Doctor Luther at the Wartburg

Doctor Luther sat at the Wartburg translating the Bible. The Devil did not like this and wanted to disturb the sacred work, but when he tried to tempt him, Luther grabbed the ink pot from which he was writing, and threw it at the Evil One's head. Still today they show the room and the chair where Luther was sitting, and the spot on the wall made by the flying ink.

• Source: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Doktor Luther zu Wartburg, Deutsche Sagen (German Legends), vol. 2 (1818), no. 562.

• Translated by D. L. Ashliman. © 2000.

• Martin Luther (1483-1546) was the most important leader of the Protestant reformation in Germany. His translation of the Bible into German remains one of Germany's most enduring religious, cultural, and linguistic monuments. He completed the New Testament (from Greek) in 1522 and the Old Testament (from Hebrew) in 1534.

• The Wartburg is a fortified castle overlooking the town of Eisenach in Thüringen (Thuringia). Friedrich III, Elector of Saxony, sheltered Luther at the Wartburg between May 1521 and March 1522. It was here that Luther began his translation of the New Testament into German.

Related links

• D. L. Ashliman's folktexts, a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.

• The Grimm Brothers' Home Page.

• The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales (Grimms' Fairy Tales).

Revised January 12, 2000.