Martin Luther

For the past few weeks, I have been reading about the life and times of Martin Luther - NOT the civil rights activist, the 16th century German religious reformer that may have single-handedly shaped the Western world.

Martin's parents wanted him to become a lawyer - after all, that would bring his family more prestige, and that meant quite a lot in 16th century Germany. But young Martin had a religious experience - he was on horseback during a thunderstorm and a lightning bolt struck near him. In terror, he cried out "Help! Saint Anna, I will become a monk!"
And he did.
But Luther was not content as a monk - he dedicated himself to monastic life, but was eventually ordered by his superior to teach theology at the University of Wittenburg. It was during this time that the Catholic Church began selling indulgences again - a practice that Luther abhorred, because it implied that you could "buy" your way into heaven by good works, or purchasing indulgences from the church. In 1517, Luther wrote to his bishop, Albert of Mainz, protesting the sale of indulgences. This was his famous '95 theses.' Legend has it that he nailed the 95 theses to the door of the church, but there is little to support this claim.
In 1518, friends of Luther translated the 95 Theses from Latin into German, printed and disseminated them. Within two weeks, copies had spread throughout Germany; within two months throughout Europe.
Luther, in the beginning, did not intend to attack the Church. Like many of his time, he was unhappy with the actions of the Church, and wanted answers. He got his answer: in 1521, he was excommunicated for his writings.
Luther claimed that a personal relationship with God was possible. This was revolutionary - for over a thousand years, the pious had to speak to God through a religious intermediary - a priest. The Church ruled spiritual life - it held the people at it's mercy, because without it's services, one could not enter heaven. The church performed baptisms, performed mass, offered communion, heard confessions, performed marriage rites, and death rites.
In Luther's new churches, the congregation sang the hymns. Sermons were read in German - NOT Latin. Pastors could marry. Luther himself even translated the bible into German so that laypeople didn't need to learn Latin to read God's word.

To put it all into perspective: Martin Luther reluctantly antagonized the largest, most powerful institution of his day - and WON.

The History of Libraries

This week, I've been reading about the history of libraries. I am going to college right now, to earn my AAS degree in Library Science, so that I may one day become a Library Technician. Out of all the subjects we have been learning - the Dewey Decimal System, the Library of Congress Classification System, etc., what most interests me is the history and evolution of the library.
First of all, in ancient times, not everyone could read - whether in Asia, Greece, Rome, or Egypt, education was for the rich, the privileged, and the clergy who advised them. Libraries in Europe were either private or connected to churches or monasteries until the Renaissance, when the love of knowledge that came from the Middle Eastern region flowed in to Europe.
The religion of Islam greatly influenced our book culture of today. They built great libraries, amassed monstrous collections, their scribes beautifully illuminated the texts, and the bindings were coveted for their richness and sumptuousness. They even collected and reproduced the literature of their rivals, the Greeks.
Libraries were, in general, open only to the higher classes, scientists, and the clergy for study and research. The first "modern" library, according to most historians, is the library at San Marco in Florence, built by Cosimo de Medici, a great patron of the arts in Renaissance Italy. This was only open to the learned and upper classes as well - but it also illustrated how libraries were used to show power and influence, especially of the Medici family. The books in this library were chosen carefully - they showcased the piety and the intelligence of the Medicis, as well as their views on humanism, culture, and custom. Also chosen were books that were once owned by illustrious individuals, people that the Medicis were all to happy to have their name associated with.
With the invention of moving type in Europe (the Chinese had invented this much earlier) literacy exploded, and so did the demand for books. A person would pick up the printed pages at the printer, then take them to a "binder" - to bind the pages together in the manner he chose - whether elaborate hard binding, or simple leather.
Books have been made from many materials - wood, metal, paper, papyrus, parchment, bamboo, stone, clay, and even wax. They have taken many forms - scrolls, writing on rock (for easy copying by rubbing), long bound bamboo books, the wax tablet, the codex, the wooden tablet, and the bound book with cover as we know it today. If you are more interested in the history of libraries, I suggest heading to your local public library and borrowing 'Library - An Unquiet History' by Matthew Battles:



It's an entertaining read!