Martin Luther Was A Stout, Lusty, Physical Guy – Here’s Why That Mattered

“Luther physically embodied the Reformation. His massive size mirrored the bulky Saxon princes who protected him from Rome. Excommunicated, the rebellious priest married a former nun; he fathered children and celebrated family life as the antithesis of monasticism. He liked to eat, drink beer, and have sex, even as sin was ever present. … Luther’s physical monumentality became a positive view of the (male) body, a reflection of a positive image of Lutheranism, portraying an earthy and heroic wrestler against the Pope and Satan.”