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German scientists have reconstructed an extraordinarily detailed picture of the domestic life of Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer and father of Protestantism, by trawling through his household waste uncovered during archaeological digs on sites where he used to live.
Despite the widespread belief that Luther lived in poverty, evidence suggests he was a well-fed man — weighing in at a hefty 150 kg when he died in 1546 at the age of 63.
Even Luther's claim that he came from humble circumstances has been dismissed. New evidence has shown that his father owned land and a copper mill besides lending money for interest. His mother meanwhile was born into an upper middle class family and it is unlikely, as Luther suggested, that she "carried all her wood on her back".
Extensive research carried out at the family home in Wittenberg showed that Luther wrote his celebrated texts with goose quills under lamps lit by animal fat, in a heated room which overlooked the River Elbe. It obviously suited him because he churned out 1,800 pages a year. It debunks something of the Luther myth to know he wrote the 95 theses on a stone toilet, which was dug up in 2004.
But the claim by historians which will arguably be most upsetting for followers is the recently uncovered written evidence that it was not, as thought, a lightning bolt which led to the then 21- year-old's spontaneous declaration he wanted to become a monk. Rather, it was his desperation to escape an impending arranged marriage.
German scientists have reconstructed an extraordinarily detailed picture of the domestic life of Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer and father of Protestantism, by trawling through his household waste uncovered during archaeological digs on sites where he used to live.
Despite the widespread belief that Luther lived in poverty, evidence suggests he was a well-fed man — weighing in at a hefty 150 kg when he died in 1546 at the age of 63.
Even Luther's claim that he came from humble circumstances has been dismissed. New evidence has shown that his father owned land and a copper mill besides lending money for interest. His mother meanwhile was born into an upper middle class family and it is unlikely, as Luther suggested, that she "carried all her wood on her back".
Extensive research carried out at the family home in Wittenberg showed that Luther wrote his celebrated texts with goose quills under lamps lit by animal fat, in a heated room which overlooked the River Elbe. It obviously suited him because he churned out 1,800 pages a year. It debunks something of the Luther myth to know he wrote the 95 theses on a stone toilet, which was dug up in 2004.
But the claim by historians which will arguably be most upsetting for followers is the recently uncovered written evidence that it was not, as thought, a lightning bolt which led to the then 21- year-old's spontaneous declaration he wanted to become a monk. Rather, it was his desperation to escape an impending arranged marriage.
Kate Connolly. History digs up the dirt on Martin Luther, In: The Guardian, Monday, 27 Oct./2008. Internet: <www.guardian.co.uk> (adapted).
The word “digs” is
