text:
Martin Luther's Writings
Summary and Keywords
Luther's reform spread as rapidly and as widely as it did because of his effective marshalling of the media of oral proclamation and the relatively new medium of printed materials produced with movable type. His use of printed materials to spread his Reformation embraced a number of genres. The medieval genre, including the ars moriendi and meditations on Christ's passion, provided avenues to deconstruct and reconstruct the theology and practice of the medieval church. The disputation form of the Ninety-Five Theses generated both the expanded form of argument in the "sermo" and various expressions of polemical literature. Luther transformed catechesis with his Large and Small Catechisms, helped popularize the hymn as a medium of instruction and devotion, provided "continuing education" for parish pastors through published sermons, and formulated his message for public and pastoral consumption in other genres as well. Each of these genres served, in different ways, as means for the Wittenberg reformer to shape the message and practice of the church and its people. In each genre, he continued to experiment with effective ways of calling hearers and readers to repentance and of bringing them the comfort of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Keywords: Martin Luther, catechisms, devotional writings, doctrinal writings, disputations, exegesis, genre, hymns, polemic, preaching, sermons
Luther and the Medium of Print
As Martin Luther perceived how the printers had capitalized on the publication of his Ninety-Five Theses on indulgences at the end of 1517, he almost immediately grasped the potential of the printing trade for facilitating the spread of his call for reform and for propagating his understanding of the biblical message.1 He quickly learned how to put the printers' craft to use in the service of his efforts to transform the public teaching and practice of the Christian faith. A few months earlier, in the spring of 1517, he had published meditations on the seven "penitential psalms" in German, for a lay audience,2 apparently already sensing something of the potential of the printed word. The previous month he had tried to stir up a debate on scholastic theology by printing a few copies of theses written for the promotion of Franz Günther, but they had not elicited significant reaction. The theses on indulgences, however, were different. Once the printers had shown him the fuller potential of their craft, he translated the concerns of the Ninety-Five Theses into German and into another genre. His treatise Sermon on Grace and Indulgences articulated a popular expression of the pastoral passion that had caused him to write the Theses. Its popularity made him realize that the medium of print offered a tool for spreading his ideas on a new scale. Its success very quickly caused him to compose other treatises, in Latin and German, not only mastering the medium of the printing press but also marshalling several literary genres in service of his cause.
Scholars have dwelt upon the core of Luther's published works throughout the last five hundred years, but relatively little attention has been given to the phenomenon of his oeuvre as a whole or to the role the printing press played in the spread of his message. Studies of how he preached have included studies of his printed sermons, but only since the McLuhan discussion of media introduced topics concerning print and publishing has there been interest in Luther's writing or publishing as a critical means of spreading his message.
Religion is translation, according to Michael DeJonge and Christiane Tietz: every religion has its tradition, its activity of passing on the insights of sacred texts, whether written or oral or both. Its established principles and precepts must be rendered suitable for conveying meaning in new times and situations.3 DeJonge labels this process "linguistic-historical contextualization," in the case of Christianity above all, the placement of the biblical narrative and the message it conveys from the pages of Scripture into specific cultural settings.4 James Nestingen has shown how Luther transformed the tradition sent forth by Mediterranean Christianity into the idiom of the Germanic cultures of his time by preparing his Small Catechism as a tool in the catechetical genre for recultivating the Lord's vineyard among those whose language he spoke.5 Only recently have scholars recognized the importance of taking the precise genre that Luther uses at any given time into account in evaluating what is being read. His linguistic gifts and creativity are reflected in his creative use of several theological genres as he broadcast his ideas through the medium of print.6
The term "genre" has at least two faces, specifying "a literature type which makes meaning and produces effects in a particular way."7 That is, genre refers primarily to literary form and style (e.g., the disputation, the sermon) but also often designates the purpose or goal of a written piece (e.g., polemical or catechetical), which may direct the composition of works in more than one literary form. The term genre is also used to designate a literary activity (e.g., translation) that may be used to render a document of any literary style and many purposes into another language or situation.
Jerome Bruner observed that genre "seems to be a way of both organizing the structure of events [or arguments] and organizing the telling"8 or conveying them so that readers can integrate them into their own thinking. Neil Leroux elaborates: authors construct their writing in such a way that they communicate with readers not only through the content they present but also through "the forms into which the information is organized." Forms can aid in conveying the author's concerns because they "elicit our recognition of its rightness or fittingness. Furthermore, this rightness—our cooperation with and ability to apprehend, appreciate, and participate in form (whether by agreeing with it, rejoicing at it, mourning over it, being terrified by it, etc.)—is the work's psychology, the explanation behind its function."9
Luther skillfully employed several forms to create means whereby he was able to convey his redefinition of what it means to be Christian to his reading public. Each genre propelled the impact of this freshly expressed delineation of the experience of the faith in its own way. As a child, student, and monk, Luther had absorbed an understanding of the Christian life centered on the performance of sacred rituals—above all, attendance at mass and submission to the sacrament of penance, with the execution of its satisfactions largely through religious activities and guaranteed by the hierarchy that preserved order in Christ's church and world. Within the framework of the worldview given him by instructors heavily influenced by the Ockhamist tradition, Luther's own personal disposition and gifts prepared him as he studied Scripture in the 1510s to discover that, contrary to that medieval view, God comes to sinners before they can move in his direction. The Wittenberg professor came to perceive that God comes through his Word, set down in Scripture and delivered in a variety of oral, written, and sacramental forms. Although Luther communicated above all orally as preacher and lecturer,10 he exploited his gift for writing by appropriating and exploiting a number of medieval genres, including the art of dying, mediation on Christ's passion, Rogationtide prayers, and catechetical preaching. However, he often broke through the boundaries set by earlier paradigms. His linguistic gifts and creativity are reflected in his imaginative appropriation of several theological genres that he inherited as he broadcast his ideas through the medium of print. Luther used visual imagery in creative ways in his oral and written communication, sketching word pictures and creating dramatic scenes in the imaginations of readers and hearers. This holistic view of communication proceeded from God's speaking to his people, although Luther could not conceive of words apart from images.11
Above all, Luther counted on the content of his words to win adherence to his proposals regarding the reform of the church and his proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But his uncanny ability to attract the attention of contemporaries and to penetrate their minds and hearts with his ideas made him a rhetorical pioneer in a fashion akin to the "social media" of the 21st century, marshalling both songs and illustrations to supplement and support his words.12 Although the Reformation spread through the power of preaching—its power was magnified by the fact that this dispersal took place across a largely illiterate culture. The power of the press impelled the Wittenberg appeal for reform into the minds of Luther's literate contemporaries in significant ways, for what was printed shaped what was preached in decisive fashion far beyond the confines of Wittenberg.13 However, none of his contemporaries had every word of his at hand, as do modern readers. No editions of his unpublished works existed, and regional publication patterns influenced what people read because local printers selected the titles they reprinted.14 Indeed, scholars had contacts who shopped regularly for them at the book fair held in Frankfurt am Main, but even they did not acquire all that appeared across the German printing industry.
Luther's Use of Genre
The following survey cannot list all the works published under Luther's name in his own lifetime and in the years immediately following, but it is intended to show the range of his endeavors to reach the reading public and those who could not read during his lifetime.
The Disputation
Monastic life had given Luther practice in the oral exercise of certain genres, above all, preaching, including catechesis through the sermon, which was the normal method of instructing in the faith in the Middle Ages. His calling as university professor quickly made him a skilled practitioner not only of the lecture but also of the medieval way of testing and graduating students, that is, the disputation. The disputation is composed of short, thetical statements on a topic that were defended by students against the questions of instructors and senior students. This form was also employed by instructors to test their ideas in the forum of their fellows. It thus functioned as "an element of the method of commenting on texts" when certain ideas already in circulation in written form became the subject of the disputation. Luther used the disputation to raise a discussion of the issues he was coming to view as critical for understanding the biblical message, e.g., made public through theses composed in 1516, undoubtedly under Luther's impetus and guidance, by a candidate for the degree of Sententarius, Bartholomäus Bernhardi, on the subject of the powers of the human will apart from grace.15 Like Luther's disputation theses "against scholastic theology" a year later, in which his negative critique attacked essential elements of Gabriel Biel's theology in content and method,16 these theses were published only later, as were his famous theses at Heidelberg in 1518.17
After the publication of the theses on indulgences, Luther turned to the disputation form in his published report on the exchange with Johannes Eck in formal disputation in Leipzig in 151918 and continued to put it to use in the university,19 but he largely abandoned it thereafter until the University of Wittenberg reintroduced the practice in 1533. Over the last twelve years of his life, he supervised some thirty disputations20 on vital subjects, including Romans 3:28 and the relationship of faith and law,21 the nature of the human creature,22 antinomianism,23 John 1:14 and the incarnation,24 and the two natures of Christ.25 These disputations aided the entire Wittenberg team in refining the formulation of essential elements of Luther's message.
