Ninety-Five Theses
Topic: Renaissance, Reformation and the Scientific Revolution · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 5 "Print Culture and the Modern World"
Meaning
The Ninety-Five Theses were a list of arguments ("theses") that Martin Luther wrote in 1517. They mainly attacked the Church's sale of indulgences, which were pardons for sins sold for money, along with other Church practices. The printing press spread copies quickly, so many people read them within a short time. They marked the start of the Protestant Reformation.
Example
In 1517 Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. Printed copies soon circulated across the German lands. Within a few years, churches in Germany and Switzerland had broken with the Pope.
Don't confuse with
- Utopia: Thomas More's Utopia (1516) criticised society by describing an imaginary ideal land. The Ninety-Five Theses were a direct challenge to Church practices.
Related concepts
- Christian humanism
- Thomas More
- Erasmus
- Indulgences
- Donation of Constantine
- Martin Luther
- Protestant Reformation
- John Calvin
- English Reformation
- Anglican Church