Most likely Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483. Lutherâs colleague Philip Melanchthon (1497â1560) was among those who late made efforts to date his birth to 1484, since it was believed that a conjunction of planets in that year pointed to the beginning of an important new religious development. It is certain, however, that Luther was born in Eisleben, a small village on the edge of the Harz Mountains, near the geographic center of present-day Germany. It is also certain that the day after his birth he was baptized in the parish church of St. Peter and Paul and given the name of the patron of that day, Martin of Tours (316â397). He remained only a few months in Eisleben, where his family had moved from the village of Möhra, before they finally settled in nearby Mansfeld.
Luther always stressed that he had humble origins: âI am the son of peasants. My great grandfather, grandfather and father were all simple farmers.â But this was far from being true. The family from which his father, Hans Luder, came was one of the well-to-do rural families in Möhra. In the area around Möhra there was some copper mining in which the Luder family was involved. But the grade of the ore was rather poor, so Hans Luder moved to Eisenach where he continued to mine, and then to Mansfeld. In Eisenach Hans Luder married Margarethe Lindemann. This marriage of a peasant with the daughter of a prosperous citizen was not a violation of the social stratification that prevailed in the late Middle Ages, but was quite intentional, since some members of the LĂŒdemann family were also miners It was most likely on suggestion of the LĂŒdemann family that Hans Luder moved to the county of Mansfeld in 1483. When he arrived there he was not without means, and became overseer and a co-owner of a copper mine, and after some years of several more. In 1491 Martin Lutherâs father was numbered among the âfour lordsâ of Mansfeld who represented the citizens and worked with the city council. In contrast to his ancestors, therefore, he had achieved a considerable level of success. Hence one should not conclude that Luther grew up in poverty when he said of his parents in 1533, âIn his youth my father was a poor miner. My mother carried all her wood on her back. It was in this way that they brought us up.â This was far from the truth. Prior to 1500 Martin established a lifelong friendship with two sons of the most prosperous overseers of smelters. They were members of the same social group.
However, his parents were naturally very frugal. Only in this way were they able to achieve such prosperity. Their upbringing of their children, which Luther experienced as oldest or perhaps second oldest son, was equally strict. For the father it was clear that the son should achieve an even higher standard of living than the parents. And to achieve this he needed a good education. Therefore between 1491 and 1501 Luther attended consecutively the Latin schools in Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. He had no good memories of the school in Mansfeld, which he compared to a âprisonâ and âhellâ and where he learned very little, despite the many whippings and his fear of the teachers. The school in Magdeburg, on the other hand, appears not to have been as bad. One learned there the Latin of the medieval period and Christian hymns. If the students were caught speaking German while school was in session they were beaten. Shortly before Easter 1497, Lutherâs father decided to send his son along with a friend to Magdeburg, since a school was run there by the Brothers of the Common Life, which enjoyed a good reputation. However, this school did not particularly impress Luther, either.
After only a year Martin was brought back to Mansfeld and from there was sent to Eisenach, where several relatives of the family lived. Martin was enrolled there in the community school of St. George. Additionally, he sang in the boysâ choir and collected contributions for it from the residents of the town, as did the other boys. It was through this activity that he came into contact with the Schalbe family and their active religious life. This family had given significant bequests to the small Franciscan monastery at the foot of the Wartburg castle. Luther had the opportunity to eat regularly with the family. In this connection, one must also mention the Cotta family, who were related to the Schalbes. Both families were well off and were represented in the city council. Through the Cotta family Luther learned to appreciate good music and was exposed to a good family life, which he still spoke of years later. Another significant influence on Luther during this period was the vicar at St. Maryâs, Johannes Braun, who was to become a fatherly friend to him long beyond his stay in Eisenach. The years he spent in Eisenach were the happiest of his youth and in 1530 he still referred to it as his âdear city.â It was here that the shy boy was transformed into a happy young man. After three years, that is, at age eighteen, it was time for him to begin university studies. Only two cities were considered: Leipzig, which was geographically closer, and Erfurt, which was more progressive. Lutherâs father decided upon Erfurt, since he did not want to save money by sending his son to the wrong place.
