Page:Thirty-five years of Luther research.djvu/67

Rh bronze tablet on Luther's grave, which, allowing Luther sixty-three years, two months and ten days, points to the seventh of December, 1482) or 1484 (as Melanchthon would have it), or 1483, is something that can not be ascertained beyond doubt, as is generally conceded. G. Oergel (1889) put in a plea again for 1482, and was inclined to accept the seventh of December as the birthday of the Reformer.80 However, Drews points out that Luther himself, in a letter of the sixth of December, 1532, mentions that he celebrates his birthday on St. Martin's day, and Kawerau, through an article in the "Neue Kirchliche Zeitschrift," seems almost to prove beyond doubt that Luther was born in 1483, notwithstanding Luther said himself as late as spring, 1543, "nullus est certiis de nativitatis tempore, for Philippiis et ego are one year apart in our vieivs." (Kroker, Luther's Tischreden, 1903, no. 625.)

Since 1497 Luther attended school in Magdeburg and Eisleben. If one desires to know something of the knowledge purveyed to him at this time, he must acquaint himself with the writings of Kaemmel, Mueller, Knepper, Schmid and Bauch.31 Concerning the "Brethren of the common life" (also called "Nullbrueder"), to which order his teachers in Magdeburg belonged, one may be excellently informed by L. Schulze's article in Hauck's "Real Enzyclopaedie," III, pp. 474-507, together with its lengthy supplements in Volume XXIII, pp. 260-269. Schoengen in his book, "Die Schule von Zwolle" (Freiburg, 1898), deals especially with the schools of this order. We also direct attention, as far as Luther's school years at Mansfeld, Magdeburg and Eisenach are concerned, to the first volume of O. Scheel's work, "Martin Luther. Vom Katholicismus zur Reformation" (Tue-