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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1780 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

1401–1500

The Fifteenth Century

1 work

c. 1470–1489

Latin

The Collected Treatises

Wessel Gansfort · c. 1419–1489

Writings on prayer, the eucharist, indulgences, and the authority of scripture over papal decree, circulated in manuscript among a small circle.

Devotio Moderna · TreatisesRead elsewhere

1501–1600

The Sixteenth Century

1 work

1517

Latin

The Ninety-Five Theses

Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum

Martin Luther · 1483–1546

Ninety-five propositions for academic debate, questioning what indulgences can actually do, what the pope's power over purgatory amounts to, and whether a Christian's whole life is not meant to be repentance.

Lutheran · DisputationMatthewRomansFull text