Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German theologian and religious reformer, who started the

Protestant Reformation, and whose vast influence during his time period made him

one of the crucial figures in modern European history. Luther was born in

Eisleben on November 10, 1483 and was descended from the peasantry, a fact that

he often stressed. Hans Luther, his father, was a copper miner. Luther received

a sound primary and secondary education at Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. In

1501, at the age of 17, he enrolled at the University of Erfurt, receiving a

bachelor's degree in 1502 and a master's degree in 1505 . He then intended to

study law, as his father had wished. In the summer of 1505, he abandoned his

studies and his law plans, sold his books, and entered the Augustinian monastery

in Erfurt. The decision surprised his friends and appalled his father. Later in

his life, Luther explained his surprising

decision by recollecting several

brushes with death that had occurred at the time, making him aware of the

fleeting character of life. In the monastery he observed the rules imposed on a

novice but did not find the peace in God he had expected. Nevertheless, Luther

made his profession as a monk in the fall of 1506, and his superiors selected

him for the priesthood. Ordained in 1507, he approached his first celebration of

the mass with awe. After his ordination, Luther was asked to study theology in

order to become a professor at one of the many new German universities staffed

by monks. In 1508 he was assigned by Johann von Staupitz, vicar-general of the

Augustinians and a friend and counselor, to the new University of Wittenberg

(founded