Why did Luther do it All Hallows Eve 1517? (reading from Luther in Love)

Today on The Scriptorium I'm reading from Luther in Love, the very day when Luther marched down the main street of Wittenberg, hammer, nail, and parchment in hand, and nailed his theological protest to the door of the Castle Church, his patron Duke Frederick's chapel, a shot over the bow of indulgences, false doctrine, and the veneration of relics--dead men's bones...

“Best of all, the elector’s collection includes certifiably genuine relics from Christ himself:  a thread from the swaddling bands, thirteen various fragments from the manger, including one bit of hay. Moreover, the duke has acquired from the wise men of the east a nugget of gold and three tiny portions of myrrh.

“But the nucleus of the elector’s collection are the relics of Christ himself: a hair from Jesus’ beard, an entire nail driven through one of his hands when crucified, a crumb of bread—one can only hope, an uneaten crumb—from the Last Supper, a chip from the stone on which Jesus stood moments before ascending to his Father, a barb from Jesus’ crown of thorns, bearing papal certification that it did, indeed, pierce the brow of the Son of God.”

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