Luther at the Wartburg: Apprehension, Apparitions, and Expeditions

500 years ago, on Saturday, May 4, 1521, Martin Luther was apprehended and taken to the Wartburg Castle for safekeeping. The following is a compilation of accounts of his capture and his time at the Wartburg, as told by himself and his friends.

Martin Luther’s Accounts

Excerpt from Luther’s Letter to Georg Spalatin (Tues., May 14, 1521)

You would not believe the tremendous kindness with which the abbot of [Bad] Hersfeld received us. He sent the chancellor and the treasurer to meet us a good mile in advance. Then, once he had received us at his castle¹ with many horsemen, he himself accompanied us into the city. The city council received us once we entered the gates. In his abbey he fed us sumptuously, and he put me up in his own bedroom. At five in the morning² they compelled me to give a sermon, even though I pleaded in vain that I did not want the abbey to risk losing its imperial privileges, should the imperial officials set about to interpret this act as a breach of the safe conduct I had been given, since they were restraining me from preaching on the way home. I nevertheless told them that I had not agreed to the word of God being chained, which is also true. I also preached in Eisenach,³ but with the frightened clergyman protesting before me with both the clerk and witnesses present, yet humbly apologizing that this was necessary because he was afraid of his tyrants.

So then, you will perhaps hear in Worms that, in so doing, I nullified the safe conduct, but it was not nullified. For the stipulation that the word of God be chained was not in my power, nor did I agree to it. Even if I had agreed to it, I would not have been able to keep it, since it would have gone against God.

East side of the Altenstein Palace, 2018, photo. © 2021 Red Brick Parsonage.

So the next day⁴ he [the abbot] lastly accompanied us all the way to the forest and, after sending the chancellor with us, had all of us fed again in Berka [on the Werra River]. We finally entered Eisenach in the evening, after citizens of the city came out on foot to receive us in advance. In the morning,⁵ all my companions departed with Jerome [Schurff].⁶ I continued on through the woods to see my relatives (for they nearly occupy the whole region). After freeing myself from them,⁷ as we are heading toward Waltershausen, I was captured shortly after going right past the Altenstein Fortress. Amsdorf was necessarily aware that I was going to be captured by someone, but he does not know where I am being confined.

My brother friar⁸ saw the horsemen in time and snuck himself out of the wagon. They say that he arrived in Waltershausen on foot in the evening without receiving any welcome. I have accordingly been stripped of my own clothes here and have been dressed in horseman’s attire. I am growing out my hair and beard, so that you would hardly know me, since I haven’t even known myself for a long time now. Now I am living in Christian liberty, released from all the laws of that tyrant,⁹ although I would prefer that that swine of Dresden¹⁰ were worthy of murdering me for preaching publicly, if it should please God, in order that I might suffer for his word. May the Lord’s will be done. Farewell and pray for me.

Excerpt from Luther’s Letter to Nikolaus von Amsdorf (Sun., May 12, 1521)

My arse has gotten bad.¹¹ The Lord is visiting me.¹² But pray for me, since I am also always praying for you, that God would fortify your heart. Be confident, therefore, and when the occasion presents itself, speak the word of God with confidence. Also write and tell me how everything went for all of you¹³ on the rest of the journey and what you heard or saw in Erfurt. You will find what Spalatin wrote to me in Philipp [Melanchthon’s] possession.¹⁴

Drawbridge and entrance of the Wartburg Castle, 2018, photo. © 2021 Red Brick Parsonage.

On the day I was torn away from you, I arrived at my night-lodging in the dark, at nearly eleven o’clock, worn out from the long journey as a novice horseman. Now I am a man of leisure here, like a free man among captives.

Luther’s Table Talk (Summer of 1540)

Story of Luther’s Captivity

The elector consulted with his men about this matter and put his councilors in charge of hiding me away. But he himself did not know the location so that, if an oath had to be given, he could swear with perfect legitimacy that he did not know my location, though he did say to Georg Spalatin that if he wanted to know, he could find out.¹⁵ He was entrusting that detail of the affair to a nobleman. Amsdorf was also in the know, but nobody else. In a grove¹⁶ near Eisenach, [my brother monk] saw¹⁷ four horsemen up ahead, which prompted him to warn me as he snuck out of the wagon and stole away. Meanwhile the horsemen approach us in the hollowed-out road. They frighten the driver with an arrow; he immediately confesses.¹⁸ So they pull me down from the wagon and call me names. Amsdorf was faking it every which way. “Hey,” he says, “what kind of cruelty is this? Okay, okay, do with us as you wish!”¹⁹ in order to deceive the driver. In this way I am led away from the wagon and put on a horse. The horsemen seek out detours and various byways in order to trick anyone who might be pursuing, and they take up the whole day. At night I come into the Wartburg near Eisenach. There, as a squire, I often went down on hunts and to collect strawberries. I even conversed with the Franciscans.²⁰ But the affair was kept secret; the knights are great at keeping quiet! Two noblemen took me captive, Sterbach²¹ and Berlepsch, and I had two servants who were supposed to lead me around, but I would send them ahead of me to arrange dinner parties for me.²²

On Poltergeists

The furnace in the Luther Room at the Wartburg, 2018, photo. © 2021 Red Brick Parsonage.