The Sermo
Two literary genres may be said to reflect the disputation as a mode of thinking. The first is the sermo, in this case not a term for a sermon preached in church but rather for a treatise organized with a structure somewhat resembling the public university disputation. In classical and medieval Latin, sermo referred to a variety of oral discourse. Luther applied the term to his printed discussion of academic topics as well. In his usage, the sermo examined a topic in an organized manner although this genre was designed for reading and not for public discussion. Sermones generally enumerated the key points of the author's argument, sometimes with scholastic "corollaries" of extended elaboration to support them. Several sermones by Luther appeared in 1518 and 1519; they treated a variety of pastoral and ecclesiastical concerns, some in Latin and some in German. Among the earliest sermones were two on ethical issues: usury and marriage.26 Questions of ecclesiastical practice were also treated with "sermonic" analysis.27 Luther recast several medieval genres into this form in the late 1510s, as several of his devotionally oriented sermones demonstrate.
Meditations on Christ's passion intended to encourage those suffering serious illness had had widespread readership in the late medieval period. Luther shifted the focus of this genre in his "Sermon on the Meditation of Christ's Holy Suffering," moving from the "man of sorrows" model of a Christ who suffered with his people to a proclamation of the forgiveness of sins that comes from Christ's dying for his people.28 Its twenty-four printings provided relief for "a terror-stricken heart and a despairing conscience," in part by criticizing medieval patterns of presenting the passion that were encased in false and misleading views of the significance of Christ's suffering and dying and in part by assuring readers that Christ has atoned for all sins on the cross. Luther distinguished the law, which through Christ's passion highlights but also kills sinfulness, from the gospel of the passion, which delivers God's love in the liberation of the conscience from sin's burden and attacks sin's hold on daily habits. In this way, a faithful Christian life reflects the trust in Christ's work on the cross as the atonement from sin.
The prayers of the medieval pious were directed toward God on behalf of a productive season in the days between Rogate Sunday and Ascension Day each year. In 1519, Luther used this occasion to produce a sermo on proper prayer, particularly for the crops and harvest, while criticizing superstitions and other abuses that had accrued to this practice in the Late Middle Ages.29
Luther redefined the ars moriendi (the "art of dying") genre in a sermo, explicitly enumerating the twenty points he wished his readers to absorb regarding the subject.30 The medieval genre explicating the art of dying arose in the 15th century as a kind of manual for laity as well as priests in preparing for death, and it aided the dying as well as the individual in preparing for death. Luther's work, according to Werner Goez, breaks the bonds set by its predecessors: it "stands in an old tradition but departs from it at a decisive point and focuses on one thing: only faith in the cross of Christ helps in the final struggle."31 No longer did the human approach to God through good works, especially of a sacred or religious nature, set the tone for preparing to meet the Maker. God had come in Jesus Christ to liberate sinners from death. Trust in his saving death and resurrection would free the dying from the effects of the law. They included "the terrifying image of death, the terrible many-sided image of sin, and the unbearable and unavoidable image of hell and eternal damnation,"32 all of which caused sinners to flee to God's mercy in Christ. Biblical examples as well as counsel and consolation from Scripture address the reader throughout. This sermo was printed twenty-two times within three years by nine printers, demonstrating that Luther used the genre to meet general spiritual needs.
When Elector Frederick the Wise fell ill in 1519, Luther borrowed a genre from the graphic arts, the theme of the fourteen auxiliary saints, whose aid brought healing or relief in various kinds of ills and misfortune. He sketched fourteen genuine sources of consolations by describing a verbal altarpiece with comforting words on seven pairs of images, depicting the evils and the blessings within each, temporally before, temporally behind, beneath and above, and on the right and left hands. Adulterated versions that appeared in 1520 and subsequent years caused Luther to reissue an official version in 1536.33 By 1521, the word sermo had assumed for Luther its more general medieval meaning of sermon and was used on occasion from that time on for texts of what he had preached.34
The second genre that somewhat parallels and reflects the university disputation is often labeled "polemic" although polemical arguments found their place in a variety of literary forms, including exegetical lectures, sermons, doctrinal, and even devotional treatises. Devotional literature often took on a polemical nature by attempting to deconstruct medieval practices, most regarded by all Protestant reformers as superstitious. In addition, a large number of Luther's most important writings—and many of his less significant ventures into print—can be classified as "contra-writings," that is, treatises specifically aimed at the deconstruction of medieval theology or practice, or composed in defense of Luther's person or thought in reaction to an attack from critics. Irene Dingel has observed how this genre developed out of the formal university disputation but took on new existential expression as it moved into the vernacular as an appeal for popular support. Papal threats of excommunication and burning at the stake added a certain critical dimension to these exchanges.35 Luther's polemical writings were most often directed against specific individuals who had condemned his attempts at reform. However, the need (or occasion) to write against them became also a laboratory for the further development of his thinking and the refinement of his presentation of his ideas.
E. Gordon Rupp once said that Luther had not been given sufficient credit for the polemic he did not write, given the barrage of rather vicious criticism that came his way from curial officials in Rome and some German colleagues.36 Luther's popular presentation of his pastoral concerns regarding indulgences invited rebuttal from Conrad Wimpina, professor at Wittenberg's rival university among the new foundations of higher education in the central German lands, Frankfurt an der Oder. A related text appeared after Luther's confrontation with Cardinal Cajetan in Augsburg in October 1518; he issued his "Acta" of their exchanges as a defense of his own position and conduct against criticisms lodged against him by his opponent.37 Luther replied to this critique, expressing his defense of his position in German, in the polemical genre that came to typify much of the public discussion of his ideas in the next decade.38 As the exchange between Wittenberg and its opponents became more heated, Luther's pen produced responses to Johannes Eck39 and Ambrosius Catharinus,40 among others. In 1521, he and Hieronymus Emser, court theologian in Leipzig, traded barbs in print.41
Continuing attacks elicited his "Confession" or "Assertion" of the teaching that Roman officialdom had rejected, issued in Latin with German translation.42 Other attacks on him were in the works. That of Jacob Masson (Latomus) of the University of Louvain in 1521 elicited Luther's extended exposition of his understanding of what it means to be human and how justification comes to believers through repentance, apart from the works that follow from faith.43 King Henry VIII of England, with the help of his ghost writer, Thomas Wolsey, entered the lists against Luther with a response to his Babylonian Captivity, to which Luther responded with succinct summaries of his own views on a series of divisive issues, repudiating papal teaching and practice.44 Duke George of Saxony joined his court theologians, including Emser, in attacking Luther, and Luther replied in kind, most importantly in 1525 and in 1533.45 Toward the end of his life, Luther responded to the harsh assaults of Duke Heinrich of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel on Elector Johann Friedrich of Saxony with his Wider Hans Wurst of 1541, an exposition of the reformer's doctrine of the church and a critique of papal ecclesiology.46 The most famous of Luther's contra-writings appeared at the end of 1525, in response to the attack of Desiderius Erasmus on his understanding of the boundness of the choice of the sinful human will in relation to God. His longest single work, De servo arbitrio, disappeared quickly from the public agenda in the 16th century, only to emerge in the 19th century as a milestone of his doctrinal development even though he abandoned the use of certain terminology and argumentation to maintain his views in succeeding years.47
Apart from direct personal engagement with his critics, Luther also authored a number of critical examinations of medieval pious practice, particularly those surrounding the Lord's Supper because the mass claimed the center of medieval devotion. These tracts may be regarded as contra-writings because they deconstruct central elements of piety, but at the same time, they should also be seen as devotional writings. Emphasis fell on the construction of a new attitude toward the Lord's Supper, defined especially as a concretization of the believer's fellowship with the Lord Jesus and with other believers, in his sermo on The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods of December 1519.48 Six months later, A Treatise on the New Testament, That is, The Holy Mass appeared, giving evidence that Luther's view of transubstantiation, present in the earlier treatise, had disappeared; the critique that appeared two months later in The Babylonian Captivity of the Church had not yet been developed.49 That longer treatise, published in October 1520, rejected and deconstructed medieval teaching on transubstantiation, communing with one kind, the mass as sacrifice, and the celebration of the mass on behalf of the dead. A series of analyses of aspects of medieval sacramental teaching and practice followed over the next six years: a protestatio, calling for the Abrogation of the Private mass (1521),50 On the Misuse of the Mass (1521),51 On the Reception of Both Kinds in the Sacrament (1522),52 On the Veneration of the Sacrament of the Holy Body of Christ (1523),53 and On the Abomination of the Secret Mass (1525).54
By 1525, Luther was turning the primary attention of his defense of his teachings to those who had supported him initially but then rejected his teaching on the Lord's Supper and related issues. The first of a series of treatises countered the views of his colleague Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt.55 Three of his sermons preached in Wittenberg in early 1526 against deviations from his teaching on the sacrament of the altar were published later in that year,56 as a flurry of attacks on his sacramental doctrine was beginning to appear from the pens of Ulrich Zwingli, Johannes Oecolampadius, and others.57 Luther issued two major, extensive, rejoinders to these condemnations of what his opponents feared was a failure to abandon totally superstitious medieval teachings on the presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. His That These Words of Christ, "This Is My Body," Still Stand Firm against the Schwärmer, etc., appeared in 1527, followed by Concerning Christ's Supper, Confession the following year, placing the genre of his personal confession of faith into the context of his critique of his "sacramentarian" opponents.58 Other contra-writings appeared in the 1530s and 1540s; noteworthy are a final rejoinder to the Zwinglian circle in his Brief Confession Concerning the Holy Sacrament of 154459 and a final critique of the papacy, Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil of 1545.60
