The Papal Ass

The pope and the monk's calf are among the most popular caricatures of the Reformation period. They illustrated a satirical pamphlet edited in 1523 by Luther and Melanchthon against the papal regiment and the excrescences of monasticism. Melanchthon referred a monster allegedly found dead in the Tiber in 1496 to the Pope, while Luther interpreted the Saxon calf freak with tonsur-like head deformation as a representative of the order. Countless reprints and copies of the woodcuts prove the effectiveness of these sketches.