[Luther is responding to the view of Andreas Osiander—who is not present—that poltergeists are not real. Luther holds that they are real based on his own experiences. After citing three such experiences, he continues:] Fourth, when I was at the Wartburg by Eisenach, one time some nuts start shooting at me from the hell,²³ which was also the devil’s work. I therefore scurried into bed. I experienced that myself. These are true stories.

Also, a dog was lying in my bed one time, so I took him and threw him out the window, and when he didn’t yelp and I asked in the morning if there were any dogs in the castle, the captain said, “No!”

“Then it was the devil,” I said.

Luther in Disguise

Doctor Martin Luther went to a monastery in Erfurt on horseback with a servant, after he was taken captive. Now as he is dismounting, a monk sees him and recognized him, and he says to another monk, “That is Doctor Martin!”

When his servant hears this, he quickly says to him, “Squire, you know that we promised a nobleman that we would be at his place tonight. Friend, get back on. We can still make it!” And he whispered in his ear what the monk had said. Once the doctor gets on and rides off, the servant leads him away again. He would otherwise have been strangled in the monastery during the night.

Soon thereafter, he comes to the Blackthorn Inn in Erfurt, where he shares a bed with a provost in his quarters. He had his canonical hours and pulled out his beads at the Lord’s Prayer. Then the doctor goes to him and says, “Sir, do you have anything else to do besides prattle with those beads?”

Then the provost had gotten mad and said, “I think that you are also one of those Lutheran scumbags, who despise all good Christian ritual!”

Luther’s Table Talk (April 5, 1538)

[Luther is responding to the pastor in Süptitz near Torgau, who has complained to him about apparitions and disturbances from Satan, who was pestering him by making loud noises at night, breaking all sorts of household utensils, hurling pots and dishes right past his head so that they broke into pieces, and laughing out loud at him while remaining invisible. After telling the pastor to be strong in the Lord and to pray to God and tell Satan off, Luther continues:] I was frequently harassed [by the devil] the same way in my captivity in Patmos, way up in the castle in the kingdom of the birds. I resisted him with faith and would confront him with that verse: “God is mine, the one who created man, and all things are under his²⁴ feet [cf. Ps. 8:7]. If you have any power over that, go ahead and try it!”

Friedrich Myconius’s Account

The papal legate and several bishops attempted to put pressure on the emperor not to keep any safe conduct for Luther, seeing as he was already a stubborn heretic and his errors had been long ago condemned in councils and by the popes. And that idea might truly have caught on, had they not been afraid of the common people and the nobility, who were extremely in favor of this cause at first, and if they did not have to worry about a revolt.

But when several intelligent and good-hearted men, especially Duke Frederick of Saxony, noticed these plots and saw that the papists were not going to relent, it was arranged for Luther to be disguised and to ride away. And when he came to Weissenburg, which lies in the Palatinate, Luther wrote a brief confession of his doctrine and protestation for the diet and soon sends it back to them.²⁵ He continued riding to Wittenberg and Saxony, etc.

The pious and praiseworthy elector, Duke Frederick, notices that the pope, legates, bishops, and clerics had decided that, since they could not beat Luther with writings, they would do away with him. But in order that he might get Luther out of their sight and notice, he arranged for Luther to be captured and carried away near Möhra, not far from Eisenach, in a valley alongside a wood, by several loyal, secret, and discreet people. It has never been heard of that a matter was able to be kept as secret as who had captured Luther and carried him away. Many people believed, including at the imperial diet, that it had been a serious capture—that’s how well the secret was kept. Doctor Jonas and several others were with him in the wagon,²⁶ yet they were unable to learn anything further than that they were benevolent enemies. But later, in 1538, Doctor Martin told us the whole story in Gotha, in the home of Johann Löben the tax collector,²⁷ so that Jonas, Pomeranus,²⁸ and all of us who were present were amazed.²⁹ A great many fine and engaging stories took place during this captivity, especially how the devil came to Luther twice at the Wartburg in the form of a large hound, intending to kill him, yet was overcome through Christ’s power. Also how he was in Reinhardsbrunn, in Gotha, and in Jena in disguise, did strange things there with the monks and others, and remained undiscovered. But there is too little paper in this book [to include all the stories he told].

Matthäus Ratzeberger’s Account

Now even after Luther withdrew [from the city of Worms] again, and the safe conduct reached its end in a few days, there was still reason to be concerned for him. But so that he would not be overtaken and that no complications would arise from Elector Frederick of Saxony protecting him beyond the safe conduct, Elector Frederick made arrangements in utmost secrecy for him to be captured and secretly carried away once he came to the border of his territory. But so that Luther would know how to understand this capture, it was confided to him in secret. Now he had Nikolaus von Amsdorf and Mr. Friedrich Myconius in his wagon with him, who were his traveling companions.³⁰ Of these two, Amsdorf was the only one he confides in about it, but Mr. Friedrich knew nothing at all about this affair.

