Luther

Luther, Martin (1483-1546), was the eldest son of Hans Luther, a miner, and was born at Eisleben, in Saxony. When he was six months old his parents removed to Mansfeld, where he attended the Latin school. After spending a year in the Franciscan school at Magdeburg, he was sent at the age of fifteen to Eisenach. During this period his means were so scanty that he was forced to sing for bread in the streets, till the beauty of his voice attracted the notice of Ursula Cotta, wife of the burgomaster of Eisenach, who received him into her household. In 1501 he entered the university of Erfurt, where he studied philosophy and the classics with the view of becoming a lawyer, taking his Master's degree in 1505. Meanwhile several circumstances - chief among which was the sudden death of a friend - had given his thoughts a religious bent. He now withdrew to the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt. Here he passed through a season of religious despondency, but his peace of mind was gradually restored, mainly through the intelligent and kindly sympathy of the Vicar-General, Staupitz. The fundamental doctrines of the Lutheran creed, which were now gradually taking shape, were, in large measure, due to the influence of Staupitz as well as Luther's own study of the Bible and the works of St. Augustine. In 1508 Luther was appointed professor of Philosophy at Wittenberg, where his public sermons, as well as his Biblical lectures to students, attracted many adherents. A visit to Rome in 1511 produced in his mind a deep impression of the corruption of the

Church, and certainly hastened on his revolt from her authority. He felt constrained to take a bold course when, in 1517, John Tetzel, a Dominican friar, arrived in Saxony with a commission from Leo X. authorising him to sell indulgences. When Tetzel had reached Jiiterborg, near Wittenberg, there appeared on the door of the Castle church in the latter town a document containing ninety-five propositions against the practice. This determined step excited the greatest enthusiasm, and Tetzel was compelled to leave the electorate. But there was no lack of adherents to the Papal cause, and Luther was soon drawn into several controversies, the most noteworthy being that with his old friend and fellow-student, John Eck, of Ingolstadt. As Luther remained obstinate, he was summoned to Rome, but the Elector of Saxony interfered, and finally it was arranged that the jase should be tried by the Legate Cajetan at Augsburg. Cajetan's bias soon became evident, and Luther thought it prudent to leave the town. The Pope now assumed a more conciliatory attitude, but Luther continued to preach, argue, and write against the abuses of the Church, and in 1520 Leo issued a bull against him containing forty-one theses. This bull Luther publicly burnt outside the gates of Wittenberg, and was in consequence summoned before the Emperor Charles V. and the German Diet at Worms (1521). He refused to retract, and was not allowed to support his cause by argument; but no attempt was made to detain him by force. He was, however, put under the ban of the Empire, and the Elector of Saxony, fearful for his safety, caused him to be seized by a band of armed knights, as he was journeying homewards through the Thuringian forest, and conveyed to the Castle of Wartburg. In this solitude he began his translation of the New Testament, which was completed and published in 1522. The disturbances caused by Carlstadt and his associates recalled him to Wittenberg (March, 1522), where he earnestly strove to calm the excited peasantry, at the same time remonstrating with the nobles on their tyrannical conduct, In 1524 he renounced his monastic vows, and in 1525 married Catherine von Bora, who had been a nun. In the same year occurred his unfortunate controversy with Erasmus regarding the freedom of the will. In 1529, in a conference held at Marburg, he engaged in a bitter dispute with Zwingli concerning the Lord's Supper (q.v.). Luther took no part in drawing up the Protestant document called the "Confession of Augsburg" (1530), which was solely the work of Melanchthon. His closing years were embittered by domestic sorrows and dissatisfaction with the religious and social condition of Germany. He died at Eisleben, and was buried at Wittenberg. Of all his numerous works, which include various hymns, sermons, and commentaries, none, with the exception of his translation of the Bible, has exercisedmore influence than the Table Talk, which is everywhere marked by the same rude vigour, homeliness, and religious fervour.