With the building of the fortification in Wittenberg the Reformator had large annoyance. The walls approached too closely at house and garden. Thus he wrote end of 1541 an articulate letter at Friedrich von der Grüne, to the armorer and fortress engineer of the elector:
My dear Armorer,
You know that you is forbidden by mylord to build too close to my house or to damage it. Now you transport from own quarrel and outrage debris to my house and overwhelm the middle room until to the lattice work, which was ordered to you certainly by the devil, since it disagrees the instruction of mylord and I don't have allowed it. Everybody can feel and write publicly, that you haven't any interest for your building, but only to run me away from my house, to drag in the mud the letter and the seal of the elector. Therefore it is my will, you shall remove the debris, soon after receipt of this letter, again from my middle room, because I can't bear it there, and you have to fulfill my wishes. Likewise you shall repair my brewery door, that you have ruined by stones to my annoyance, and you shall underwrite, that the debris doesn't damage the wall. If you don't fulfill my wishes, I will not allow, that you godless menial take, what a christian ruler has given, sealed and certified, and I will report all to mylord.
Because you should be sure, that I make room no inch for your accursed building, with that you plundered the moneybag of mylord. And hereby I prayed to the Lord, he might convert you and transform to another man, otherwise you would be shortly in the abyss of hell. But that I don't wish for you and on this account I have not written to you. Therewith I am pardoned by god and you have to shoulder your sin and cursedness, you should be hereby warned. There were a good deal bigger devils and tyrants like you, but all of them are deceased and they all must let shining the sun in the sky above.
Martinus Luther
If you read correctly the letter, Luther threatens the armorer with hellfire. If it were so easy nowadays too.
The family found relaxation with frequent walking-tours. Often they walked many hours singing and joking into the Annaburger heathland. Then they took a break with the minister Stiefel in Annaburg, which particularly in the cherry time many small guests visited gladly. Shorter walks led to the parishes of the immediate vicinity. The forests at the way had grown there, where the axe had not yet worked, with their old trunks wildly to the jungle. Katharina carried always the basket brim-full with beverages and food supply with itself, in order not to become a burden for the others. On the way home then this basket was filled with mushrooms and berries.
In January 1542 was the last large celebration in the Luther house. The granddaughter of Luther's sister, Hanna Strauß, celebrated wedding with Magister Heinrich of Kölleda. For this the Reformator asked from the friendly Anhalter princely brothers in Dessau for something game, which was hardly to get in Wittenberg. In the form of a wild pig this arrived together with many other wedding gifts also in time. Likewise it was not missing Franconian wine and a keg with beer from Jüterborg, the hometown of the bridegroom.
“Early rise and young marry ”, said Luther of the marriage. He supported some young couple, which have promised themselves each other for the life and as pledge for this a coin or rings exchanged. This 'ring marriage 'was a relic from catholic time. However the young people should not marry in “the first heat” and suddenly, so that the children, for Martin Luther in each marriage naturally, also are able to grow up and to be educated in steady family community. In this sense his children and care children were educated, that passed their education on to the grandchildren.
Johannes Luther with his mother and his sister Elisabeth, who sits on the lap of a relative or girl-friend of her mother , attending the divine service
In the autumn large mourning came into the Luther house. The 14-year-old daughter Magdalena deceased on 26 September 1542 after only short illness. She was buried on the cemetery before the Elsterdoor. Then Katharina had large pain, when her best girl-friend Käthe deceased, the wife of Justus Jonas, who was provost in Halle.
In addition, Martin Luther was struck in this year repeatedly by more easily illness, so that the family doctor, Augustin Schurff, a relative of Melanchton had very often to be called into the Black Monastery. By his diseases the Reformator was convinced he should make his will. Martin Luther ignored the law rules at that time, according to which the widow has only right to a chair and a spin wheel. Thus he dictated his last will Bugenhagen. Melanchthon and Caspar Cruziger countersigned the will. In addition Luther meant:
'You must believe him (=Bugenhagen) more than a notary, because he is a notary of the Lord and witness for his gospel, and it would be have a cause, why he had not used the juristic form and words.'
In the will Luther appointed now his Käthe as the exclusive heiress of all mobile and immovable property, so that she must not look to the children in the hands, but these however into her hands, as long as she is unmarried and divides the property with the common children.
Against the activities of the lawyers Luther had obviously a deep dislike. Already in early years he said to his son Martin, if you should become a lawyer, then I want you to hang on the gallows. In his after-dinner speeches the lawyers got again and again once a verbal strike of him. Here only two short examples:
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A lawyer must have a steely head, a silver moneybag, and a leaden ass.
The next day one should do a doctor's degree, for this Luther said: Tomorrow a new viper will be made against the theologians.
Luther took also his son Johannes to task, whether he had the wish to study law and added:
'If I would know, you want to become a lawyer and we came back again to Wittenberg, I would throw you from the Elb river bridge into the Elb, let you be drowned and I had any doubt, I would argue this sin with god rather than I would allow to you, that you become a lawyer and rogue.'