Now when they come to the border right by the Schweina River not far from Eisenach, a horseman emerges from the woods in the style of a knight and pushes forward with his steed. Mr. Friedrich Myconius notices this and warns his companions that something wasn’t right; there was danger in the air. Meanwhile the squire³¹ also whisks forward out of the woods, along with a servant, and they all advance toward the wagon. The horseman starts a quarrel with the driver by asking, “What kind of people are you transporting there?”, and he knocks him down beneath the horse³² with his crossbow. The squire likewise jams his bolt³³ in front of the bowstring³⁴ and holds it up to Luther, saying that he should surrender himself as prisoner. The other two companions are alarmed and beg for mercy. But once they have interrogated Luther and he confesses that he was the one they were looking for, they quickly set him on a steed and lead him back and forth in the woods until nightfall when they reach the Wartburg Castle right above Eisenach.

The Bailiff’s Lodge where Luther was “imprisoned,” 2018, photo. © 2021 Red Brick Parsonage.

There they locked him away as if he were the most intractable prisoner, in a cell that was isolated from all people. Even the gatekeeper knew no better than that he was perhaps a criminal picked up on the street and brought there for imprisonment. Nevertheless, they did have a single page wait on him by carrying food and drink to him. Other than that, Luther was all alone and no one knew where he had gone. In this secret lodging (which he called Patmos), far removed from the people, Luther nevertheless tends to his writing so that he would not be idle. And since he was isolated, he had to deal with many apparitions and many disturbances by poltergeists, which caused him trouble. As one example, once when he was about to go to bed at night, a large, black English hound is lying on his bed and won’t let him get in. Luther entrusts himself to our Lord God, prays Psalm 8, and when he comes to the verse, “You have placed everything under his feet,” the hound suddenly vanished, and Luther remained calm and at ease that night. Many other apparitions likewise appeared to him during that time, all of which he drove away with prayer. He wouldn’t talk about them, though, for he said that he refused to tell anyone about all the many different apparitions that had plagued him.

Georg Spalatin’s Account

Now my Most Gracious Lord, already respectfully mentioned, Duke Frederick of Saxony, Elector etc., was still somewhat distressed. He definitely admired Doctor Martin, and it would have truly pained him deeply if any harm had come to him. He had no desire to act contrary to God’s word, but neither did he desire to incur the lord emperor’s displeasure. So he came up with a way to remove Mr. Doctor Martin from the scene for a while, to see if matters might be settled in the meantime. He thus had him notified the evening before he left Worms of how he was going to be removed from the scene, in the presence of Mr. Philipp von Feilitzsch, Mr. Friedrich von Thun (both knights), myself (Spalatin), and certainly not too many others. Out of respect for Duke Frederick, Doctor Martin submissively agreed to the plan, even though he certainly would have always much preferred just to get back at his usual business.

Doctor Martin departed with his companions. Now when they came to a place not far from Eisenach, people were arranged for who demanded that Mr. Doctor Martin get off the wagon alone, took him away, and led him to the Wartburg Castle above Eisenach. Hans von Berlepsch³⁵ was steward there at the time and conducted himself well and in a friendly manner towards Doctor Martin Luther.

A few days later, the rumor reached Worms that Doctor Martin had been captured. Some were saying he that had been killed. All sorts of strange reports were going around.

The companions returned home, and not everyone was happy with the affair. And there were many inquiries about how exactly it all went down and where Doctor Martin had gone to. Nevertheless, it was kept in such secrecy that there were certainly few persons, and only very few, who knew about it at court besides the two brother electors,³⁶ the persons already mentioned, Jerome Rudlanoff (the current secretary), and Hans Veihel,³⁷ so that my often-mentioned Most Gracious Lord, the elector of Saxony, Duke Frederick, was also very pleased about it.

Johannes Mathesius’s Account

But since Dr. Luther was nevertheless put under the emperor’s ban and under the pope’s excommunication as an arch-heretic, our God—from whom all good counsels, actions, and ideas come—prompted the very wise elector of Saxony to issue an order, through confidential and discreet people, to put the outlawed and excommunicated Dr. Luther away for a while, just as the pious servant of God, Obadiah, King Ahab’s palace steward, hid 200 priests in a cave for a while and fed them, when the godless Queen Jezebel was seeking to take them down life and limb.³⁸ But the just-mentioned elector himself did not want to know where they were going to take his prisoner, so that, if he was ever asked, he could excuse himself with reasonable validity. For it would have been difficult for him to withhold a man from great potentates and the entire empire, or to defend him before them, after an edict had been issued. In the meantime he was hoping that God would take up the cause of his Word and his confessor, which is what happened, and subsequent counsel and action speak further to this matter.

This plan to hide or put away our doctor didn’t sit right with him, for he would have gladly and willingly shed his blood as a testimony to the truth. But he went along with this wise counsel at the eager insistence of good people, since St. Paul, the holy apostle, had also let himself be lowered over the walls of Damascus by his brothers, and our faithful God had warned the wise men from the East through his holy angel, so that they wouldn’t trot right into the cunning snare of Herod, that royal fox.

Site of Luther’s capture (facing east), 2018, photo. © 2021 Red Brick Parsonage.

