Luther Exposes the Deceit of the Catholic Clergy

The three-headed People (Vulgus) stands before the pope, who sits on a throne. The People looks surprised as Martin Luther reveals the deceit of the Catholic clergy by lifting the pope's mantle. In the light of his torch Testimony of Scripture (Testimonium Scriptuae) he shows that the leader of the Catholic church is in reality a devil. The pope indeed has the legs of a monster. Moreover, he harbors the snake, the wolf, the jackal and the scorpion, animals that stand for the deceit of the church. In the background, the humanist Erasmus reveals to the People that priests are also disguised wolves. On the right, a farmer reads the Bible, every hardworking man has the right to the word of God. The print has a Dutch, Latin and French inscription and is part of a twelve-part series with the subject of the degeneration of the Catholic clergy and the causes of the uprising and the Iconoclasm.