View source for Martin Luther

{{Short description|German priest, theologian and author (1483–1546)}}
{{hatnote group|{{for|the 20th-century American minister and philosopher|Martin Luther King Jr.{{!}}Martin Luther King Jr}} {{other uses}}}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2010}}
{{Infobox theologian
| honorific_prefix = [[The Reverend]]
| name             = Martin Luther
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Order of St. Augustine|OSA]]|size=100%}}
| image            = Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Martin Luther, 1528 (Veste Coburg).jpg
| caption          = ''Martin Luther'', 1528
| birth_name       = Martin Luder
| birth_date       = 10 November 1483
| birth_place      = [[Eisleben]], County of Mansfeld, Holy Roman Empire
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=yes|1546|02|18|1483|11|10}}
| death_place      = Eisleben, County of Mansfeld, Holy Roman Empire
| education        = [[University of Erfurt]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|''Artium Baccalaureus'']], 1502; [[Master of Arts|''Artium Magister'']], 1505)<br />[[University of Wittenberg]] ([[Bachelor of Theology|''Biblicus Baccalaureus'']] in [[Biblical Studies|Bible]], 1508; [[Bachelor of Theology|''Sententiarius Baccalaureus'']] in ''[[Sentences]]'', 1509; [[Doctor of Theology|''Theologiæ Doctor'']] in Bible, 1512)
| titles           = {{hlist| [[Priest]] | [[Theology|Theologian]] |Author | [[Hymnwriter]]}}
| module2 = {{Ordination
  | embed                        = yes
  | name                         = Martin Luther
  | denomination                 = Catholic
  | ordained deacon by           = Johannes (or Johann) Bonemilch von Laasphe, Auxiliary Bishop of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz|Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mainz]]
  | date of diaconal ordination  = 27 February 1507
  | place of diaconal ordination = [[Erfurt Cathedral|Cathedral Church of St. Mary]], [[Erfurt]], Holy Roman Empire
  | ordained priest by           = Hieronymus (or Jerome) Schultz {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Premonstratensians|OPraem]]}}, Bishop of the [[Diocese of Brandenburg]]
  | date of priestly ordination  = 3/4 April 1507
  | place of priestly ordination = Cathedral Church of St. Mary, Erfurt, Holy Roman Empire
  | consecrated by               =
  | co-consecrators              =
  | date of consecration         =
  | place of consecration        =
  | elevated by =
  | date of elevation =
  | sources =
  | bishop 1 =
  | consecration date 1 =  }}
| spouse           = {{marriage |[[Katharina von Bora]] |1525}}
| children         = {{hlist |Hans&nbsp;(Johannes) |[[Elisabeth Luther|Elisabeth]] |[[Magdalena Luther|Magdalena]] |Martin |[[Paul Luther|Paul]] |Margarethe}}
| notable_works    = {{ubl|''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'' (1517)}}
| signature          = Martin Luther Signature.svg
| era                = [[Renaissance]]
| tradition_movement = {{Tree list}}
* [[Reformation]]
** [[Lutheranism]]
{{tree list/end}}
| main_interests     = {{hlist | [[Christian theology#Prolegomena: Scripture as a primary basis of Christian theology|Prolegomena]] | [[Soteriology]]}}
| notable_ideas      = {{hlist | [[Law and Gospel]] | [[Sola fide]] | [[Theology of the Cross]] | [[Two kingdoms doctrine]]}}
| module = {{Infobox religious biography|embed=yes
| background     = #F3E5AB
| religion       = [[Christianity]]
| church       = [[Protestant]]
|denomination = [[Lutheran]]}}
}}

'''Martin Luther''' {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Order of St. Augustine|OSA]]}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|uː|θ|ər}} {{respell|LOO|thər}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/martin%20luther "Luther"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227044730/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/martin%20luther |date=27 December 2014 }}. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{IPA|de|ˈmaʁtiːn ˈlʊtɐ|lang|De-Martin Luther.ogg}}; 10 November 1483<ref>Luther himself, however, believed that he had been born in 1484. {{cite book|last1=Hendrix|first1=Scott H.|title=Martin Luther: Visionary Reformer|date=2015|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|page=17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHKhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA17|access-date=12 November 2017|isbn=978-0-300-16669-9}}</ref> – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, [[Theology|theologian]], author, [[hymnwriter]], professor, and former [[Order of Saint Augustine|Augustinian friar]].<ref>Luther consistently referred to himself as a former monk. For example: "Thus formerly, when I was a monk, I used to hope that I would be able to pacify my conscience with the fastings, the [[praying]], and the vigils with which I used to afflict my body in a way to excite pity. But the more I sweat, the less quiet and peace I felt; for the true light had been removed from my eyes." Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 45–50, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 8 ''Luther's Works''. (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 5:326.</ref> Luther was the seminal figure of the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]], and his [[theological]] beliefs form the basis of [[Lutheranism]]. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in [[Western world|Western]] and [[History of Christianity|Christian history]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hillerbrand |first=Hans J. |date=14 February 2024 |title=Martin Luther |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther |access-date=29 March 2024 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nelson |first=Robert H. |title=Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy: A Different Protestant Ethic |publisher=Aarhus University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9788771844160 |page=64}}</ref>

Born in [[Eisleben]], Luther was ordained to the [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priesthood]] in 1507. He came to reject several teachings and practices of the contemporary [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]], in particular the view on [[indulgence]]s and papal authority. Luther initiated an international debate on these in works like his ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'', which he authored in 1517. In 1520, [[Pope Leo X]] demanded that Luther renounce all of his writings, and when Luther refused to do so, [[Excommunication in the Catholic Church|excommunicated]] him in January 1521. Later that year, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Holy Roman Emperor Charles V]] condemned Luther as an outlaw at the [[Diet of Worms]]. When Luther died in 1546, his excommunication by Leo X was still in effect.

Luther taught that [[justification (theology)| justification]] is not earned by any human acts or intents or merit; rather, it is received [[monergism|only]] as the free gift of God's [[Divine grace#Grace in the Protestant Reformation|grace]] through the believer's [[Faith in Christianity#Lutheranism|faith]] in [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]]. He held that [[good works]] were a necessary fruit of living faith, part of the process of [[sanctification in Christianity|sanctification]].<ref name="Schreiner2015">{{cite book |last1=Schreiner |first1=Thomas R. |title=Faith Alone---The Doctrine of Justification: What the Reformers Taught...and Why It Still Matters |date=15 September 2015 |publisher=Zondervan Academic |isbn=978-0-310-51579-1 |page=40 |language=en |quote=Luther insists that good works cannot be understood as the cause or ground of justification. McGrath summarizes Luther's position, "works are a condition, but not a cause of salvation." The word "condition" is acceptable if one understands works as the fruit or evidence of justification.}}</ref><ref name="Laffin2016">{{cite book |last1=Laffin |first1=Michael Richard |title=The Promise of Martin Luther's Political Theology: Freeing Luther from the Modern Political Narrative |date=20 October 2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-567-66990-2 |page=153 |language=en |quote=When Luther speaks of sanctification, he includes in this what has traditionally been referred to as the doctrine of the three estates. In sanctification our affections are conformed to Christ, and this formation occurs through suffering the divine activity in the estates of the ''ecclesia'', ''oeconomia'', and ''politia''. In sanctification our affections and perceptions are transformed so that we may come to recognize and explore the will of God. Herein lies a major, and often overlooked, part of the topography of Luther's theology that presses back against the oversimplistic reduction of his thought to "justification by faith alone." Rather, in the estates we see that sanctification plays a significant role in the overall grammar of Luther's theology. As Bernd Wannenwetsch argues, "Sanctification for Luther is not just a matter of faith, but a matter of faith ''and'' created orders, or more precisely of ''faith that is exercised in love within the divinely assigned spheres of social life'', politics, economics and religion (cf. WA16: 'in talibus ordinationibus exercere ceritatem')."}}</ref> [[Theology of Martin Luther|Luther's theology]] challenged the authority and office of the pope and bishops by teaching that the [[Bible#Christian Bibles|Bible]] is the [[sola scriptura|only source]] of [[revelation|divinely revealed]] knowledge on the Gospel,<ref>Ewald M. Plass, ''What Luther Says'', 3 vols., (St. Louis: CPH, 1959), 88, no. 269; M. Reu, ''Luther and the Scriptures'', (Columbus, Ohio: Wartburg Press, 1944), 23.</ref> and opposed [[sacerdotalism]] by considering all baptized Christians to be a [[Universal priesthood#History within Protestantism|holy priesthood]].<ref>Luther, Martin. ''Concerning the Ministry'' (1523), tr. Conrad Bergendoff, in Bergendoff, Conrad (ed.) ''Luther's Works''. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1958, 40:18 ff.</ref> Those who identify with these, as well as Luther's wider teachings, are called Lutherans, although Luther insisted on Christian or Evangelical ([[German language|German]]: ''evangelisch''), as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ. 

[[Luther Bible|Luther's translation of the Bible]] from [[Renaissance Latin|Latin]] into [[German language|German]] 
made the Bible vastly more accessible to the laity, which had a tremendous impact on both the church and German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the [[German language#Modern German|German language]], added several principles to the art of translation,<ref>Fahlbusch, Erwin and Bromiley, Geoffrey William. ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity''. Grand Rapids, MI: Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999–2003, 1:244.</ref> and influenced the writing of an [[English language|English]] translation, the [[Tyndale Bible]].<ref name="Tyndale">''Tyndale's New Testament'', trans. from the Greek by William Tyndale in 1534 in a modern-spelling edition and with an introduction by David Daniell. New Haven, CT: [[Yale University]] Press, 1989, ix–x.</ref> His hymns [[Hymnody of continental Europe#Reformation|influenced the development]] of singing in Protestant churches.<ref name="Bainton269">[[Roland Bainton|Bainton, Roland]]. ''Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther''. New York: Penguin, 1995, 269.</ref> His marriage to [[Katharina von Bora]], a former nun, set a model for the practice of [[clerical marriage]], allowing Protestant [[Minister (Christianity)|clergy]] to marry.<ref name="Bainton223">Bainton, Roland. ''Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther''. New York: Penguin, 1995, p. 223.</ref>

In two of his later works, such as in ''[[On the Jews and Their Lies]]'', Luther expressed staunchly [[Religious antisemitism|antisemitic views]], calling for the expulsion of [[Jews]] and the burning of [[synagogue]]s.<ref>Hendrix, Scott H. [http://www.luthersem.edu/word&world/Archives/3-4_Luther/3-4_Hendrix.pdf "The Controversial Luther"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302005613/http://www2.luthersem.edu/word%26world/Archives/3-4_Luther/3-4_Hendrix.pdf |date=2 March 2011 }}, ''Word & World'' 3/4 (1983), Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Also see Hillerbrand, Hans. [http://cco.cambridge.org/extract?id=ccol0521816483_CCOL0521816483A018 "The legacy of Martin Luther"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716031045/http://cco.cambridge.org/extract?id=ccol0521816483_CCOL0521816483A018 |date=16 July 2011 }}, in Hillerbrand, Hans & McKim, Donald K. (eds.) ''The Cambridge Companion to Luther''. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

In 1523, Luther wrote that Jesus Christ was born a Jew which discouraged mistreatment of the Jews and advocated their conversion by proving that the [[Old Testament]] could be shown to speak of Jesus Christ. However, as the Reformation grew, Luther began to lose hope in large-scale Jewish conversion to Christianity, and in the years his health deteriorated he grew more acerbic toward the Jews, writing against them with the kind of venom he had already unleashed on the Anabaptists, [[Zwingli]], and the [[Reformation Papacy|pope]].</ref> These works also targeted [[Roman Catholic]]s, [[Anabaptism#Zwickau prophets and the German Peasants' War|Anabaptists]], and [[Nontrinitarianism#Following the Reformation|nontrinitarian Christians]].<ref>Schaff, Philip: ''History of the Christian Church, Vol. VIII: Modern Christianity: The Swiss Reformation'', William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, 1910, page 706.</ref> Luther did not directly advocate the murder of Jews;<ref>Martin Brecht, ''Martin Luther'' (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1985–1993), 3:336.</ref><ref>Luther's letter to Rabbi Josel as cited by Gordon Rupp, ''Martin Luther and the Jews'' (London: The Council of Christians and Jews, 1972), 14. According to {{cite web |title=Luther and the Jews |url=http://www.ntrmin.org/Luther%20and%20the%20Jews%20(Web).htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104181522/http://www.ntrmin.org/Luther%20and%20the%20Jews%20%28Web%29.htm |archive-date=4 November 2005 |access-date=21 March 2017}}, this paragraph is not available in the English edition of Luther's works.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sydow |first=Michael |date=1 December 1999 |title=Journal of Theology: Martin Luther, Reformation Theologian and Educator |url=http://clclutheran.org/library/jtheo_arch/jtdec1999.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928132039/http://clclutheran.org/library/jtheo_arch/jtdec1999.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2007 |access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref> however, most historians contend that his rhetoric encouraged [[antisemitism in Germany]] and the emergence, centuries later, of the [[Nazi Party]].<ref name="Wallman1">"The assertion that Luther's expressions of anti-Jewish sentiment have been of major and persistent influence in the centuries after the Reformation, and that there exists a continuity between Protestant [[anti-Judaism]] and modern racially oriented antisemitism, is at present wide-spread in the literature; since the Second World War it has understandably become the prevailing opinion." Johannes Wallmann, "The Reception of Luther's Writings on the Jews from the Reformation to the End of the 19th Century", ''[[Lutheran Quarterly]]'', n.s. 1 (Spring 1987) 1:72–97.</ref><ref>For similar views, see:
* Berger, Ronald. ''Fathoming the Holocaust: A Social Problems Approach'' (New York: Aldine De Gruyter, 2002), 28.
* [[Paul Lawrence Rose|Rose, Paul Lawrence]]. "Revolutionary Antisemitism in Germany from Kant to Wagner," (Princeton University Press, 1990), quoted in Berger, 28;
* [[William Shirer|Shirer, William]]. ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960).
* [[Paul Johnson (writer)|Johnson, Paul]]. ''A History of the Jews'' (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1987), 242.
* [[Leon Poliakov|Poliakov, Leon]]. ''History of Anti-Semitism: From the Time of Christ to the Court Jews''. (N.P.: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), 216.
* [[Michael Berenbaum|Berenbaum, Michael]]. ''The World Must Know''. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press and the [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]], 1993, 2000), 8–9.</ref><ref name="Grunberger1971">[[Richard Grunberger|Grunberger, Richard]]. ''The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany 1933–1945'' (NP:Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971), 465.</ref>

==Early life and education==
===Birth and early life<!--'Hans Luther (15th century)' redirects here-->===
[[File:Hans and Margarethe Luther, by Lucas Cranach the Elder.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Portraits of Luther's parents, Hans and Margarethe Luther, by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] in 1527]]
[[File:Augustinerkloster Erfurt 19-05-2011 DSCF6253.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|In July 1505, Luther entered [[St. Augustine's Monastery (Erfurt)|St. Augustine's Monastery]] in [[Erfurt]]]]
{{Protestantism}}
{{Lutheranism}}
[[File:Lutherhaus, Wittenberg.jpg|thumb|Luther's residence at the [[University of Wittenberg]], where he began teaching [[theology]] in 1508]]
[[File:Lucas Cranach the Elder - Martin Luther, Bust in Three-Quarter View - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1520 engraving of Luther as a [[friar]] with a [[tonsure]]]]
Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 to Hans Luder (or Ludher, later Luther)<ref name=Marty1>[[Martin E. Marty|Marty, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 1.</ref> and his wife Margarethe (née Lindemann) in [[Eisleben]], [[House of Mansfeld|County of Mansfeld]], in the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Luther was [[Baptism|baptized]] the next morning on the [[Calendar of saints|feast day]] of [[Martin of Tours]].