So then, Dr. Luther left the imperial herald behind at Oppenheim, traveled through Hesse on the landgrave’s safe conduct, and arrived safely at the Harz Mountains. From there he had to travel through a forest to Waltershausen. He dismissed several of the traveling companions who were accompanying him through the woods. The others he sent ahead to make the lodging arrangements. Meanwhile, not far from Altenstein, he comes to a hollow in the road. There two noblemen, von Steinburg³⁹ and Captain Prelops,⁴⁰ pounce on him, along with two servants. After one of them gets information from the driver, they tell them to halt and grab hold of Dr. Luther with feigned brutality and pull him out of his wagon. The one servant strikes the driver and forces him to drive away, thus carrying Mr. Amsdorf away, while they get a rider’s mantel on the prisoner and help him onto a horse. They then lead him through the woods along the ascending horseman’s path for several hours, until night overtakes them. They also tie a man to a horse so that they would be bringing a prisoner with them. In this way they arrive at the Wartburg Castle near Eisenach just before midnight, sometime around Rogation week.⁴¹ There they treat the prisoner⁴² decently and well, so that even the cellar keeper is surprised by it. There Dr. Luther stays in his cell, as St. Paul stayed in his room while imprisoned in Rome. He would have preferred to be in Wittenberg and to tend to his teaching duties and, as he writes soon afterwards to good friends, to lie upon glowing coals for the glory of God and the confirmation of his word.⁴³ Nevertheless, he endured in obedience for a time, in order that he might not bring any greater danger upon his dear elector’s land and people.

But because our doctor is tired and weary from the journey, as he complains in a letter,⁴⁴ since the horsemen were leading him around in the woods for so long until the dark night overtook them, we will let him rest for a bit and regain his strength.

Next time we will further hear in the name of God what he accomplished in his captivity…

[Mathesius continues in the next sermon:] Now since our doctor faithfully served us and all of Christendom in his Patmos and captivity with his blessed work and testimony, this time we want to hear about the good that this hermit accomplished in his wilderness…

Although Doctor Luther stayed very inconspicuous at the Wartburg Castle, he was not idle. Instead, he daily tends to his studies and prayers and applies himself to the Greek and Hebrew Bible. He also wrote many good and comforting letters to his good friends. On Sundays and festivals he preaches to his host and confidential people and earnestly admonishes them to prayer.

But since a person cannot know the power of God’s word without the holy cross, and cannot subdue and disable flesh and blood without the rod of God, God sends all kinds of crosses to our hermit, for which he sincerely and faithfully thanks his God in a letter to a good friend.⁴⁵ For he falls into a severe and dangerous physical infirmity that even caused him to renounce all claims on life. The devil likewise plagues him fiercely with depressing thoughts and tries to delude him with all kinds of phantoms and loud noises. In such trials and afflictions, God’s word, his own ardent sighs, and the heartfelt intercession of his brothers are the comforting staff and rod on which he leans, and he thereby patiently endures God’s testing. …

Now since our doctor continues his studies and writing in his hideout in this way and becomes frail as a result, good friends advise him to go on walks and get some fresh air and exercise for the sake of his health. He is therefore taken along on hunts, and sometimes he goes out to pick the strawberries on the castle hill. Eventually he is allowed to have an honorable servant, a discreet horseman, whose loyalty and gentlemanly objections and admonitions he often praised later, since he forbade him to set aside his sword in lodgings and told him not to go leafing through the books anymore, so that no one would take him for a writer. In this way Dr. Luther is able to visit several monasteries without being recognized.

He visits his friends in Martsal,⁴⁶ but they do not recognize Squire Georg (as the horseman calls him). In Reinhardsbrunn a lay brother recognized him.⁴⁷ When his steward notices this, he reminds his squire that he had to be at an appointed function that evening, so he quickly takes off again.⁴⁸

Translator’s Afterword

Friedrich Myconius (or Mecum; 1490–1546) was Luther’s friend and correspondent and the head pastor in Gotha. Matthäus Ratzeberger (1501–1559) was Luther’s friend and Elector Johann Friedrich of Saxony’s court physician from 1538 to 1546. Georg Spalatin (1484–1545) was Luther’s friend and correspondent and Elector Frederick the Wise’s court chaplain and secretary at the time when Luther was captured. Johannes Mathesius (1504–1565) studied under Luther and was a frequent guest at his table before becoming a pastor in Joachimsthal (today Jáchymov, Czech Republic), where he eventually preached a sermon series on Luther’s life. Anton Lauterbach (1502–1569), who recorded the April 5, 1538 Table Talk above, also studied under Luther and sat at his table. He served as a deacon in Leisnig from 1533 to 1536, as a deacon in Wittenberg from 1537 to 1539, and then as a pastor in Pirna from 1539 until his death.

When one compares the accounts above, one notices striking agreement on the whole, even if there are some noticeable discrepancies in the particulars. (Many of Luther’s friends had not traveled like he had, and none of them had access to Google Maps.) For instance, even though several of Luther’s friends were mistaken in the identity of his second traveling companion (the one besides Amsdorf), they are generally agreed that this companion was the first to notice Luther’s captors approaching. They also agree on the location of the capture, even though different reference points are used. (All of these descriptions support the current marker identifying the spot of Luther’s capture at the site of the former Luther Beech Tree.) Violence and threats were clearly used in extracting Luther from the wagon, and it appears that the anonymous driver bore the brunt of it. Luther clearly did take somewhat risky trips to cities and monasteries in the area after he had grown out his hair and beard, took enjoyment in conversing incognito about religious matters related to his reformation, and was once nearly recognized by a monk, though there is disagreement on the location. Between his stand at the Diet of Worms and his capture and confinement at the Wartburg all by themselves, one can readily understand why Luther’s life continues to fascinate historians—both Christian and non, both serious and casual.

