its German translation and its wide circulation among the German people.
We see now especially what an important role Elector Frederick the Wise53 played in the first period of the Reformation, and that Kolde did not estimate him highly enough. It is true that from the very first, when Luther was called to Heidelberg in order to be seized and sent to Rome, he accorded Luther protection, and it seems that he was finally and completely won over through Luther's great writings of 1520. Brieger says: "The stand of the Wettinian was of importance for the whole further development of the history of the world." Next to God, it is due to the religious conscientiousness and diplomatic firmness of this really wise "Fabius Cunctator" that the Reformation was not nipped in the bud. It is clear now, too, that up until now the activity of Miltitz which took place in this period has been entirely misunderstood. He, as far as his intrusion into Luther's trial is concerned, acted solely upon his own initiative, in order to hinge about a trial under the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Trent, Because this had become pretty well known, it is easy to understand why Luther cared so little for the promise to keep silence that he gave Miltitz.54
That the Disputation at Leipzig had bearing on the procedure against Luther is a fact long ago established; Seitz, however, published (1903) this debate for the first time in its authentic form, and Brieger later (1909) dwelt on it in a special article.55
In June, 1520, the pope signed the bull "Exsurge Domine," in which Luther was threatened with excommunication. It was this bull that Luther burned on the 10th of December, 1520. We now have six sources relating the burning of the bull. They are: 1, the exhortation