In 1484, his family moved to [[Mansfeld]], where his father was a leaseholder of copper mines and smelters<ref name=Brecht3>[[Martin Brecht|Brecht, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:3–5.</ref> and served as one of four citizen representatives on the local council; in 1492, he was elected as a town councilor.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther | title=Martin Luther &#124; Biography, Reformation, Works, & Facts| date=17 May 2023}}</ref><ref name=Marty1/> The religious scholar [[Martin E. Marty|Martin Marty]] describes Luther's mother as a hard-working woman of "trading-class stock and middling means", contrary to Luther's enemies, who labeled her a whore and bath attendant.<ref name=Marty1/>

Luther had several brothers and sisters and is known to have been close to one of them, Jacob.<ref name=Marty3>[[Martin E. Marty|Marty, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 3.</ref>

===Education===
Hans Luther, Martin's father, was determined to see Martin, his eldest son, become a lawyer. He sent Martin to Latin schools in Mansfeld, then [[Magdeburg]] in 1497, where he attended the [[Brethren of the Common Life]], a school operated by a [[laity|lay group]], and [[Eisenach]] in 1498.<ref name=RuppEB>[[Gordon Rupp|Rupp, Ernst Gordon]]. "Martin Luther," ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', accessed 2006.</ref> The three schools focused on the so-called "[[trivium]]": grammar, rhetoric, and logic. Luther later compared his education there to [[purgatory]] and [[hell]].<ref name=Marty2>[[Martin E. Marty|Marty, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. Viking Penguin, 2004, pp. 2–3.</ref>

In 1501, at age 17, Martin entered the [[University of Erfurt]], which he later described as a beerhouse and whorehouse.<ref name=Marty4>[[Martin E. Marty|Marty, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 4.</ref> He was made to wake at 4 a.m. for "a day of rote learning and often wearying spiritual exercises."<ref name=Marty4/> He received his master's degree in 1505.<ref name=Marty5>[[Martin E. Marty|Marty, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 5.</ref>

In accordance with his father's wishes, Luther enrolled in law but dropped out almost immediately, believing that law was an uncertain profession.<ref name=Marty5/> Luther instead sought assurances about life and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing interest in [[Aristotle]], [[William of Ockham]], and [[Gabriel Biel]].<ref name=Marty5/> He was deeply influenced by two tutors, [[Bartholomaeus Arnoldi]] von Usingen and Jodocus Trutfetter, who taught him to be suspicious of even the greatest thinkers<ref name=Marty5/> and to test everything himself by experience.<ref name=Marty6>[[Martin E. Marty|Marty, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 6.</ref>

Philosophy proved to be unsatisfying to Luther because it offered assurance about the use of [[reason]] but none about loving [[God]], which Luther believed was more important. Reason could not lead men to God, Luther felt, and he thereafter developed a love-hate relationship with Aristotle over Aristotle's emphasis on reason.<ref name=Marty6/> For Luther, reason could be used to question men and institutions, but not God. Human beings could learn about God only through divine [[revelation]], he believed, leading him to view [[Religious text|scripture]] as increasingly important.<ref name=Marty6/>

==Monastic and academic career==
There are two stories told of Luther's sudden decision to become a monk: Melancthon's story is that Luther was shocked by the sudden death of a university friend, Hieronimus Buntz.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mackinnon |first1=James |title=Luther and the reformation |date=1925 |publisher=London ; New York : Longmans, Green, and Co. |url=https://archive.org/details/lutherreformatio0000mack}}</ref>{{rp|33}}  (The cause of this death has been variously speculated as lightning, plague, pleurisy, or even that Luther killed him in a duel.)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Posset |first1=Franz |title=The Front-Runner of the Catholic Reformation |date=2 March 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-88931-5 |edition=0 |doi=10.4324/9781315239521 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315239521 |language=en}}</ref>

The other story is that on 2 July 1505, while Luther was returning to university on horseback following a trip home, a [[lightning]] bolt struck near him during a thunderstorm. He later told his father that he was terrified of death and divine judgment, and he cried out, "Help! [[Saint Anne|Saint Anna]], I will become a monk!"<ref name=Brecht48>Brecht, Martin. ''Martin Luther''. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:48.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Google Books Archive of Martin Luther: His road to Reformation, 1483–1521 (By Martin Brecht)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hH6nI6Q6qBIC&q=Martin%20Luther%3A%20His%20road%20to%20Reformation%2C%201483-1521%20%20By%20Martin%20Brecht%20Help%20me%20saint%20Anne%20I%20will%20become%20a%20monk&pg=PA48|access-date=14 May 2015|isbn=978-1-4514-1414-1|last1=Brecht|first1=Martin|year=1985| publisher=Fortress Press }}</ref> He came to view his cry for help as a vow that he could never break. He withdrew from the university, sold his books, and entered [[St. Augustine's Monastery (Erfurt)|St. Augustine's Monastery]] in [[Erfurt]] on 17 July 1505.<ref>Schwiebert, E.G. ''Luther and His Times''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1950, 136.</ref> One friend blamed the decision on Luther's sadness over the deaths of two friends. Luther himself seemed saddened by the move. Those who attended a farewell supper walked him to the door of the Black Cloister. "This day you see me, and then, not ever again," he said.<ref name=Marty6/> His father was furious over what he saw as a waste of Luther's education.<ref name=Marty7>[[Martin E. Marty|Marty, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 7.</ref>
===Augustinian friar===
[[File:Portrait of Martin Luther as an Augustinian Monk.jpg|thumb|upright|A posthumous portrait of Luther as an [[Order of St. Augustine|Augustinian]] friar<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schwiebert |first=Ernest G |date=Mar 1948 |title=The Reformation from a New Perspective. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3160546 |journal=Church History |volume=17 |issue=1 |page=16 |doi=10.2307/3160546 |jstor=3160546 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>]]
Luther dedicated himself to the [[Order_of_Saint_Augustine|Augustinian order]], devoting himself to [[fasting]], long hours in [[prayer]], [[pilgrimage]], and frequent [[Confession (religion)|confession]].<ref name=Bainton40>Bainton, Roland. ''Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther''. New York: Penguin, 1995, 40–42.</ref> 

Luther described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. He said, "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailer and hangman of my poor soul."<ref name=Kittelson79>Kittelson, James. ''Luther The Reformer''. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishing House, 1986, 79.</ref> [[Johann von Staupitz]], his superior and frustrated confessor, concluded that Luther needed more work to distract him from excessive introspection and ordered him to pursue an academic career.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lindberg |first=Carter |title=The European reformations |date=2021 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-64081-3 |edition=3rd |location=Chichester, United Kingdom Hoboken, New Jersey |pages=53}}</ref> 

On 3 April 1507, Jerome Schultz, the [[Prince-Bishopric of Brandenburg|Bishop of Brandenburg]], ordained Luther in [[Erfurt Cathedral]].
===University of Wittenberg===
The following year, in 1508, Luther began teaching [[theology]] at the [[University of Wittenberg]].<ref name=Bainton44>Bainton, Roland. ''Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther''. New York: Penguin, 1995, 44–45.</ref> He received two bachelor's degrees, one in biblical studies on 9 March 1508, and another in the ''[[Sentences]]'' by [[Peter Lombard]] in 1509.<ref name=Brecht93>Brecht, Martin. ''Martin Luther''. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:93.</ref> On 19 October 1512, he was awarded his [[Doctor of Theology]].

On 21 October 1512, Luther was received into the senate of the theological faculty of the [[University of Wittenberg]],<ref name="Brecht12">Brecht, Martin. ''Martin Luther''. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:112–127.</ref> succeeding von Staupitz as chair of theology.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hendrix |first=Scott H. |year=2015 |title=Martin Luther: Visionary Reformer |place=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-16669-9 |page=44}}</ref> He spent the rest of his career in this position at the University of Wittenberg.

In 1515, he was made provincial [[vicar]] of [[Saxony]] and [[Thuringia]], which required him to visit and oversee eleven monasteries in his province.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hendrix |first=Scott H. |year=2015 |title=Martin Luther: Visionary Reformer |place=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-16669-9 |page=45}}</ref>

==Later life and the Reformation==

===Lectures on Psalms and justification by faith===
{{Main|Sola fide}}
[[File:Luther at Erfurt - Justification by Faith.jpg|thumb|upright|''Luther at Erfurt'', an 1861 portrait by [[Joseph Noel Paton]] depicting Luther discovering the doctrine of ''[[sola fide]]'' (by faith alone)]]
From 1510 to 1520, Luther lectured on the Psalms, and on the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. As he studied these portions of the Bible, partly with [[Erasmus|Desiderius Erasmus]]' new [[Novum_Instrumentum_omne#Examples|annotated translation]], he came to view the use of terms such as [[penance]] and [[righteousness]] by the Catholic Church in new ways. He became convinced that the church was corrupt and had lost sight of what he saw as several of the central truths of Christianity. 

The most important for Luther was the doctrine of [[justification (theology)|justification]]—God's act of declaring a sinner righteous—by faith alone through God's grace. He began to teach that salvation or redemption is a gift of God's [[Divine grace|grace]], attainable only through faith in Jesus as the [[Messiah]].<ref name=Wriedt>Wriedt, Markus. "Luther's Theology," in ''The Cambridge Companion to Luther''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 88–94.</ref> "This one and firm rock, which we call the doctrine of justification", he writes, "is the chief article of the whole Christian doctrine, which comprehends the understanding of all godliness."<ref>Bouman, Herbert J.A. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090403013639/http://www.quodlibet.net/articles/dorman-luther.shtml "The Doctrine of Justification in the Lutheran Confessions"], ''Concordia Theological Monthly'', 26 November 1955, No. 11:801.</ref> Luther’s use of justification by faith has been called his "macro-[[hermeneutical]] presupposition for biblical interpretation and theological construction."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Canale |first1=Fernando |title=Sola Scriptura and Hermeneutics: Toward a Critical Assessment of the Methodological Ground of the Protestant Reformation |journal=Faculty Publications |date=1 October 2012 |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=179–205 |url=https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theology-christian-philosophy-pubs/96/}}</ref>{{rp|180}}

Luther came to understand justification as entirely the work of God. This teaching by Luther was clearly expressed in his 1525 publication ''[[On the Bondage of the Will]]'', which was written in response to ''[[Works of Erasmus#On Free Will (1524)|On Free Will]]'' by Erasmus (1524), who believed Luther's early teaching on the necessity of evil was unbiblical.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kolb |first1=Robert |title=The Debate between Martin Luther and Erasmus |journal=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |date=29 March 2017 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.505|isbn=978-0-19-934037-8 }}</ref> Against the [[Catholic]] and [[Eastern_Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] teaching that the righteous acts of believers are performed in {{em|cooperation}} with God's preceding grace ([[synergism]]), Luther wrote that Christians receive such righteousness entirely from outside themselves ([[monergism]]). Taking Erasmus' earlier Latin [[Imputed_righteousness#Formulation|translation choice]] to an extreme, he taught that righteousness not only comes from Christ but actually {{em|is}} the righteousness of Christ, imputed to Christians (rather than also [[Infused_righteousness|infused]] into them) through faith,<ref>Dorman, Ted M., "[https://web.archive.org/web/20090403013639/http://www.quodlibet.net/articles/dorman-luther.shtml Justification as Healing: The Little-Known Luther"], ''Quodlibet Journal'': Volume 2 Number 3, Summer 2000. Retrieved 13 July 2007.</ref> 

"That is why faith alone makes someone just and fulfills the law," he writes. "Faith is that which brings the [[Holy Spirit]] through the merits of Christ."<ref name=faith>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ProjectWittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/luther-faith.txt|title=Luther's Definition of Faith}}</ref> Faith, for Luther, was a gift from God; the experience of being justified by faith was "as though I had been born again." His entry into Paradise, no less, was a discovery about "the righteousness of God"—a discovery that "the just person" of whom the Bible speaks (as in Romans 1:17) lives by faith.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=155|title=Justification by Faith: The Lutheran-Catholic Convergence|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615015903/http://religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=155|archive-date=15 June 2010}}</ref> He explains his concept of "justification" in the [[Smalcald Articles]]:

<blockquote>
The first and chief article is this: Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification (Romans 3:24–25). He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world ([[Gospel of John|John]] 1:29), and God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all ([[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 53:6). All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works and merits, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood (Romans 3:23–25). This is necessary to believe. This cannot be otherwise acquired or grasped by any work, law, or merit. Therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us&nbsp;... Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] 13:31).<ref>Luther, Martin. "The Smalcald Articles," in ''Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions''. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, 289, Part two, Article 1.</ref>
</blockquote>

===Start of the Reformation: 1516–1517===
{{Further|History of Protestantism|History of Lutheranism}}
[[File:Jeorg Breu Elder A Question to a Mintmaker c1500.png|thumb|left|The [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Indulgence|sale of indulgences]] shown in ''A Question to a Mintmaker'', a [[woodcut]] by [[Jörg Breu the Elder]] of Augsburg, {{Circa|1530}}]]
In 1516, [[Johann Tetzel]], a [[Dominican Order|Dominican friar]], was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences to raise money in order to rebuild [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in Rome.<ref>"[[Johann Tetzel]]," ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007</ref> Tetzel's experiences as a preacher of indulgences, especially between 1503 and 1510, led to his appointment as general commissioner by [[Albert of Brandenburg|Albrecht von Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz]], who, already deeply in debt to pay for a large accumulation of benefices, had to contribute the considerable sum of ten thousand [[ducat]]s<ref>At first, "the pope demanded twelve thousand ducats for the twelve apostles. Albert offered seven thousand ducats for the seven deadly sins. They compromised on ten thousand, presumably not for the Ten Commandments". Bainton, Roland. ''Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther'' (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950), p. 75, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.155980 online]</ref> toward the rebuilding of the basilica. Albrecht obtained permission from Pope Leo&nbsp;X to conduct the sale of a special plenary indulgence (i.e., remission of the temporal punishment of sin), half of the proceeds of which Albrecht was to claim to pay the fees of his benefices.

On 31 October 1517, Luther wrote to his bishop, Albrecht von Brandenburg, protesting against the sale of indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his "Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences",{{efn|name=title|{{langx|la|"Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum"}} – The first printings of the ''Theses'' use an [[incipit]] rather than a title which summarizes the content. Luther usually called them "{{lang|de|meine Propositiones}}" (my propositions).{{sfn|Cummings|2002|p=32}}}} which came to be known as the ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]''. Hans Hillerbrand writes that Luther had no intention of confronting the church but saw his disputation as a scholarly objection to church practices, and the tone of the writing is accordingly "searching, rather than doctrinaire."<ref name=HillerbrandIndulgences>Hillerbrand, Hans J. "Martin Luther: Indulgences and salvation," ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007.</ref> Hillerbrand writes that there is nevertheless an undercurrent of challenge in several of the theses, particularly in Thesis 86, which asks: "Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest [[Marcus Licinius Crassus|Crassus]], build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?"<ref name=HillerbrandIndulgences/>

Luther objected to a saying attributed to Tetzel that, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory (also attested as 'into heaven') springs."<ref>Thesis 55 of Tetzel's ''One Hundred and Six Theses''. These "Anti-theses" were a reply to Luther's ''Ninety-five Theses'' and were drawn up by Tetzel's friend and former professor, [[Konrad Wimpina]]. Theses 55 & 56 (responding to Luther's 27th Thesis) read: "For a soul to fly out, is for it to obtain the vision of God, which can be ''hindered by no interruption'', therefore he errs who says that the soul ''cannot fly out'' before the coin can jingle in the bottom of the chest." In ''The reformation in Germany'', [[Henry Clay Vedder]], 1914, Macmillan Company, p. 405. [https://archive.org/details/reformationinge00veddgoog/page/n465] ''Animam purgatam evolare, est eam visione dei potiri, quod nulla potest intercapedine impediri. Quisquis ergo dicit, non citius posse animam volare, quam in fundo cistae denarius possit tinnire, errat''. In: ''D. Martini Lutheri, Opera Latina: Varii Argumenti'', 1865, Henricus Schmidt, ed., Heyder and Zimmer, [[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]] & Erlangen, vol. 1, p. 300. ([[Print on demand]] edition: [[Nabu Press]], 2010, {{ISBN|978-1-142-40551-9}}). [https://books.google.com/books?id=s633jfx_uEUC&pg=PA300] See also: {{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Johann Tetzel}}</ref> He insisted that, since [[forgiveness]] was God's alone to grant, those who claimed that indulgences [[absolution|absolved]] buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation were in error. Christians, he said, must not slacken in following Christ on account of such false assurances.

[[File:Lutherstadt Wittenberg 09-2016 photo06.jpg|thumb|Luther's theses are engraved into the door of [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg]]; the [[Latin]] inscription above informs the reader that the original door was destroyed by a fire, and that in 1857, King [[Frederick William IV of Prussia]] ordered that a replacement be made.]]
According to one account, Luther nailed his ''Ninety-five Theses'' to the door of [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg|All Saints' Church]] in [[Wittenberg]] on 31 October 1517. Scholars Walter Krämer, Götz Trenkler, Gerhard Ritter, and Gerhard Prause contend that the story of the posting on the door, although it has become one of the pillars of history, has little foundation in truth.<ref name="Krämer">Krämer, Walter and Trenkler, Götz. "Luther" in ''Lexicon van Hardnekkige Misverstanden''. Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 1997, 214:216.</ref><ref name=Ritter>Ritter, Gerhard. ''Luther'', Frankfurt 1985.</ref><ref name=Prause>Gerhard Prause "Luthers Thesanschlag ist eine Legende,"in ''Niemand hat Kolumbus ausgelacht''. Düsseldorf, 1986.</ref><ref name=Marshall>Marshall, Peter ''1517: Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation'' (Oxford University Press, 2017) {{ISBN|978-0-19-968201-0}}</ref> The story is based on comments made by Luther's collaborator [[Philip Melanchthon]], though it is thought that he was not in Wittenberg at the time.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41aJOjMZ3nwC&pg=PT125 |title=Dresden Leipzig & Saxony Adventure Guide |first=Henrik |last= Bekker |page=125|publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc |access-date=7 February 2012 |isbn= 978-1-58843-950-5|year=2010 }}</ref> According to [[Roland Bainton]], on the other hand, it is true.<ref>Bainton, Roland. ''Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther'' (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950), p. 79, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.155980 online]</ref> 

The Latin ''Theses'' were printed in several locations in Germany in 1517. In January 1518 friends of Luther translated the ''Ninety-five Theses'' into German.<ref name=Brecht204>Brecht, Martin. ''Martin Luther''. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:204–205.</ref> Within two weeks, copies of the theses had spread throughout Germany. Luther's writings circulated widely, reaching [[Kingdom of France|France]], [[Kingdom of England|England]], and [[History of Italy|Italy]] as early as 1519. 

Students thronged to Wittenberg to hear Luther speak. He published a short commentary on [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]] and his ''Work on the Psalms''. This early part of Luther's career was one of his most creative and productive.<ref>Spitz, Lewis W. ''The Renaissance and Reformation Movements'', St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1987, 338.</ref> Three of his best-known works were published in 1520: ''[[To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation]]'', ''[[On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church]]'', and ''[[On the Freedom of a Christian]]''.

