The Devil's Bagpipe

In the following pages, we read about an ambitious Luther trying to obtain for himself the dignity of the cardinalate at a young age. We learn about the true motives for his objections to indulgences, which sprang principally from resentment at the loss of income for his own Augustinian Order. We witness also his bad temper and vitriolic tongue, his nocturnal conversations with demons (whether they were real or imagined), and his scandalous and degrading bouts of drunkenness and debauchery. The title given here for this biography, The Devil's Bagpipe, was suggested by a striking woodcut image produced in 1535 by Erhard Schoen, and reproduced on the cover of this volume. This is a work which all Catholics (and indeed, all people interested in history) should read, for it substantially modifies and corrects the popular but inaccurate "myth" of Luther, replacing it with a more balanced, credible and truthful account of the life, character and motives of a man who gravely distorted the Gospel of Christ and did untold damage to His one true Catholic Church.