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For other people named Martin Luther see: Martin Luther (disambiguation)Martin Luther (originally Martin Luder) ( November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546) was a German theologian of the Christian religion and an Augustinian monk whose teachings inspired the Protestant Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of Protestant and other Christian traditions (a broad movement composed of many congregations and church bodies). His call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible resulted in the formation of new traditions within Christianity and the Counter-Reformation in the Roman Catholic ChurchThe Roman Catholic Church (often called simply the Catholic Church, but see Catholicism for other meanings of the term "Catholic Church") is a worldwide body of Christians in full communion with the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, and subscribing to the beliefs, culminating at the Council of TrentThe Council of Trent (Italian: Trento was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held in discontinuous sessions between 1545 and 1563 in response to the Protestant Reformation. It clearly specified Catholic doctrines on salvation, the sacraments and.
Luther made contributions in fields beyond religion. His translation of the Bible helped to develop a standard version of the German languageGerman (called Deutsch in German in which germanisch refers to prechristian times), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and one of the world's major languages. It is the language with the most native speakers in the European Union. and added several principles to the art of translationTranslation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language — the source text — and the production of another, equivalent text in another language — the target text or translation''. Traditionally, translation has alw. Luther's hymnSee also the hymn-project a program to decrypt iTunes music files. A hymn is a song specifically written as a song of praise, adoration or prayer, typically addressed to God. A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist or hymnodist and the process of singings sparked the development of congregational singing in Christianity. His marriage on June 13June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. Events 1625 King Charles I is married to the French princess Henrietta Maria de Bourbon 1777 American Revolutionary War: Marquis de Lafayette la, 1525Events January 21 The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manz's mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zurich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-sta to Katharina von BoraKatharina von Bora ( January 29, 1499 December 20, 1552) was a Catholic nun who was an early convert to Protestantism. She is most often remembered as the wife of Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. Childhood and life as a, a former nun, which eventually begat six children, began the tradition of clerical marriage within several Christian traditions.
1 Luther's early life
Martin Luther was born to Hans and Margaretha Luder on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany and was baptised on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, after whom he was named. His father owned a copper mine in nearby Mansfeld . Having risen from the peasantry, his father was determined to see his son ascend to civil service and bring further honor to the family. To that end, Hans sent young Martin to schools in Mansfeld, Magdeburg and Eisenach.
At the age of seventeen in 1501 he entered the University of Erfurt. The young student received a Bachelor's degree in 1502 and a Master's degree in 1505. According to his father's wishes, Martin enrolled in the law school of that university.
All that changed during a thunderstorm in the summer of 1505. A lightning bolt struck near to him as he was returning to school. Terrified, he cried out, "Help, St. Anne! I'll become a monk!" [Brecht, vol. 1, p. 48]. Spared of his life, Luther kept his bargain, dropped out of law school and entered the monastery there.
