Martin Luther - The 1534 Bible
Although by no means the first translation of the Bible into German, Martin Luther drew from Latin, Greek, and Hebrew sources in order to create a translation in the language of the modern people. He did this by spending time in nearby towns and markets listening to people speak with one another. Combined with the recent invention of the printing press, the Luther Bible made waves across Europe and inspired other theologians to make vernacular translations of their own. The result was a model for the development of New High German. This cultural treasure from the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, the highlight of its prestigious collections, is the most precious and artful of the 60 surviving copies of the first complete edition of the Luther Bible, which was published in 1534. What sets it apart is the quality of its 128 woodcuts, which have been painted with deep shades of blue, green, and red as well as being occasionally illuminated with gold. 28 of the woodcuts originated from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder and some of those decorated with gold are even said to have been made by Cranach himself. Thankfully, this gem was saved from destruction when the library caught fire and remains undamaged today.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Luther Bibel von 1534
Biblia, das ist, Die gantze Heilige Schrifft deudsch
Bible de Luther de 1534
Martin Luther - Die Bibel von 1534 - Size / Format
- 1674 pages / 31.5 × 21.0 cm
- Origin
- Germany
- Date
- 1534
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 128 large, colorful, partly full-page woodcuts and numerous imaginative initials
- Artist / School
- Martin Luther (author)
Martin Luther’s 1534 Bible
The Imprisonment of Jeremiah
After prophesying that Jerusalem would fall to the Babylonians, the already unpopular Jeremiah is cast into a cistern and left to die. Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of King Zedekiah’s eunuchs, makes an appeal on the prophet’s behalf and changes the King’s mind, who orders Ebed-Melech to take 30 men and some rope to retrieve Jeremiah, but it does not save Jerusalem from destruction. Today, “Jeremiad” is used to describe a work prophesying the downfall of a society because of some moral failure.

Martin Luther’s 1534 Bible
The Second and Third Trumpets
In the upper register, sailors in carracks, some seemingly shaking their fists at the second angel, reel from the impact of a massive meteor. It is described as “something like a great mountain burning with fire”, which turns a third of the sea to blood (depicted on the left), kills a third of the sea creatures, and destroys a third of the ships. (Rev. 8:8–9).
Below, similar events occur on land as the bodies of richly dressed villagers litter the ground. “Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.” (Rev. 8:10–11)

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