How an Unheralded Monk Turned His Small Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe--and Started the Protestant Reformation
by Andrew Pettegree
PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press
Penguin Press
Christian
Pub Date Oct 27, 2015
In this book we learn about Martin Luther's place in the Reformation. This book also tells the story of books. And the impact Martin Luther had on the publishing industry in Europe in the sixteenth century.
Martin Luther was not only a theologian but a writer of great skill, as well as a preacher.
Martin Luther's early years in Wittenberg were a time of exploration and discovery.
Between 1518 and1519 Martin Luther became a public figure. His new place as a public figure would lead to trips outside of Wittenberg both short and longer more arduous journeys.
We learn in this book that the Reformation brought books into the hands of those who could only dream of owning books before the Reformation.
This book not only talks about Martin Luther's place in the Reformation but the role he and his writings played in bringing life to the printing industry.
I give this book five out of five stars
Happy Reading and Merry Christmas
September 18, 2015
I received an advanced copy of this book through Penguin Random House First to Read.
I am a history buff. Always have been. I have a degree in history, concentrating on women's history. But my second love in history is religious history and that's why I requested this book and was so excited to have been chosen to read and review it. Martin Luther and the Reformation are intriguing and exciting to read about. One man, having qualms with the Catholic Church and the Pope brought about a huge change in Christian history. One man and his followers. His story shows us what one person can do to change the whole of history. One person and their opinions. This book was a fantastic insight in Martin Luther, his followers and protectors, and the Reformation. I would recommend it to anyone who has a love of religious history, in particular Christian history.
I am a history buff. Always have been. I have a degree in history, concentrating on women's history. But my second love in history is religious history and that's why I requested this book and was so excited to have been chosen to read and review it. Martin Luther and the Reformation are intriguing and exciting to read about. One man, having qualms with the Catholic Church and the Pope brought about a huge change in Christian history. One man and his followers. His story shows us what one person can do to change the whole of history. One person and their opinions. This book was a fantastic insight in Martin Luther, his followers and protectors, and the Reformation. I would recommend it to anyone who has a love of religious history, in particular Christian history.
April 11, 2016
Excellent look at the Reformation through the use of the printing press. Pettegree's major points are that Luther, as the first best selling modern author, parlayed his use of German (not Latin) and brevity to produce a long series of printed successes. Catholic writers stuck to long, dense arguments in Latin, which meant printers had much higher risk when they produced those works.
As much as the printed works did involve theology, Pettergree does not waste time rehashing the long-dead arguments, instead focusing on the Luther Brand that guaranteed printers their profits. Not only was printing profitable, but keeping indulgence money in Germany brought the backing of local nobles--even those who remained Catholic all their lives.
Well-written, this is an enjoyable read and well worth your valuable reading time.
As much as the printed works did involve theology, Pettergree does not waste time rehashing the long-dead arguments, instead focusing on the Luther Brand that guaranteed printers their profits. Not only was printing profitable, but keeping indulgence money in Germany brought the backing of local nobles--even those who remained Catholic all their lives.
Well-written, this is an enjoyable read and well worth your valuable reading time.
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