Living I Was Your Plague: Martin Luther's World and Legacy

by Lyndal Roper

From the author of the acclaimed biography Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet, new perspectives on how Luther and others crafted his larger-than-life image

Martin Luther was a controversial figure during his lifetime, eliciting strong emotions in friends and enemies alike, and his outsized persona has left an indelible mark on the world today. Living I Was Your Plague explores how Luther carefully crafted his own image and how he has been portrayed in his own times and ours, painting a unique portrait of the man who set in motion a revolution that sundered Western Christendom.

Renowned Luther biographer Lyndal Roper examines how the painter Lucas Cranach produced images that made the reformer an instantly recognizable character whose biography became part of Lutheran devotional culture. She reveals what Luther's dreams have to say about his relationships and discusses how his masculinity was on the line in his devastatingly crude and often funny polemical attacks. Roper shows how Luther's hostility to the papacy was unshaken to the day he died, how his deep-rooted anti-Semitism infused his theology, and how his memorialization has given rise to a remarkable flood of kitsch, from Here I Stand socks to Playmobil Luther.

Lavishly illustrated, Living I Was Your Plague is a splendid work of cultural history that sheds new light on the complex and enduring legacy of Luther and his image.

Genres: History, Religion, Biography, Christianity, Audiobook, Cultural

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2021

About the author

Lyndal Roper, FRHistS, FBA, is an Australian historian and academic. She was appointed Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford in 2011. She is a fellow of Oriel College, an honorary fellow of Merton College, Oxford, and the author of a variety of groundbreaking works on witchcraft.

Reviews

[Mir Bal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyndal Roper has already written a monumental biography of Maritin Luther. You know, the kind of book that is so monumental that it can undoubtedly be used as a weapon. So why another book? She asks and answers that question in the preface to this little collection of essays. When the 500th anniversary of Luther's theses was to be celebrated in Germany, there was the somewhat naive hope that Luther could become a unifying symbol for a modern Germany in desperate need of a new narrative and a new story about itself. Attempts at this invented tradition as Eric Hobsbawm would call it were doomed to be as stillborn as the attempts to revitalise modern German Lutheranism. Roper's explanation for this is partly that Luther is impossible to use as such a symbol, largely because there is a dark side to him that is often hidden. Or rather, many dark sides. And it is these downsides to the self-proclaimed hero of the Reformation that Roper now confronts both himself and us with.

The explicit purpose of the book is the penultimate essay, which deals with Luther's anti-Semitism. The fact that the usual excuses that it was of its time, and no worse than other contemporaries, are pure lies is something that Roper convincingly demonstrates. Rather, it is part of Luter's character, his luxuriant hat which was something he systematically cultivated ever since he broke with the Church. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

The book begins with an intriguing art history essay on the somewhat ironic fact that the founder of the Reformation, who was an opponent of icons, became one himself. A similar analysis of how one of the first public relations wars was fought with the help of images when the printing press was new. And how the physical image is deliberately cultivated. This is later interwoven with the analysis of masculinity. Because if monks were seen as feminine, it was important for Luther to present himself as the opposite. The most masculine man Germany had ever seen. Something that the images reinforce. From brittle, angelic monks to men who dared their own fatness and portrayed themselves as the patriarch of their own home. No longer outside this world but sons of it. Perhaps the analysis of the brash masculinity embraced by Luther is Roper's most enduring contribution.

The image of specific masculinity that emerges is that of brash and proud allusions to one's own genitals, and attacks on the manhood of others. A fiery pride that erupted into a burning hatred of anyone who disagreed with him. And, of course, the constant references to faeces. This extremely physical anger, rage, hatred and absolute self-confidence was first directed at the Pope and the Catholic Church. But was later directed at the Jews. But this time without the Mari cult as its basis. The more Luther distanced himself from the rest of Christendom, the more frenzied his attacks on the Jews became. Just read the following:

There is much else to say about this book, Roper sees Luhuter as one of the great heroes of the Reformation but is refreshingly clear in his treatment of her hero's shortcomings. The only flaw is that I would have liked more context. To see how this all took place in a historical context, what happened at the same time and what were the other lines and paths chosen and discarded as this neurotic monk set Europe on fire and forever crossed Christendom.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of essays following up Lyndal Roper's highly successful and readable biography of Luther. The biography was published just in time for the great Lutherfest of 2017 and these essays take us on from that retrospective to examine Luther's legacy - how he was portrayed in his own lifetime and his impact in subsequent centuries. The essays move to the more controversial Luther as they develop - starting with Cranach's portraits of him and moving through his argumentative and scatalogical abuse into the darker territory of anti-Catholicism and anti-semitism. The essays are nicely bookended with the Luther Playmobile figure that was the best selling (over 1 million) figure ever produced, although the inadvertently anti-semitic one had to be carefully redesigned later on.

The essays are well-written, and Roper gets a good balance between academic seriousness and a certain jaunty style. As with her biography there is a fair amount of psycho-analysis (a whole essay is dedicated to dreams) which readers might take or leave according to their taste. The hardback is beautifully produced by Princeton.

[Neal Spadafora]

This essentially acts as Roper's stranger and more ambitious biography of Luther. If you're wanting more of a "give me the facts" read, then you should read her first biography of Luther. However, if you're wanting a weirder perspective on Luther (e.g., his dreams, his use of nicknames, etc.), then you should give this a read. Roper is a great writer and creative thinker, so it's a joy to read.

[Don Paske · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely hard-to-read book. It is clear from the start that Ms. Roper does not like Luther. She still does not like him or, so it seems, Luther's followers (Lutherans).

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise.


















i am not sure she pulls off what she intends.