Luther's treatises against the Jews constitute a somewhat different kind of contra-writings and fall into two categories, those that reacted against Jews because of reports the reformer had received concerning physical attacks on Christians or attempts to convert Christians to Judaism, which he did not investigate but simply took at face value, and those that criticized specific Jewish exegetes for their failure to find the Trinity in certain Old Testament passages and to identify Old Testament messianic prophecies as such.61
Most medieval Christians had not often heard sermons; the celebration of the mass sufficed to aid them in making contact with God. But church officials recognized preaching as an important medium for conveying the biblical message, particularly for instructing in the basic elements of the catechism.62 From the 13th century, the preaching orders, including Luther's own Augustinians, gained significance in religious life in Western Europe. Luther's monastic duties included preaching to his brothers in the cloister and providing homiletical help in the town church. Elmer Kiessling demonstrated that his style evolved from the scholastic forms that he had learned (1512–1516), with an emphasis on logical unfolding of ideas, chiefly on ethical topics, to sermons that included the warmth of monastic-mystical piety, focusing on devotion to Jesus (1516–1517) and then slowly incorporating his new insights (1516–1522).63 His initial use of ancient homily style, commenting on one verse after another, later turned to other expository and topical methods, with explanation of linguistic and historical elements of the text, much catechetical instruction, enlived occasionally with often imaginatively developed narratives, typology, and even some allegory on occasion.64 Among Luther's earliest publications were treatments of the basic elements of the catechism, probably written out of sermons preached in the Augustinian monastery, including treatments on the sacraments and the Lord's Prayer.65
A host of Luther's individual sermons were published, based on the notes taken by his official amanuenses, particularly Georg Rörer, as were the series of homiletical treatments of certain biblical books that he undertook at the town church in Wittenberg, particularly during the absences of Johann Bugenhaghen. They included Genesis (1523–1524),66 Exodus (1524–1527), Leviticus (1527–1528), Numbers (1528–1529), Matthew (1528–1529, 1530, 1532, 1537–1540),67 John (1528–1529, 1530–1532, 1537–1540),68 and 1 and 2 Peter and Jude (1523).69 Among the most important of the individual sermons or groups of a few sermons were those on the proper distinction of law and gospel,70 1 Corinthians 15,71 and Ephesians 6.72
In 1521/1522, Luther had already appropriated the postil genre as a means of providing continuing education for priests who wished to proclaim the evangelical message coming from Wittenberg. His first attempts at providing preaching aids for Sunday pericopal preaching took form in extensive Latin narratives, some too long to be simply translated and read, but certainly with study material sufficient to generate several sermons. Students took over the task of editing selected sermons, and the publication of his postils provided models for pericopal preaching on both gospel and epistle lessons to thousands of pastors into the 17th century and beyond.73
Academic Lectures
Luther's sermons from 1520 onward often had elements that sounded like his lectures to students; in fact, students comprised a significant part of his hearers at the town church. Luther's lectures also included homiletical passages, as he had warned readers in the 1519 publication of his lectures of 1516 on Galatians. These lectures, though delivered in quite traditional style, appeared in print as "not so much a commentary as a testimony of my faith in Christ."74 His subsequent published lectures sometimes reflected much of the medieval method of providing glosses on individual words or phrases and scholia that harvested the doctrinal content of the text, but particularly the two major commentaries of the last fifteen years of his life, again on Galatians and on Genesis, reflected the narrative style he had used in 1519. His lectures on the psalms (1513–1515), Romans (1515–1516), and Hebrews (1517–1518) did not appear in print, but beginning with his lectures on the psalms in 1519–1521, most of his lectures became, some more slowly than others, available to the reading public. They included semiprivate lectures on Deuteronomy in 152375 and formal academic lectures on the minor prophets in 1525–1526, Ecclesiastes in 1526,76 1 John,77 Titus,78 and Philemon in 1527,79 1 Timothy in 1528,80 Isaiah in 1527–1530,81 and Song of Solomon in 1530.82 Lectures on Galatians in 1531 and on Genesis 1535–1545 were complemented by occasional lectures on psalms and parts of Isaiah, but his major exegetical work took place in the lectures on Galatians and Genesis, which quickly became two of his most influential works in the subsequent years of the 16th century.83
Devotional Treatises
Luther had begun experimenting with the use of the printed word to cultivate the piety of the people as he edited the "German theology" from the monastic-mystical circles arising out of the teaching of Johannes Tauler84 and with his exposition of the seven "penitential psalms" in 1517. This devotional focus could occur in a variety of formal genres as well as in works dedicated specifically to personal or family meditation. His exposition of the text of the Magnificat, written for his elector's nephew and eventual successor, Johann Friedrich, in 1521, presented Mary's song as a model of trust in God's promise for all.85 Occasional treatments of psalms, often based on sermons Luther had preached, offered readers similar sources for pondering God's address to his human creatures.86 Throughout his career, his concern for nurturing the trust of individuals and families in Christ moved him to produce reflections on passages of Scripture that pointed readers to what God had done for them in the life, death, and the resurrection of Jesus and what He was continuing to do for them each day. Such devotional works also focused on specific topics rather than specific Scripture texts, such as Luther's earlier "sermones" on Christ's passion, preparation for dying, or the sacraments. He offered consolation to those who were suffering harassment or persecution from hostile governments intent on suppressing the Reformation87 and to mothers who had miscarried, and he gave advice for proper behavior under the threat of plague.88
Luther also appropriated the medieval form of the prayer book, which combined elements of catechetical review with preparation for confession of sin to a priest, aids for prayer, and stimulation for meditation on the biblical narrative. In 1522, he published the first of at least thirty-four printings of his Prayer Booklet, one of his most popular works.89 His A Simple Way to Pray, cast in the form of a response to his barber, Peter Beskendorf, also provided a model for praying and meditating on the believer's conversations with God within the framework of the catechism.90
Though closely related, sometimes so close as to be indistinguishable, the catechetical genre formed around the traditional core of fundamental Christian instruction, the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. With additions including treatments of the sacraments, these claim a place among Luther's most enduring and widely used works. He had encouraged others and did some catechetical writing himself, following in the tradition of monastic preaching. In 1529, he produced his catechetical chart as well as his Small Catechism, structured as a dialogue between parents, teachers, or pastor and the child, and his Large Catechism, printed sermons on the catechetical core.91 Catechesis formed the largest single component of Luther's sermons, and it occurs in many other kinds of works, apart from these formal tools for basic instruction in the faith, that carried Luther's teaching to the children of German-speaking lands and their parents.
Doctrinal Works
Luther addressed critical issues of biblical interpretation and application in straightforward works as well. They went far beyond the sermo form in length and detail, supplying readers with narrative examinations of issues, set forth through exegetical exposition, patristic evidence, and logical and rhetorical argumentation. Such works aimed at convincing readers and showing them how to teach and implement certain doctrines, transforming them into personal faith and practice. Because that process often required the deconstruction of scholastic theology and popular practice as well as positive presentations of his teaching, some of these treatises began from—and sometimes consisted largely of—a polemical base. His treatises on the Lord's Supper against Zwingli, Oecolampadius, Karlstadt, and others, as well as many treatments of medieval doctrine and ritual praxis, fall into this category.
Most prominent in 21st-century retrospect are the programmatic treatises of 1520, often numbered three though properly including a fourth and perhaps two other works from subsequent months, which laid before the public, above all the Latin readership, Luther's fundamental proposals for the reform of teaching and life. The first, oft-ignored, of the series, On Good Works, appeared June 1520,92 two months before his adaption of popular grievances calling for extensive reform of religious practice and related matters, the Open Letter to the German Nobility of the German Nation, concerning Reform of the Christian Estate. It voiced longstanding complaints of the German diets against Rome on the basis of Luther's theological framework.93 On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church was issued in October as the Wittenberg critique of the sacramental, sacerdotal system of the ritualized understanding of the Christian faith.94 Luther's only full-length exposition of the biblical doctrine of justification by faith, On the Freedom of a Christian, was published in November 1520, accompanied by an appeal to Pope Leo X for understanding of his position.95 Luther continued to set forth his fundamental ideas in two contra-writings in the following months, Against Latomus of June 1521, which treated core issues including justification by faith, and Judgment on Monastic Vows, which criticized the underlying doctrine and the practices of the monastic way of life.96
Among other examples, including the sacramental discourses opposing the critique of Zwingli and others, are his works at the end of the 1530s and early 1540s, which were evoked by the conversations with Roman Catholic theologians and the possibility of the meeting of the council called by Pope Paul III. His expositions of the ancient creeds in 153897 and On the Councils and the Church98 of 1539 as well as the contra-writing Wider Hans Wurst are examples of such doctrinal essays.
Shorter treatises, often occasioned by an event or challenge from opponents, also placed Luther's teaching on vital topics before the reading public. Examples include those occasioned by the threat of public disorder aroused by Karlstadt's zealous moves for change in Wittenberg99 and by Thomas Müntzer's apocalyptic preaching;100 his discourse on the pastoral office and the priesthood of the baptized, addressed to Bohemian reform movements;101 and treatment on a range of practical matters of Christian life and behavior, including family life,102 education of children,103 military service,104 and economic issues.105 The peasants' revolt106 and the threat of imperial military efforts against Evangelical governments and churches107 attracted Luther's attention as well.