===Breach with the papacy===
[[File:Bulla-contra-errores.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Pope Leo X]]'s ''Bull against the errors of Martin Luther'', 1521, commonly known as ''[[Exsurge Domine]]'']]
Archbishop Albrecht did not reply to Luther's letter containing the ''Ninety-five Theses''. He had the theses checked for heresy and in December 1517 forwarded them to Rome.<ref>Michael A. Mullett, ''Martin Luther'', London: [[Routledge]], 2004, {{ISBN|978-0-415-26168-5}}, 78; Oberman, Heiko, ''Luther: Man Between God and the Devil'', New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-300-10313-1}}, 192–193.</ref> He needed the revenue from the indulgences to pay off a papal dispensation for his [[Benefice#Pluralism|tenure of more than one bishopric]]. As Luther later notes, "the pope had a finger in the pie as well, because one half was to go to the building of St. Peter's Church in Rome".<ref>Mullett, 68–69; Oberman, 189.</ref>

Pope Leo X was used to reformers and heretics,<ref>Richard Marius, ''Luther'', London: Quartet, 1975, {{ISBN|0-7043-3192-6}}, 85.</ref> and he responded slowly, "with great care as is proper."<ref>Papal Bull ''[[Exsurge Domine]]'', 15 June 1520.</ref> Over the next three years he deployed a series of papal theologians and envoys against Luther, which served only to harden the reformer's anti-papal theology. First, the Dominican theologian [[Sylvester Mazzolini]] drafted a heresy case against Luther, whom Leo then summoned to Rome. The [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony|Elector Frederick]] persuaded the pope to have Luther examined at Augsburg, where the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]] was held.<ref>Mullett, 81–82.</ref> Over a three-day period in October 1518 where he stayed at [[St. Anne's Church, Augsburg|St. Anne's Priory]], Luther defended himself under questioning by [[papal legate]] [[Thomas Cajetan|Cardinal Cajetan]]. The pope's right to issue indulgences was at the centre of the dispute between the two men.<ref name="Reformation500">{{cite web|url=http://reformation500.csl.edu/timeline/luther-meets-with-cajetan-at-augsburg/|title=Luther meets with Cajetan at Augsburg|publisher=Reformation 500 – Concordia Seminary, St. Louis|access-date=28 March 2016|date=11 January 2012|archive-date=19 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819111021/http://reformation500.csl.edu/timeline/luther-meets-with-cajetan-at-augsburg/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Ex-Classics">{{cite web|url= http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe147.htm    |title=The Acts and Monuments of the Church – Martin Luther |publisher=exclassics.com|access-date=28 March 2016}}</ref> The hearings degenerated into a shouting match. More than writing his theses, Luther's confrontation with the church cast him as an enemy of the pope: "His Holiness abuses Scripture", retorted Luther. "I deny that he is above Scripture".<ref>Bainton, Roland. ''Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther'' (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950), Chapter V, p. 96, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.155980 online]</ref><ref>Mullett, 82.</ref> Cajetan's original instructions had been to arrest Luther if he failed to recant, but the legate desisted from doing so.<ref>Mullett, 83.</ref> With help from the [[Carmelites|Carmelite friar]] [[Christoph Langenmantel]], Luther slipped out of the city at night, unbeknownst to Cajetan.<ref>Oberman, 197.</ref>

[[File:Luther-vor-Cajetan.jpg|thumb|Luther (right) meeting [[Cardinal Cajetan]] (left)]]
In January 1519, at [[Altenburg]] in Saxony, the papal nuncio [[Karl von Miltitz]] adopted a more conciliatory approach. Luther made certain concessions to the Saxon, who was a relative of the Elector, and promised to remain silent if his opponents did.<ref>Mullett, 92–95; Roland H. Bainton, ''Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther'', New York: Mentor, 1955, {{OCLC|220064892}}, 81.</ref> The theologian [[Johann Eck]], however, was determined to expose Luther's doctrine in a public forum. In June and July 1519, he staged a [[Leipzig Debate|disputation]] with Luther's colleague [[Andreas Karlstadt]] at [[Leipzig]] and invited Luther to speak.<ref>Marius, 87–89; Bainton, Mentor edition, 82.</ref> Luther's boldest assertion in the debate was that popes do not have the exclusive right to interpret scripture, and that therefore neither popes nor [[Ecumenical council|church councils]] were infallible.<ref>Marius, 93; Bainton, Mentor edition, 90.</ref> For this, Eck branded Luther a new [[Jan Hus]], referring to the Czech reformer and heretic [[Death by burning#Christian states|burned at the stake]] in 1415. From that moment, he devoted himself to Luther's defeat.<ref>G. R. Elton, ''Reformation Europe: 1517–1559'', London: Collins, 1963, {{OCLC|222872115}}, 177.</ref>

===Excommunication===
On 15 June 1520, the Pope warned Luther with the [[papal bull]] (edict) ''[[Exsurge Domine]]'' that he risked [[Excommunication (Catholic Church)#History|excommunication]] unless he recanted 41 sentences drawn from his writings, including the ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'', within 60 days. That autumn, Eck proclaimed the bull in [[Meissen]] and other towns. Von Miltitz attempted to broker a solution, but Luther, who had sent the pope a copy of ''On the Freedom of a Christian'' in October, publicly set fire to the bull and [[decretal]]s in Wittenberg on 10 December 1520,<ref name="Hillerbrand463">Brecht, Martin. (tr. Wolfgang Katenz) "Luther, Martin," in Hillerbrand, Hans J. (ed.) ''Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, 2:463.</ref> an act he defended in ''Why the Pope and his Recent Book are Burned'' and ''Assertions Concerning All Articles''.

Luther was excommunicated by Pope {{nowrap|Leo X}} on 3 January 1521, in the bull ''[[Decet Romanum Pontificem]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=From Babylon to Eternity: The Exile Remembered and Constructed in Text and Tradition|first1=Bob|last1=Becking|first2=Alex|last2=Cannegieter|first3=Wilfred|last3=van er Poll|publisher=Routledge|page=91|year=2016|isbn=978-1-134-90386-3}}</ref> Although the [[Lutheran World Federation]], Methodists, and the Catholic Church's [[Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity]] agreed (in 1999 and 2006, respectively) on a "common understanding of justification by God's grace through faith in Christ," the Catholic Church has never lifted the 1521 excommunication.<ref>Wooden, Cindy. "Methodists adapt Catholic-Lutheran declaration on justification." 24 July 2006</ref><ref>David Van Biema, "A Half-Millennium Rift," ''TIME'', 6 July 1998, 80.</ref><ref>Cindy Wooden, "Lutheran World Council OKs joint declaration on justification," ''The Pilot'', 19 June 1998, 20.</ref>

===Diet of Worms (1521)===
{{Main|Diet of Worms}}
[[File:Luther at the Diet of Worms.jpg|thumb|''Luther Before the Diet of Worms'', an 1877 portrait by [[Anton von Werner]]]]
[[File:Martin-Luther-Denkmal, Worms.JPG|thumb|[[Luther Monument (Worms)|Luther Monument in Worms]], a statue of Luther surrounded by the figures of his lay protectors and earlier Church reformers, including [[John Wycliffe]], [[Jan Hus]], and [[Girolamo Savonarola]]]]
The enforcement of the ban on the ''Ninety-five Theses'' fell to the secular authorities. On 17 April 1521, Luther appeared as ordered before the [[Diet of Worms]]. This was a general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire that took place in [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], a town on the [[Rhine]]. It was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521, with [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles&nbsp;V]] presiding. Prince [[Frederick&nbsp;III, Elector of Saxony]], obtained a [[safe conduct]] for Luther to and from the meeting.

Johann Eck, speaking on behalf of the empire as assistant of the [[Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads|Archbishop of Trier]], presented Luther with copies of his writings laid out on a table and asked him if the books were his and whether he stood by their contents. Luther confirmed he was their author but requested time to think about the answer to the second question. He prayed, consulted friends, and gave his response the next day:

<blockquote>
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.<ref>Brecht, 1:460.</ref>
</blockquote>

At the end of this speech, Luther raised his arm "in the traditional salute of a knight winning a bout." Michael Mullett considers this speech as a "world classic of epoch-making oratory."<ref name=mullettp25>Mullett (1986), p. 25</ref>

Eck informed Luther that he was acting like a heretic, saying,
<blockquote>Martin, there is no one of the heresies which have torn the bosom of the church, which has not derived its origin from the various interpretation of the Scripture. The Bible itself is the arsenal whence each innovator has drawn his deceptive arguments. It was with Biblical texts that [[Pelagius]] and [[Arius]] maintained their doctrines. Arius, for instance, found the negation of the eternity of the Word—an eternity which you admit, in this verse of the New Testament—''Joseph knew not his wife till she had brought forth her first-born son''; and he said, in the same way that you say, that this passage enchained him. When the fathers of the [[Council of Constance]] condemned this proposition of Jan Hus—''The church of Jesus Christ is only the community of the elect'', they condemned an error; for the church, like a good mother, embraces within her arms all who bear the name of Christian, all who are called to enjoy the celestial beatitude.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/luther/lutherbyluther.html#secondnarrative|title=Life of Luther (Luther by Martin Luther)|first=Martin|last=Luther}}</ref></blockquote>

Luther refused to recant his writings. He is sometimes also quoted as saying: "Here I stand. I can do no other". Recent scholars consider the evidence for these words to be unreliable since they were inserted before "May God help me" only in later versions of the speech and not recorded in witness accounts of the proceedings.<ref>Wilson, 153, 170; Marius, 155.</ref> However, Mullett suggests that given his nature, "we are free to believe that Luther would tend to select the more dramatic form of words."<ref name=mullettp25/>

Over the next five days, private conferences were held to determine Luther's fate. The emperor presented the final draft of the [[Edict of Worms]] on 25 May 1521, declaring Luther an [[Outlaw#In other countries|outlaw]], banning his literature, and requiring his arrest: "We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic."<ref>Bratcher, Dennis. "[http://www.crivoice.org/creededictworms.html The Diet of Worms (1521)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003172831/http://www.crivoice.org/creededictworms.html |date=3 October 2017 }}," in ''The Voice: Biblical and Theological Resources for Growing Christians''. Retrieved 13 July 2007.</ref> The edict allowed anyone to kill Luther without legal consequence, and made it a crime to give him food or shelter.

===Wartburg Castle (1521)===
{{See also|Luther Bible#"September Bible" New Testament (1522)}}
[[File:Wartburg Eisenach DSCN3512.jpg|thumb|[[Wartburg|Wartburg Castle]] in [[Eisenach]]]]
[[File:WartburgLutherstube1900.jpg|thumb|The [[Wartburg]] room where Luther translated the [[New Testament]] into [[German (language)|German]]; an original first edition is kept in the case on the desk.]]
Luther's disappearance during his return to Wittenberg was planned. {{nowrap|Frederick III}} had him intercepted on his way home in the forest near Wittenberg by masked horsemen impersonating highway robbers. They escorted Luther to the security of the [[Wartburg|Wartburg Castle]] at [[Eisenach]].<ref>''Reformation Europe: 1517–1559,'' London: Fontana, 1963, 53; [[Diarmaid MacCulloch]], ''Reformation: Europe's House Divided, 1490–1700,'' London: Allen Lane, 2003, 132.</ref> During his stay at Wartburg, which he referred to as "my [[John of Patmos|Patmos]]",<ref>Luther, Martin. "Letter 82," in ''Luther's Works''. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann (eds), Vol. 48: Letters I, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999, c1963, 48:246; Mullett, 133. [[John of Patmos|John]], author of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]], had been exiled on the island of Patmos.</ref> Luther translated the [[New Testament]] from Greek into German and poured out doctrinal and polemical writings. These included a renewed attack on [[Albert of Brandenburg]], [[Elector of Mainz|Archbishop of Mainz]], whom he shamed into halting the sale of indulgences in his episcopates,<ref>Brecht, 2:12–14.</ref> and a ''Refutation of the Argument of Latomus'', in which he expounded the principle of justification to [[Jacobus Latomus]], an orthodox theologian from [[Leuven|Louvain]].<ref>Mullett, 132, 134; Wilson, 182.</ref> In this work, one of his most emphatic statements on faith, he argued that every good work designed to attract God's favor is a sin.<ref>Brecht, 2:7–9; Marius, 161–162; Marty, 77–79.</ref> All humans are sinners by nature, he explained, and [[Grace in Christianity#Luther and Lutheran theology|God's grace]] alone (which cannot be earned) can make them just. On 1 August 1521, Luther wrote to Melanchthon on the same theme: "Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides."<ref name="sinsbestrong">Martin Luther, [http://www.ProjectWittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/letsinsbe.txt "Let Your Sins Be Strong," a Letter From Luther to Melanchthon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040119/http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/letsinsbe.txt |date=28 September 2007 }}, August 1521, Project Wittenberg, retrieved 1 October 2006.</ref>

In the summer of 1521, Luther widened his target from individual pieties like indulgences and pilgrimages to doctrines at the heart of Church practice. In ''On the Abrogation of the Private Mass'', he condemned as idolatry the idea that the mass is a sacrifice, asserting instead that it is a gift, to be received with thanksgiving by the whole congregation.<ref>Brecht, 2:27–29; Mullett, 133.</ref> His essay ''On Confession, Whether the Pope has the Power to Require It'' rejected compulsory [[Confession (religion)|confession]] and encouraged private confession and [[Absolution#Lutheran Churches|absolution]], since "every Christian is a confessor."<ref>Brecht, 2:18–21.</ref> In November, Luther wrote ''The Judgement of Martin Luther on Monastic Vows''. He assured monks and nuns that they could break their vows without sin, because vows were an illegitimate and vain attempt to win salvation.<ref>Marius, 163–164.</ref>

[[File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Bildnis Luthers als Junker Jörg (Leipzig).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Luther disguised as "[[Junker]] Jörg" in 1521]]
Luther made his pronouncements from Wartburg in the context of rapid developments at Wittenberg, of which he was kept fully informed. Andreas Karlstadt, supported by the ex-Augustinian [[Gabriel Zwilling]], embarked on a radical programme of reform there in June 1521, exceeding anything envisaged by Luther. The reforms provoked disturbances, including a revolt by the Augustinian friars against their prior, the smashing of statues and images in churches, and denunciations of the magistracy. After secretly visiting Wittenberg in early December 1521, Luther wrote ''A Sincere Admonition by Martin Luther to All Christians to Guard Against Insurrection and Rebellion''.<ref>Mullett, 135–136.</ref> Wittenberg became even more volatile after Christmas when a band of visionary zealots, the so-called [[Zwickau prophets]], arrived, preaching revolutionary doctrines such as the equality of man,{{clarify|date=May 2018}} [[Believer's baptism|adult baptism]], and Christ's imminent return.<ref>Wilson, 192–202; Brecht, 2:34–38.</ref> When the town council asked Luther to return, he decided it was his duty to act.<ref>Bainton, Mentor edition, 164–165.</ref>

===Return to Wittenberg and Peasants' War: 1522–1525===
{{See also|Radical Reformation|German Peasants' War}}
[[File:Wittenberg Lutherhaus.JPG|thumb|[[Lutherhaus]], Luther's residence in [[Wittenberg]]]]
Luther secretly returned to [[Wittenberg]] on 6 March 1522. He wrote to the Elector: "During my absence, Satan has entered my sheepfold, and committed ravages which I cannot repair by writing, but only by my personal presence and living word."<ref>Letter of 7 March 1522. Schaff, Philip, [http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/7_ch04.htm ''History of the Christian Church, Vol VII, Ch IV''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823185716/http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/7_ch04.htm |date=23 August 2017 }}; Brecht, 2:57.</ref> For eight days in [[Lent]], beginning on Invocavit Sunday, 9 March, Luther preached eight sermons, which became known as the "Invocavit Sermons". In these sermons, he hammered home the primacy of core [[Christian values#New Testament teaching|Christian values]] such as love, patience, charity, and freedom, and reminded the citizens to trust God's word rather than violence to bring about necessary change.<ref>Brecht, 2:60; Bainton, Mentor edition, 165; Marius, 168–169.</ref>

<blockquote>Do you know what the Devil thinks when he sees men use violence to propagate the gospel? He sits with folded arms behind the fire of hell and says with malignant looks and frightful grin: "Ah, how wise these madmen are to play my game! Let them go on; I shall reap the benefit. I delight in it." But when he sees the Word running and contending alone on the battle-field, then he shudders and shakes for fear.<ref name="Schaff IV">Schaff, Philip, [http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/7_ch04.htm ''History of the Christian Church, Vol VII, Ch IV''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823185716/http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/7_ch04.htm |date=23 August 2017 }}.</ref></blockquote>

The effect of Luther's intervention was immediate. After the sixth sermon, the Wittenberg jurist Jerome Schurf wrote to the elector: "Oh, what joy has Dr. Martin's return spread among us! His words, through divine mercy, are bringing back every day misguided people into the way of the truth."<ref name="Schaff IV" />

Luther next set about reversing or modifying the new church practices. By working alongside the authorities to restore public order, he signaled his reinvention as a conservative force within the Reformation.<ref>Marius, 169.</ref> After banishing the Zwickau prophets, he faced a battle against both the established Church and the radical reformers who threatened the new order by fomenting social unrest and violence.<ref>Mullett, 141–43.</ref>

[[File:Titelblatt 12 Artikel.jpg|thumb|upright|The ''[[Twelve Articles]]'' of peasants' demands, issued in 1525]]
Despite his victory in Wittenberg, Luther was unable to stifle radicalism further afield. Preachers such as [[Thomas Müntzer]] and Zwickau prophet [[Nicholas Storch]] found support amongst poorer townspeople and peasants between 1521 and 1525. There had been [[Popular revolts in late-medieval Europe|revolts by the peasantry]] on smaller scales since the 15th century.<ref>Michael Hughes, ''Early Modern Germany: 1477–1806'', London: Macmillan, 1992, {{ISBN|0-333-53774-2}}, 45.</ref> Luther's pamphlets against the Church and the hierarchy, often worded with "liberal" phraseology, led many peasants to believe he would support an attack on the upper classes in general.<ref>A.G. Dickens, ''The German Nation and Martin Luther'', London: Edward Arnold, 1974, {{ISBN|0-7131-5700-3}}, 132–133. Dickens cites as an example of Luther's "liberal" phraseology: "Therefore I declare that neither pope nor bishop nor any other person has the right to impose a syllable of law upon a Christian man without his own consent".</ref> Revolts broke out in [[Franconia]], [[Swabia]], and [[Thuringia]] in 1524, even drawing support from disaffected nobles, many of whom were in debt. Gaining momentum under the leadership of radicals such as Müntzer in Thuringia, and Hipler and Lotzer in the south-west, the revolts turned into war.<ref>Hughes, 45–47.</ref>

