But when Luther struck the mighty blow at the spiritual and political power of Rome which loosened a large part of northern Europe from its grasp and changed the whole current of the world’s religious thought, it was quite natural that there was a resounding echo in the musical methods and forms of expression that accompanied the manifold developments of this new religious movement. In the discussion of this movement as it relates to the subject in hand, two facts need constant reaffirmation--(1) that even before Luther’s time there had been many evidences of the impending change in religious thought, evidences that run back with more or less frequency even to the Middle Ages,[41] and (2) that Luther was first of all a reformer, not a destroyer, of the ancient church and her modes of worship. For a full understanding of the music of the Reformation it must be kept in mind that the doctrinal points back of Luther’s revolt included the denial of the mediatorial function of the priest, the declaration of the universal priesthood of believers, and the stout insistence on the inalienable right of the individual believer not only to freedom of reason and conscience, but to direct access in prayer to Deity at all times. The whole character and color of Protestant music is derived from this recognition of the individual, and his duties and privileges in the direct worship of God. This freer, more spontaneous and democratic conception of worship threw the emphasis upon the congregation, and Luther’s form of public worship was built up around this central fact. The two changes most responsive to this new conception were the substitution of the people’s vernacular for Latin as the official language of the service[42] and the restoration to the people of the office of song, which had been withdrawn from them at the very beginning of the development of elaborate liturgic forms. This newly-found liturgic use for the people’s song caused a prompt development of the singularly rich and impressive hymnody of the early German Protestant Church and Luther, in the order of services which he prepared for the Wittenberg churches in 1526 (the _Deutsche Messe_), gave especial prominence to this element.