A protest, 500 years ago today, changed course of history

TP O’Mahony looks at the legacy of the great reformer, Martin Luther, who, on October 31, 1517, nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Germany 

The act that has traditionally been regarded as marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago today may never have occurred.

The belief that a 33-year-old Augustinian priest and professor began his “protest” by nailing a list of 95 theses (a manifesto for reform) to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in Germany on October 31, 1517, is now deeply embedded in the story of Martin Luther (1483-1546). But did it happen?