Luther sympathised with some of the peasants' grievances, as he showed in his response to the [[Twelve Articles]] in May 1525, but he reminded the aggrieved to obey the temporal authorities.<ref>Hughes, 50.</ref> During a tour of Thuringia, he became enraged at the widespread burning of convents, monasteries, bishops' palaces, and libraries. In ''[[Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants]]'', written on his return to Wittenberg, he gave his interpretation of the Gospel teaching on wealth, condemned the violence as the devil's work, and called for the nobles to put down the rebels like mad dogs:

<blockquote>
Therefore let everyone who can, smite, slay, and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish than a rebel ... For baptism does not make men free in body and property, but in soul; and the gospel does not make goods common, except in the case of those who, of their own [[Free will in theology#Lutheranism|free will]], do what the apostles and disciples did in Acts 4 [:32–37]. They did not demand, as do our insane peasants in their raging, that the goods of others—of Pilate and Herod—should be common, but only their own goods. Our peasants, however, want to make the goods of other men common, and keep their own for themselves. Fine Christians they are! I think there is not a devil left in hell; they have all gone into the peasants. Their raving has gone beyond all measure.<ref>Jaroslav J. Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, ''Luther's Works'', 55 vols. (St. Louis and Philadelphia: Concordia Pub. House and Fortress Press, 1955–1986), 46: 50–51.</ref>
</blockquote>

Without Luther's backing for the uprising, many rebels laid down their weapons; others felt betrayed. Their defeat by the [[Swabian League]] at the [[Battle of Frankenhausen]] on 15 May 1525, followed by Müntzer's execution, brought the revolutionary stage of the Reformation to a close.<ref>Hughes, 51.</ref> Thereafter, radicalism found a refuge in the [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist]] movement and other religious movements, while Luther's Reformation flourished under the wing of the secular powers.<ref>Andrew Pettegree, ''Europe in the Sixteenth Century'', Oxford: Blackwell, {{ISBN|0-631-20704-X}}, 102–103.</ref> In 1526 Luther wrote: "I, Martin Luther, have during the rebellion slain all the peasants, for it was I who ordered them to be struck dead."<ref>Erlangen Edition of ''Luther's Works'', Vol. 59, p. 284</ref>

===Marriage===
[[File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Bildnis der Katharina von Bora (Christie’s 2001).jpg|thumb|upright|A 1526 portrait of [[Katharina von Bora]], Luther's wife, by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]]
[[File:Portrait of Martin Luther at his Desk.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Luther at his desk with family portraits]]
Luther married [[Katharina von Bora]], one of 12 nuns he had helped escape from the Nimbschen [[Cistercian nuns|Cistercian convent]] in April 1523, when he arranged for them to be smuggled out in herring barrels.<ref>Wilson, 232.</ref> "Suddenly, and while I was occupied with far different thoughts," he wrote to Wenceslaus Link, "the Lord has plunged me into marriage."<ref>Schaff, Philip, [http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/7_ch04.htm ''History of the Christian Church, Vol VII, Ch V''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823185716/http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/history/7_ch04.htm |date=23 August 2017 }}, rpt. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 17 May 2009; Bainton, Mentor edition, 226.</ref> At the time of their marriage, Katharina was 26 years old and Luther was 41 years old.

On 13 June 1525, the couple was engaged, with [[Johannes Bugenhagen]], [[Justus Jonas]], Johannes Apel, [[Philipp Melanchthon]] and [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] and his wife as witnesses.<ref name=Scheible147>{{cite book|last=Scheible|first=Heinz|title=Melanchthon. Eine Biographie|publisher=C.H.Beck|location=Munich|year=1997|isbn=978-3-406-42223-2|language=de|page=147}}</ref> On the evening of the same day, the couple was married by Bugenhagen.<ref name=Scheible147/> The ceremonial walk to the church and the wedding banquet were left out and were made up two weeks later on 27 June.<ref name=Scheible147/>

Some priests and former members of [[Religious order (Catholic)|religious orders]] had already married, including Andreas Karlstadt and Justus Jonas, but Luther's wedding set the seal of approval on clerical marriage.<ref>Lohse, Bernhard, ''Martin Luther: An Introduction to his Life and Work,'', translated by Robert C. Schultz, Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1987, {{ISBN|0-567-09357-3}}, 32; Brecht, 2:196–197.</ref> He had long condemned [[Clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church|vows of celibacy]] on biblical grounds, but his decision to marry surprised many, not least Melanchthon, who called it reckless.<ref>Brecht, 2:199; Wilson, 234; Lohse, 32.</ref> Luther had written to [[George Spalatin]] on 30 November 1524, "I shall never take a wife, as I feel at present. Not that I am insensible to my flesh or sex (for I am neither wood nor stone); but my mind is averse to wedlock because I daily expect the death of a heretic."<ref>Schaff, Philip. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc7.ii.v.ii.html "Luther's Marriage. 1525."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707101105/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc7.ii.v.ii.html |date=7 July 2017 }}, ''History of the Christian Church, Volume VII, Modern Christianity, The German Reformation''. § 77, rpt. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 17 May 2009; Mullett, 180–181.</ref>
Before marrying, Luther had been living on the plainest food, and, as he admitted himself, his mildewed bed was not properly made for months at a time.<ref>Marty, 109; Bainton, Mentor edition, 226.</ref>

Luther and his wife moved into a former monastery, "[[Lutherhaus|The Black Cloister]]," a wedding present from Elector [[John, Elector of Saxony|John the Steadfast]]. They embarked on what appears to have been a happy and successful marriage, though money was often short.<ref>Brecht, 2: 202; Mullett, 182.</ref> Katharina bore six children: Hans&nbsp;– June 1526; [[Elisabeth Luther|Elisabeth]]&nbsp;– 10 December 1527, who died within a few months; [[Magdalena Luther|Magdalene]]&nbsp;– 1529, who died in Luther's arms in 1542; Martin&nbsp;– 1531; [[Paul Luther|Paul]]&nbsp;– January 1533; and Margaret&nbsp;– 1534; and she helped the couple earn a living by farming and taking in boarders.<ref>Oberman, 278–280; Wilson, 237; Marty, 110.</ref> Luther confided to [[Michael Stifel|Michael Stiefel]] on 11 August 1526: "My Katie is in all things so obliging and pleasing to me that I would not exchange my poverty for the riches of [[Croesus]]."<ref>Bainton, Mentor edition, 228; Schaff, [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc7.ii.v.ii.html "Luther's Marriage. 1525."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707101105/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc7.ii.v.ii.html |date=7 July 2017 }}; Brecht, 2: 204.</ref>

===Organising the church: 1525–1529===
[[File:Kirchenordnung Mecklenburg 1650.jpg|thumb|upright|Church orders, Mecklenburg 1650]]
By 1526, Luther found himself increasingly occupied in organising a new church. His biblical ideal of congregations choosing their own ministers had proved unworkable.<ref>MacCulloch, 164.</ref> According to Bainton: "Luther's dilemma was that he wanted both a confessional church based on personal faith and experience and a territorial church including all in a given locality. If he were forced to choose, he would take his stand with the masses, and this was the direction in which he moved."<ref>Bainton, Mentor edition, 243.</ref>

From 1525 to 1529, he established a supervisory church body, laid down a new form of [[Church service|worship service]], and wrote a clear summary of the new faith in the form of two [[Catechism#Lutheran catechisms|catechisms]].<ref name="Schroeder2000">{{cite book|first=Steven|last=Schroeder|title=Between Freedom and Necessity: An Essay on the Place of Value|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfT6aQvkVfAC&pg=PA104|year=2000|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-90-420-1302-5|page=104}}</ref> To avoid confusing or upsetting the people, Luther avoided extreme change. He also did not wish to replace one controlling system with another. He concentrated on the church in the [[Electorate of Saxony]], acting only as an adviser to churches in new territories, many of which followed his Saxon model. He worked closely with the new elector, John the Steadfast, to whom he turned for secular leadership and funds on behalf of a church largely shorn of its assets and income after the break with Rome.<ref>Brecht, 2:260–63, 67; Mullett, 184–86.</ref> For Luther's biographer Martin Brecht, this partnership "was the beginning of a questionable and originally unintended development towards a church government under the temporal sovereign".<ref>Brecht, 2:267; Bainton, Mentor edition, 244.</ref>

The elector authorised a [[Canonical visitation|visitation]] of the church, a power formerly exercised by bishops.<ref>Brecht, 2:267; MacCulloch, 165. On one occasion, Luther referred to the elector as an "emergency bishop" (''Notbischof'').</ref> At times, Luther's practical reforms fell short of his earlier radical pronouncements. For example, the ''Instructions for the Visitors of Parish Pastors in Electoral Saxony'' (1528), drafted by Melanchthon with Luther's approval, stressed the role of repentance in the forgiveness of sins, despite Luther's position that faith alone ensures justification.<ref>Mullett, 186–187; Brecht, 2:264–265, 267.</ref> The [[Eisleben]] reformer [[Johannes Agricola]] challenged this compromise, and Luther condemned him for teaching that faith is separate from works.<ref>Brecht, 2:264–265.</ref> The ''Instruction'' is a problematic document for those seeking a consistent evolution in Luther's thought and practice.<ref>Brecht, 2:268.</ref>

[[File:Luckau Nikolaikirche Abendmahlsbild.jpg|thumb|left|Lutheran church liturgy and sacraments]]
In response to demands for a German [[Christian liturgy|liturgy]], Luther wrote a ''[[Deutsche Messe|German Mass]]'', which he published in early 1526.<ref>Brecht, 2:251–254; Bainton, Mentor edition, 266.</ref> He did not intend it as a replacement for his 1523 adaptation of the Latin Mass but as an alternative for the "simple people", a "public stimulation for people to believe and become Christians."<ref>Brecht, 2:255.</ref> Luther based his order on the Catholic service but omitted language related to a propitiatory sacrifice, and the Mass became a celebration where everyone received the wine as well as the bread (cf. ''[[communion under both kinds]]'').<ref>Mullett, 183; Eric W. Gritsch, ''A History of Lutheranism'', Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-8006-3472-1}}, 37.</ref> He retained the [[Elevation (liturgy)|elevation of the host]] and [[Chalice#Christian|chalice]], while trappings such as the Mass [[vestment]]s, altar, and candles were made optional, allowing freedom of ceremony.<ref>Brecht, 2:256; Mullett, 183.</ref> Some reformers, including followers of [[Huldrych Zwingli]], considered Luther's service too papistic, and modern scholars note the conservatism of his alternative to the Catholic Mass.<ref>Brecht, 2:256; Bainton, Mentor edition, 265–266.</ref> Luther's service, however, included congregational singing of hymns and psalms in German, as well as parts of the liturgy, including Luther's unison setting of the [[Apostles' Creed|Creed]].<ref>Brecht, 2:256; Bainton, Mentor edition, 269–270.</ref> To reach the simple people and the young, Luther incorporated religious instruction into the weekday services in the form of catechism.<ref>Brecht, 2:256–57.</ref> He also provided simplified versions of the baptism and marriage services.<ref>Brecht, 2:258.</ref> The former included the "[[flood prayer]]".<ref name=Birkholz>{{cite web |last1=Birkholz |first1=Mark |title=Luther's Flood Prayer |url=https://lutheranreformation.org/history/luthers-flood-prayer/ |website=Lutheran Reformation |publisher=[[Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod]] |access-date=7 October 2024 |date=3 January 2016}}</ref>

Luther and his colleagues introduced the new order of worship during their visitation of the Electorate of Saxony, which began in 1527.<ref>Brecht, 2:263.</ref> They also assessed the standard of pastoral care and Christian education in the territory. "Merciful God, what misery I have seen," Luther writes, "the common people knowing nothing at all of Christian doctrine ... and unfortunately many pastors are well-nigh unskilled and incapable of teaching."<ref>Mullett, 186. Quoted from Luther's preface to the ''Small Catechism'', 1529; MacCulloch, 165.</ref>

===Catechisms===
[[File:MartinLutherWindow.jpg|thumb|upright|A stained glass portrayal of Luther]]
Luther devised the catechism as a method of imparting the basics of Christianity to the congregations. In 1529, he wrote the [[Luther's Large Catechism|''Large Catechism'']], a manual for pastors and teachers, as well as a synopsis, the [[Luther's Small Catechism|''Small Catechism'']], to be memorised by the people.<ref>Marty, 123.</ref> The catechisms provided easy-to-understand instructional and devotional material on the [[s:Luther's Small Catechism#I. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS,|Ten Commandments]], the [[s:Luther's Small Catechism#II. THE CREED,|Apostles' Creed]], [[s:Luther's Small Catechism#III. THE LORD'S PRAYER,|The Lord's Prayer]], [[s:Luther's Small Catechism#IV. THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISM,|baptism]], and the [[s:Luther's Small Catechism#VI. THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR,|Lord's Supper]].<ref>Brecht, 2:273; Bainton, Mentor edition, 263.</ref> Luther incorporated questions and answers in the catechism so that the basics of Christian faith would not just be [[Rote learning|learned by rote]], "the way monkeys do it", but understood.<ref>Marty, 123; Wilson, 278.</ref>

The catechism is one of Luther's most personal works. "Regarding the plan to collect my writings in volumes," he wrote, "I am quite cool and not at all eager about it because, roused by a Saturnian hunger, I would rather see them all devoured. For I acknowledge none of them to be really a book of mine, except perhaps the ''[[On the Bondage of the Will|Bondage of the Will]]'' and the Catechism."<ref>Luther, Martin. ''Luther's Works''. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971, 50:172–173; Bainton, Mentor edition, 263.</ref> The ''Small Catechism'' has earned a reputation as a model of clear religious teaching.<ref>Brecht, 2:277, 280.</ref> It remains in use today, along with Luther's hymns and his translation of the Bible.

Luther's ''Small Catechism'' proved especially effective in helping parents teach their children; likewise the ''Large Catechism'' was effective for pastors.<ref>See texts at [http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html#sw-hymn English translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716175426/http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html#sw-hymn |date=16 July 2017 }}</ref> Using the German vernacular, they expressed the Apostles' Creed in simpler, more personal, [[Trinity|Trinitarian]] language. He rewrote each article of the Creed to express the character of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. Luther's goal was to enable the [[catechumen]]s to see themselves as a personal object of the work of the three persons of the Trinity, each of which works in the catechumen's life.<ref name="James Arne Nestingen 1996">Charles P. Arand, "Luther on the Creed." ''[[Lutheran Quarterly]]'' 2006 20(1): 1–25. {{ISSN|0024-7499}}; James Arne Nestingen, "Luther's Catechisms" ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation.'' Ed. Hans J. Hillerbrand. (1996)</ref> That is, Luther depicts the Trinity not as a doctrine to be learned, but as persons to be known. Luther's treatment of the Apostles' Creed must be understood in the context of the Decalogue (the [[Ten Commandments]]) and The Lord's Prayer, which are also part of the Lutheran catechetical teaching.<ref name="James Arne Nestingen 1996" />

===Diet of Augsburg and Veste Coburg 1530===
{{Main|Diet of Augsburg}}
[[File:Luther Room at Veste Coburg.jpg|thumb|Martin Luther's room at Veste Coburg]]
Charles V requested the 1530 Imperial Diet to decide on three issues; one of them being the disagreements about Christianity. Since Luther was outlawed and could not personally attend, he stayed at John the Steadfast's fortress [[Veste Coburg]] from 24 April to 4 October 1530 for protection. From here he influenced [[Philipp Melanchthon|Philipp Melanchthon's]] negotiations, including the [[Augsburg Confession]], which was presented to Charles V on 25 June.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bavarikon.de/object/bav:BSB-CMS-0000000000001412?locale=en&p=&lang=en | title=Luther's Lodgings on Coburg Fortress &#124; bavarikon }}</ref> Luther also translated portions of [[Book of Psalms|The Psalms]] and penned over a dozen works.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.luther2017.de/erleben/an-orten/veste-coburg/index.html | title=Veste Coburg: Luther2017 }}</ref>

===Translation of the Old Testament: 1534–1535===
{{Main|Luther Bible}}
[[File:Lutherbibel.jpg|thumb|Luther's 1534 Bible]]
Luther had published his German translation of the New Testament in 1522, and he and his collaborators completed the translation of the Old Testament in 1534, when the whole Bible was published. He continued to work on refining the translation until the end of his life.<ref>Mullett, 145; Lohse, 119.</ref> Others had previously translated the Bible into German, but Luther tailored his translation to his own doctrine.<ref>Mullett, 148–150.</ref>
Two of the earlier translations were the Mentelin Bible (1456)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/18191/ |title=Mentelin Bible |newspaper=The Library of Congress |access-date=2 June 2018|year=1466 }}</ref> and the Koberger Bible (1484).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/18183/ |title=Koberger Bible |website=World Digital Library |access-date=2 June 2018|date=1483 }}</ref> There were as many as fourteen in High German, four in Low German, four in Dutch, and various other translations in other languages before the Bible of Luther.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Journal of Hebrew Scriptures]] |title=The Contested History of a Book: The German Bible of the Later Middle Ages and Reformation in Legend, Ideology, and Scholarship |last=Gow |first=Andrew C. |volume=9 |year=2009 |issn=1203-1542 |doi=10.5508/jhs.2009.v9.a13 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Luther's translation used the variant of German spoken at the Saxon chancellery, intelligible to both northern and southern Germans.<ref>Wilson, 183; Brecht, 2:48–49.</ref> He intended his vigorous, direct language to make the Bible accessible to everyday Germans, "for we are removing impediments and difficulties so that other people may read it without hindrance."<ref>Mullett, 149; Wilson, 302.</ref> Published at a time of rising demand for German-language publications, Luther's version quickly became a popular and influential Bible translation. As such, it contributed a [[Early New High German#Chancery languages|distinct flavor]] to the German language and literature.<ref>Marius, 162.</ref> Furnished with notes and prefaces by Luther, and with woodcuts by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder|Lucas Cranach]] that contained anti-papal imagery, it played a major role in the spread of Luther's doctrine throughout Germany.<ref>Lohse, 112–117; Wilson, 183; Bainton, Mentor edition, 258.</ref> The Luther Bible influenced other vernacular translations, such as the [[Tyndale Bible]], a precursor of the [[King James Version|King James Bible]].<ref>Daniel Weissbort and Astradur Eysteinsson (eds.), ''Translation – Theory and Practice: A Historical Reader'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-19-871200-6}}, 68.</ref>