Instructions for Church Life and Liturgy
Johannes Bugenhagen, Luther's colleague on the theological faculty and pastor at the Wittenberg town church, was the Wittenberg team's expert on the composition of regulations for church life (Kirchenordnungen), but Luther was involved in the composition of the instructions for the Saxon visitors, even if Philip Melanchthon seems to have played the chief role in their construction.108 Luther's own response to the request from the town council in Leisnig in 1523 represents a brief venture into the genre of Kirchenordnung that Luther largely left to colleagues, especially Johannes Bugenhagen.109
Luther offered models for both Latin and German liturgy to the reading public as well as a number of tracts presenting forms for occasional services, including confession and absolution.110 He also enriched worship with his thirty-seven published hymn texts111 and his support of printing hymnbooks.112
Luther's name sold books, so a preface from his pen became a coveted addition to the works of his followers. He composed some ninety of them in the last quarter-century of his life, most blog-like in their brief and usually pointed words of encouragement or polemic.
Although translation is itself not a genre, Luther's work as translator, first of all of Scripture but also of hymn texts, made significant contributions to the ecclesiastical life of German-speaking lands (and to the economic welfare of several printers). The New Testament from 1522 on and subsequently published parts of the Old Testament had already won a wide readership and had begun to make a deep impression on German piety, to say nothing of the use of the language, before the appearance of the complete Bible in 1534. Before Luther's death, fourteen editions of this quite expensive book (initially two gulden, eight groschen, at that time worth nearly ten bushels of oats) had come from German presses and even elicited largely plagiarized imitations from the Roman Catholic party.113
Two genres, largely unpublished during Luther's lifetime, also spread Luther's influence and message in noteworthy ways. His massive correspondence (of which more than 4,000 letters survive and these comprise only a part of his epistolary exchanges) advised princes and town councils, adjudicated disputes, provided consolation, made requests in behalf of students and others, offered instruction on critical issues of doctrine and ethics, attacked foes and critics, and simply shared the warmth of friendship.114 The publication of selected letters of Luther began as early as 1525 and continued when, for instance, Matthias Flacius set his correspondence urging no compromise with the papal party from 1530 before the public in 1549, and Johann Aurifaber, one of Luther's amanuenses, edited two volumes that appeared in 1556 and 1565. Other focused collections appeared from time to time over the following years, and some letters were included in the larger editions of Luther's works.115
Luther's students prized and treasured his words, not only in the lecture hall and church, but also at the table. His "table talks" were recorded for private use by a number of students, and in 1566 Johannes Aurifaber edited them, taking some liberties with the notes he had received from others, and organizing the quotations within the loci system he and his fellow students had learned from Philip Melanchthon. Questions are often raised about the accuracy of student memory and the editor's processing of those memories, but the students did count what their "German prophet" actually said as important. Thus, even considering the natural slippage in such a process, these reports still provide good insights into Luther's thinking.116
As new theories emerge from current linguistic and literary discussions, scholars will continue to offer new insights into the dynamic that was sparked by the combination of Martin Luther's natural linguistic and literary gifts, his dedicated study of the biblical text, his lively engagement with his culture, informed as it was by pastoral concerns, and the possibilities for communicating his ideas opened by movable type and the graphic presentations at its command.
Review of the Literature
Luther's works are efficiently indexed in Kurt Aland's Hilfsbuch zum Lutherstudium.117 As noted previously, scholars have given relatively little attention to Luther's use of and interaction with the printing industry and to his use of genre despite their extensive treatment of his use of language.118 In his Gutenberg Galaxy, Marshall McLuhan opened up a new research field, the impact of media upon thinking, but Luther played no significant role in his work.119 Elizabeth Eisenstein treated "the Scriptural tradition recast" by the Reformation in some detail. She points out that "even before Luther . . . Western Christendom had already called on printers to help with the crusade against the Turks,"120 but she explores in some detail how Wittenberg reform efforts rode on the printed word, even while emphasizing the spoken word at the center of human existence. The most thorough, extensive examinations of Luther's relationship to the printing industry are those of Mark U. Edwards Jr.121 and Andrew Pettegree.122 John L. Flood also has provided a helpful survey of the topic.123 The Luther Handbuch provides several essays on the wider range of genre used by Luther;124 The Oxford Handbook to Luther's Theology contains four focused genre studies.125
Further Reading
Arnold, Matthieu. La Correspondance de Luther. Étude historique, Littéraire et théologique. Mainz: von Zabern, 1996.Find this resource:
Bluhm, Heinz. Martin Luther, Creative Translator. St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 1965.Find this resource:
Bluhm, Heinz. Luther Translator of Paul. Studies in Romans and Galatians. New York: Lang, 1984.Find this resource:
Burger, Christoph. "Luther's Thought Took Shape in Translation of Scripture and Hymns." In The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology. Edited by Robert Kolb, Irene Dingel, and Lubomir Batka, 481–488. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Find this resource:
Dingel, Irene. "Pruning the Vines, Plowing Up the Vineyard. The Sixteenth-Century Culture of Controversy between Disputation and Polemic." In The Reformation as Christianization. Essays on Scott Hendrix's Christianization Thesis. Edited by Anna Marie Johnson and John A. Maxfield, 397–408. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2012.Find this resource:
Dingel, Irene. "Zwischen Disputation und Polemik. 'Streitkultur' in den nachinterimistischen Kontroversen." In Streitkultur und Öffentlichkeit im konfessionellen Zeitalter. Edited by Henning P. Jürgens and Thomas Weller, 17–29. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013.Find this resource:
Ebeling, Gerhard. Luthers Seelsorge. Theologie in der Vielfalt der Lebensituationen an seinen Briefen dargestellt. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr, 1997.Find this resource:
Edwards, Mark U., Jr.Printing, Propaganda, and Martin Luther. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.Find this resource:
Haemig, Mary Jane. "The Influence of the Genres of Exegetical Instruction, Preaching, and Catechesis on Luther." In The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology. Edited by Robert Kolb, Irene Dingel, and Lubomir Batka, 449–461. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Find this resource:
Junghans, Helmar. "Die Tischreden Martin Luthers." In idem, Spätmittelalter, Luthers Reformation, Kirche in Sachsen. Ausgewählte Aufsätze. Edited by Michael Beyer and Günther Wartenberg, 155–176. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2001.Find this resource:
Kolb, Robert. Luther and the Stories of God, Biblical Narratives as a Foundation for Christian Living. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2012.Find this resource:
Leroux, Neil R.Luther's Rhetoric: Strategies and Style from the Invocavit Sermons. St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 2002.Find this resource:
Mennecke-Haustein, Ute. Luthers Trostbriefe. Gütersloh, Germany: Mohn, 1989.Find this resource:
Nembach, Ulrich. Predigt des Evangeliums. Luther als Prediger, Pädagoge und Rhetor. Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany: Neukirchener Verlag, 1972.Find this resource:
Pettegree, Andrew. Brand Luther. 1517, Printing, and the Making of the Reformation. New York: Penguin, 2015.Find this resource:
Rittgers, Ronald K. "How Luther's Engagement in Pastoral Care Shaped his Theology." In The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology. Edited by Robert Kolb, Irene Dingel, and Lubomir Batka, 462–470. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Find this resource:
Schilling, Johannes, et al. "Gattungen." In Luther Handbuch. Edited by Albrecht Beutel, 258–353. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2005.Find this resource:
Veit, Patrice. Das Kirchenlied in der Reformation Martin Luthers. Stuttgart: Steiner, 1986.Find this resource:
Vind, Anna. "Luther's Thought Assumed Form in Polemics." In The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology. Edited by Robert Kolb, Irene Dingel, and Lubomir Batka, 471–480. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Find this resource:
Vind, Anna. Latomus and Luther. The debate: Is every good deed a sin? Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016.Find this resource:
(1.) Andrew Pettegree, Brand Luther. 1517, Printing, and the Making of the Reformation (New York: Penguin, 2015); Mark U. Edwards Jr.Printing, Propaganda, and Martin Luther (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994).
(3.) Michael P. DeJonge and Christiane Tietz, eds., Translating Religion. What Is Lost and Gained? (New York and Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge, 2015), see esp. the editors' introduction and conclusion, 1–12 and 169–173; Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message. The Missionary Impact on Culture (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1989).
(4.) Michael P. DeJonge, "Historical Translation: Pseudo-Dionysius, Thomas Aquinas, and the Unknown God," in Michael DeJonge and Christiane Tietz, Translating Religion, 29–44.
(5.) "Luther's Cultural Translation of the Catechism," Lutheran Quarterly 15 (2001): 440–452; on the designation of the translation efforts of the reformers in the 16th century as "recultivation," see Scott H. Hendrix, Recultivating the Vineyard, The Reformation Agendas of Christianization (Louisville, KY, and London: Westminster John Knox, 2004).
(6.) See the articles on "Gattungen" in Luther Handbuch, ed. Albrecht Beutel (Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 258–353. Among recent studies focusing on Luther's use of genre, cf. Mary Jane Haemig, "The Influence of the Genres of Exegetical Instruction, Preaching, and Catechesis on Luther," in The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology, eds. Robert Kolb, Irene Dingel, and Lubomir Batka (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 449–461; Ronald K. Rittgers, "How Luther's Engagement in Pastoral Care Shaped his Theology," ibid., 462–470; Anna Vind, "Luther's Thought Assumed Form in Polemics," ibid., 471–480; Christoph Burger, "Luther's Thought Took Shape in Translation of Scripture and Hymns," ibid., 481–488; and Christine Helmer, The Trinity and Martin Luther: a Study on the Relationship between Genre, Language and the Trinity in Luther's Works (1523–1546) (Mainz: von Zabern, 1999).
