Martin Luther deeply resented „the devil’s pig, the Bope“. Roman theologians, on the other hand, did not understand what this stout and infinitely vain monk wanted, other than destroying Popery. Pious German princes had their own reasons for supporting this powerfully eloquent agitator. On the basis of documents that have previously been neglected, the author shows how the actual reasons leading to schism were beyond questions of religious doctrine. For the first time, we are presented with a vivid reconstruction of the clash between Luther and the Pope - mythically elevated by Protestants - from a Roman perspective. The book convincingly shows why the Popes did not take the clamor in far away Germany seriously. What emerges is a wholly new understanding of a battle between mentalities and interests that were to change the face of Europe and indeed, of the whole world.