Luther did not include [[First Epistle of John]],<ref name="Metzger1994">{{Cite book| edition = 2| publisher = Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft| isbn = 978-3-438-06010-5| last = Metzger| first = Bruce M.| title = A textual commentary on the Greek New Testament: a companion volume to the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament (fourth revised edition)| location = Stuttgart| date = 1994| pages = 647–649}}</ref> the [[Johannine Comma]] in his translation, rejecting it as a forgery. It was inserted into the text by others after Luther's death.<ref>{{cite book |last= Criticus |first= (Rev. William Orme)|date= 1830|title= Memoir of The Controversy respecting the Three Heavenly Witnesses, I John V.7 |location= London |publisher= (1872, Boston, "a new edition, with notes and an appendix by Ezra Abbot") |page= 42|author-link= William Orme (minister)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= White|first= Andrew Dickson |date= 1896|title= A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology, Vol. 2 |location= New York|publisher= Appleton|page= 304|author-link= Andrew Dickson White}}</ref>

===Hymnodist===
{{Main|List of hymns by Martin Luther}}
[[File:EinFesteBurg.jpg|thumb|An early printing of Luther's hymn "[[Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott]]"]]
{{listen
|type=music
|filename=Ein' Feste Burg.ogg
|title=Ein feste Burg sung in German
|description=The German text of "Ein feste Burg" ("A Mighty Fortress") sung to the isometric, more widely known arrangement of its traditional melody
}}
Luther was a prolific [[Hymnwriter|hymnodist]], authoring hymns such as "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("[[A Mighty Fortress Is Our God]]") and "[[Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her]]" ("From Heaven Above to Earth I Come").<ref>For a short collection see [http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html#sw-hymn online hymns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716175426/http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html#sw-hymn |date=16 July 2017 }}</ref> Luther connected high art and folk music, also all classes, clergy and laity, men, women and children. His tool of choice for this connection was the singing of German hymns in connection with worship, school, home, and the public arena.<ref name="Christopher Boyd Brown 2005">Christopher Boyd Brown, ''Singing the Gospel: Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the Reformation''. (2005)</ref> He often accompanied the sung hymns with a lute, later recreated as the [[waldzither]] that became a [[List of national instruments (music)|national instrument]] of Germany in the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=23 March 2014|title=Waldzither – Bibliography of the 19th century|publisher=Studia Instrumentorum|url=http://www.studia-instrumentorum.de/MUSEUM/zistern.htm|quote=Es ist eine unbedingte Notwendigkeit, dass der Deutsche zu seinen Liedern auch ein echt deutsches Begleitinstrument besitzt. Wie der Spanier seine Gitarre (fälschlich Laute genannt), der Italiener seine Mandoline, der Engländer das Banjo, der Russe die Balalaika usw. sein Nationalinstrument nennt, so sollte der Deutsche seine Laute, die Waldzither, welche schon von Dr. Martin Luther auf der Wartburg im Thüringer Walde (daher der Name Waldzither) gepflegt wurde, zu seinem Nationalinstrument machen. Liederheft von C.H. Böhm (Hamburg, March 1919)}}</ref>

Luther's hymns were frequently evoked by particular events in his life and the unfolding Reformation. This behavior started with his learning of the execution of [[Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos]], the first individuals to be martyred by the Roman Catholic Church for Lutheran views, prompting Luther to write the hymn "[[Ein neues Lied wir heben an]]" ("A New Song We Raise"), which is generally known in English by John C. Messenger's translation by the title and first line "Flung to the Heedless Winds" and sung to the tune Ibstone composed in 1875 by Maria C. Tiddeman.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/f/l/u/flungtot.htm |journal=Hymntime |title=Flung to the heedless winds |access-date=7 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014171540/http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/f/l/u/flungtot.htm |archive-date=14 October 2013 }}</ref>

Luther's 1524 creedal hymn "{{lang|de|[[Wir glauben all an einen Gott]]|italic=unset}}" ("We All Believe in One True God") is a three-stanza confession of faith prefiguring Luther's 1529 three-part explanation of the Apostles' Creed in the ''Small Catechism''. Luther's hymn, adapted and expanded from an earlier German creedal hymn, gained widespread use in vernacular Lutheran liturgies as early as 1525. Sixteenth-century Lutheran hymnals also included "Wir glauben all" among the catechetical hymns, although 18th-century hymnals tended to label the hymn as Trinitarian rather than catechetical, and 20th-century Lutherans rarely used the hymn because of the perceived difficulty of its tune.<ref name="Christopher Boyd Brown 2005" />

{{multiple image
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| footer            = Autograph of "[[Vater unser im Himmelreich]]", with the only notes extant in Luther's handwriting
}}
Luther's 1538 hymnic version of the [[Lord's Prayer]], "[[Vater unser im Himmelreich]]", corresponds exactly to Luther's explanation of the prayer in the ''Small Catechism''. The hymn functions both as a liturgical setting of the Lord's Prayer and as a means of examining candidates on specific catechism questions. The extant manuscript shows multiple revisions, demonstrating Luther's concern to clarify and strengthen the text and to provide an appropriately prayerful tune. Other 16th- and 20th-century versifications of the Lord's Prayer have adopted Luther's tune, although modern texts are considerably shorter.<ref>Robin A. Leaver, "Luther's Catechism Hymns." ''[[Lutheran Quarterly]]'' 1998 12(1): 79–88, 89–98.</ref>

Luther wrote "[[Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir]]" ("From depths of woe I cry to You") in 1523 as a hymnic version of [[Psalm 130]] and sent it as a sample to encourage his colleagues to write psalm-hymns for use in German worship. In a collaboration with [[Paul Speratus]], this and seven other hymns were published in the ''Achtliederbuch'', the [[first Lutheran hymnal]]. In 1524 Luther developed his original four-stanza psalm paraphrase into a five-stanza Reformation hymn that developed the theme of "grace alone" more fully. Because it expressed essential Reformation doctrine, this expanded version of "Aus tiefer Not" was designated as a regular component of several regional Lutheran liturgies and was widely used at funerals, including Luther's own. Along with [[Erhard Hegenwald|Erhart Hegenwalt's]] hymnic version of [[Psalm 51]], Luther's expanded hymn was also adopted for use with the fifth part of Luther's catechism, concerning confession.<ref>Robin A. Leaver, "Luther's Catechism Hymns: 5. Baptism." ''[[Lutheran Quarterly]]'' 1998 12(2): 160–169, 170–180.</ref>

Luther wrote "[[Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein]]" ("Oh God, look down from heaven"). "[[Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland]]" (Now come, Savior of the gentiles), based on ''[[Veni redemptor gentium]]'', became the main hymn (Hauptlied) for [[Advent]]. He transformed ''A solus ortus cardine'' to "{{lang|de|[[Christum wir sollen loben schon]]|italic=unset}}" ("We should now praise Christ") and ''[[Veni Creator Spiritus]]'' to "{{lang|de|[[Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist]]|italic=unset}}" ("Come, Holy Spirit, Lord God").<ref>Christoph Markschies, Michael Trowitzsch: ''Luther zwischen den Zeiten&nbsp;– Eine Jenaer Ringvorlesung''; Mohr Siebeck, 1999; pp. 215–219 (in German).</ref> He wrote two hymns on the [[s:The Decalogue|Ten Commandments]], "{{lang|de|[[Dies sind die heilgen Zehn Gebot]]|italic=unset}}" and "Mensch, willst du leben seliglich". His "[[Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ]]" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ") became the main hymn for Christmas. He wrote for [[Pentecost]] "[[Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist]]", and adopted for Easter "{{lang|de|[[Christ ist erstanden]]|italic=unset}}" (Christ is risen), based on [[Victimae paschali laudes]]. "{{lang|de|[[Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin]]|italic=unset}}", a paraphrase of [[Nunc dimittis]], was intended for [[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple|Purification]], but became also a funeral hymn. He paraphrased the [[Te Deum]] as "[[Herr Gott, dich loben wir]]" with a simplified form of the melody. It became known as the German Te Deum.

Luther's 1541 hymn "{{lang|de|[[Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam]]|italic=unset}}" ("To Jordan came the Christ our Lord") reflects the structure and substance of his questions and answers concerning baptism in the ''Small Catechism''. Luther adopted a preexisting [[Johann Walter]] tune associated with a hymnic setting of [[Psalm 67]]'s prayer for grace; Wolf Heintz's four-part setting of the hymn was used to introduce the Lutheran Reformation in Halle in 1541. Preachers and composers of the 18th century, including [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J.S. Bach]], used this rich hymn as a subject for their own work, although its objective baptismal theology was displaced by more subjective hymns under the influence of late-19th-century Lutheran [[pietism]].<ref name="Christopher Boyd Brown 2005" />

Luther's hymns were included in early Lutheran hymnals and spread the ideas of the Reformation. He supplied four of eight songs of the First Lutheran hymnal ''Achtliederbuch'', 18 of 26 songs of the ''[[Erfurt Enchiridion]]'', and 24 of the 32 songs in the first choral hymnal with settings by Johann Walter, ''[[Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn]]'', all published in 1524. Luther's hymns inspired composers to write music. [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] included several verses as [[chorale]]s in his [[Bach cantata|cantatas]] and based [[Chorale cantata (Bach)|chorale cantatas]] entirely on them, namely [[BWV 4|''Christ lag in Todes Banden'', BWV 4]], as early as possibly 1707, in his second annual cycle (1724 to 1725) [[BWV 2|''Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein'', BWV 2]], [[BWV 7|''Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam'', BWV 7]], [[BWV 62|''Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland'', BWV 62]], [[BWV 91|''Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ'', BWV 91]], and [[BWV 38|''Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir'', BWV 38]], later [[BWV 80|''Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott'', BWV 80]], and in 1735 [[BWV 14|''Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit'', BWV 14]].

===On the soul after death===
[[File:Epi Michael-Meienburg-1555.jpg|thumb|Luther on the left with [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]] being raised by Jesus from the dead, painting by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], 1558]]
In contrast to the views of [[John Calvin]]<ref>''Psychopannychia'' (the night banquet of the soul), manuscript Orléans 1534, Latin Strasbourg 1542, 2nd.ed. 1545, French, Geneva 1558, English 1581.</ref> and [[Philipp Melanchthon]],<ref>''Liber de Anima'' 1562</ref> throughout his life Luther maintained that it was not false doctrine to believe that a Christian's soul sleeps after it is separated from the body in death.<ref>D. Franz Pieper ''Christliche Dogmatik'', 3 vols., (Saint Louis: CPH, 1920), 3:575: "Hieraus geht sicher so viel hervor, daß die abgeschiedenen Seelen der Gläubigen in einem Zustande des seligen Genießens Gottes sich befinden .... Ein Seelenschlaf, der ein Genießen Gottes einschließt (so Luther), ist nicht als irrige Lehre zu bezeichnen"; English translation: Francis Pieper, ''Christian Dogmatics'', 3 vols., (Saint Louis: CPH, 1953), 3:512: "These texts surely make it evident that the departed souls of the believers are in a state of blessed enjoyment of God .... A sleep of the soul which includes enjoyment of God (says Luther) cannot be called a false doctrine."</ref> Accordingly, he disputed traditional interpretations of some Bible passages, such as the parable of the [[Rich man and Lazarus#Luther: a parable of the conscience|rich man and Lazarus]].<ref>''Sermons of Martin Luther: the House Postils'', Eugene F.A. Klug, ed. and trans., 3 vols., (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1996), 2:240.</ref> This also led Luther to reject the idea of torments for the saints: "It is enough for us to know that souls do not leave their bodies to be threatened by the torments and punishments of hell, but enter a prepared bedchamber in which they sleep in peace."<ref>Weimarer Ausgabe 43, 360, 21–23 (to Genesis 25:7–10): also Exegetica opera latina Vol 5–6 1833 p. 120 and the English translation: ''Luther's Works'', American Edition, 55 vols. (St. Louis: CPH), 4:313; "Sufficit igitur nobis haec cognitio, non egredi animas ex corporibus in periculum cruciatum et paenarum inferni, sed esse eis paratum cubiculum, in quo dormiant in pace."</ref> He also rejected the existence of [[purgatory]], which involved Christian souls undergoing penitential suffering after death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bookofconcord.org/smalcald.php#part2.2.12|title=Smalcald Articles, Part II, Article II, paragraph 12|publisher=Bookofconcord.org|access-date=15 August 2012|archive-date=10 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210703/http://bookofconcord.org/smalcald.php#part2.2.12|url-status=dead}}</ref> He affirmed the continuity of one's personal identity beyond death. In his [[Smalcald Articles]], he described the saints as currently residing "in their graves and in heaven."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bookofconcord.org/smalcald.php#part2.2.28|title=Smalcald Articles, Part II, Article II, paragraph 28|publisher=Bookofconcord.org|access-date=15 August 2012|archive-date=10 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210703/http://bookofconcord.org/smalcald.php#part2.2.28|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Lutheran theologian [[Franz Pieper]] observes that Luther's teaching about the state of the Christian's soul after death differed from the later Lutheran theologians such as [[Johann Gerhard]].<ref>Gerhard ''Loci Theologici, Locus de Morte'', § 293 ff. Pieper writes: "Luther speaks more guardedly of the state of the soul between death and resurrection than do Gerhard and the later theologians, who transfer some things to the state between death and resurrection which can be said with certainty only of the state after the resurrection" (''Christian Dogmatics'', 3:512, footnote 21).</ref> [[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing|Lessing]] (1755) had earlier reached the same conclusion in his analysis of [[Lutheran orthodoxy]] on this issue.<ref>Article in the ''Berlinischer Zeitung'' 1755 in Complete Works ed. Karl Friedrich Theodor Lachmann&nbsp;– 1838 p. 59 "Was die Gegner auf alle diese Stellen antworten werden, ist leicht zu errathen. Sie werden sagen, daß Luther mit dem Worte Schlaf gar die Begriffe nicht verbinde, welche Herr R. damit verbindet. Wenn Luther sage, daß die Seele IS nach dem Tode schlafe, so denke er nichts mehr dabey, als was alle Leute denken, wenn sie den Tod des Schlafes Bruder nennen. Tode ruhe, leugneten auch die nicht, welche ihr Wachen behaupteten :c. Ueberhaupt ist mit Luthers Ansehen bey der ganzen Streitigkeit nichts zu gewinnen."</ref>

Luther's ''Commentary on Genesis'' contains a passage which concludes that "the soul does not sleep (''anima non sic dormit''), but wakes (''sed vigilat'') and experiences visions".<ref>Exegetica opera Latina, Volumes 5–6 Martin Luther, ed. Christopf Stephan Elsperger (Gottlieb) p. 120 "Differunt tamen somnus sive quies hujus vitae et futurae. Homo enim in hac vita defatigatus diurno labore, sub noctem intrat in cubiculum suum tanquam in pace, ut ibi dormiat, et ea nocte fruitur quiete, neque quicquam scit de ullo malo sive incendii, sive caedis. Anima autem non sic dormit, sed vigilat, et patitur visiones loquelas Angelorum et Dei. Ideo somnus in futura vita profundior est quam in hac vita et tamen anima coram Deo vivit. Hac similitudine, quam habeo a somno viventia." (Commentary on Genesis&nbsp;– ''Enarrationes in Genesin'', XXV, 1535–1545)"</ref> [[Francis Blackburne (priest)|Francis Blackburne]] argues that [[John Jortin]] misread this and other passages from Luther,<ref>Blackburne ''A short historical view of the controversy concerning an intermediate state'' (1765) p. 121</ref> while [[Gottfried Fritschel]] points out that it actually refers to the soul of a man "in this life" (''homo enim in hac vita'') tired from his daily labour (''defatigus diurno labore'') who at night enters his bedchamber (''sub noctem intrat in cubiculum suum'') and whose sleep is interrupted by dreams.<ref>[[Gottfried Fritschel]]. ''Zeitschrift für die gesammte lutherische Theologie und Kirche'' p. 657 "Denn dass Luther mit den Worten "anima non sic dormit, sed vigilat et patitur visiones, loquelas Angelorum et Dei" nicht dasjenige leugnen will, was er an allen andern Stellen seiner Schriften vortragt"</ref>

Henry Eyster Jacobs' English translation from 1898 reads:
:"Nevertheless, the sleep of this life and that of the future life differ; for '''in this life''', man, fatigued by his daily labour, at nightfall goes to his couch, as in peace, to sleep there, and enjoys rest; nor does he know anything of evil, whether of fire or of murder."<ref>Henry Eyster Jacobs ''Martin Luther the Hero of the Reformation 1483 to 1546'' (1898). Emphasis added.</ref>

