Luther's Hammer and the Tables of Tetzel

In the autumn of 1517, a Dominican friar named Johann Tetzel rolled into the towns near Wittenberg with a sales pitch that would have made any merchant proud. "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs," he chanted, hawking papal indulgences like a street vendor selling fish. Grieving families handed over their wages, believing they could purchase their loved ones' freedom from suffering.…