Luther's 95 Theses (Civ3)/Civilopedia

In 1517, Martin Luther, a thirty-four-year-old Augustinian monk living in Wittenberg, Germany, 
became so troubled with the corrupt state of the medieval church, that he decided he must
act. On October 31, All Saints Day, Luther angrily drafted a list of ninety-five theses 
to be debated and posted it on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Luther's complaints
focused intensely on the church's practice of awarding indulgences (such as reduced time in
Purgatory) in exchange for monetary gifts to the church. When others translated Luther's Theses
from Latin into German and circulated printed copies throughout the region, the religious
transformation of the medieval church through the Protestant Reformation was underway. 
Luther would later become recognized as the figurehead of this movement and would be accused 
of heresy and threatened with excommunication and death.