The book addresses the events surrounding three rhetorical events at the Diet of Worms in 1521. For the first time, Luther's accusation, defense, and condemnation are examined in terms of their rhetorically motivated context. Did Luther truly conclude his speech with the call, "Here I stand, I can do no other"? Is all of this the start of early modernity? And to what extent did Worms mark the launch of "protest" as a new social institution?

Joachim Knape, University of Tübingen, Germany.