===Sacramentarian controversy and the Marburg Colloquy===
{{See also|The Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ—Against the Fanatics}}
[[File:Religionsgespräch zu Marburg 1529 August Noack.jpg|thumb|''The Marburg Colloquy'', by August Noack]]
In October 1529, [[Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse]], convoked an assembly of German and Swiss theologians at the [[Marburg Colloquy]], to establish doctrinal unity in the emerging Protestant states.<ref>Mullett, 194–195.</ref> Agreement was achieved on fourteen points out of fifteen, the exception being the nature of the [[Eucharist]], the [[sacrament]] of the Lord's Supper, an issue crucial to Luther.<ref>Brecht, 2:325–334; Mullett, 197.</ref> The theologians, including Zwingli, Melanchthon, [[Martin Bucer]], and [[Johannes Oecolampadius]], differed on the significance of the words spoken by Jesus at the [[Last Supper]]: "This is my body which is for you" and "This cup is the new covenant in my blood" ([[1 Corinthians 11]]:23–26).<ref>Wilson, 259.</ref> Luther insisted on the [[Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist|Real presence]] of the body and blood of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine, which he called the [[sacramental union]],<ref>''[[Weimar Ausgabe]]'' 26, 442; ''Luther's Works'' 37, 299–300.</ref> while his opponents believed God to be only spiritually or symbolically present.<ref>Oberman, 237.</ref>

Zwingli, for example, denied Jesus' ability to be in more than one place at a time. Luther stressed the [[omnipresence]] of Jesus' human nature.<ref>Marty, 140–141; Lohse, 74–75.</ref> According to transcripts, the debate sometimes became confrontational. Citing Jesus' words "The flesh profiteth nothing" ([[Gospel of John|John]] 6.63), Zwingli said, "This passage breaks your neck". "Don't be too proud," Luther retorted, "German necks don't break that easily. This is Hesse, not Switzerland."<ref>Quoted by Oberman, 237.</ref> On his table Luther wrote the words "''Hoc est corpus meum''" ("This is my body") in chalk, to continually indicate his firm stance.<ref>Brecht 2:329.</ref>

Despite the disagreements on the Eucharist, the Marburg Colloquy paved the way for the signing in 1530 of the [[Augsburg Confession]], and for the formation of the [[Schmalkaldic League]] the following year by leading Protestant nobles such as [[John, Elector of Saxony|John of Saxony]], Philip of Hesse, and [[George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach]]. The Swiss cities, however, did not sign these agreements.<ref>Oberman, 238.</ref>

===Epistemology of faith and reason===
Some scholars have asserted that Luther taught that faith and reason were antithetical in the sense that questions of faith could not be illuminated by reason. He wrote, "All the articles of our Christian faith, which God has revealed to us in His Word, are in presence of reason sheerly impossible, absurd, and false."<ref>Martin Luther, ''Werke, VIII''</ref> and "[That] Reason in no way contributes to faith. [...] For reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things."<ref>Martin Luther, ''Table Talk''.</ref> However, though seemingly contradictorily, he also wrote in the latter work that human reason "strives not against faith, when enlightened, but rather furthers and advances it",<ref>Martin Luther, "On Justification CCXCIV", ''Table Talk''</ref> bringing claims he was a [[Fideism#Luther|fideist]] into dispute. Contemporary Lutheran scholarship, however, has found a different reality in Luther. Luther rather seeks to separate [[Faith and rationality#Lutheran epistemology|faith and reason]] in order to honor the separate spheres of knowledge that each applies to.

===On Islam===
{{Further|Protestantism and Islam}}
[[File:OsmanenDeutscheKavallerie-1-.jpg|thumb|The 16th-century battle between the Turks and the Christians]]
At the time of the Marburg Colloquy, [[Suleiman the Magnificent#Conquests in Europe|Suleiman the Magnificent]] was [[Siege of Vienna (1529)|besieging Vienna]] with a vast [[Classical Age of the Ottoman Empire#1520–1566: Suleiman the Magnificent|Ottoman]] army.<ref>Mallett, 198; Marius, 220. The siege was lifted on 14 October 1529, which Luther saw as a divine miracle.</ref> Luther had argued against resisting the Turks in his 1518 ''Explanation of the Ninety-five Theses'', provoking accusations of defeatism. He saw the Turks as a [[Scourge#Metaphoric use|scourge]] sent by God to punish Christians, as agents of the biblical [[Apocalypse#End of the age|apocalypse]] that would destroy the [[Antichrist#Protestant Reformation|Antichrist]], whom Luther believed to be the papacy and the Roman Church.<ref>Andrew Cunningham, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hLxDnAMaUgQC&pg=PA141 ''The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Religion, War, Famine and Death in Reformation Europe''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122074525/https://books.google.com/books?id=hLxDnAMaUgQC&pg=PA141 |date=22 November 2022 }}, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, {{ISBN|0-521-46701-2}}, 141; Mullett, 239–240; Marty, 164.</ref> He consistently rejected the idea of a [[European wars of religion#Schmalkaldic Wars and other early conflicts|Holy War]], "as though our people were an army of Christians against the Turks, who were enemies of Christ. This is absolutely contrary to Christ's doctrine and name".<ref>From ''[[On War against the Turk]]'', 1529, quoted in William P. Brown, [https://books.google.com/books?id=87hQ2AjcttEC&pg=PA258 ''The Ten Commandments: The Reciprocity of Faithfulness''], Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-664-22323-0}}, 258; Lohse, 61; Marty, 166.</ref> On the other hand, in keeping with his [[Two kingdoms doctrine#In Lutheran theology|doctrine of the two kingdoms]], Luther did support non-religious war against the Turks.<ref>Marty, 166; Marius, 219; Brecht, 2:365, 368.</ref> In 1526, he argued in ''Whether Soldiers can be in a State of Grace'' that national defence is reason for a just war.<ref>Mullett, 238–239; Lohse, 59–61.</ref> By 1529, in ''[[On War against the Turk]]'', he was actively urging Emperor Charles&nbsp;V and the German people to fight a secular war against the Turks.<ref>Brecht, 2:364.</ref>
He made clear, however, that the spiritual war against an alien faith was separate, to be waged through prayer and repentance.<ref>Wilson, 257; Brecht, 2:364–365.</ref> Around the time of the Siege of Vienna, Luther wrote a prayer for national deliverance from the Turks, asking God to "give to our emperor perpetual victory over our enemies".<ref>Brecht, 2:365; Mullett, 239.</ref>

In 1542, Luther read a Latin translation of the [[Quran translations#Latin|Qur'an]].<ref>Brecht, 3:354.</ref> He went on to produce several critical pamphlets on [[Islam]], which he called "Mohammedanism" or "the Turk".<ref>Daniel Goffman, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3uJzjatjTL4C&pg=PA109 ''The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122074511/https://books.google.com/books?id=3uJzjatjTL4C&pg=PA109 |date=22 November 2022 }}, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-521-45908-7}}, 109; Mullett, 241; Marty, 163.</ref> Though Luther saw the Muslim religion as a tool of the devil, he was indifferent to its practice: "Let the Turk believe and live as he will, just as one lets the papacy and other false Christians live."<ref>From ''On war against the Turk'', 1529, quoted in Roland E. Miller, [https://books.google.com/books?id=BjC7K1j_AT8C&pg=PA208 ''Muslims and the Gospel''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122074516/https://books.google.com/books?id=BjC7K1j_AT8C&pg=PA208 |date=22 November 2022 }}, Minneapolis: Kirk House Publishers, 2006, {{ISBN|1-932688-07-2}}, 208.</ref> He opposed banning the publication of the Qur'an, wanting it exposed to scrutiny.<ref>Brecht, 3:355.</ref>

===Antinomian controversy===
[[File:LutherPulpit.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Pulpit of St Andreas Church, [[Eisleben]], where [[Johannes Agricola]] and Luther preached]]
Early in 1537, [[Johannes Agricola]]—serving at the time as pastor in Luther's birthplace, Eisleben—preached a sermon in which he claimed that God's gospel, not God's moral law (the Ten Commandments), revealed God's wrath to Christians. Based on this sermon and others by Agricola, Luther suspected that Agricola was behind certain anonymous [[Antinomianism|antinomian]] theses circulating in Wittenberg. These theses asserted that the law is no longer to be taught to Christians but belonged only to city hall.<ref>Cf. Luther, ''Only the Decalogue Is Eternal: Martin Luther's Complete Antinomian Theses and Disputations,'' ed. and tr. H. Sonntag, Minneapolis: Lutheran Press, 2008, 23–27. {{ISBN|978-0-9748529-6-6}}</ref> Luther responded to these theses with six series of theses against Agricola and the antinomians, four of which became the basis for [[disputation]]s between 1538 and 1540.<ref>Cf. Luther, ''Only the Decalogue Is Eternal: Martin Luther's Complete Antinomian Theses and Disputations,'' ed. and tr. H. Sonntag, Minneapolis: Lutheran Press, 2008, 11–15. {{ISBN|978-0-9748529-6-6}}</ref> He also responded to these assertions in other writings, such as his 1539 [[open letter]] to C. Güttel ''Against the Antinomians'',<ref>Cf. ''Luther's Works'' 47:107–119. There he writes: "Dear God, should it be unbearable that the holy church confesses itself a sinner, believes in the forgiveness of sins, and asks for remission of sin in the Lord's Prayer? How can one know what sin is without the law and conscience? And how will we learn what Christ is, what he did for us, if we do not know what the law is that he fulfilled for us and what sin is, for which he made satisfaction?" (112–113).</ref> and his book ''On the Councils and the Church'' from the same year.<ref>Cf. ''Luther's Works'' 41, 113–114, 143–144, 146–147. There he said about the antinomians: "They may be fine Easter preachers, but they are very poor Pentecost preachers, for they do not preach ''de sanctificatione et vivificatione Spiritus Sancti'', "about the sanctification by the Holy Spirit," but solely about the redemption of Jesus Christ" (114). "Having rejected and being unable to understand the Ten Commandments, ... they see and yet they let the people go on in their public sins, without any renewal or reformation of their lives" (147).</ref>

In his theses and disputations against the antinomians, Luther reviews and reaffirms, on the one hand, what has been called the "second use of the law," that is, the law as the Holy Spirit's tool to work sorrow over sin in man's heart, thus preparing him for Christ's fulfillment of the law offered in the gospel.<ref>Cf. Luther, ''Only the Decalogue Is Eternal,'' 33–36.</ref> Luther states that everything that is used to work sorrow over sin is called the law, even if it is Christ's life, Christ's death for sin, or God's goodness experienced in creation.<ref>Cf. Luther, ''Only the Decalogue Is Eternal'', 170–172</ref> Simply refusing to preach the Ten Commandments among Christians—thereby, as it were, removing the three letters l-a-w from the church—does not eliminate the accusing law.<ref>Cf. Luther, ''Only the Decalogue Is Eternal'', 76, 105–107.</ref> Claiming that the law—in any form—should not be preached to Christians anymore would be tantamount to asserting that Christians are no longer sinners in themselves and that the church consists only of essentially holy people.<ref>Cf. Luther, ''Only the Decalogue Is Eternal'', 140, 157.</ref>

Luther also points out that the Ten Commandments—when considered not as God's condemning judgment but as an expression of his eternal will, that is, of the natural law—positively teach how the Christian ought to live.<ref>Cf. Luther, ''Only the Decalogue Is Eternal'', 75, 104–105, 172–173.</ref> This has traditionally been called the "third use of the law."<ref>The "first use of the law," accordingly, would be the law used as an external means of order and coercion in the political realm by means of bodily rewards and punishments.</ref> For Luther, also Christ's life, when understood as an example, is nothing more than an illustration of the Ten Commandments, which a Christian should follow in his or her [[vocation]]s on a daily basis.<ref>Cf. Luther, ''Only the Decalogue Is Eternal'', 110.</ref>

===Bigamy of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse: 1539–1540===
From December 1539, Luther became involved in the designs of [[Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse#Bigamous marriage|Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse]] to marry a lady-in-waiting of his wife, [[Christine of Saxony]]. Philip solicited the approval of Luther, Melanchthon, and Bucer, citing as a precedent the [[Polygamy in Christianity|polygamy of the patriarchs]]. The theologians were not prepared to make a general ruling, and they reluctantly advised the [[landgrave]] that if he was determined, he should marry secretly and keep quiet about the matter because divorce was worse than [[bigamy]].<ref>Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3: 206. For a more extensive list of quotes from Luther on the topic of polygamy, see page 11 and following of [https://www.cuw.edu/academics/schools/arts-and-sciences/_assets/theological-journal/v3i1-Fall_2015.pdf Luther's Authentic Voice on Polygamy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120194507/https://www.cuw.edu/academics/schools/arts-and-sciences/_assets/theological-journal/v3i1-Fall_2015.pdf |date=20 January 2019 }} Nathan R. Jastram, Concordia Theological Journal, Fall 2015/Spring 2016, Volume 3</ref> As a result, on 4 March 1540, Philip married a second wife, [[Margarethe von der Saale]], with Melanchthon and Bucer among the witnesses. Philip's sister [[Elisabeth of Hesse, Hereditary Princess of Saxony|Elisabeth]] quickly made the scandal public, and Philip threatened to expose Luther's advice. Luther told him to "tell a good, strong lie" and deny the marriage completely, which Philip did.<ref>Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:212.</ref> Margarethe gave birth to nine children over a span of 17 years, giving Philip a total of 19 children. In the view of Luther's biographer [[Martin Brecht]], "giving confessional advice for Philip of Hesse was one of the worst mistakes Luther made, and, next to the landgrave himself, who was directly responsible for it, history chiefly holds Luther accountable".<ref>Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:214.</ref> Brecht argues that Luther's mistake was not that he gave private pastoral advice, but that he miscalculated the political implications.<ref>Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:205–215.</ref> The affair caused lasting damage to Luther's reputation.<ref>Oberman, Heiko, ''Luther: Man Between God and the Devil'', New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006, 294.</ref>

===Anti-Jewish polemics and antisemitism: 1543–1544===
{{Main|Martin Luther and antisemitism}}
{{see also|Christianity and antisemitism}}
[[File:1543 On the Jews and Their Lies by Martin Luther.jpg|thumb|upright|The original title page of ''[[On the Jews and Their Lies]]'', written by Martin Luther in 1543]]
Although Luther rarely encountered Jews, he wrote negatively about them throughout his career,<ref name=":2">Michael, Robert. ''Holy Hatred: Christianity, Antisemitism, and the Holocaust''. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, 109; Mullett, 242.</ref> and his attitudes reflected a theological and cultural tradition which saw Jews as a rejected people guilty of the murder of Christ, and he lived in a locality which had expelled Jews roughly 90 years earlier.<ref>Edwards, Mark. ''Luther's Last Battles''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983, 121.</ref> He considered the Jews blasphemers and liars because they rejected the divinity of Jesus.<ref>[[Martin Brecht|Brecht]], 3:341–343; Mullett, 241; Marty, 172.</ref> In 1523, Luther advised kindness toward the Jews in ''That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew'' and also aimed to convert them to Christianity.<ref>Brecht, 3:334; Marty, 169; Marius, 235.</ref> When his efforts at conversion failed, he grew increasingly bitter toward them.<ref>Noble, Graham. "Martin Luther and German anti-Semitism," ''History Review'' (2002) No. 42:1–2; Mullett, 246.</ref>

Luther's major works on the Jews were his 60,000-word treatise ''Von den Juden und Ihren Lügen'' (''[[On the Jews and Their Lies]]''), and ''Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi'' (''[[Vom Schem Hamphoras|On the Holy Name and the Lineage of Christ]]''), both published in 1543, three years before his death.<ref>Brecht, 3:341–347.</ref> Luther argued that the Jews were no longer the chosen people but "the devil's people", and referred to them with violent language.<ref>Luther, ''On the Jews and their Lies'', quoted in Michael, 112.</ref><ref>Luther, ''Vom Schem Hamphoras'', quoted in Michael, 113.</ref> Citing Deuteronomy 13, wherein [[Moses]] commands the killing of idolaters and the burning of their cities and property as an offering to God, Luther called for a "''scharfe Barmherzigkeit''" ("sharp mercy") against the Jews "to see whether we might save at least a few from the glowing flames."<ref name=gritsch8687>Gritsch, Eric W. (2012). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tZzH7ZZM-94C&pg=PA86 Martin Luther's Anti-Semitism: Against His Better Judgment]''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]]. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-6676-9}}. pp. 86–87.</ref> Luther advocated setting [[synagogue]]s on fire, destroying Jewish [[Siddur|prayerbooks]], forbidding [[rabbi]]s from preaching, seizing Jews' property and money, and smashing up their homes, so that these "envenomed worms" would be forced into labour or expelled "for all time".<ref name=":0">Luther, ''On the Jews and Their Lies'', ''Luthers Werke''. 47:268–271.</ref> In [[Robert Michael (historian)|Robert Michael]]'s view, Luther's words "We are at fault in not slaying them" amounted to a sanction for murder.<ref>Luther, ''On the Jews and Their Lies'', quoted in Robert Michael, "Luther, Luther Scholars, and the Jews," ''Encounter'' 46 (Autumn 1985) No. 4:343–344.</ref> "God's anger with them is so intense," Luther concluded, "that gentle mercy will only tend to make them worse, while sharp mercy will reform them but little. Therefore, in any case, away with them!"<ref name=gritsch8687/>

Luther launched a polemic against vagrants in his 1528 preface to ''[[Liber Vagatorum]]'', saying that the Jews had contributed Hebrew words as a main basis of the ''[[Rotwelsch]]'' [[cryptolect]]. He warned in the admonitory preface Christians not to give them alms as it was, in his opinion, to forsake the truly poor.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Dialects of the Yiddish Language: Winter Studies in Yiddish, Volume 2. Papers from the Second Annual Oxford Winter Symposium in Yiddish Language and Literature, 14–16 December 1986 |chapter=Chapter 9. Early Yiddish in Non-Jewish Books |publisher=[[Pergamon Press]] |year=1988 |isbn=978-0080365640 |last=Rosenfeld |first=Moshe N. |oclc=17727332 |editor-first=Dovid |editor-last=Katz |editor-link=Dovid Katz |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSyLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |access-date=22 February 2023 |via=Google Books |page=99 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Small Dictionaries and Curiosity: Lexicography and Fieldwork in Post-medieval Europe |chapter=Chapter 5. first curiosity-driven wordlists: Rotwelsch |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0198785019 |last=Considine |first=John P. |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/9269 |url-access=registration |oclc=955312844 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmLODQAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198785019.001.0001 |access-date=22 February 2023 |via=Google Books |page=37 }}</ref>

