Character Relationship Map: Luther

Characters

• Martin Luther (played by Joseph Fiennes) — protagonist

  Central protagonist. An Augustinian friar turned reformer who questions the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences and teaches that God is a God of love rather than vengeance. Posts the 95 Theses, face...

• Katharina von Bora (played by Claire Cox) — supporting

  Former nun who marries Martin Luther. The couple shares a happy marriage and raises six children together.

• Johann Tetzel (played by Alfred Molina) — supporting

  Commissioned by Pope Leo X to travel through communities and aggressively persuade people to purchase indulgences to fund the renovation of St. Peter's Basilica and recover church bribes.

• Andreas Karlstadt (played by Jochen Horst) — supporting
• Frederick (played by Peter Ustinov) — supporting

  Prince-elector of Saxony who serves as Martin Luther's primary protector. He shields Luther from papal authorities, arranges his trial at the Diet of Worms, and secretly moves him to Wartburg Castle f...

• Charles V (played by Torben Liebrecht) — minor
• Johann von Staupitz (played by Bruno Ganz) — supporting

  Elder Augustinian friar and Luther's mentor and supervisor at St. Augustine's Monastery. He guides Luther's spiritual struggles by urging him to focus on Christ rather than himself, and later dispatch...

• Leo X (played by Uwe Ochsenknecht) — supporting

  Pope who ascends in 1513. He commissions Johann Tetzel to sell indulgences, orders Luther's arrest following excommunication, and later convenes the Diet of Augsburg to attempt to suppress the Protest...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Martin Luther → Katharina von Bora (Romantic Spouses) — Katharina becomes Luther's wife and central personal companion.

  The film states that Luther marries Katharina von Bora, a former nun, and that they enjoy a happy marriage.

• Andreas Karlstadt → Martin Luther (Professional Former Professor) — Karlstadt is identified as Luther's former professor within the religious movement.

  After Luther is hidden at Wartburg Castle, his former professor Andreas Karlstadt encourages the Great Peasants' Revolt.

• Leo X → Johann Tetzel (Professional Commissioner And Agent) — Tetzel carries out Leo X's indulgence campaign.

  Leo X commissions Tetzel to travel through communities and persuade people to purchase indulgences.

• Martin Luther → Johann von Staupitz (Professional Mentor) — Staupitz guides Luther through his spiritual crisis and early religious development.

  At St. Augustine's Monastery, Johann von Staupitz is described as Luther's supervisor and mentor. He urges Luther to look to Christ instead of himself...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Katharina von Bora → Leo X (related)
• Leo X → Frederick (Conflict Political Opponents) — Their opposing positions emerge over whether Luther should be surrendered.

  Leo X orders Luther delivered to Rome after excommunication, while Frederick protects Luther from papal authorities.

• Frederick → Charles V (Alliance Political Negotiators) — They participate in the political process that determines Luther's trial.

  Frederick and Charles V decide that Luther will be tried at the Diet of Worms.

• Martin Luther → Frederick (Alliance Protector And Dependent) — Frederick's protection enables Luther to survive persecution and continue his work.

  Frederick becomes Luther's protector, shields him from papal authorities, and moves him secretly to Wartburg Castle.

• Martin Luther → Charles V (Conflict Trial Opponents) — Charles presides over the political trial that tests Luther's convictions.

  At Worms, Luther is brought before Charles V and the Cardinals, who demand that he recant his teachings.

• Martin Luther → Leo X (Conflict Ecclesiastical Opponents) — Luther's reform movement confronts the authority represented by Leo X.

  Leo X commissions Tetzel, orders Luther delivered to Rome after excommunication, and later seeks to suppress Protestantism and the German Bible.

• Martin Luther → Johann Tetzel (Conflict Religious Opponents) — Their opposing views on indulgences embody the central religious conflict.

  Luther denounces the indulgences Tetzel sells and calls them "just a piece of paper."

Story Analysis

A friar's spiritual doubts develop into a public religious reform movement that confronts papal and imperial authority.

Plot Progression

1. A Vow Beneath The Storm — A thunderstorm drives Luther to commit his life to God and enter the Augustinian order. At the monastery, his fear of divine vengeance becomes a spiritual crisis.
2. Doubts In Rome — Staupitz sends Luther to Rome, where he encounters troubling religious practices and purchases an indulgence. These experiences begin his serious doubts about indulgences.
3. The Challenge On The Door — In Wittenberg, Luther teaches that God is a God of love while Tetzel promotes indulgences. Luther publicly denounces the practice and posts the 95 Theses.
4. Before Church And Empire — Luther is questioned at Augsburg, excommunicated, and protected by Frederick. His refusal to recant at Worms turns a theological dispute into an open confrontation with imperial authority.
5. The Hidden Reformer — Frederick hides Luther at Wartburg Castle, where Luther translates the Bible into German. Karlstadt's support for the Peasants' Revolt forces Luther to oppose a radical consequence of reform.
6. Augsburg And The Open Door — Luther marries Katharina von Bora before Charles V attempts to suppress Protestantism and the German Bible at Augsburg. The nobles' refusal allows the Augsburg Confession to be read and points toward...