Leaders of the Reformation, as the title suggests, examines a number of persons who aided Martin Luther during the Protestant
Reformation. For each of these people, the author identifies a little about their life before the Reformation and their contribution to the events that would follow. Explored are the lives of electors Frederick the Wise (who forbad John Tetzel from selling indulgences in Saxony and protected Luther from the Court of Inquisition), John the Steadfast (important in the founding of the league of Rotha for the protector of the Reformers), and John Frederick the Magnaimous (who signed the Augsburg Confession). Also examined are the invaluable
contributions of assistants Dr. Johann Bugenhagen (organizer of Lutheran congregations), Philipp Melanchthon (Luther’s right hand man who took part in several theological disputations), Nikolaus von Amsdorf (who served as canon at the All Saints’ Convent), Johann Von Staupitz (reassured Luther about God’s grace and ability to forgive), George Spalatin (Confidential Secretary of Frederick the Wise), and Andreas Carlstadt (friend and co-worker of Luther who challenged the traditional view that priests should not be allowed to marry). Leaders of the Reformation is an easy to understand outline of the key players and their roles in the Protestant Reformation. The author organizes this material in a logical sequence that provides insight into the temporal nature of each person’s roles while also adding to the overall complex weave of these contributions. The most unique and important aspect of this book, however, is that it reminds the reader that the Protestant Reformation was not undertaken by one man alone. In fact, without these other invaluable individuals and their contributions, Luther would have been a man with some earth shattering ideas with no forum to share them with the world.