Luther and the Reformation of the Later Middle Ages

In 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses an act often linked with the start of the Reformation. In this work Eric Leland Saak argues that the 95 Theses do not signal Luther''s break from Roman Catholicism. An obedient Observant Augustinian Hermit Luther''s self-understanding from 1505 until at least 1520 was as Brother Martin Luther Augustinian not Reformer and he continued to wear his habit until October 1524. Saak demonstrates that Luther''s provocative act represented the culmination of the late medieval Reformation. It was only the failure of this earlier Reformation that served as a catalyst for the onset of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. Luther''s true Reformation discovery had little to do with justification by faith or with his 95 Theses. Yet his discoveries in February of 1520 were to change everything.