Erfurt was at the time one of the three or four largest cities in Germany. It lay at the intersection of major transportation routes and its economy was booming. In 1483 the cathedral in Erfurt received a new organ, which was one of the most famous in Germany and was comparable to that of St. Peterâs Cathedral in Rome. Twelve different religious orders influenced the life of the church in Erfurt, and there was a great veneration of relics to be found there. Erfurt therefore proudly called itself âlittle Rome.â It had well over ten thousand residents and was the largest city that Luther ever lived in for any length of time.
In the summer semester of 1501, Luther began his basic studies in the arts at the University of Erfurt. The program consisted of the so-called trivium of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric, required for the bachelorâs degree, and the quadrivium of arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music, required for the master of arts degree. The core of the trivium was dialectic, that is, logic, while the quadrivium focused mostly on mathematics. This study normally lasted four years and was characterized by rigorous memorization and recitation, which means that todayâs âacademic freedomâ did not exist at that time.
Luther lived in a student dormitory that enjoyed a good reputation despite the fact that it was known commonly at the Biertasche (âbeer bagâ). Residents were required to rise at 4 a.m. and to be in bed by 8 p.m. The clothing was uniform and the meals prescribed. Within the academic program itself one had to complete a certain plan of studies, at the end of which the masterâs examination was taken. Even regular attendance of worship services was required. Nevertheless, Luther, like the other students, managed to enjoy himself and did not neglect his social life. One of his fellow students, the humanist Crotus Rubeanus (ca. 1480âca. 1545), later said of Luther, âYou were once the musician and learned philosopher of our company.â Luther, however, did not waste his time and completed the trivium with his bachelorâs examinations in the autumn of 1502. Afterward he devoted himself to the scientific, metaphysical, and ethical writings of Aristotle and studied the disciplines of the quadrivium. On January 7, 1505, the earliest possible date, he took the masterâs examinations and was second best of seventeen successful candidates. Luther recalled later with pleasure the graduation festivities with all the accompanying academic ceremonies. Lutherâs father was of course greatly pleased with the good performance of his son and addressed him thereafter with the respectful and formal German Ihr rather than the informal Du. Although Luther later distanced himself somewhat from the value of a university education, he continued to take pleasure in the Latin classics.
After the completion of his masterâs degree Luther was required to teach for two years in the faculty of arts. He was also allowed to use this time to study in one of the three higher faculties of medicine, theology, or law. Erfurt was not at all known for medicine, and theology didnât fit into the plans of Lutherâs father. Hence only law remainedâan option that also held the promise of a successful career either at a princely court or in the mining industry. Lutherâs father had even already found a bride for his son from an affluent family and had bought his legal books for him. Thus Luther began lecturing on April 24, 1505 and started his study of law on May 20. A month later he returned to Mansfeld and remained there for a week with his parents.
During his return journey on July 2nd, a very severe thunderstorm surprised him a few hours outside of Erfurt, near the small town of Stotternheim. A bolt of lightning struck very near to him and the jolt threw him to the ground. In panic and fear of death he cried out, âHelp me Saint Anne! I will become a monk!â For Luther the study of law was thereby over. Luther was well familiar with St. Anne, the âgrandmotherâ of Jesus, who was one of the most venerated saints of the late Middle Ages and the patron saint of miners. Just why Luther made good on his vow we may never precisely understand. One has here only hints, such as the fact that from the very beginning he was never particularly enthusiastic about the study of law, that he was very shaken by the sudden death of a close friend in 1505, or that he had already had positive experiences with the theological writings of Thomas Aquinas (1225â1274) and William Occam (ca. 1285â1349). The theory that the psychological confrontation with his father played a role is likely unfounded since this conflict arose in earnest only after Lutherâs decision to become a monk. Still there might be some truth to the idea that a disagreement with his father contributed to his decision. Luther was twenty-two years old and therefore old enough to get married. His father, who planned the career of his son, had perhaps summoned him to Mansfeld to inform him that a suitable bride had been found. Years later he remembered in a letter to his father, âYour intention was even to tie me down through an honorable and rich marriage.â But all of this is conjecture.
Speaking in 1539, Luther said,
Afterward I regretted having made the vow and many tried to dissuade me from it. I remained by my vow, however, and invited many good friends on the day of Alexius (July 16) to a farewell party since on the next day they would bring me to the monastery. As they sought to prevent me, however, I said: âToday you see me but never again!â Then they accompanied me with tears in their eyes. My father was very angry because of the vow but I remained firm in my decision and never considered leaving the monastery.