(7.) James W. Voelz, What Does This Mean? Principles of Biblical Interpretation in the Post-Modern World, 2d ed. (St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 1997), 294.
(8.) Jerome Bruner, Actual Minds, Possible Worlds (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1986), 6.
(9.) Neil R. Leroux, Luther's Rhetoric: Strategies and Style from the Invocavit Sermons (St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 2002), 21–22.
(10.) Edwards, Printing, 11.
(11.) Mark Mattes, Martin Luther's Theology of Beauty (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2017).
(12.) "How Luther went viral," The Economist, December 17, 2011: 93–96.
(13.) Edwards, Printing, 37–38, 11.
(14.) Edwards, Printing, 1–6.
(16.) WA 1:224–228, LW 31:9–16; cf. Ingo Klitsch, "Authoritätenverwendung in der' Disputatio contra scholasticam theologiam," in Volker Leppin, ed., Reformatorische Theologie und Autoritäten. Studien zur Genese des Schriftprinzips bei jungem Luther (Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2015), 42–54 (39–86).
(18.) Disputatio et excusatio F. Martini Luther, 1519, WA 2:158–161, 254–383, cf. 2: 391–435.
(19.) See the list in Luther Handbuch, 332–333.
(20.) See the list in Luther Handbuch, 336–337.
(21.) WA 39/I:53–59 and 59–62, LW 34:109–132; WA 39/I:84–126, 202–257, LW 34:151–196.
(22.) WA 39/I:175–177, LW 34:137–144; cf. Gerhard Ebeling, Lutherstudien, Band II. Disputatio de Homine, 3 vols. (Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 1977–1989).
(26.) Ein Sermon von dem Wucher, 1519, WA 6:1–8, appearing under the same title, 1520 WA 6:36–608; Ein Sermon von dem ehelichen Stand, 1519, WA 2:166–171.
(27.) Sermo de poenitentia, WA 1:317–324; Sermo de digna praeparatione cordis pro suscipiendo sacramento eucharistiae, WA 1:329–334; Sermo de virtute excommunicationis, WA 1:638–643.
(29.) Ein Sermon von dem gepeet und procession yn der Creutz wochen, 1519, WA 2:175–179; LW 42:87–93.
(30.) Ein Sermon von der Bereitung zum Sterben, 1519, WA 2:685–697; LW 42:99–115.
(31.) Werner Goez, "Luthers 'Ein Sermon von der Bereitung zum Sterben' und die spätmittelalterliche ars moriendi," in: Lutherjahrbuch 48 (1981): 114 (97–114); the text in WA 2:685–697.
(34.) E.g., the Invocavit sermons, WA 10/III:1–64; LW 51:70–100, and his sermons on John 20:19–31 of 1522; WA 10/III:86–99.
(35.) "Streitkultur und Kontroversschrifttum im späten 16. Jahrhundert. Versuch einer methodischen Standortbestimmung," in Kommunikation und Transfer im Christentum der frühen Neuzeit, eds. Irene Dingel and Wolf-Friedrich Schäufele (Mainz: Zabern, 2007), 95–111; Irene Dingel, "Pruning the Vines, Plowing Up the Vineyard. The Sixteenth-Century Culture of Controversy between Disputation and Polemic," in The Reformation as Christianization. Essays on Scott Hendrix's Christianization Thesis, eds. Anna Marie Johnson and John A. Maxfield (Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2012), 397–408; Irene Dingel, "Zwischen Disputation und Polemik. 'Streitkultur' in den nachinterimistischen Kontroversen," in Streitkultur und Öffentlichkeit im konfessionellen Zeitalter, eds. Henning P. Jürgens and Thomas Weller (Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013), 17–29.
(36.) In a lecture at Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis, Missouri, March 30, 1973.
(37.) Acta Augustana, WA 2:6–26; LW 31:259–292.
(38.) Eine Freiheit des Sermons päpstlichen Ablaß und Gnade belangend, WA 1:383–393.
(39.) Contra malignum Joh. Eccii iudicium . . . , 1519, WA 2:700–708.
(40.) Ad librum . . . Ambrosii Catharini . . . responsio, 1521, WA 7:705–778.
(41.) Ad aegocerotem Emserianum, 1519, WA 2:658–679; Auf des Bocks zu Leipzig Antwort, 1521, WA 7:271–283; Auf das überchristlich, übergeistlich und überkünstlich Buch Bock Emsers zu Leipzig Antwort, 1521, WA 7:621–688; Ein Widerspruch D. Luthers seines Irrtums . . . , 1521, WA 8:247–254.
(42.) WA 7:94–151, in German; WA 7:308–357; LW 32:7–99.
(43.) WA 8:43–128; LW 32:137–260. Cf. Anna Vind, Latomus and Luther. The debate: Is every good deed a sin? (Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016).
(44.) Contra Henricum Regem Angliae, 1522, WA 10/II:180–222 (Latin), 227–262 (German).
(45.) Ein Sendbrief . . . an Herzog Georg . . . , 1525, WA BR 3:641–643; Verantwortung der aufgelegten Aufruhr von Herzog Georg . . . , 1533, WA 38:96–127, Die kleine Antwort auf Herzog Georgs nächstes Buch, 1533, WA 38:141–170; cf. Mark U. Edwards Jr.Luther's Last Battles. Politics and Polemics, 1531–46 (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983), 38–67.
(46.) WA 51:469–572, LW 41:185–256; cf. Edwards, Last Battles, 143–162.
(47.) De servo arbitrio, WA 18:600–787; LW 33:15–295; cf. Robert Kolb, Bound Choice, Election, and Wittenberg Theological Method from Martin Luther to the Formula of Concord (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 11–66.
(55.) Was sich D. A. Bodenstein von Karlstadt mit . . . Luther beredet zu Jena, 1524, WA 15:334–347; Erklärung, wie Karlstadt seine Lehre vom den hochwüürdigen Sakrament . . . achtet und geachtet haben will, 1525, WA 18:453–466, Entschuldigung D. A. Karlstadts des falschen Namens des Aufruhrs, WA 18:436–445; Wider die himmlischen Propheten . . . , 1525, WA 18:62–125, 134–214; LW 40:79–143, 144–223. See Amy Nelson Burnett, Karlstadt and the Origins of the Eucharistic Controversy: A Study in the Circulation of Ideas. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), and Mark U. Edwards Jr., Luther and the False Brethren (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1975), 34–59.
(57.) Some twenty-five are listed in LW 37:8–11; cf. Edwards, False Brethren, 82–111.
(60.) WA 54:206–299; LW 41:206–299; Edwards, Last Battles, 163–202.
(61.) Chief among them are Against the Sabbatarians, 1538, WA 50:312–337; Against the Jews and their Lies, 1543, WA 53:417–552; LW 47:137–306; Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi, 1543, WA 53:579–648; cf. Edwards, Last Battles, 115–142. The forthcoming study of these writings by Stephen Burnett will offer an interpretation of these writings in their setting within late medieval Jewish exegesis and previous Christian use of it.
(62.) Cf., e.g., Paul W. Robinson, "Lord, Teach Us to Pray. Preaching the Pater Noster in Germany and Austria 1100–1500," PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2001.
(63.) The Early Sermons of Luther and their Relation to the Pre-Reformation Sermon (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1935), 68–108.
(64.) Ibid., 60–62. Cf. Ulrich Nembach, Predigt des Evangeliums. Luther als Prediger, Pädagoge und Rhetor (Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany: Neukirchener Verlag, 1972), Robert Kolb, Luther and the Stories of God, Biblical Narratives as a Foundation for Christian Living (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2012).
(65.) WA 1:2250–256, 258–265, 319–324; WA 2:80–130; LW 42:19–81; cf. The Latin text of a series of sermons preached to the people, WA 1:398–521.
(66.) WA 14:14–488; WA 24:1–710; cf. Sabine Hiebsch, Figura ecclesiae: Lea und Rachel in Martin Luthers Genesispredigten (Münster, Germany: LIT, 2002).
(67.) Matt. 5–7, 1530/1532; WA 32:299–544; LW 22:3–294.
(68.) John 1–4, 1537–1539; WA 46:568–789, 47:1–231; LW 225–530; John 16, 1538/1539; WA 46:1–111; LW 24:299–422.
(73.) See the careful tracing of the history of the publication of his postils by Benjamin Mayes in LW 75:xiii–xxxii.
(76.) WA 20:7–203; LW 15:3–187. Cf. Rosin, Reformers, 79–150.
(81.) WA 31/II:1–585, 25:87–401; LW 16 and 17.
(83.) See Karin Bornkamm, Luthers Auslegungen des Galaterbriefs von 1519 und 1531 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1963); John A. Maxfield, Luther's Lectures on Genesis and the Formation of Evangelical Identity (Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 2008).
(84.) First in an incomplete edition, see Luther's preface, WA 1:53, and then in 1518, in a complete edition: Luther's preface, WA 1:378–179.