As for Luther’s poltergeists and apparitions, while we would be foolish to discount the possibility that some of these phenomena had physical causes, we would be far more foolish to discount the possibility of real encounters with the devil and his demons. About two decades ago, Prof. (now Dr.) Mark Paustian wrote (More Prepared to Answer [Milwaukee: Northwestern, 2004], 87–88):

I once sat through a long night with a young woman who was literally paralyzed with fear of the the “man” that came to her every night, whispering, “Stay away from those Christians. You’re mine.” Unable to speak, trembling, barely able to move for the fright, she would jump and shriek as if she was being prodded and poked. I’ve heard similar accounts from people I know well… This from level-headed people who know what psychosis is, and what it isn’t.

More recently, Prof. E. Allen Sorum writes in 2000 Demons: No Match for My Savior (2016) about the all-too-real world of evil spirits and demon possession—today, not just back in so-called primitive times. When we consider how the devil has worked throughout history, and then remember in addition the spiritually and religiously critical time in which Luther lived, and the crucial role God had him play in it, the stories above should hardly surprise us.

A side note for history teachers, whether Lutheran or not: We need to stop calling the disguised Martin Luther “Knight George.” He was never disguised or treated as a knight. He was called “Junker Jörg or Georg.” A Junker is a squire, a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself. The word for knight in German is Ritter, or sometimes Reuter or Reutersmann (though these latter terms are also used more generally for any horseman), but never Junker.

For more pictures related to this event in Luther’s life, see here.

As this Luther Capture anniversary year draws to a close and the celebration of the birth of our Savior approaches, may Christ keep all of us safe from the devil in the fortress of his manger, of his Word, of his cross, of his baptism, of his grace, of his daily presence and care.

Sources (Listed in Order of Appearance)

• Weimarer Ausgabe Briefwechsel 2:337–38.
• Ibid. 2:334–35.
• Weimarer Ausgabe Tischreden 5:82, no. 5353.
• Ibid. 5:87–88, no. 5358b.
• Ibid. 5:103–104, no. 5375d.
• Ibid. 3:634–35, no. 3814.
• Myconius, Friedrich. Historia Reformationis, vom Jahr Christi 1517. bis 1542. Aus des Autoris autographo mitgetheilet. Edited by Ernst Salomon Cyprian. Leipzig: Moritz George Weidmann, 1718. Pages 40–43.
• Ratzeberger, Matthäus. Die handschriftliche Geschichte Ratzeberger’s über Luther und seine Zeit. Edited by Christian Gotthold Neudecker. Jena: Friedrich Mauke, 1850. Pages 52–54.
• Spalatin, Georg. Annales Reformationis Oder Jahr-Bücher von der Reformation Lutheri, aus dessen Autographo ans Licht gestellt. Edited by Ernst Salomon Cyprian. Leipzig: Johann Ludwig Gleditsch and Moritz Georg Weidmann, 1718. Pages 50–51.
• Mathesius, Johannes. Historien / Von des Ehrwirdigen in Gott Seligen thewren Manns Gottes / Doctoris Martini Luthers / Anfang / lehr / leben und sterben. Nuremberg, 1566. Folios 29 recto–31 verso, 33 verso–34 recto.

Endnotes

¹ Eichhof Castle, about two miles southwest of the Bad Hersfeld city wall.

² Latin: mane quinta. Some scholars (including the American Edition translator) have taken this phrase to mean “on the fifth morning [after departing from Worms],” namely Wednesday, May 1, 1521. But when mane is used as a substantive with an adjective, it is treated as a neuter noun; “on the fifth morning” would therefore be mane quinto. Mane quinta is literally “in the morning at the fifth [hour].” (The German St. Louis Edition translates it correctly.) According to Martin Brecht, Luther actually preached this sermon on Thursday, May 2, which would be the sixth morning after his departure (Martin Luther: His Road to Reformation (1483–1521) [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993], 472).

³ On Friday morning, May 3, at St. George’s Church.

⁴ Luther resumes talking about his stay in Bad Hersfeld. He is picking up with what happened after he preached his early morning sermon on Thursday, May 2.

⁵ Friday morning, May 3, presumably after Luther preached.

⁶ In Eisenach, Justus Jonas, Peter Swawe (a Pomeranian nobleman), and Jerome Schurff left him.

⁷ According to a footnote in the St. Louis Edition and local tradition, Luther spent Friday night in Möhra, about twelve miles south of Eisenach, in the home of his uncle, Heinz Luther. There he preached in the town plaza on Saturday morning.

⁸ Latin: Frater meus. Luther is referring to Johannes Petzensteiner, his brother Augustinian, but throughout the years some have misinterpreted this to mean that Luther’s blood-brother Jacob was accompanying him.

