The first bestseller in world history
The ultimate, epic saga of love, war, death, destruction, hope, power and faith. Excerpts from Stephan Füssel`s introduction to 'The Luther Bible of 1534'
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The influence in subsequent centuries of Luther's language and style not only goes back to the widespread Bible but also to his theological tracts, to copies by his disciples, as, for example, in Tischreden, and finally to his catechism, hymns and Protestant sermons. Most of the Reformation pamphlets refer to Luther's Bible; many authors quote it in their fictional texts, from Hans Sachs (1494-1576) to the Historia von D. Johann Fausten which was published in 1587. The Bible often being the only book in the household, it was frequently used as a primer. In 1642 the rhetorician and theologian Johann Conrad Dannhauer of Strasbourg lectured about suitable reading for Christians, condemning the genre of novels: "Away with Amadis / pastoral poetry / Eulenspiegel / Gartengesellschaft / Rollwagen / and other awful books of the kind-German is best learnt through the Bible and the books of Luther ...".
"Luther German" is also used in the edifying writings and in Bible dramas of the 16th/17th centuries. In the 18th century, philosophers of the Enlightenment and classical writers from Johann Hamann to Friedrich Klopstock and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe re-examined the language of the Reformer, who influenced writers down to Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht.
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Bible translation truly culminated in the works of Martin Luther, whose vigorous language and theological interpretation still fascinate us today, 500 years after its first publication. Paying homage to Luther would entail translating the Bible anew for each generation, from the original texts into contemporary language, taking into account his proven formulations.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The influence in subsequent centuries of Luther's language and style not only goes back to the widespread Bible but also to his theological tracts, to copies by his disciples, as, for example, in Tischreden, and finally to his catechism, hymns and Protestant sermons. Most of the Reformation pamphlets refer to Luther's Bible; many authors quote it in their fictional texts, from Hans Sachs (1494-1576) to the Historia von D. Johann Fausten which was published in 1587. The Bible often being the only book in the household, it was frequently used as a primer. In 1642 the rhetorician and theologian Johann Conrad Dannhauer of Strasbourg lectured about suitable reading for Christians, condemning the genre of novels: "Away with Amadis / pastoral poetry / Eulenspiegel / Gartengesellschaft / Rollwagen / and other awful books of the kind-German is best learnt through the Bible and the books of Luther ...".
"Luther German" is also used in the edifying writings and in Bible dramas of the 16th/17th centuries. In the 18th century, philosophers of the Enlightenment and classical writers from Johann Hamann to Friedrich Klopstock and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe re-examined the language of the Reformer, who influenced writers down to Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht.
***
Bible translation truly culminated in the works of Martin Luther, whose vigorous language and theological interpretation still fascinate us today, 500 years after its first publication. Paying homage to Luther would entail translating the Bible anew for each generation, from the original texts into contemporary language, taking into account his proven formulations.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The Luther Bible of 1534
Hardcover, 2 Vol. + Booklet, 19.7 x 30.8 cm (7.8 x 12.1 in.), 1888 pages
$ 150.00
$ 150.00
The complete reprint of Luther's seminal publication
Revelation, fol. CXCIIv: The beast coming out of the sea, having seven heads and ten crowned horns, is venerated by the humans, beside it the beast coming out of the earth with two horns like a lamb and a monk’s cap and hood