(86.) Among many examples, on Psalm 90, 1534/1535, WA 41:79–239; LW 13:75–141; Psalms of comfort (37, 62, 94, 109) for Queen Mary of Hungary at the death of her husband, Louis II, in battle against the Turkish invaders, 1526, WA 19:552–615; LW 14:209–277.
(87.) A Missive to All Who Suffer Persecution Because of God's Word, 1522, WA 10/II:53–60; LW 43:61–70, To All Christians in Worms, 1523, WA BR 3:138–140; LW 43:77–79, A Christian Letter of Consolation to the People of Miltenberg, 1524, WA 15:69–78; LW 43:103–112; Comfort for the Christians at Halle in Regard to the Death of Their Preacher George, 1527, WA 23:402–431; LW 43:145–165.
(91.) Die Bekenntnisschrfiten der Evangelische-Lutherischen Kirche, ed. Irene Dingel (Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2014), 852–910, 912–1162; The Book of Concord, eds. Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000), 347–375 (Small Catechism), 379–480 (Large Catechism); cf. WA 30/I:243–425 (Small Catechism), 125–238 (Large Catechism).
(96.) WA 8:573–669; LW 44:251–400; Lohse, Theology, 137–143.
(99.) A Faithful Admonition to All Christians, to Avoid Insurrection and Public Disorder, 1522, WA 8:676–687; LW 45:57–74.
(100.) On Temporal Authority, To What Extent One Must Obey It, 1523, WA 11:245–280; LW 45:81–129.
(101.) On the Establishment of the Ministry of the Church, 1523, WA 12:169–196; LW 40:7–44.
(102.) On Marriage Matters, 1530, WA 30/III:205–248; LW 46:265–320.
(103.) A Sermon on Keeping Children in School, 1530, WA 30/II:517–588; LW 46:213–258.
(104.) Whether Soldiers, Too, Can Be Saved, 1526, WA 19:623–662; LW 46:137.
(105.) Trade and Usury, 1524, WA 15:293–313, 321–322, WA 6:36–60; LW 45:245–310; Admonition to Pastors to Preach against Usury, 1540, WA 51:331–424.
(106.) Luther's three most important treatises on the Peasants Revolts are found in WA 18:291–324, 357–361, 384–401; LW 46:27–55, 49–55, 63–85.
(107.) Warning to His Dear German People, WA 30/III:276–320; LW 47:11–43.
(109.) Ordnung eines gemeinen Kastens, 1523, WA 12:11–30.
(110.) WA 12:51–52; WA 19:537–541; WA BR 3:462–463, §847; WA 30/I:343–345, 383–387; WA 30/III:74–80; WA 38:423–431; LW 53:96–126; cf. Vilmos Vajta, Luther on Worship (Philadelphia: Mulhenberg, 1958); Joseph Herl, Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries of Conflict (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
(111.) WA 411–473; LW 53:211–309; cf. ed. Markus Jenny, Luthers Geistliche Lieder und Kirchengesänge (Archiv zur Weimarer Ausgabe 4; Cologne: Böhlau, 1985), and Patrice Veit, Das Kirchenlied in der Reformation Martin Luthers (Stuttgart: Steiner, 1986).
(112.) He wrote prefaces for several: WA 35:474–484; LW 53:319–334.
(113.) Pettegree, Brand Luther, esp. 185–192; cf. Heinz Bluhm, Martin Luther, Creative Translator (St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 1965); and idem, Luther Translator of Paul. Studies in Romans and Galatians (New York: Lang, 1984).
(114.) Cf. the eighteen volumes of letters, with indices in WA Br; selections are translated in WA 48–50; cf. Matthieu Arnold, La Correspondance de Luther. Étude historique, Littéraire et théologique (Mainz: von Zabern, 1996); Gerhard Ebeling, Luthers Seelsorge. Theologie in der Vielfalt der Lebensituationen an seinen Briefen dargestellt (Tübingen, Germany: Mohr, 1997); and Ute Mennecke-Haustein, Luthers Trostbriefe (Gütersloh, Germany: Mohn, 1989).
(115.) Hans Volz and Eike Wolgast, "Geschichte der Lutherbriefeditionen des 16. bis 20. Jahrhunderts," in WA BR 14:353–422.
(116.) WA TR presents six volumes of "Tischreden"; cf. Helmar Junghans, "Die Tischreden Martin Luthers," in idem, Spätmittelalter, Luthers Reformation, Kirche in Sachsen. Ausgewählte Aufsätze, eds. Michael Beyer and Günther Wartenberg (Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2001), 155–176.
(117.) Hilfsbuch zum Lutherstudium (Bielefeld, Germany: Luther-Verlag, 1996).
(118.) Johannes von Lüpke, "Luther's Use of Language," in The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther's Theology, 143–155.
(119.) The Gutenberg Galaxy. The Making of Typographic Man (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962).
(120.) The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. Communications and Cultural Transformations in Early-Modern Europe (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 303. Originally published in 1979.
(121.) Printing, Propaganda, and Martin Luther (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994).
(122.) Brand Luther. 1517, Printing, and the Making of the Reformation (New York: Penguin, 2015).
(123.) "The book in Reformation Germany," in The Reformation and the Book, eds. Jean François Gilmont and Karin Maag (Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 1998), 21–103.
(124.) Luther Handbuch, ed. Beutel, 258–353.
(125.) See entries above.


text:
Affcot Lodge
Formally called the Travellers Rest, The Affcot Lodge has changed ownership and undergone substantial refurbishment. Owned and run by Chris and Wendy Davis with their dedicated team the Lodge re-opened for business on 1st July 2011. Situated in Upper Affcot on the A49 between Church Stretton and Craven Arms the Affcot Lodge Hotel offers comfortable upgraded accommodation, extensive bar facilities, daily menus, fresh local produce, and the best Sunday Carvery around . We are on the A49, please ignore Sat nav s directions telling you to turn off the main road. Whether you are local, or planning a visit to South Shropshire soon, the Lodge is the ideal place to stop. The 10 bedrooms, offer varied accommodation and specification. Each room has en-suite bathrooms, free wi-fi, tea and coffee making facilities and flat screen TV. Availability includes two family rooms, double and twin bedrooms and rooms with disabled access. With a beautiful, countryside setting Affcot Lodge offers the perfect location to enjoy dinner and special occasions with friends and family. The space can be arranged to suit your event-whatever the style and there are menus to suit all budgets. The Conservatory can be hired for breakfast, lunch or dinner and can accommodate up to 40 people. We are a Vegetarian friendly Hotel. Offering quality Bed and Breakfast at affordable prices for your stay in Church Stretton or Craven Arms, you can be assured of a warm welcome and glorious food to make your stay in South Shropshire extra special.
Text supplied by third party.
Comments & ratings
To post a comment, sign in with:Facebook Google
Not registered? Create an accountForgotten your password?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In the latest issue of Lorentzen & Wettre´s newsletter, Quality Times, you can read about several product releases and articles of the KC/7 success in varying. Our Professionals will present you Essay Help Online. Maybe English is not your main subject, but does not mean that there is no need look for college essay help. CNN Student News is a ten-minute, commercial-free, daily news program designed for middle and high school classes. Students take the new SAT starting in March 2016. The SAT, a globally recognized college admission test, has been redesigned to be more focused than ever before.
Search for scholarships for college students with our free matching service for scholarships. Also learn about financial aid and student loan options to find money. Finding Scholarships has never been easier. Scholarship Applications for college, engineering, high school, nursing, and first year students are all. Try our best English essay writing service features that you can imagine. We provide superior quality original and custom essays with high-speed delivery. The Experience. Get an insider's perspective on life at Connecticut College through the lens of our student bloggers. The Experience Progressive Career Program.
If you have been dreading to write an essay, you can now get essays written for you by qualified writers. Pearson Prentice Hall and our other respected imprints provide educational materials, technologies, assessments and related services across the secondary curriculum. Custom Essay Writing Service. Do you want to buy a custom essay online because you feel you are stuck with the process of writing? Is writing an essay on a.
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to. BigSun Scholarship2017. The BigSun Organization is proud to be able to help young athletes succeed in their academic pursuits. In order to do our part we are. News Brockport Shines During Winter Gala. Nearly 400 people filled the Hyatt Regency ballroom to celebrate The College at Brockport and support its students during. Are you looking for someone who can write a paper for you to earn good grades? We are here to help you with exceptional English essay writing for any subject.
You'll Succeed Even if the deadline is hard on heels! Professional Essay Writer from essaycapital.org will help you. Coffee won't help you to write a good essay. The essay writing industry is a source of interesting statistical data. California, New York and Texas are the most popular regions where orders were. This I Believe is an international organization engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives.
FinAid, The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid, is the most comprehensive free resource for objective and unbiased information, advice and tools about student. Whether you're a student or parent, years away from college or just a few days away, we have checklists to help you get ready. What's it like to take classes online? See our video and read through our FAQs. Learn what our Student Services staff can do for you — from your very first.


text:
Overland Journal: Reviews from the Trail
By Roger Blair
In the span of a year, three Oregon authors wrote books about Oregon Trail pioneers who brought slaves to Oregon and the efforts of those slaves to gain freedom for themselves or their loved ones.
