Martin Luther
On the 10th of November 1483, a boy named Martin Luther was born in Eisleben. His father Hans worked copper mines and served on the local council. The family moved to Mansfeld when young Martin was one year old. He attended Latin schools in Magdeburg and Eisenach before entering the University of Erfurt at age seventeen. Luther later described that university as a beerhouse and whorehouse filled with rote learning. He received his master's degree in 1505 but dropped out of law school almost immediately. Reason could not lead men to God, he felt, so he turned toward theology instead.
A lightning bolt struck near him during a thunderstorm on the 2nd of July 1505 while returning home from a trip. He cried out for help and vowed to become a monk if Saint Anna would save him. He entered St Augustine's Monastery in Erfurt on the 17th of July 1505. Luther dedicated himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, and frequent confession. He said he lost touch with Christ and made Him into a jailer. Johann von Staupitz ordered him to pursue an academic career to distract him from excessive introspection. On the 3rd of April 1507, Jerome Schultz ordained Luther in Erfurt Cathedral.
Johann Tetzel preached indulgences between 1503 and 1510 to raise money for rebuilding St Peter's Basilica. Albrecht von Brandenburg needed ten thousand ducats to pay fees for his benefices. Luther wrote to Bishop Albrecht on the 31st of October 1517 protesting these sales. He enclosed a copy of his Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences known as the Ninety-five Theses. Thesis 86 asked why the pope builds St Peter's with poor believers' money instead of his own. Copies spread throughout Germany within two weeks and reached France and England by 1519. Students thronged to Wittenberg to hear Luther speak about these issues.
Pope Leo X issued the bull Exsurge Domine on the 15th of June 1520 warning Luther to recant forty-one sentences. Luther publicly set fire to the bull and decretals in Wittenberg on the 10th of December 1520. He was excommunicated by Pope on the 3rd of January 1521 in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. On the 17th of April 1521, Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms held from late January to May. Emperor Charles V presided over this general assembly of estates. Luther stated he could not recant anything since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. The emperor declared him an outlaw on the 25th of May 1521 banning his literature and requiring his arrest.
Masked horsemen impersonating highway robbers escorted Luther to Wartburg Castle at Eisenach after intercepting him near Wittenberg. He referred to this place as my Patmos during his stay there. Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German while hiding at the castle. He wrote a Refutation of the Argument of Latomus expounding justification to Jacobus Latomus. On the 1st of August 1521, Luther wrote to Melanchthon telling him to let sins be strong but trust in Christ be stronger. In November, he published The Judgement of Martin Luther on Monastic Vows assuring monks they could break vows without sin. These works condemned private mass as idolatry and rejected compulsory confession.
Radical preachers Thomas Müntzer and Nicholas Storch found support among peasants between 1521 and 1525. Revolts broke out in Franconia Swabia and Thuringia drawing support from disaffected nobles. Luther sympathized with some grievances but reminded aggrieved people to obey temporal authorities. During a tour of Thuringia he became enraged at widespread burning of convents and monasteries. He wrote Against the Murderous Thieving Hordes of Peasants calling for nobles to put down rebels like mad dogs. The Battle of Frankenhausen occurred on the 15th of May 1525 ending the revolutionary stage of the Reformation. Luther later claimed he had slain all the peasants during the rebellion because he ordered them struck dead.
Luther married Katharina von Bora one of twelve nuns he helped escape from Nimbschen Cistercian convent in April 1523. They were smuggled out in herring barrels before their wedding. On the 13th of June 1525, the couple was engaged and married by Johannes Bugenhagen that same evening. Katharina bore six children including Hans born in June 1526 and Margaret born in 1534. She helped earn a living by farming and taking in boarders. Luther confided to Michael Stiefel on the 11th of August 1526 that his Katie was so obliging he would not exchange poverty for Croesus's riches. Their marriage set the seal of approval on clerical marriage surprising many reformers.
Luther authored hymns such as Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott and Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her connecting high art with folk music. He often accompanied sung hymns with a lute later recreated as the waldzither. His 1524 creedal hymn We All Believe in One True God gained widespread use in vernacular Lutheran liturgies by 1525. In 1529 he wrote the Large Catechism for pastors and the Small Catechism for people to memorize. The catechisms provided easy-to-understand material on Ten Commandments Apostles Creed and Lord Prayer. Luther incorporated questions and answers so basics would be understood rather than learned by rote like monkeys do. These works remain in use today alongside his Bible translation and hymns.
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Common questions
When and where was Martin Luther born?
Martin Luther was born on the 10th of November 1483 in Eisleben. His father Hans worked copper mines and served on the local council before the family moved to Mansfeld when young Martin was one year old.
What event caused Martin Luther to become a monk?
A lightning bolt struck near him during a thunderstorm on the 2nd of July 1505 while returning home from a trip. He cried out for help and vowed to become a monk if Saint Anna would save him, entering St Augustine's Monastery in Erfurt on the 17th of July 1505.
Why did Martin Luther write the Ninety-five Theses?
Martin Luther wrote to Bishop Albrecht on the 31st of October 1517 protesting the sale of indulgences by Johann Tetzel to raise money for rebuilding St Peter's Basilica. Copies spread throughout Germany within two weeks and reached France and England by 1519.
How did Martin Luther respond to Pope Leo X's bull Exsurge Domine?
Luther publicly set fire to the bull and decretals in Wittenberg on the 10th of December 1520 after Pope Leo X issued the warning on the 15th of June 1520. He was excommunicated by Pope on the 3rd of January 1521 in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
What happened during the Diet of Worms involving Martin Luther?
On the 17th of April 1521, Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms held from late January to May where Emperor Charles V presided over this general assembly of estates. The emperor declared him an outlaw on the 25th of May 1521 banning his literature and requiring his arrest.
When and how did Martin Luther translate the New Testament into German?
Masked horsemen impersonating highway robbers escorted Luther to Wartburg Castle at Eisenach after intercepting him near Wittenberg. He translated the New Testament from Greek into German while hiding at the castle which he referred to as my Patmos during his stay there.