Luther spoke out against the Jews in Saxony, Brandenburg, and Silesia.<ref name="Michael:Josel/Strasbourg">Michael, 117.</ref> [[Josel of Rosheim]], the Jewish spokesman who tried to help the Jews of Saxony in 1537, later blamed their plight on "that priest whose name was Martin Luther—may his body and soul be bound up in hell!—who wrote and issued many heretical books in which he said that whoever would help the Jews was doomed to perdition."<ref>Quoted by Michael, 110.</ref> Josel asked the city of Strasbourg to forbid the sale of Luther's anti-Jewish works: they refused initially but did so when a Lutheran pastor in [[Hochfelden, Bas-Rhin|Hochfelden]] used a sermon to urge his parishioners to murder Jews.<ref name="Michael:Josel/Strasbourg" /> Luther's influence persisted after his death. Throughout the 1580s, riots led to the expulsion of Jews from several German Lutheran states.<ref>Michael, 117–118.</ref>

[[Tovia Singer]], an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] rabbi, remarking about Luther's attitude toward Jews, put it thus: "Among all the Church Fathers and Reformers, there was no mouth more vile, no tongue that uttered more vulgar curses against the Children of Israel than this founder of the Reformation."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Singer |first1=Tovia |title=A Closer Look at the "Crucifixion Psalm" |url=https://outreachjudaism.org/crucifixion-psalm/ |website=Outreach Judaism |date=30 April 2014 |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref>

=== Final years, illness and death ===
[[File:DHM - Luther auf Totenbett.jpg|thumb|upright|Luther on his deathbed, a portrait by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]]
[[File:Martin Luther's grave, Schlosskirche, Wittenburg.jpg|thumb|Luther's grave in [[Schlosskirche, Wittenberg]]]]
Luther had been suffering from ill health for years, including [[Ménière's disease]], [[vertigo]], fainting, [[tinnitus]], and a [[cataract]] in one eye.<ref name="pmid9019884">{{cite journal |author=Iversen OH |title=Martin Luther's somatic diseases. A short life-history 450 years after his death |language=no |journal=[[Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association|Tidsskr. Nor. Legeforen.]] |volume=116 |issue=30 |pages=3643–3646 |year=1996 |pmid=9019884 }}</ref> From 1531 to 1546, his health deteriorated further. In 1536, he began to suffer from [[Kidney stone disease|kidney and bladder stones]], [[arthritis]], and an ear infection which ruptured an ear drum. In December 1544, he began to feel the effects of [[angina]].<ref>Edwards, 9.</ref>

His poor physical health made him short-tempered and even harsher in his writings and comments. His wife Katharina was overheard saying, "Dear husband, you are too rude," and he responded, "They are teaching me to be rude."<ref>Spitz, 354.</ref> In 1545 and 1546 Luther preached three times in the [[Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen|Market Church]] in Halle, staying with his friend Justus Jonas during Christmas.<ref>[http://www.buergerstiftung-halle.de/bildung-im-voruebergehen/luther/ Die Beziehungen des Reformators Martin Luther zu Halle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707161754/https://www.buergerstiftung-halle.de/bildung-im-voruebergehen/luther/ |date=7 July 2017 }} buergerstiftung-halle.de {{in lang|de}}</ref>

His last sermon was delivered at Eisleben, his place of birth, on 15 February 1546, three days before his death.<ref>Luther, Martin. Sermon No. 8, "Predigt über Mat. 11:25, Eisleben gehalten," 15 February 1546, ''Luthers Werke'', Weimar 1914, 51:196–197.</ref> It was "entirely devoted to the obdurate Jews, whom it was a matter of great urgency to expel from all German territory," according to [[Léon Poliakov]].<ref>[[Léon Poliakov|Poliakov, Léon]]. ''From the Time of Christ to the Court Jews'', Vanguard Press, p. 220.</ref> James Mackinnon writes that it concluded with a "fiery summons to drive the Jews bag and baggage from their midst, unless they desisted from their calumny and their usury and became Christians."<ref>Mackinnon, James. ''Luther and the Reformation''. Vol. IV, (New York): Russell & Russell, 1962, p. 204.</ref> Luther said, "we want to practice Christian love toward them and pray that they convert," but also that they are "our public enemies&nbsp;... and if they could kill us all, they would gladly do so. And so often they do."<ref>Luther, Martin. ''Admonition against the Jews'', added to his final sermon, cited in [[Oberman, Heiko]]. ''Luther: Man Between God and the Devil'', New York: Image Books, 1989, p. 294. A complete translation of Luther's ''Admonition'' can be found in Wikisource. [[s:Warning Against the Jews (1546)]]</ref>

Luther's final journey, to Mansfeld, was taken because of his concern for his siblings' families continuing in their father Hans Luther's copper mining trade. Their livelihood was threatened by Count Albrecht of Mansfeld bringing the industry under his own control. The controversy that ensued involved all four Mansfeld counts: Albrecht, Philip, John George, and Gerhard. Luther journeyed to Mansfeld twice in late 1545 to participate in the negotiations for a settlement, and a third visit was needed in early 1546 for their completion.

The negotiations were successfully concluded on 17 February 1546. After 8&nbsp;p.m., he experienced chest pains. When he went to his bed, he prayed, "Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God" (Ps. 31:5), the common prayer of the dying. At 1&nbsp;a.m. on 18 February, he awoke with more chest pain and was warmed with hot towels. He thanked God for revealing his Son to him in whom he had believed. His companions, Justus Jonas and Michael Coelius, shouted loudly, "Reverend father, are you ready to die trusting in your Lord Jesus Christ and to confess the doctrine which you have taught in his name?" A distinct "Yes" was Luther's reply.<ref name=Reeves60>Reeves, Michael. "The Unquenchable Flame". Nottingham: IVP, 2009, p. 60.</ref>

An apoplectic stroke deprived him of his speech, and he died shortly afterwards at 2:45&nbsp;a.m. on 18 February 1546, aged 62, in Eisleben, the city of his birth. He was buried in the [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg|Schlosskirche]] in Wittenberg, in front of the pulpit.<ref>[[Brecht, Martin]]. ''Martin Luther''. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:369–379.</ref> The funeral was held by his friends [[Johannes Bugenhagen]] and Philipp Melanchthon.<ref name=MacKim19>{{cite book|last=McKim|first=Donald K.|title=The Cambridge companion to Martin Luther|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2003|series=Cambridge companions to religion|isbn=978-0-521-01673-5|page=19}}</ref> A year later, troops of Luther's adversary Charles&nbsp;V, Holy Roman Emperor entered the town but were ordered by Charles not to disturb the grave.<ref name=MacKim19/>

A piece of paper was later found on which Luther had written his last statement. The statement was in Latin, apart from "We are beggars," which was in German. The statement reads:

<blockquote><poem># No one can understand [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Bucolics]]'' unless he has been a shepherd for five years. No one can understand Virgil's ''[[Georgics]]'', unless he has been a farmer for five years.
# No one can understand [[Cicero's Letters|Cicero's ''Letters'']] (or so I teach), unless he has busied himself in the affairs of some prominent state for twenty years.
# Know that no one can have indulged in the Holy Writers sufficiently, unless he has governed churches for a hundred years with the prophets, such as [[Elijah]] and [[Elisha]], [[John the Baptist]], Christ and the apostles.

Do not assail this divine [[Aeneid]]; nay, rather prostrate revere the ground that it treads.

We are beggars: this is true.<ref>Kellermann, James A. (translator) [http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/beggars.txt "The Last Written Words of Luther: Holy Ponderings of the Reverend Father Doctor Martin Luther"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004132238/http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/beggars.txt |date=4 October 2017 }}. 16 February 1546.</ref><ref>Original German and Latin of Luther's last written words is: "Wir sein pettler. Hoc est verum." {{interlanguage link|Heinrich Bornkamm|de}}, ''Luther's World of Thought'', tr. Martin H. Bertram (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 291.</ref></poem></blockquote>

<gallery>
File:Luthers Sterbehaus Eisleben.jpg|[[Martin Luther's Death House]], considered the site of Luther's death since 1726. However, the building where Luther actually died (at Markt 56, now the site of Hotel Graf von Mansfeld) was torn down in 1570.<ref>''Dorfpredigten: Biblische Einsichten aus Deutschlands 'wildem Süden'. Ausgewählte Predigten aus den Jahren 1998 bis 2007'' Teil II 2002–2007 by Thomas O.H. Kaiser, p. 354</ref>
File:Luther death-hand mask.jpg|Casts of Luther's face and hands at his death, in the Market Church in Halle<ref>[http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_new=26979&int_sec=2 Martin Luther's Death Mask on View at Museum in Halle, Germany] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529060226/http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_new=26979&int_sec=2 |date=29 May 2013 }} artdaily.com</ref>
File:Schlosskirche (Wittenberg).jpg|''[[Castle Church in Wittenberg|Schlosskirche]]'' in Wittenberg, where Luther posted his ''Ninety-five Theses'', is also his gravesite.
File:Luthertombstoneunderaltar.jpg|Luther's tombstone beneath the pulpit in the [[Castle Church in Wittenberg]]
File:Luthergrab-WB.jpg|Close-up of the grave with inscription in Latin
</gallery>

== Posthumous influence within Nazism ==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-60015-0002, Dresden, Denkmal Martin Luther, Frauenkirche, Ruine.jpg|thumb|The statue outside the [[Frauenkirche, Dresden|Frauenkirche]] in [[Dresden]] after the [[Bombing of Dresden in World War II|bombing of the city in World War II]]]]
Luther was the most widely read author of his generation, and within Germany he acquired the status of a prophet.<ref>Gritsch, 113–114; Michael, 117.</ref> According to the prevailing opinion among historians,<ref name=Wallman1 /> his anti-Jewish rhetoric contributed significantly to the development of antisemitism in Germany,<ref name=":1">Berger, Ronald. ''Fathoming the Holocaust: A Social Problems Approach'' (New York: Aldine De Gruyter, 2002), 28; [[Paul Johnson (writer)|Johnson, Paul]]. ''A History of the Jews'' (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1987), 242; [[William Shirer|Shirer, William]]. ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960).</ref> and in the 1930s and 1940s provided an "ideal underpinning" for the Nazis' attacks on Jews.<ref name="Grunberger1971" /> Reinhold Lewin writes that anybody who "wrote against the Jews for whatever reason believed he had the right to justify himself by triumphantly referring to Luther." According to Michael, just about every anti-Jewish book printed in [[Nazi Germany]] contained references to and quotations from Luther. [[Heinrich Himmler]] (albeit never a Lutheran, having been brought up Catholic) wrote admiringly of his writings and sermons on the Jews in 1940.<ref>Himmler wrote: "what Luther said and wrote about the Jews. No judgment could be sharper."</ref> The city of [[Nuremberg]] presented a first edition of ''On the Jews and their Lies'' to [[Julius Streicher]], editor of the Nazi newspaper ''[[Der Stürmer]]'', on his birthday in 1937; the newspaper described it as the most radically antisemitic tract ever published.<ref>[[Marc H. Ellis|Ellis, Marc H]]. [http://www3.baylor.edu/American_Jewish/everythingthatusedtobehere/resources/PowerPoints/Christian%20Anti-Semitism%20(part%202).ppt Hitler and the Holocaust, Christian Anti-Semitism"]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710100514/http://www3.baylor.edu/American_Jewish/everythingthatusedtobehere/resources/PowerPoints/Christian%20Anti-Semitism%20%28part%202%29.ppt |date=10 July 2007 }}, (NP: Baylor University Center for American and Jewish Studies, Spring 2004), Slide 14. {{cite web|url=http://www3.baylor.edu/American_Jewish/everythingthatusedtobehere/resources/hh.htm |title=Hitler and the Holocaust|publisher=Baylor University|access-date=22 April 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422212116/http://www3.baylor.edu/American_Jewish/everythingthatusedtobehere/resources/hh.htm |archive-date=22 April 2006}}.</ref> It was publicly exhibited in a glass case at the [[Nuremberg Rally|Nuremberg rallies]] and quoted in a 54-page explanation of the Aryan Law by E.H. Schulz and R. Frercks.<ref>See Noble, Graham. "Martin Luther and German anti-Semitism," ''History Review'' (2002) No. 42:1–2.</ref>

On 17 December 1941, seven Protestant regional church confederations issued a statement agreeing with the policy of forcing Jews to wear the [[yellow badge]], "since after his bitter experience Luther had already suggested preventive measures against the Jews and their expulsion from German territory." According to [[Daniel Goldhagen]], Bishop [[Martin Sasse]], a leading Protestant churchman, published a compendium of Luther's writings shortly after [[Kristallnacht]], for which [[Diarmaid MacCulloch]], professor of the history of the church at the [[University of Oxford]] argued that Luther's writing was a "blueprint."<ref>Diarmaid MacCulloch, ''Reformation: Europe's House Divided, 1490–1700''. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 2004, pp. 666–667.</ref> Sasse applauded the burning of the synagogues and the coincidence of the day, writing in the introduction, "On 10 November 1938, on Luther's birthday, the synagogues are burning in Germany." The German people, he urged, ought to heed these words "of the greatest antisemite of his time, the warner of his people against the Jews."<ref>Bernd Nellessen, "Die schweigende Kirche: Katholiken und Judenverfolgung," in Buttner (ed), ''Die Deutschen und die Jugendverfolg im Dritten Reich'', p. 265, cited in Daniel Goldhagen, ''Hitler's Willing Executioners'' (Vintage, 1997)</ref>

{{Quote box|"There is a world of difference between his belief in salvation and a racial ideology. Nevertheless, his misguided agitation had the evil result that Luther fatefully became one of the 'church fathers' of anti-Semitism and thus provided material for the modern hatred of the Jews, cloaking it with the authority of the Reformer."|author=[[Martin Brecht]]<ref>Brecht 3:351.</ref>|width=25%|align=left}}
At the heart of scholarly debate about Luther's influence is whether it is [[anachronism|anachronistic]] to view his work as a precursor of the racial antisemitism of the Nazis. Some scholars see Luther's influence as limited, and the Nazis' use of his work as opportunistic. [[Johannes Wallmann (theologian)|Johannes Wallmann]] argues that Luther's writings against the Jews were largely ignored in the 18th and 19th centuries, and that there was no continuity between Luther's thought and Nazi ideology.<ref>Wallmann, 72–97.</ref> [[Uwe Siemon-Netto]] agreed, arguing that it was because the Nazis were already antisemites that they revived Luther's work.<ref>[[Uwe Siemon-Netto|Siemon-Netto]], ''The Fabricated Luther'', 17–20.</ref><ref name="SiemonNetto2">[[Uwe Siemon-Netto|Siemon-Netto]], "Luther and the Jews," Lutheran Witness 123 (2004) No. 4:19, 21.</ref> [[Hans J. Hillerbrand]] agreed that to focus on Luther was to adopt an essentially ahistorical perspective of Nazi antisemitism that ignored other contributory factors in [[History of Germany|German history]].<ref name=HillerbrandEB>Hillerbrand, Hans J. "Martin Luther," ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007. Hillerbrand writes: "His strident pronouncements against the Jews, especially toward the end of his life, have raised the question of whether Luther significantly encouraged the development of German anti-Semitism. Although many scholars have taken this view, this perspective puts far too much emphasis on Luther and not enough on the larger peculiarities of German history."</ref> Similarly, [[Roland Bainton]], noted church historian and Luther biographer, wrote "One could wish that Luther had died before ever [''On the Jews and Their Lies''] was written. His position was entirely religious and in no respect racial."<ref>Bainton, Roland: ''Here I Stand'', (Nashville: Abingdon Press, New American Library, 1983), p. 297</ref><ref>For similar views, see:
* Briese, Russell. "Martin Luther and the Jews," ''Lutheran Forum'' (Summer 2000):32;
* Brecht, ''Martin Luther'', 3:351;
* Edwards, Mark U. Jr. ''Luther's Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531–46''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983, 139;
* Gritsch, Eric. "Was Luther Anti-Semitic?", ''Christian History'', No. 3:39, 12.;
* Kittelson, James M., ''Luther the Reformer'', 274;
* Oberman, Heiko. ''The Roots of Anti-Semitism: In the Age of Renaissance and Reformation''. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984, 102;
* Rupp, Gordon. ''Martin Luther'', 75;
* Siemon-Netto, Uwe. ''Lutheran Witness'', 19.<!--needs a proper citation--></ref>
However, Christopher J. Probst, in his book ''Demonizing the Jews: Luther and the Protestant Church in Nazi Germany'' (2012), shows that a large number of German Protestant clergy and theologians during the Nazi era used Luther's hostile publications towards the Jews and their Jewish religion to justify at least in part the antisemitic policies of the National Socialists.<ref>Christopher J. Probst, [http://www.ushmm.org/research/publications/academic-publications/full-list-of-academic-publications/demonizing-the-jews-luther-and-the-protestant-church-in-nazi-germany ''Demonizing the Jews: Luther and the Protestant Church in Nazi Germany''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311100051/http://www.ushmm.org/research/publications/academic-publications/full-list-of-academic-publications/demonizing-the-jews-luther-and-the-protestant-church-in-nazi-germany |date=11 March 2017 }}, Indiana University Press in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2012, {{ISBN|978-0-253-00100-9}}</ref> The pro-Nazi Christian group [[Deutsche Christen]] drew parallels between Martin Luther and the "Führer" [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>"Der Deutsche Luthertag 1933 und die Deutschen Christen" by
Hansjörg Buss. In: ''Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte'' Vol. 26, No. 2</ref>

