Vulgar Language in Reformation

Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer, often used harsh, earthy, and sometimes vulgar language in his polemical writings and sermons. His style was deliberately blunt; he wanted to shock, ridicule, and undermine his opponents (both the papacy and other reformers he disagreed with). For Luther, this wasn’t just uncontrolled anger — he saw strong language as a rhetorical weapon in a spiritual battle.

Here are some detailed examples from his works (translated into English from the German or Latin originals):

1. Against the Papacy at Rome, Founded by the Devil (1545)

• Luther calls the Pope:

  “the most hellish father, St. Paul’s stinking bag of maggots”
  “the devil’s whore and sodomite.”

• He also compares the papal court to a brothel and cesspool.

2. Table Talk (Tischreden)

• In casual conversations recorded by his students, Luther often used barnyard or toilet humor.

• He said of the Pope:

  “I resist the devil, and often it is with a fart that I chase him away.”

• He frequently equated false teaching with excrement, e.g., “The papists are like donkeys, full of nothing but dung.”

3. On the Bondage of the Will (1525) – against Erasmus

• Luther tells Erasmus:

  “Your whole book is so useless and full of crap (merda), I think you must have shat it out in a single session.”

• He calls Erasmus’ arguments “stinking scum” and accuses him of being “a mouth and anus equally open.”

4. Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil (1545)

• Luther refers to the papal decretals (church laws) as:

  “Devil’s excrement, dung sprinkled with holy water.”

5. Letter to Duke George (1532)

• Luther calls the Duke “a pig, ass, and mad fool” and says:

  “You are a brothel-keeper and the devil’s spawn in hell.”

Why Luther used such vulgarity ?

• Theological conviction: He believed the papacy and certain opponents were agents of Satan, so he chose language meant to unmask and ridicule them.

• Cultural context: Early modern German polemics often employed scatological humor and invective; Luther was especially gifted at it.

• Accessibility: His rough speech resonated with common people who lived in a world of earthy metaphors.

Martin Luther repeatedly used vulgar, scatological, and insulting language in his writings and speeches. Examples include calling papal decrees “devil’s excrement,” mocking opponents with references to farting and dung, and describing his adversaries as donkeys, pigs, or brothel-keepers. His aim was to ridicule, expose, and discredit those he saw as enemies of the gospel.