Brand Luther: 1517, Printing, and the Making of the Reformation by Andrew Pettegree is a historical analysis that explores how Martin Luther’s theology became popular and spread throughout Europe while emphasizing the crucial role of the printing industry in the success of the Reformation. Pettegree asserts that Luther was a theological innovator and master of media who effectively used the newly emerging print culture to reach a broad audience. He argues that the press not only made Luther a public voice and leader of the Church, where his popularity contributed to his survival, but that the demand for Luther’s theology also raised the press to a place of public importance, where it remained until the advent of the internet. This book not only focuses on “branding” and publications but also attempts to outline Luther’s life and the Reformation simultaneously.
Pettegree helpfully demonstrates how Luther cared for effective communication. For example, Luther would make decisive interventions to ensure printing quality if he discovered that a printer’s work was too slow, sloppy or incompetent. Dismayed with the quality of one local printer’s work, he refused to have his Gospel postils printed by him, saying it would be a sin against the Word of God to have them presented in such a way. Luther was primarily concerned with the reader’s benefit—evidence that Luther was conscious of his audience. He also worried that the printers cared more about profit than anything else. This, in addition to understanding his role as a public minister and doctor of the Church, led Luther to always refuse any royalties or payments for his writings.
Pettegree notes that Luther especially liked bold title pages. The German (fraktur) font type gave more options for artistic variation and appeal than Latin. Although Luther was not the first to print in German, this choice was one way he endeavored to spread his message more efficiently. He favored short pamphlets that would be affordable and readable, appealing to a broader audience. Even as his opponents adopted these same techniques, Luther remained the premier international bestseller for decades, which would seem to indicate that his theological insights alone were enough to engage a broad reading audience.
Large sections of the book do not discuss printing, media, branding, or communication at all, but rather delve into the biography of Luther himself. Pettegree engages with several major schools of Luther interpretation. He is cautious about embracing the psychological analysis of Erik Erikson’s Young Man Luther. While careful to point out Luther’s even-handed responses to the Peasant’s Revolt, Pettegree slips into some Marxist interpretations that assert that Luther sided with the princes politically to gain and maintain their support for his theological Reformation. (John Maxfield’s recent book Becoming Lutheran successfully pushes back on this). It should be further noted that Brand Luther is far from the first book to address the impact of the press and art in the Reformation (for example, see Incombustible Luther: The Image of the Reformer in Early Modern Germany, 1986). These biographical snippets, while always told in an interesting and accurate way, do little to contribute to the book’s purported focus or theme.
Readers of Brand Luther should not assume, as the book implies, that Luther’s use of the press was the sole deciding factor in the Reformation’s survival and success. While Pettegree does a decent job at listing and summarizing Luther’s major publications and writings, there is not always a satisfying explanation for why these works were well-received or effective. Nevertheless, it is clear that the press had a major impact on Luther’s Reformation and that Luther likewise had a big hand in transforming the printing industry, as Pettegree argues.
Perhaps the main critique of this book is the misemphasis on branding itself. Apart from paying attention to the details of the visual appeal and quality of his printed works, it appears that Luther did not take an active role in branding himself, if one considers “branding” an attempt to shape or mold his public image. While printers and artists certainly understood the power of perception and worked to promote Luther as a monk, scholar, and preacher, the term “brand” is anachronistic.
The idea of Luther developing a brand may seem appealing to those inclined to quickly adopt and adapt business models and practices for the Church, especially regarding outreach and evangelism. This book’s title alone gives the impression that Luther was all about branding, and that therefore, Lutherans have a prominent precedent for attempting to brand themselves. Readers are wise to remember that the presuppositions and values of secular capitalistic branding do not always align with a biblically rooted Lutheran theology of spreading the gospel via the means of grace.
Pettegree considers Luther’s steadfast and bold confession of theological truth to be both a strength and a weakness, but only because the main degree of success for Pettegree is not faithfulness to the Word but popularity in the world. Thus Pettegree sees Luther’s steadfastness as a strength when it rallies others to his cause, such as at Worms. However, whenever Luther was supposedly too stubborn, it cost him “popular appeal,” such as his biblically driven response to the Peasants’ War. The greatest example occurs when Pettegree considers Luther’s defense of the real presence at Marburg as an unmitigated and avoidable disaster for Luther’s image. We should remember that we are primarily source-formed (as Luther was by the Word) rather than goal-oriented (as is a business-model culture of branding).
Ultimately, Pettegree neither gives an especially original or new historical perspective on the Reformation nor does he get too deep into the theology that drove Luther to write and people to read. However, Brand Luther succeeds by presenting a readable summary of the history of the Reformation that highlights how a detail-oriented Luther was conscious of the power of presentation and communication. The writing style is interesting and engaging. This book still makes a good read for pastors who would like to have a review of Reformation history and enjoy thinking about communication and media in ministry.