⁹ Luther appears to be referring to the pope here.

¹⁰ Duke Georg of Saxony, one of Luther’s worst enemies.

¹¹ Luther suffered badly from constipation while at the Wartburg. He penned this sentence in German.

¹² Luther is using this phrase in the Hebrew and biblical sense of God bringing special blessing or discipline upon a person (here clearly the latter).

¹³ Presumably Luther is referring to Amsdorf, Johannes Petzensteiner, and the driver of the wagon.

¹⁴ Luther seems to be indicating here that he is already planning to write Spalatin a response letter around this same time (see the date of the preceding excerpt), and to send it with the letter from Spalatin to which he would be responding, so as to avoid the possibility of someone noticing any of his correspondence at the Wartburg, which would betray his identity.

¹⁵ The “he” appears to refer to the elector, since Spalatin himself says he was aware of the capture plans. (See his account later in this post.)

¹⁶ The Latin word nemus, borrowed from the Greek νέμος, denotes a wood with open glades, meadows, and pasture-land for cattle. According to the Grimm Brothers’ Deutsches Wörterbuch, the German equivalents are Hain, “grove,” and Lustwald, a wooded area that can be strolled through for pleasure (versus a thickly-wooded forest).

¹⁷ The Latin notes simply have Luther saying, “he saw,” but in the context, the “he” clearly has to be a traveling companion who is neither Amsdorf nor the driver, which only leaves Luther’s brother monk, Johannes Petzensteiner. One of the variants reads, “Pezenius saw,” which doubtless refers to Petzensteiner.

¹⁸ Namely, that Martin Luther is one of his passengers.

¹⁹ Latin: Tamen sumus in vestra potestate! Lit.: “Nevertheless, we are in your power!” The tamen here seems to indicate Amsdorf’s transition from pretending to complain and resist to pretending to give up in the face of threats and superior strength.

²⁰ See also “Luther in Disguise” and Mathesius’s account of Luther’s secret travels later in this post.

²¹ There are several variant spellings—Sternbach, Steinburg, and Sterpach. The Weimar Edition editor suggests that Hans von Sternberg might be meant, who later served as a guardian at the Coburg Fortress. But see also n. 38.

²² Between the variant readings here and the other accounts where only one servant of Luther is mentioned, it seems that there might be some confusion here between the two servants who assisted the noblemen in capturing Luther (thus adding up to four horsemen) and the servant or servants Luther was later assigned.

²³ “The hell” refers to the narrow space behind the stove between it and the wall, which could get very hot.

²⁴ This “his” seems to mean “man[kind]’s” rather than God’s or Christ’s feet. Even though Martin Luther did interpret Psalm 8 as a Messianic psalm, he also understood verse 6 as being equally valid for humans who believe in Christ, since they share in Christ’s power, rule, and blessings.

²⁵ Myconius either means Weisenau near Mainz, or he got his -burg/-berg wrong and is referring to Friedberg, where Luther did write a confession and protestation and send it back to the diet with the imperial herald. Either way, there was no Weißenburg along or near the route Luther took from Worms.

²⁶ Justus Jonas did accompany Luther as far as Eisenach, but he and two others parted ways with Luther there, since Luther went south from there to visit relatives in Möhra with Amsdorf and Petzensteiner. These two and the driver were the only ones in the wagon with Luther when he was taken captive. Amsdorf accompanied him as a friend who was in the know about the capture and could therefore help to deceive the driver into thinking it was a genuine capture. Petzensteiner, a fellow Augustinian, accompanied him unawares. Augustinian friars were required to travel in pairs, and even though Luther had been formally released from his vows in 1518, Luther was still voluntarily following this rule.

²⁷ Schosser could also mean “treasurer.”

²⁸ That is, Johannes Bugenhagen.

²⁹ Based on this information, it seems that Myconius was a year off in his recollection. We know that Martin Luther, Friedrich Myconius, Justus Jonas, and Johannes Bugenhagen were all present together in Gotha at the beginning of March 1537. Luther was recovering there after returning prematurely from Schmalkalden due to trouble with kidney stones (Martin Brecht, Martin Luther: The Preservation of the Church (1532–1546) [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999], 186–88).

³⁰ Ratzeberger is mistaken about Myconius. Augustinian friar Johannes Petzensteiner was Luther’s other traveling companion.

³¹ The context makes clear that this squire is separate from the horseman already mentioned. Perhaps Ratzeberger calls him the squire a) in the sense of “his squire,” that is, the already-mentioned horseman’s attendant, b) because the squire had been specifically arranged for, c) because Ratzeberger knew who he was, or d) because he was a familiar character due to the number of times Luther or his friends had told the story.

³² German: unter den gaul. Ratzeberger already used Gaul to describe the horseman’s steed, but Gaul can also be used for a cart horse. So the horseman may have knocked the driver down on the ground beneath his own (the horseman’s) steed, or he may have knocked him down beneath the horse that was pulling the wagon.

³³ Short, thick arrow used in a crossbow.

³⁴ I am reading die senne or die sehne for die seine.

³⁵ Spalatin misspells it Berlewisch.

