Paul Gibson looks at a recent academic exploration of the life of Martin Luther
MARTIN LUTHER:
Renegade and Prophet
By Lyndal Roper
Vintage. 592 pages. £14.99
ISBN 978 1 784 703 448
Martin Luther is nothing if not a divisive figure. To many evangelicals he is a great hero. To others he is something of a villain. In this thoroughly researched biography, secular historian Lyndal Roper, Regius Professor of History at Oxford, seeks to steer an objective middle course.
Roper’s aim is not to idolise or denigrate Luther, but rather to understand him. Her stance is a critical one and she exposes many of Luther’s failings, yet she also acknowledges and explores many of Luther’s positive qualities and towering achievements. Her research throws up many fascinating insights into his life and character. Her approach is influenced by psychoanalysis: she is particularly keen to explore Luther’s interior life, to understand what drove him at an emotional level, his contradictions and his psychological conflicts.