Some scholars, such as Mark U. Edwards in his book ''Luther's Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531–46'' (1983), suggest that since Luther's increasingly antisemitic views developed during the years his health deteriorated, it is possible they were at least partly the product of a state of mind. Edwards also comments that Luther often deliberately used "vulgarity and violence" for effect, both in his writings condemning the Jews and in diatribes against "Turks" (Muslims) and Catholics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theologian.org.uk/churchhistory/lutherandthejews.html#_ftnref67|title=Martin Luther and "The Jews" A Reappraisal|author=Dr. Christopher Probst|publisher=The Theologian|access-date=20 March 2014}}</ref>

Since the 1980s, Lutheran denominations have repudiated Martin Luther's statements against the Jews, calling them ‘sins’,<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://uplopen.com/reader/chapters/pdf/10.1515/9783110664713-014 |title= Lutheran Churches and Luther's Anti-Semitism: Repression, Rejection, and Repudiation |last= Rudnick |first= Ursula |date= July 31, 2021 |website= University Press Library Open |publisher= |doi= 10.1515/9783110664713-014 |access-date=  May 27, 2025 |quote=|doi-access= free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2451&context=consensus |title= Luther Legacy Conference: Martin Luther and Antisemitism |last= Harris |first= Mark |date= January 20, 2020 |website= Wilfrid Laurier University |publisher= Consensus: Vol. 41, Issue 2, Article 2, page 22 DOI: 10.51644/FQUN4814  |access-date=  May 27, 2025 |quote=}}</ref> and have rejected the use of them to incite hatred against Lutherans.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source.|date=May 2022}}<ref>''Synod deplores and disassociates itself from Luther's negative statements about the Jewish people and the use of these statements to incite anti-Lutheran sentiment'', from a summary of [http://www.ctsfw.edu/bsmith-cts/etext/lcms/Synod/resolutions.pdf Official Missouri Synod Doctrinal Statements] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225041133/http://www.ctsfw.edu/bsmith-cts/etext/lcms/Synod/resolutions.pdf |date=25 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>Lull, Timothy ''Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, Second Edition'' (2005), p. 25</ref> Strommen et al.'s 1970 survey of 4,745 North American Lutherans aged 15–65 found that, compared to the other minority groups under consideration, Lutherans were the least prejudiced toward Jews.<ref>See Merton P. Strommen et al., A Study of Generations (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing, 1972), p. 206. P. 208 also states "The clergy [ALC, LCA, or LCMS] are less likely to indicate anti-Semitic or racially prejudiced attitudes [compared to the laity]."</ref> Nevertheless, Professor Richard Geary, former professor of modern history at the [[University of Nottingham]] and the author of ''Hitler and Nazism'', examined electoral trends in [[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]] between 1928 and 1933 and notes that, based on his research, the Nazi Party received disproportionately more votes from Protestant than Catholic areas of Germany.<ref>Richard (Dick) Geary, "Who voted for the Nazis? (electoral history of the National Socialist German Workers' Party)", in ''[[History Today]]'', 1 October 1998, Vol. 48, Issue 10, pp. 8–14</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/spenkuch/research/religion_nazis.pdf|title=Special Interests at the Ballot Box? Religion and the Electoral Success of the Nazis|access-date=25 March 2017|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418075104/https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/spenkuch/research/religion_nazis.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Legacy and commemoration==
[[File:Countries by percentage of Protestants.svg|thumb|Worldwide Protestantism in 2010]]
Luther made effective use of [[Johannes Gutenberg]]'s printing press to spread his views. He switched from Latin to German in his writing to appeal to a broader audience. Between 1500 and 1530, Luther's works represented one fifth of all materials printed in Germany.<ref>Wall Street Journal, "The Monk Who Shook the World", Richard J. Evans,
 31 March 2017</ref>

In the 1530s and 1540s, printed images of Luther that emphasized his monumental size were crucial to the spread of Protestantism. In contrast to images of frail Catholic saints, Luther was presented as a stout man with a "double chin, strong mouth, piercing deep-set eyes, fleshy face, and squat neck." He was shown to be physically imposing, an equal in stature to the secular German princes with whom he would join forces to spread Lutheranism. His large body also let the viewer know that he did not shun earthly pleasures like drinking—behavior that was a stark contrast to the ascetic life of the medieval religious orders. Images from this period include the woodcuts by [[Hans Brosamer]] (1530) and [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] and [[Lucas Cranach the Younger]] (1546).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Roper|first=Lyndal|author-link=Lyndal Roper|title=Martin Luther's Body: The 'Stout Doctor' and His Biographers|journal=American Historical Review|date=April 2010|volume=115|issue=2|pages=351–362|doi=10.1086/ahr.115.2.351|pmid=20509226|doi-access=free| issn = 0002-8762}}</ref>

[[File:Eisenach Germany Lutherdenkmal-Eisenach-03.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Luther Monument]] in [[Eisenach]], Germany]]
Luther is honoured on 18 February with a commemoration in the [[Calendar of saints (Lutheran)|Lutheran Calendar of Saints]] and in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal (United States) Calendar of Saints]]. In the [[Church of England]]'s [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Calendar of Saints]] he is [[Commemoration (Anglicanism)|commemorated]] on 31 October.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=9 April 2021|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref> Luther is honored in various ways by Christian traditions coming out directly from the Protestant Reformation, i.e. Lutheranism, the [[Calvinism|Reformed tradition]], and [[Anglicanism]]. Branches of Protestantism that emerged afterwards vary in their remembrance and veneration of Luther, ranging from a complete lack of a single mention of him to a commemoration almost comparable to the way Lutherans commemorate and remember his persona. There is no known condemnation of Luther by Protestants themselves.

[[File:Martin Luther College Aerial Photo - 2010s.jpg|thumb|[[Martin Luther College]] in [[New Ulm, Minnesota]], U.S.]]
Various sites both inside and outside Germany (supposedly) visited by Martin Luther throughout his lifetime commemorate it with local memorials. [[Saxony-Anhalt]] has two towns officially named after Luther, [[Lutherstadt Eisleben]] and [[Lutherstadt Wittenberg]]. [[Mansfeld]] is sometimes called Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, although the state government has not decided to put the ''[[Lutherstadt]]'' suffix in its official name.

[[Reformation Day]] commemorates the publication of the ''Ninety-five Theses'' in 1517. It is a civic holiday in the German states of [[Brandenburg]], [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]], [[Saxony]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]], [[Thuringia]], [[Schleswig-Holstein]] and [[Hamburg]]. Two further states ([[Lower Saxony]] and [[Bremen]]) are pending a vote on introducing it. Slovenia celebrates it because of the profound contribution of the Reformation to its culture. Austria allows Protestant children not to go to school that day, and Protestant workers have a right to leave work in order to participate in a church service. Switzerland celebrates the holiday on the first Sunday after 31 October. It is also celebrated elsewhere around the world.

==Luther and the swan==
<gallery>
File:Strümpfelbach im Remstal - Kirche - Lutherbild.jpg|Luther with a swan (painting in the church at [[Weinstadt#Strümpfelbach|Strümpfelbach im Remstal]], Weinstadt, Germany, by J. A. List)
File:WLM - andrevanb - amsterdam, ronde lutherse kerk (1).jpg|Swan weather vane, [[Ronde Lutherse Kerk|Round Lutheran Church]], Amsterdam
File:Halberstadt St Martini Altar.jpg|Altar in St Martin's Church, [[Halberstadt]], Germany. Luther and the swan are toward the top on the right.
File:Fotothek df tg 0004142 Münze ^ Gedenkmünze ^ Schaumünze ^ Medaille ^ Schwan.jpg|Coin commemorating Luther (engraving by Georg Wilhelm Göbel, [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]], 1706)
</gallery>
Luther is often depicted with a swan as his [[Emblem|attribute]], and Lutheran churches often have a swan for a weather vane. This association with the swan arises out of a prophecy reportedly made by the earlier reformer Jan Hus and endorsed by Luther. In the [[Czech language|Bohemian language]] (now Czech), Hus's name meant [[:cz:Husa|"grey goose"]]. In 1414, while imprisoned by the Council of Constance and anticipating his execution by burning for heresy, Hus prophesied, "Now they will roast a goose, but in a hundred years' time they'll hear a swan sing. They'd better listen to him." Luther published his ''Ninety-five Theses'' some 103 years later.<ref>[https://www.hamburger-reformation.de/hamburger-reformation/panorama-geschichten/luther-und-der-schwan Luther und der Schwan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019013653/https://www.hamburger-reformation.de/hamburger-reformation/panorama-geschichten/luther-und-der-schwan |date=19 October 2019 }} hamburger-reformation.de, retrieved 19 October 2019</ref><ref>[https://lutheranpress.com/the-swan/ The Swan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706123240/https://lutheranpress.com/the-swan/ |date=6 July 2020 }} Lutheran Press, retrieved 6 July 2020</ref><ref>[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/early-music-history/article/lutheran-identity-of-josquins-missa-pange-lingua-renaissance-of-a-renaissance-mass/BB791A5089D9E675993F0AA00EC4E4B0 The Lutheran Identity of Josquin's ''Missa Pange Lingua'' (reference note 94)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706135913/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/early-music-history/article/lutheran-identity-of-josquins-missa-pange-lingua-renaissance-of-a-renaissance-mass/BB791A5089D9E675993F0AA00EC4E4B0 |date=6 July 2020 }} Early Music History, vol. 36, October 2017, pp. 193–249; CUP; retrieved 6 July 2020</ref>

==Works and editions==
{{main|Martin Luther bibliography}}
[[File:Luther Weimar Ausgabe.JPG|right|thumb|upright|Various books of the [[Weimar edition of Martin Luther's works|Weimar Edition]] of Luther's works]]
* The Erlangen Edition (''Erlangener Ausgabe'': "EA"), comprising the ''Exegetica opera latina''&nbsp;– Latin exegetical works of Luther.
* The [[Weimar edition of Martin Luther's works|Weimar Edition]] (Weimarer Ausgabe) is the exhaustive, standard German edition of Luther's Latin and German works, indicated by the abbreviation "WA". This is continued into "WA Br" ''Weimarer Ausgabe, Briefwechsel'' (correspondence), "WA Tr" ''Weimarer Ausgabe, Tischreden'' (tabletalk) and "WA DB" ''Weimarer Ausgabe, Deutsche Bibel'' (German Bible).
* The American Edition (''Luther's Works'') is the most extensive English translation of Luther's writings, indicated either by the abbreviation "LW" or "AE". The first 55 volumes were published 1955–1986, and a twenty-volume extension (vols. 56–75) is planned of which volumes 58, 60, and 68 have appeared thus far.

==See also==
{{portal|Biography|Evangelical Christianity|Holy Roman Empire}}
* [[Antilegomena]]
* [[George of Hungary]]
* [[List of hymns by Martin Luther]]
* [[Luther's canon]]
* [[Luther's Marian theology]]
* [[Lutherhaus Eisenach]]
* [[Martin Luther's Birth House]]
* [[Propaganda during the Reformation]]
* [[Protestantism in Germany]]
* [[Resources about Martin Luther]]
* [[Theology of Martin Luther]]
* ''[[Bruder Martin]]''
* ''[[Hochstratus Ovans]]''
* ''[[Theologia Germanica]]''

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book
|first = Martin
|last = Brecht
|title=Martin Luther
|author2=tr. James L. Schaaf
|publisher=Philadelphia: Fortress Press
|volume=1: His Road to Reformation, 1483–1521
|year=1985
|author-link=Martin Brecht
}}
* {{cite book
|first = Martin
|last = Brecht
|title=Martin Luther
|author2=tr. James L. Schaaf
|publisher=Philadelphia: Fortress Press
|volume=2: Shaping and Defining the Reformation, 1521–1532
|year=1994
}}
* {{cite book
|first = Martin
|last = Brecht
|title=Martin Luther
|author2=tr. James L. Schaaf
|publisher=Philadelphia: Fortress Press
|volume=3: The Preservation of the Church, 1532–1546
|year=1999
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Cummings
|first=Brian
|year=2002
|title=The Literary Culture of the Reformation: Grammar and Grace
|place=Oxford
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|url-access=subscription
|via=Oxford Scholarship Online
|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198187356.001.0001
|isbn=978-0-19-818735-6
|url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198187356.001.0001/acprof-9780198187356
}}
* {{cite book
|first = Michael A.
|last = Mullett
|title=Martin Luther
|publisher=London: Routledge
|year=2004
|isbn=978-0-415-26168-5
}}
* {{cite book
|first = Michael A.
|last = Mullett
|title=Luther
|publisher=Methuen & Co (Lancashire Pamphlets)
|year=1986
|isbn=978-0-415-10932-1
}}
* {{cite book
|first = Derek
|last = Wilson
|title = Out of the Storm: The Life and Legacy of Martin Luther
|publisher = London: Hutchinson
|year = 2007
|isbn = 978-0-09-180001-7
}}

==Further reading==
For works by and about Luther, see [[Martin Luther (resources)]] or [[:s:Luther's works|Luther's works]] at Wikisource.
* Atkinson, James (1968). ''Martin Luther and the Birth of Protestantism'', in series, Pelican Book[s]. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin Books. 352 pp.
* Bainton, Roland. ''Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther'' (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950), [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.155980 online]
* Brecht, Martin. ''Martin Luther: His Road to Reformation 1483–1521'' (vol 1, 1985); ''Martin Luther 1521–1532: Shaping and Defining the Reformation'' (vol 2, 1994); ''Martin Luther The Preservation of the Church Vol 3 1532–1546'' (1999), a standard scholarly biography [https://www.logos.com/product/120290/martin-brechts-martin-luther-a-biography excerpts]
* {{cite book |title=Martin Luther: Selections from his Writings|url=https://archive.org/details/martinluthersele00luth|url-access=registration|last=Dillenberger |first=John |author-link=John Dillenberger |year=1961 |publisher=Doubleday |location=Garden City, NY|oclc=165808}}
* Erikson, Erik H. (1958). ''Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History''. New York: W.W. Norton.
* [[Robert Herndon Fife, Jr.|Fife, Robert Herndon]]. (1928). ''Young Luther: The Intellectual and Religious Development of Martin Luther to 1518.'' New York: Macmillan.
* Fife, Robert Herndon. (1957). ''The Revolt of Martin Luther.'' New York NY: Columbia University Press.
* Friedenthal, Richard (1970). ''Luther, His Life and Times''. Trans. from the German by John Nowell. First American ed. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. viii, 566 p. ''N.B''.: Trans. of the author's ''Luther, sein Leben und seine Zeit''.
* {{cite book |title=Martin Luther: Selections from his Writings|last=Lull |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Lull |year=1989 |publisher=Fortress |location=Minneapolis |isbn=978-0-8006-3680-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lull |first1=Timothy F. |last2=Nelson |first2=Derek R. |year=2015 |title=Resilient Reformer: The Life and Thought of Martin Luther |place=Minneapolis, MN |publisher=Fortress |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/40846 |url-access=subscription |via=[[Project MUSE]] |isbn=978-1-4514-9415-0 }}
* Kolb, Robert; Dingel, Irene; Batka, Ľubomír (eds.): ''The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. {{ISBN|978-0-19-960470-8}}.
* Luther, M. ''The Bondage of the Will.'' Eds. [[J.I. Packer]] and O.R. Johnson. Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1957. {{OCLC|22724565}}.
* Luther, Martin (1974). ''Selected Political Writings'', ed. and with an introd. by J.M. Porter. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. {{ISBN|0-8006-1079-2}}
* ''Luther's Works'', 55 vols. Eds. H.T. Lehman and [[Jaroslav Pelikan|J. Pelikan]]. St Louis, Missouri, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1955–86. Also on CD-ROM. Minneapolis and St Louis: Fortress Press and Concordia Publishing House, 2002.
* Maritain, Jacques (1941). ''Three Reformers: Luther, Descartes, Rousseau''. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. N.B.: Reprint of the ed. published by Muhlenberg Press.
* Nettl, Paul (1948). ''Luther and Music'', trans. by Frida Best and Ralph Wood. New York: Russell & Russell, 1967, cop. 1948. vii, 174 p.
* [[Johann Michael Reu|Reu, Johann Michael]] (1917). ''Thirty-five Years of Luther Research''. Chicago: Wartburg Publishing House.
* Schalk, Carl F. (1988). ''Luther on Music: Paradigms of Praise''. Saint Louis, Mo.: Concordia Publishing House. {{ISBN|0-570-01337-2}}
* Stang, William (1883). ''The Life of Martin Luther''. Eighth ed. New York: Pustet & Co. ''N.B''.: This is a work of Roman Catholic polemical nature.

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Martin_Luther.ogg|date=17 July 2011}}
{{Sister project links|auto=yes}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=155 | name=Martin Luther}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=(((subject:"Luther, Martin" OR subject:"Martin Luther" OR creator:"Luther, Martin" OR creator:"Martin Luther" OR creator:"Luther, M." OR title:"Martin Luther" OR description:"Luther, Martin" OR description:"Martin Luther") OR ("1483–1546" AND Luther)) AND (-mediatype:software) AND NOT ("Luther King" OR "Luther McCoy" OR "Jr." OR (1895 AND 1945) OR (1748 AND 1826) ) )}}
* [http://maartenluther.com/ Maarten Luther Werke]
* {{Librivox author |id=1342}}
* {{PRDL|8}}
* {{MutopiaComposer|LutherM}}
* [http://www.luther.de/en/index.html Website about Martin Luther]
* {{cite IEP |url-id=luther |title=Martin Luther}}
* Martin Luther Collection: Early works attributed to Martin Luther, (285 titles). From the [https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/ Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress]

{{Martin Luther}}
{{Lutheran history}}
{{Lutheran hymnody}}
{{History of Christianity|collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

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