³⁶ Spalatin is speaking anachronistically here. Duke Johann was not an elector at the time, but would become one after his brother Frederick’s death.

³⁷ I was unable to discover anything more about these two men.

³⁸ Obadiah actually hid a hundred prophets in two caves, fifty in each (1 Kings 18:3–4).

³⁹ Some scholars identify this as Burkhard Hund von Wenkheim, who occupied the Altenstein Palace as a fief. But see n. 21 above.

⁴⁰ Most likely a misspelled reference to Hans von Berlepsch, the captain and steward of the Wartburg Castle at the time.

⁴¹ German: in der Creutzwochen, that is, during the sixth week of Easter, the week in which Ascension fell. The German name alludes to the fact that special processions (led by a processional cross) were made during that week. The English name alludes to the fact that special prayers were said (Latin rogatio = “petition, request”). Luther arrived at the Wartburg on Saturday, May 4, around 11 p.m., which could be considered part of Rogation Sunday, and therefore also Rogation week, when you keep in mind that, from a liturgical standpoint, every holy day begins at sunset on the previous day.

⁴² Mathesius seems to be referring to Luther here, even though he has just given the impression that Luther entered the Wartburg disguised as a horseman and someone else was made out to be a prisoner.

⁴³ See Luther’s Works (hereafter LW) 48:232, part of a letter he wrote to Melanchthon on May 26, 1521.

⁴⁴ See the excerpt from Luther’s May 12, 1521 letter to Amsdorf above.

⁴⁵ Mathesius seems to be referring to LW 48:255, part of a letter Luther wrote to Spalatin on June 10, 1521. But see also 48:307, part of another letter he wrote to Spalatin on Sept. 9, 1521.

⁴⁶ Dr. Georg Loesche said this refers to Martschall, north of Eisenach, but I can neither locate nor find another reference to any such place. Dr. Georg Buchwald misprinted it (and misread it?) as Wartsal and said that the location could not be identified with certainty.

⁴⁷ Namely, at the Benedictine Abbey there. A lay brother was an unordained member of a monastic order.

⁴⁸ Compare this to the Table Talk “Luther in Disguise” above.

Luther Visualized 18 – Physical Appearance

Martin Luther’s Physical Appearance

Luther historian E. G. Schwiebert wrote that Lucas Cranach’s “zeal in reproducing the Reformer outstripped his talent,” and called it “most regrettable” that Luther was never sketched or painted by a more talented artist like Albrecht Dürer or Hans Holbein the Younger (p. 571). However, while Cranach’s reproductions are not exactly photographic, he and the members of his studio were certainly not lacking in skill.

Apart from Cranach’s reproductions of the man, which began in 1520, there was, to our knowledge, only one earlier depiction of him, an anonymous woodcut (#9 below) on the title page of Ein Sermon geprediget tzu Leipßgk uffm Schloß am tag Petri un pauli ym .xviiij. Jar / durch den wirdigen vater Doctorem Martinum Luther augustiner zu Wittenburgk (A Sermon Preached at the Castle in Leipzig on the Day of Sts. Peter and Paul in the Year [15]19 by the Worthy Father, Doctor Martin Luther, Augustinian in Wittenberg), printed by Wolfgang Stöckel in Leipzig. Both this woodcut, originally printed in reverse, and another anonymous woodcut, not included in this post, are consistent with Schwiebert’s assertion that for “the first thirty-eight years of his life [up until 1521] he was extremely thin” (p. 573). The latter woodcut is consistently depicted but erroneously cited in Luther biographies (e.g. Schwiebert, p. 574, where he calls it the “earliest known likeness” without citation or proof, and Brecht, vol. 1, p. 412, where he gives an erroneous source, as evidenced from the actual source he cites, whose woodcut is based on #1 below).

As for the reproductions originating with Cranach and his studio in Wittenberg during Luther’s lifetime (#8 excepted), they can be classified into 8 groups (medium and year[s] that the depictions originated and flourished in parentheses):

1. Luther the Monk (copper engraving, 1520; variously copied and embellished by a number of artists)
2. Luther the Doctor of Theology (paintings, c. 1520; copper engraving, 1521)
3. Luther as Junker Jörg (paintings and woodcut, 1521-1522)
4. Luther the Husband (paintings, 1525 & 1526)
5. The Classic Luther (paintings, 1528-1529)
6. Luther the Professor (paintings, 1532-1533)
7. Luther the Aging Man (paintings, 1540-1541)
8. Luther on His Deathbed (painting based on Lukas Fortennagel’s sketch of the dead Luther, 1546)

The other three visual depictions included below are the already mentioned anonymous woodcut (#9), a sketch of Luther lecturing by Johann Reifenstein (#10), and Fortennagel’s already mentioned painting (#11). Scroll down beneath the engravings, woodcuts, and paintings for more on Luther’s appearance.

1. Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther as an Augustinian Monk, copper engraving, 1520. The caption reads: “The eternal images of his mind Luther himself expresses, while the wax of Lucas expresses the perishable looks.”

2. Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther with Doctor’s Cap, copper engraving, 1521. The caption reads: “The work of Lucas. This is a transient depiction of Luther; the eternal depiction of his mind he himself expresses.”

2. Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther as an Augustinian Monk with Doctor’s Cap, oil on panel, c. 1520 (erroneous “1517” in the upper left-hand corner); housed in a private collection. These paintings circa 1520 are lesser known and therefore both are included here.

2. Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther, oil on panel, c. 1520, since transferred to canvas; housed in the Lutherhaus Museum in Wittenberg.

3. Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther as Junker Jörg [Squire George], oil on beechwood, 1521-1522; housed in the Weimar Classics Foundation. Martin Luther likely posed for this painting during his secret trip to Wittenberg in the first half of December 1521, but cf. next image.

3. Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther as Junker Jörg, woodcut, 1522. The Latin superscription accompanying this woodcut read: “The image of Martin Luther, portrayed as he appeared when he returned from Patmos [Luther’s own biblical nickname for the Wartburg Castle] to Wittenberg.”

4. Lucas Cranach, Portraits of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora, oil on beechwood, 1525; housed in the Basel Art Museum.

4. Lucas Cranach’s Studio, Portraits of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora, oil on beechwood, 1525-1526; housed in the LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster.

5. Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther, oil on panel, 1528; housed in the Art Collections of the Veste Coburg. Cf. the similar painting in the Lutherhaus Museum.

6. Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther, oil on beechwood, 1533; housed in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. The prototype for this painting, done on parchment in 1532 and housed in Drumlanrig Castle in Thornhill, Scotland, is one of Cranach’s boldest and finest depictions of Luther.

7. Lucas Cranach’s Studio, Martin Luther, oil on panel, c. 1541; housed in the Lutherhaus Museum, Wittenberg.

8. Lucas Cranach’s Studio, Martin Luther on His Deathbed, oil on oak, 1546; housed in the Lower Saxony State Museum, Hanover. See commentary above.

9. Anonymous, Doctor Martin Lutter [sic] Augustinian, woodcut, 1519. See commentary above.

10. Johann Reifenstein, Luther lecturing in the classroom, sketch, 1545. The inscription was added in 1546 by Melanchthon. It begins with oft-quoted words of Luther: “While alive, I was your plague; when I die, I will be your death, O pope.” After some obituary-esque information, it concludes: “Even dead, he lives.”

11. Lukas Fortennagel, The Dead Luther, sketch, February 19, 1546.

While Cranach did have a virtual monopoly on Luther with regard to visual depictions, there are also written depictions that help us to complete our image of the man. Schwiebert gives the most complete treatment on the subject that I have read:

Vergerio, the papal nuncio, noted that Luther had a heavy, well-developed bone structure and strong shoulders… The Swiss student Kessler accidentally met Luther at the Hotel of the Black Bear in Jena when Luther was returning to Wittenberg from the Wartburg, still dressed as a knight. Kessler wrote in his Sabbata that Luther walked very “erect, bending backwards rather than forwards, with face raised toward heaven.” Erasmus Alber, the table companion, described Luther as well-proportioned and spoke of his general appearance in highest praise. …

One important aspect of his general appearance, noted by every observer, was Luther’s unusual eyes. Melanchthon made a casual remark that Luther’s eyes were brown and compared them to the eyes of a lion or falcon. Kessler, when he became Luther’s pupil, observed that his professor had “deep black eyes and brows, sparkling and burning like stars, so that one could hardly bear looking at them.” Erasmus Alber also likened them to falcon’s eyes. Melanchthon added the observation that the eyes were brown, with golden rings around the edges, as in the case of eagles or men of genius. Nikolaus Selnecker also compared Luther’s eyes to those of a hawk, falcon, fox, and eagle, having a fiery, burning sparkle. …

[Roman] Catholics, on the other hand, saw in these eyes diabolic powers. After the first meeting with Luther at Augsburg, [Cardinal] Cajetan would have no more to do with this man, the “beast with the deep-seated eyes,” because “strange ideas were flitting through his head.” Aleander wrote in his dispatches to the Pope that when Luther left his carriage at Worms, he looked over the crowd with “demoniac eyes.” Johannes Dantiscus, later a [Roman] Catholic bishop, visited Wittenberg in 1523 and noticed that Luther’s eyes were “unusually penetrating and unbelievably sparkling as one finds them now and then in those that are possessed.” His enemies also commonly compared him to a basilisk, that fabulous reptile which hypnotizes and slowly crawls upon its helpless prey. …

Another attribute which greatly enhanced Luther’s physical qualifications as a preacher and professor was his voice. It was clear, penetrating, and of pleasing timbre, which, added to its sonorous, baritone resonance, contributed much to his effectiveness as a public speaker. … Luther’s students enjoyed his classroom lectures because of the pleasing qualities of his delivery. Erasmus Alber added that he never shouted, yet his clear, ringing voice could easily be heard.

Sources
Cranach Digital Archive, combined with the power of Google

E. G. Schwiebert, Luther and His Times: The Reformation from a New Perspective (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1950), pp. 571-576

Martin Brecht, Martin Luther: His Road to Reformation (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1985), pp. 318,412

Martin Brecht, Martin Luther: The Preservation of the Church (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), Plates between pp. 14 & 15, and p. 378