Two of those books, Jane Kirkpatrick's A Light in the Wilderness (2014) and Phillip Margolin's Worthy Brown's Daughter (2014), are fiction based upon actual events.
The third, R. Gregory Nokes's Breaking Chains (2013), is non-fiction and discusses the events fictionalized in the other two. Nokes carefully discusses the background leading up to the 1852 trial of Nathaniel Ford's slave Robin Holmes versus Ford to gain the promised, but unfulfilled, freedom of Holmes's children. This background includes the history of Oregon's lure; the land laws and laws against blacks in Oregon whether free or slaves; and other black history in Oregon before 1852. Using previously published sources and Ford family history, the author describes Ford's 1844 wagon train over the Oregon Trail. He then goes on to cover Ford's and Holmes's settlement in Polk County, and Ford's involvement in establishing the Applegate Trail, also called the Southern Route.
The bulk of the book covers the unique trial in 1852 when Holmes sued for and won the freedom of his children, whom Ford had refused to surrender as promised. The trial is detailed from actual court records, the only slavery case to be decided in an Oregon court.
Nokes goes on to discuss the stories of other blacks in Oregon during the Oregon Trail era, including one person brought over by his ancestors. The author states that his interest in this story started with a mention of slaves in his own family genealogy. He is a direct descendant of 1853 emigrants, including one who brought a slave to Oregon from Kentucky. Nokes, of West Linn, Oregon, was a reporter for the Associated Press and editor of The Oregonian newspaper. Nokes includes two quotes in his prologue to explain the purpose of writing this book. The first, from Darrell Millner, professor of black studies at Portland State University, says "We shouldn't necessarily apply today's standards to events of the past. But we shouldn't hide our past either."
The second, from Nokes, says "If I were in school again, I would want to understand the real history of our state, not a sanitized version that misleads us into myths and misplaced self-satisfaction. We can learn from our past. We should." This reviewer very much agrees.


text:
Aluminium Square Swirl Diffuser
|FOB Price:
|US $6 / Piece
|Min. Order:
|1 Piece
|Min. Order
|FOB Price
|1 Piece
|US $6/ Piece
|Production Capacity:
|500000/Per Year
|Transport Package:
|Standard Export Strong Carton Box
|Payment Terms:
Request a custom order and have something just for you!Send Customized Request
- Model NO.: JL-SD-B
- Usage: for Experiment, for Air Conditioner, for Manufacture, for Refrigerate
- Venetian-Style Air Layers: Bunk
- Certification: ISO
- Trademark: JL
- Origin: China
- Material: Aluminum
- Type: Venetian-Style Outlet
- Installation: Outlet
- Colour: Standard White or Customer Need
- Specification: 250~530mm
- HS Code: 7671699900
- SD-B swirl diffusers consist of fixed, rapidly arranged air control blades.
- The diffuser face of SD-B offers a high volume flow rate at low sound power levels
- Available in 4 sizes to meet architectural requirements, the face plate can be circular or square.
- Square face plate are designed for T-bar-ceiling.
- Powder-coated surface finish, standard colour RAL9010,9016.
300 595 254
400 595 336
500 595 440
600 595 530
625 623 530
* JL is the leader of air diffusion technology .We concerntration on high quality and competitive price.We have strict qualtiy control process,and every product is hand inspected to ensure it will be in good quality condition .
* JL will work to develop new design and technologies to achieve better product performance,easier to install and higher quanlty year on year .
* JL personnel will always cooperate with the customer to make doing business together and efficient ,fast and pleasant experience .
* JL is you best choice ,we are ready to cooperate with you to provide a comfortable way of handling air.


text:
As I stated in my project introduction, I didn't do one drawing each day. I knew I wouldn't, and I didn't. The idea of making sure to do something out of habit every day for a year is too overwhelming to me. To be honest, when I decided to do 366 sketches, one sketch for... Continue Reading →
the sketchbook project 2013: hang like ghosts
My old clothes don't fit like they once did, so they hang like ghosts of the people I've been. –Death Cab for Cutie
the sketchbook project 2013: be brave and be kind
Say 'Look at me, Baby, we'll be fine. All we have to do is be brave and be kind'. I put on an argyle sweater and put on a smile. I don't know how to do this. I'm so sorry for everything. -The National
the sketchbook project 2013: but I feel like a waterfall
I am letting go, but I have never felt better. I move slow and steady, but I feel like a waterfall. I move slow and steady past the ones that I used to know. –Of Monsters and Men
the sketchbook project 2013: a heavy heart
I was a heavy heart to carry, but he never let me down. –Florence + the machine


text:
I have to be honest, this is the first time I hear about this brand… or maybe not, the thing is that it hasn't been on my radar, but now, that has to change lovers… I think this collection was amazing !!! First I was thinking like "oh, ok.. it is simple" but then I saw the details and the sandals and the great tailoring and that is when I said "ok I'm in"
The thing here is that the details were the best, I loved so much the details on the shoulders? from the neck to the shoulders, I think it were amazing and I loved them so much, in combination with the simple looks were perfect !!!
And of course the phrases in latin, I loved that deatial it was really chic and to be honest I'm currently in love with these t-shirts with phrases, and to be honest, right now I'm wearing one with the phrase "it's never too late" so I loved that !!
And the sandals.. well.. I have a shoe fetish now, you know it !!! great collecction and now is on my radar !!!
Alexloves: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥


text:
Breakfast & Brunch Bargains in Tempe, AZ
From welcoming patios to mouth watering dishes, Tempe boosts some of best breakfast and brunch spots in all of Arizona(and I am not just…Read More
From welcoming patios to mouth watering dishes, Tempe boosts some of best breakfast and brunch spots in all of Arizona(and I am not just…Read More
When between jobs in 2009, I found myself with an abundant amount of free time and little spending money. I spent most of my…Read More
Taking a trip at least once a month forces you to get creative when it comes to your vacation budget. I once spent $1500…Read More
If your jaw drops when refurnishing TV shows cut to the vintage coffee table and announce nonchalantly that they purchased it for a $450…Read More
Robert Kiyosaki, creator of Cash Flow and the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, said, "Money is not the goal. Money has no value. The…Read More
College is one of the few times in life where you will have more time than money. It's a time to get creative with…Read More
When it comes to budgeting I often find that many of us struggle with instant gratification. Many of us think that saving for retirement…Read More
The best things in life aren't things. Most of us would agree that there is no possession in this world that we'd trade for…Read More
Some may argue that the flight experience is just as important as the destination. In my frugal world of traveling, flights are a means…Read More
This month I have a good friend visiting me from the Netherlands. Being that it is her first time in America, I am dying…Read More


text: Rahul Nabar <rpnabar <at> gmail.com> writes: > Here's a Bazaar feature that confuses me: How can I query a parent dir > recursively and get a log of what changes occurred in all sub-dirs and > files. > > Let's say I have a dir ~/parent with two files in it 1.txt and 2.txt. > > bzr add ~/parent > > added parent > added parent/1.txt > added parent/2.txt > > bzr commit ~/parent > > After this I set up a daily cron job that: > > bzr commit ~/parent --message "Daily automatic commit of changed files" > > So far so good. But if one day I removed 1.txt. The next daily cron > commit would capture that. > > removed: > parent/1.txt > > But a month later if I wanted to know the history of what went on with > this dir. and I try: > > bzr log ~/parent > > I only get my first "manual" commit as output with no indication of > the removed file. Which log would the "file removal" message be > accessible through? How can I figure out what files were deleted etc. > over time? It wasn't where I expected it, but ``bzr status`` can give you the information you want by specifying a range of revisions. Try ``bzr st -S -r date:2008-2-14.. parent`` to see which files have changes since then. I'd give you some sample output, but my bzr.dev seems to have a broken log command: nmb at guttle[~/src/bzr/bzr.dev]$ bzr log -r 3365 bzrlib bzr: ERROR: exceptions.KeyError: 'john at arbash-meinel.com-20050711051006-2d11704675600e95' Traceback (most recent call last): File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/commands.py", line 846, in run_bzr_catch_errors return run_bzr(argv) File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/commands.py", line 802, in run_bzr ret = run(*run_argv) File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/commands.py", line 504, in run_argv_aliases return self.run(**all_cmd_args) File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/commands.py", line 812, in ignore_pipe result = func(*args, **kwargs) File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/builtins.py", line 1791, in run limit=limit) File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/log.py", line 185, in show_log start_revision, end_revision, search, limit) File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/log.py", line 215, in _show_log allow_single_merge_revision) File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/log.py", line 282, in calculate_view_revisions view_revisions) File "/Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/log.py", line 482, in _filter_revisions_touching_file_id rev_ancestry = rev_ancestry.union(ancestry[parent]) KeyError: 'john at arbash-meinel.com-20050711051006-2d11704675600e95' bzr 1.4dev on python 2.5.1 (darwin) arguments: ['/Users/nmb/usr/bin/bzr', 'log', '-r', '3365', 'bzrlib'] encoding: 'US-ASCII', fsenc: 'utf-8', lang: None plugins: bzr_xmloutput /Users/nmb/.bazaar/plugins/bzr_xmloutput [0.4.0] latex_version_info /Users/nmb/.bazaar/plugins/latex_version_info [0.0.2] launchpad /Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/plugins/launchpad [unknown] multiparent /Users/nmb/src/bzr/bzr.dev/bzrlib/plugins/multiparent.pyc [unknown] qbzr /Users/nmb/.bazaar/plugins/qbzr [0.8.0] *** Bazaar has encountered an internal error. Please report a bug at https://bugs.launchpad.net/bzr/+filebug including this traceback, and a description of what you were doing when the error occurred.