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Martin Luther
Thus Johannes started 1543 his studies 'in Artibus' in Wittenberg. His two brothers Martin and Paul advanced by Melanchthon and Vitus Winsheim in latin and Greek instruction. On Paul the preceptor Rutfeld reported however to the father, he is good in music, but in grammar badly.
The daughter Margarethe continued to practice in housekeeping and
cultivation the two hooves (approx. 35 hectars) of the family gardens. Two hooves or approx. 35 hectars are the dimension of a complete farmer property in the East of Germany. With the gardens it might have concerned often small fields.
Her father tried to instruct Margarethe also in the household calculation. In doing so Luther discovered, that he had to expend daily alone for buns 31 groats and 4 pennies and yet for beverages 4 pennies, thus for the kitchen 500 florins every year, not to mention all other, and his remuneration was only 200 florins annual. Thus Luther resigned:
'... I want to calculate nevermore, it makes me peevish; I had not believed, that one Human neeeds so much.'
According to this math wasn't his favourite subject.
In Wittenberg the tensions between the city and the students became still larger, whereby the supply on the market was worsened more and more. Luther was glad to have in Nuremberg good friends who could help with all kinds
of provisions. These were his former friars the abbott Friedrich Becker, Wenceslaus Link as well as Veit Dietrich, who became after his removal of Wittenberg a minister to the Sebalduskirche in Nuremberg. With the old “adorer” of Katharina, Hieronymus Baumgärtner, councilman in Nuremberg, likewise a very cordial friendship remained.
Before Easter 1544 again a serious illness pulled into the Black Monastery. All children have the smallpox, Margarethe afterwards still the fever.
Now Luther didn't feel good in Wittenberg still less, so that it pushed him to move. The friends could retune him however.
The crush of the students brought not only good willing students to Wittenberg, but also all kinds of people, which wanted to benefit from it. Also the inhabitants exploited the students and female riffraff moved through the city. In Wittenberg there were represented not only the German tribes , but also Russia and Prussia, Wends and Sorbs, Walen and Sweden, Bohemia and Poland, Hungary, everything come to Wittenberg to hear Dr. Luthers lectures.
1545 Johannes, the eldest son, was allowed to accompany for the first time his father on a journey to Mansfeld. He also participated, when Luther together with Cruziger went over Löbnitz to Zeitz. There they were arranged with bishop Amsdorf, in order to settle a dispute between the clergymen Mohr and Medler. From Leipzig Luther writes to his dear Käthe, how well he was held in Löbnitz of Ernst von Schönfeld and in Leipzig still much more beautifully by Heinz Scherle. He wants to return nevermore to Wittenberg, he would remain on Zülsdorf, there he would ameliorate the homestead and there spends the last years. From Zeitz the Reformator still went to Merseburg because of the request of the prince George. However Mrs. Käthe showed the threatening letter to the chancellor Brück. On that Melanchthon explained, in this case he would also not remain in Wittenberg.
Wittenberger, aldermen, citizenry and in particular the university were deeply frightened. What would be Wittenberg without Luther? The government promised serious measures against the nuisance in Wittenberg. In addition they sent Melanchthon, Bugenhagen, Major and the printer Hans Lufft, which was now a city judge, to Merseburg. Martin Luther could be calmed down and returned. At the request of the count Mansfeld Luther decided to travel in January 1546 to Eisleben.
He wanted to participate there in negotiations to encourage conciliation. On this journey his three sons accompanied him Johannes, Paul and Martin. Because of the flood of the Saale river they stopped in Halle for 4 days, wherefrom now Justus Jonas traveled with them. Johannes Luther journied on to Mansfeld to his uncle Jacob. Martin and Paul remained with the father in Eisleben. On 17 February Luther will strike of a large indisposition, whereon he must leave the evening party early. Justus Jonas and count Albrecht of Mansfeld strive for his well-being, the
physician Aurifaber supplies the Reformator with medicine. But on the next day
Luther without pain and in peace deceases.
In Eisleben the corpse was laid out in a tinny coffin in the Andreas church and guarded by ten citizens. Accompanied of the whole family of Count Albrecht of Mansfeld, as well as of the population, Luther's corpse was transferred into the Woman Church to Halle. Through Bitterfeld the coffin came then, by 65 prepared horses flanked, to Wittenberg. There the corpse was sadly expected of the whole university and the citizenry and led into the castle church. The sons Paul and Martin, as well as Johannes returned with the dead father to Wittenberg. The relatives from Mansfeld came with them; the brother Jacob and the nephew of the Reformator Cyriak Kaufmann participated. Katharina expected the funeral procession together with her daughter Margareta before the city, from there also Melanchthon, Bugenhagen, chancellor Brück, the mayor Cranach, Cruziger, as well as all professors and doctors led the hearse through the city. Under the lectern of the castle church the coffin was put down, covered with black cloth. Here Martin Luther found his last home. The memory speech was delivered by the old and friend of many years of the deceased, Philipp Melanchthon, the funeral sermon was presented by Dr. Pommer.
Continued with part 2 in the next issue of qoqa.de
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