A serious conflict arose between Luther and his father, who had an entirely different life in mind for his son. He wrote him an angry letter in which he once again addressed him with the informal Du. In some ways Hans Luder was more âmodernâ in his thinking than his son. He was the modern success-oriented person for whom the familyâs upward movement in society was more important than the greatest religious sacrifice that one could bring to God. Although he gladly welcomed priests and members of religious orders into his home, he did not feel obligated to them. Once, as a priest sought to convince him to give a special donation to the church, he answered, âI have many children. I will leave it to them since they need it more.â The son, on the other hand, saw the religious life as a goal worthy of striving for, even though monasticism had already lost much of its former prestige and had become increasingly the object of disdain and ridicule.
Luther went against all reason and the warnings of his friends and father and, choosing the way out of the world, entered the monastery. In Erfurt alone he had the choice between six different monasteries. From among these Luther decided to enter the monastery of the Augustinian Eremites. The monastery operated a theological school and belonged to the reform-minded branch of this order of mendicants. This means that the rules of monastic life were taken there especially seriously and were strictly observed. Of all his books, Luther took with him into the monastery only the works of the Latin poets Plautus and Virgil.
After about six weeks Luther began his novitiate. He was assigned a cell, clothed in the monastic garb, had his head tonsured so that only a small circle of hair remained, and had to apply himself to physical labor. This included not only the cleaning of the monastery but also begging for donations from the residents of the city, which was customary at that time. The life of the Augustinian Eremite was strictly regulated. Luther, for instance, had to walk with his head bowed and his eyes directed toward the ground and was only allowed to drink something during meal times. Of course he was also given a Latin Bible, the text of which he soon learned so well that he could find immediately any reference.
Luther fulfilled the requirements of his novitiate to the full satisfaction of his superiors. After the first year it was unanimously decided that he be allowed to make his profession. Shortly thereafter he was informed that he was to become a priest. In preparation for this office he had to learn the detailed explanations of the canon of the Mass by the TĂŒbingen theology professor Gabriel Biel (1410â1495). Biel, the last important representative of Occamism, influenced him greatly. On April 4, 1507 Luther was consecrated a priest in the cathedral of Erfurt. On May 2nd he celebrated his first Mass in the monastery church, to which he invited his father at the suggestion of his superiors. Surprisingly, Hans Luder accepted the invitation and appeared in Erfurt in the company of twenty friends on horseback, most likely with the intention of impressing the monks. He also donated twenty gulden to the monastery kitchen to pay for the guests. This was quite a large amount, since a university professor at Wittenberg only received eighty gulden a year as salary. At the reception following the Mass a conversation took place between Luther and his father that revealed that the older Luther still disagreed with his sonâs decision. He reminded him of the honor that a son owes his parents and argued in regard to the âappearanceâ at Stotternheim, âJust so it wasnât a phantom you saw!â
Martin, however, remained firm in his commitment. He studied next the general curriculum of his order and then theology at the University of Erfurt. In autumn of 1508 he was suddenly sent to Wittenberg to teach moral philosophy on the faculty of arts there. The University of Wittenberg was founded in 1502 by the elector Frederick the Wise (1463â1525). The town itself, as Luther commented in 1532, lay on the edge of civilization: if one would go only a short step farther, one would be in the midst of barbarism. Luther was not especially happy about his new assignment and was glad that after a short year there he was allowed to return to Erfurt. In the fall of 1509 he had completed his theological studies, earning him the rank of a sententiarius, which meant that he was now qualified to interpret the Sentences of Peter Lombard (ca. 1100â1160), the most important theological textbook of the Middle Ages. Before he could hold his first lecture, however, he was called back to Wittenberg. It was therefore in Wittenberg that he lectured on the Sentences until 1510.
In the meantime a conflict had developed within his order between the rigorists and those advocating a more conventional praxis. On account of this conflict, the superior of the German rigorist Augustinian community, Johann von Staupitz (ca. 1465â1524), sent Luther to Rome together with an Augustinian monk from Nuremberg in orde...
