Ray Cavanaugh on Martin Luther, music maker, on the 500th anniversary of his excommunication
When Pope Leo X issued the bull, Decet Romanum Pontificem, excommunicating Martin Luther on 3 January 1521, he was expelling a man who, even now -- exactly 500 years later -- means very different things to different confessions.
One of the lesser-known and less theologically-controversial aspects of Luther was that he was a musician. This part of his life surfaced early, when as a member of his school choir, he began singing alongside the adult church choir at various services. On frigid winter nights he often headed outdoors to serenade others, sometimes receiving a snack or a hot drink for his efforts. He also eventually learned to play the flute and the lute.
