Luther and the Wittenberg Disputations 1535-36

Within about a year of the posting of the XCV Theses against indulgences (1517), Luther's works had been exported to England. 5 That these books had attracted the attention of the government may be inferred from the statement of Erasmus, that but for his intervention, they would have been burned. 6 It may be presumed that it was from Era6mus that Henry VIII gained his first impression of Luther.In May 1519 7 Erasmus wrote to Wolsey, gently excusing Luther, though making it clear that he was no supporte•r of the new movement.Nevertheless, it is to the credit of Erasmus that during the next two years he did everything in his power to heal the schism and to secure a fair hearing for Luther. 8By personal interview, by pamphleteering (mainly anonymous), and by letters to influential men, he urged the advisability of using argument rather than force in seeking to silence Luther.Be requested that Luther be given a trial before a body of learned and impartial judges, and that these judges should be appointed by the kings of Hungary and England. 9Erasmus actually took the trouble of interviewing the envoys of Hungary 5.