Book

The Passional Christi und Antichristi is a Pamphlet published by Martin Luther in 1521 in Wittenberg. It presents stories from the Bible, which Jesus Christ did, and contrasts them with what the Pope is doing to the church in the eyes of Luther, who is presented by Luther as the Antichrist. On the left page, is always a good deed that Jesus Christ did in his life according to the Bible, whereas on the right page, one sees the pope doing the opposite thing. This contrasts the two starkly, enhanced by the words on top, above Jesus illustration the word Christ is written, whereas above the illustration of the Pope, the word Antichrist is written.

The Illustrations in this pamphlet were deliberately included in the pamphlet in order to appeal to the illiterate population and underclass. The majority of the population of the HRE was illiterate at the time of publishing, and would not be able to read the words that Luther wrote. He, therefore, included illustrations in the pamphlet, so that anyone who saw the pamphlet, no matter if they were illiterate or literate would be able to read it. The words were modern by a 16th-century standard, however, they are different from modern German, and therefore require translations for German speakers into German. 

The pamphlet is larger than a modern pamphlet, as it is printed on normal-sized pages. It is more yellow, due to its age. However, the images and the writing is clearly visible and legible, and it is not endangered due to its age, as it is still very much legible.