From the author of the acclaimed biography Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet new
perspectives on how Luther and others crafted his larger-than-life image Martin Luther was a
controversial figure during his lifetime eliciting strong emotions in friends and enemies
alike and his outsized persona has left an indelible mark on the world today. Living I Was
Your Plague explores how Luther carefully crafted his own image and how he has been portrayed
in his own times and ours painting a unique portrait of the man who set in motion a revolution
that sundered Western Christendom. Renowned Luther biographer Lyndal Roper examines how the
painter Lucas Cranach produced images that made the reformer an instantly recognizable
character whose biography became part of Lutheran devotional culture. She reveals what Luther's
dreams have to say about his relationships and discusses how his masculinity was on the line in
his devastatingly crude and often funny polemical attacks. Roper shows how Luther's hostility
to the papacy was unshaken to the day he died how his deep-rooted anti-Semitism infused his
theology and how his memorialization has given rise to a remarkable flood of kitsch from Here
I Stand socks to Playmobil Luther. Lavishly illustrated Living I Was Your Plague is a splendid
work of cultural history that sheds new light on the complex and enduring legacy of Luther and
his image.