text:
Belkin PRO Series - Serial / parallel cable - DB-25 (M) to DB-25 (M) - 15 ft - (F3D111-15)Item#: 67040 | Model#: F3D111-15
- Price:
- $13.99
Free Shipping Today!
- Shipping:
- Temporarily out of stock. Order today and we'll deliver when available. (Details)
BELKIN CABLE 15FT DB25M-DB25M Product Details
Type: Serial / parallel cable
American Wire Gauge (AWG): 28
Plated Connector: Gold
Features: Molded
Length: 15 ft
Connector: 25 pin D-Sub (DB-25) - male
Connector (Second End): 25 pin D-Sub (DB-25) - male
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support: Limited lifetime warranty
Related ItemsPrevious
Manufactured by: Belkin
Warranty provided by: Belkin
UPC No: 722868100561
Mfg Part No: F3D111-15
Box Size:
( Length:0, Width:0, Depth:0)
Shipping Weight: 1.3798 pound(s)
Click here for full warranty and support information
- Belkin logos are registered trademarks of Belkin. All others trademarks and copyrights mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.


text:
Kellogg's Cereal 4/$6 with Ultra in-ad coupon
Use 2 x $1/2 Kellogg's Rice Krispies, Rice Krispies Gluten Free, or Cocoa Krispies, exp. 5/13/12 (RP 04/01/12 R)
Final Price: 4/$4
** Pepsi Instant Savings: Save $5 instantly when you buy 5 select pepsi items. Limit 2 x $5 savings per customer.
Remember those awesome pepsi coupons? The ones that just came in the paper? Now would be a great time to grab em! I listed them but here are some of my favorites:
- Starbucks Frapuccino Coffee or Doubleshot Espresso $2/2 5/16/12 Pepsi Moments 04/29/12 4
- Frito-Lay Variety Pack $1/1 5/16/12 Pepsi Moments 04/29/12 20-ct.+
- Lays Baked Snacks $1/2 5/16/12 Pepsi Moments 04/29/12 8-oz.+
- Lays Potato Chips $1/2 5/16/12 Pepsi Moments 04/29/12 10-oz.+
- Lipton Iced Tea $1/2 5/16/12 Pepsi Moments 04/29/12 12-pk., 16.9-oz. PET bottles or 16-oz. Glass bottles
Conagra Instant Savings: Save $3 when you buy 10 participating items. This is a manufacturer's coupon. My favorite deals after coupon:
- Chef Boyardee 14.5-15.1oz $.58
- Banquet dinners $.48
- Hunt's Ketchup 24oz $.58
- Van Camp's pork and beans 15oz $.28
- Banquet briown n serve $.68
- Hebrew National Franks 11-12oz $3.68
** May Madness: Check out your in-ad flyer for Ultra coupons.
After coupon deals:
* Oscar Mayer bologna or salami 16oz 3/$3
* Centrella Paper Towel, 8 select a size 3/$10
Kraft Mayonnaise 30oz $4.49
Use in-ad coupon to get them 2/$4
Receive Your Bucks: $2/2 Kraft Mayo (Future Savings) printable
Final Price: 2/$2
Hills Brothers 26oz $4.99 after coupon
Use $1/1 Hills Bros. Coffee printable
Final price: $3.99
Red Gold Tomatoes 14.5-15.1oz $.89
Use $0.75/3 Red Gold Tomatoes printable
Final price: $1.92/3
Taco Bell salsa 16oz and dinner kit $1.66
Use $3/2 Taco Bell Home Originals (Future Savings) printable
Final price: $.32/2 (if this coupon can be used.)
Uncle Ben/s Rice 6.8-8oz $1.88
Use $1/2 Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice, exp. 6/3/12 (RP 04/01/12 R)
Final price: $2.76/2
Pillsbury Rolls $1
Haagen Dasz 14oz ice cream or 5-6 pack snacks $3.33
20 MIR Red Envelope Gift Certificate wyb Haagen-Dazs Products (Future Savings) printable
Final price: Varies
Other Great Deals
- Ultra has Cinco De Mayo on sale! Lots of goodies including Corn tostata $.48, 7oz pastas $.18, La Preferida taco seasoning $.38 and even if you're not having a party, it's great to have on hand for taco night.
- Strawberries $1.28#
- Tomatoes or broccoli $.99#
- Idaho potatoes $1.98 for 8#
- Chips Ahoy cookies 9.4-14oz $1.88. L2
- Pork spare ribs $1.88#
- American trimmed lamb breast $1.99#. CRAZY cheap!
- Pictsweet frozen veg $.99
These deals may vary from IN to IL.
* Curious as to where the coupons are I'm getting? Read How To Get Coupons 411 and the best way to get newspaper coupons. To obtain coupons, you can check out coupons.com, RedPlum, Coupon Network and SmartSource. Check out the Mummy Deals Coupon Database


text:
Sort by:
Gardasil in Ireland under scrutiny. 150 girls from the group REGRET believe their debilitating cond… Diane, Denizen Jul 14 6 views
In this video, The New American's foreign correspondent Alex Newman explains why governments, the U… Diane, Denizen May 16 13 views
Based on CDC and FDA documents, this animation reveals the actual ingredients and manufacturing met… Diane, Denizen Apr 6 26 views
Linderman Unleashed Radio Show March 28th 2013 Broadcast. Curt Linderman speaks with Dr. Blaylock a… Diane, Denizen Apr 3 29 views
This is about money, the people of Sandy Hook have made millions, this would make most people cover… Diane, Denizen Feb 25 9 views
For some reason Farcebook keeps taking this video down when I put it up. My own view is that Jackso… Diane, Denizen Jan 12 36 views
Freeman and I shoot the breeze and cover it all from his very begginings in this "conspiratorial" w… Diane, Denizen Dec 23, 2016 13 views
World Tour Tickets - http://www.TheWorldWideWakeUp.com 2016/17 Demonising Russia And Where It Is Pl… Diane, Denizen Dec 19, 2016 22 views
Please Support The Show – http://richieallen.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/therichieallenshow htt… Diane, Denizen Sep 9, 2016 85 views
Watch All Episodes Free: http://go.thetruthaboutcancer.com/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.face… Diane, Denizen Apr 13, 2016 27 views
Let us not forget the past, the State should not hi-jack the memory of those who fought so selfless… Diane, Denizen Apr 11, 2016 7 views
03/11/2015: Irish Minister for Health is asked to meet with Irish Parents group R.E.G.R.E.T. This r… Diane, Denizen Apr 1, 2016 14 views
KEEP YOUR WEALTH TRANSFER YOUR FRNS MONEY INTO TRUE GOLD CURRENCY KEEP IT IN A VAULT, REDEEM IT WIT… Diane, Denizen Mar 17, 2016 30 views
Strangely relevant to these times, this new series reveals just about everything 'we' know. Putting… Diane, Denizen Feb 6, 2016 14 views
We all want to see the end of 'The State'; this could be the vehicle. Many commentators are saying… Diane, Denizen Feb 4, 2016 14 views
When I first heard of this 'surgery' I didn't like the sound of it; shooting a laser into the eye?… Diane, Denizen Jan 31, 2016 10 views
How evil is the English establishment? This evil! Diane, Denizen Jan 26, 2016 27 views
Well done young lady! Diane, Denizen Jan 7, 2016 58 views
Please Support The Show – http://richieallen.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/therichieallenshow htt… Diane, Denizen Dec 20, 2015 55 views
Essential listening! Diane, Denizen Dec 15, 2015 35 views


text:
Like how I incorporated a Led Zeppelin song into my combination of a crazy fitness habit and love of writing?
If not, stop reading. More heavy metal puns ahead!
Today I planned on running the stairs at Harvard Stadium, but an interesting challenge came in a Spartan Race email:
300 total burpees today.
As much as I hate burpees, I love a good challenge–and I also wanted to run the stairs. So at lunchtime, I headed over to the stadium and came up with an interval workout:
Run up one set of steps or seats (alternating), walk fast down the next, do 10 burpees at the landing. Repeat 15 times.
Oh shit, that was hard! I wanted to stop many times, but I'm stubborn and foolish, so kept going.
But, I still had 150 burpees to go.
On the walk out of the stadium, I did a few more sets of burpees, making it up to 200. Ugh. 100 more. What is wrong with me? Why would I sign myself up for this torture? Three hundred burpees is bad enough, but I had to combine it with stairs?
Back at the house, I squeezed out a set of 25 burpees. Did some other things. Another set.
My husband walked in from a camping trip and was greeted by a crazy looking wife in a yellow tank top and hair piled up on her head, saying "Only 50 more burpees to go!"
Two more sets of 25 and — DONE!
No, it was definitely not the Stairway to Heaven today. More like the Highway to Hell.
I warned you about the metal puns!


text:
"Volare" as written by Mitchell Parish, Domenico Modugno and Franco Migliacci....
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Volare song meanings
Add your thoughts
No Comments
- No Comments
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don't have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It's super easy, we promise!