Martin Luther
...of Eisleben, Germany. His parents were Hans and Magaretha Luther. Eisleben was part of the Holy Roman Empire, which today is East Germany.
Hans Luther was a farmer's son but turned his back on the land and became a copper miner. In 1484 following the arrival of baby Martin the Luther's moved from Eisleben to Mansfield to improve Hans' job prospects. He became a copper smelter and the Martins became one of the most respected families in Mansfield.
Martin was the 2nd of 4 sons born to Hans and Margaretha. Two brothers died of the plague. His brother James also reached adulthood.
Hans was determined that his son, Martin, would become more successful than he and wanted him to become a lawyer. He started school in Mansfield around the age of 7. At age 14 Martin was sent to school in Magdeburg. Her he continued his studies in Latin with a bit of logic and rhetoric. He stayed here for about 1 year and then moved on to Latin school until 1501. In 1501 at the age of 17 he enrolled in the University of Erfurt. As a young student, in only 1 year he received his Bachelor of Philosophy
(1502) and then in 3 years he received his Master's Degree.
In July of 1505 Martin was returning from school and got caught in a horrible thunderstorm. As lightening struck close by Martin was afraid he was going to die. He was terrified and yelled out "Save me St. Anna, and I shall become a monk!". (St Anna was the mother of the Virgin Mary and was the patron saint of the miners). True to his word, Martin left law school (much to his parents disappointment) and joined the Augustinian Monastery at Erfurt.
Though young Martin was very dedicated to the life of a monk he was not able to find peace with God. He spent hours in prayer, fasts, flagellations and constantly was in confession. Assurance of his salvation evaded him. The more he tried to help others and...
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