Major characters in Luther:

Martin Luther (Joseph Fiennes):  An Augustinian monk who becomes concerned about problems in the Catholic Church and tries to reform them.

Johann von Staupitz (Bruno Ganz):  Vicar-General of the Augustinian Order in Germany, and Luther’s mentor.

Johann Tetzel (Alfred Molina):  A German Domincan preacher famous for selling indulgences throughout Germany.

Pope Leo X (Uwe Ochsenknecht):  Excommunicates Luther.

Frederick III, or Frederick the Wise (Sir Peter Ustinov):  Elector of Saxony, and Luther’s protector, despite owning a large collection of relics.

Andreas Karlstadt (Jochen Horst):  One of Luther’s professors and Chancellor of Wittenberg University.  During Luther’s exile, he began many reforms.  In the film he is depicted as encouraging the Peasants’ Revolt, but in fact he opposed it (although he was more radical in his support for the lower classes than was typical of Lutheran leaders).

Charles V (Torben Liebrecht):  King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, a devout Catholic who brings Luther to trial at the Diet of Worms.

Cardinal Cajetan (Mathieu Carrière):  A Catholic Cardinal and the Pope’s legate (representative) in Wittenberg and an opponent of Luther.

Katharina von Bora (Claire Cox):  A nun who eventually married Luther.

Major events in Luther:

Luther’s conversion experience in a thunderstorm in which he promises St. Anne that if she saves his life he will become a monk

Luther’s journey to Rome, where he is horrified by the venality of many religious leaders and traditions there

Nailing the 95 Theses to the cathedral church door in Wittenberg, sparking the Reformation

The Diet of Worms, Luther’s trial for heresy (after which he is carried away to Wartburg Castle where he translates the New Testament while in hiding)

The Peasants’ Revolt, an uprising of the lower classes against the upper classes, inspired partly by Luther’s writings and those of his followers

The Diet of Augsburg, a meeting of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Electors of the Empire, and other political and church leaders, in which Protestants stand up to the Emperor and the Church (although the film depicts all the Electors opposing Charles V, in reality only two of them were Protestants at the time—three of them were Catholic archbishops, and one was the Emperor’s brother).