July 2, 2023 - Germany
Erfurt - Martin Luther at University and Monastery.
Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) was the man whose defiance of the Roman Catholic Church inaugurated the Protestant Reformation. He spent his young adult period in Erfurt where he attended university and then a monastery.
Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, County of Mansfeld, in the Holy Roman Empire. In 1501, at age 17, Martin entered the University of Erfurt, He was made to awaken at 4 a.m. for "a day of rote learning and often wearying spiritual exercises. The main studies at the university were the Seven Free Arts: grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy. He received his master's degree in 1505. In accordance with his father's wishes, Luther enrolled in law but dropped out almost immediately, believing that law was an uncertain profession. Luther instead sought assurances about life and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing interest in Aristotle, William of Ockham, and Gabriel Biel. 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 and to test everything himself by experience. Luther learns to value the correct knowledge of old languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew) and rhetoric. Erfut humanists stimulate an independent study of the Holy Bible and church leaders. At the Erfurt university library, he reads in a complete edition of the Bible for the first time in his life. He reads the Roman poets Ovid and Virgil in the original language.
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 Anna, I will become a monk!" 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 in Erfurt on 17 July 1505. Luther dedicated himself to the Augustinian order, devoting himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, pilgrimage, and frequent confession. On entering the library Luther receives a Bible. He studies it with great devotion. Soon he knows many parts by heart. When his first year is over, he has to give back the Bible, which is meant only for novices.
In September 1506, Luther takes the three classical vows for monks: obedience, poverty and chasity. The order recommends Luther for the priesthood. On 4 April 1507, Jerome Schultz, the Bishop of Brandenburg, ordained Luther in Erfurt Cathedral. The Order decides Luther is to study theology. In this context, Luther continues his Bible studies. As often as possible, he retires to the monastery library and reads the Holy Scripture. Very early he is shocked by the difference between biblical statements and the teachings of the church of his time.
The following year, in 1508, Luther began teaching theology at the University of Wittenberg. 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, succeeding von Staupitz as chair of theology. He spent the rest of his career in this position at the University of Wittenberg.
Our first stop in Erfurt was the Augustianian Monastery and Church.
"On July 17, 1505, a young student knocked on the door of this monastery and declared that he wished to become a monk. " -- Rick Steves
The museum had an excellent exhibit on the history of the bible. At top is a Papyrus Codex. Before parchment (calfskin) and paper (invented in China and not used until the 13th century) -- writing was done on papyrus, the cheap material at the time. The New Testament was not combined in the form of scrolls but single sheets were collected to form a "codex"and placed between wooden covers for protection.
Papyrus is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, a wetland sedge. Papyrus can also refer to a document written on sheets of such material, joined side by side and rolled up into a scroll, an early form of a book. Papyrus was first known to have been used in Egypt as the papyrus plant was once abundant across the Nile Delta. The earliest archaeological evidence of papyrus -- the Diary of Merer -- date from c. 2560–2550 BC. The papyrus rolls describe the last years of building the Great Pyramid of Giza.. Papyrus was also used throughout the Mediterranean region. Apart from writing material, ancient Egyptians employed papyrus in the construction of other artifacts, such as reed boats, mats, rope, sandals, and baskets.
In the first centuries BC and AD, papyrus scrolls gained a rival as a writing surface in the form of Parchment, which is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of young animals such as lambs and young calves. The skins of about 500 calves were needed for the parchment pages of a whole Bible.
At bottom is a Bible created around 1000 - 1020. Not only was it copied on parchment by hand, probably at a monastery, but it was artistically decorated and "illuminated" by pictures. An industrias writer needed at least one year to copy one Bible.
A working model of the 15th-century Johannes Gutenberg printing press: the first movable type printing system . It was one of most influential inventions in human history. Gutenberg (1393–1406 to 3 February 1468) had probably perfected his printing press by 1440 and by 1450 the press was in operation. Possibly a German poem was the first item to be printed. In 1455, Gutenberg completed his famous 42-line Bible, known as the Gutenberg Bible. About 180 copies were printed, three quarters on paper, and the rest on vellum. The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible established the superiority of movable type for Western languages. The printing press rapidly spread across Europe, leading up to the Renaissance, and later all around the world.
"It was the combination of humanism, Gutenberg, and Luther that resulted in affordable Bibles in the everyday language rather than Latin." ... Rick Steves
This room is lined with small cells where monks would meditate. (The monks all slept together on the main floor.)
The doorway at center left is the cell where Monk Martin meditated.
