Luther's Timeline – events surrounding Luther (w/ download)

In the previous blog post, I published my work that compiled much information and paraphrased most of Luther's many letters.

In this post I am publishing my similar work on Luther's Timeline.  As with my work on Luther's Letters, I did not do this work to be another cataloger of Luther, but because I had to cut through all of modern theology's limitations and blindness when it comes to knowing Luther.  The funny thing to me is that even though most modern theologians do not understand Luther very well (or not at all), they can at least be quite good at dating the events of his life.  Because I do not understand German, I was at a great disadvantage to those who know the languages of Luther – German and Latin.  I spent a large amount of time scouring available sources in English and cross referencing them.

I published the MDB (Microsoft Access 97) database file in the previous blog post on Luther's Letters.  The data file also contains the table on the Timeline.  But to make this information accessible to the general reader, I have output a report.  Download the TimeLine file below:

LutherTimeLine.PDF  (.5 MB or 500 KB, 42 pages, over 2000 records)

Here is a listing of the sources I used to compile this information with their abbreviations – many of these are also shown on the 1st page of my TimeLine document:

• Ams – Nikolaus von Amsdorf,  Robert Kolb, 1978
• Barn –  Robert Barnes by Wm. Dallmann, CPH (CTSFW # BR 754.B26 D1)
• Bor – Luther's disputation theses against the Antinomians: translation and historical introduction. Alan Borcherding, CTS Press,  Nov. 1992
• Brueg – The Life of Dr. Martin Luther, E.A. Brueggemann, CPH, 1904 (free download Google Books only)
• Buc –  Martin Bucer by Hastings Eells, Ohio Wesleyan Univ (Yale Univ Press), 1930
• Bug – John Bugenhagen Pomeranus - Ruccius, Philadelphia
• Cover – Miles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter..., William Dallmann, CPH 1925
• Cubit – The Life of Martin Luther, George Cubitt, Carlton & Phillips, 1853 (free downloads)
• Cur – Letters of Martin Luther, Margaret Currie, translator (free download)
• Cyclo – Concordia Cyclopedia, CPH, 1927 
• Dall – Martin Luther: His Life and His Labor, William Dallmann, CPH, 1951 (free by eBook borrowing)
• Engl – The Lutheran Movement in England, Henry Eyster Jacobs, 1916 (free download)
• Gasq – HenryVIII and the English Monasteries, Vol. 1, Vol. 2; F.A. Gasquet, Geo Bell & Sons, London, 1906 (free download)
• Hopf – Bucer and English Reformation, Constantin Hopf, Oxford, 1946
• Jacob –  Martin Luther, the Hero of the Reformation 1483-1546, Henry Eyster Jacobs, Putnam 1898 (free download)
• Jonas – Justus Jonas, Loyal Reformer, Lehmann, Martin; Augsburg, 1963
• Kost – Life of Luther, Julius Köstlin, Longmans, Green; 1883 (English translation, free download)
• Lilje – Luther and the Reformation, An Illustrated Review, Hanns Lilje, Fortress, 1967) 
• LW – Luther's Works, American Edition, CPH etc.
• McGiff – Martin Luther, The Man and His Work, A.C. McGiffert, Century Co., 1922 (free download)
• Mel – Philip Melanchthon, Reformer Without Honor, Michael Rogness, Augsburg P.H., 1969
• Neel – The Reformation Essays of Dr. Robert Barnes, Neelak S. Tjernagel (CPH 1963)
• Pres – Life & Letters of Martin Luther, Preserved Smith, 1911 (free download)
• PSI or PSII – Luther's Correspondence and Other Contemporary Letters, Volume 1 & Volume 2, Preserved Smith, Lutheran Publication Society, 1913 (free downloads)
• Renun – Great Renunciation, Dau, W.H.T., CPH 1920 (free download)
• ReuI and ReuII – Reu, J.M., The Augsburg Confession, Wartburg  P.H., Chicago, 1930 (2 parts)
• Schw – Luther and His Times, E. G. Schwiebert, Concordia Pub. House, 1950
• Snyd – God's Man Martin, the Story of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, Walter W. Snyder, St. Martin's Press, 1967
• This –This is Luther, Ewald Plass, CPH 1948
• Thul – A Life of Luther, Oskar Thulin, Fortress 1966 (English, but not free – see used copies)
• Tjer – Henry VIII and the Lutherans, Neelak Tjernagel, CPH, 1965 (not free, search Google copy here)
• TQ – Theological Quarterly, CPH (some volumes can be downloaded here or HathiTrust here)
• Trib – Tribunal of Caesar, W.H.T. Dau, CPH 1921 (free download)
• Trig – Concordia Triglotta, CPH, 1921
• What – What Luther Says, Ewald Plass, CPH, 1959. (Only $40 with free shipping – 1667 pages!)
• WorI & WorII: Life of Martin Luther, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Henry Worsley, M.A., London, 1856 (free downloads)

(listing last updated Nov. 29, 2012)

And below is a single page showing some explanations of the report layout (click on it or download PDF here):

I have not updated this information in over 10 years because I consider it fairly complete for my purposes.  Modern catalogers may be able to add tidbits, but that is no matter to me.  When I read Walther and Pieper, and yes, the Lutheran Confessions, I feel like I'm reading from the faith of Martin Luther.

What astounds me today is what the Internet (Google Books, HathiTrust, Google Translate, Archive.org, Finn Andersen, etc) has done to bring so much useful information and so many writings from Martin Luther... right to our fingertips.  I think of all the trips to libraries I made, the hours of copying or scanning dozens of books, the many hours of reading, machine translating and data input into my data files.  Robert Kolb wants to thank God for "psychology and sociology" as tools for the Church.  Rather I thank God for the Internet — you and I are reading from it and using it right now!

I dedicate this blog post to two men that I ran across in my readings of the Reformation:

• Nicholas Lithenius, Swedish Lutheran Pastor in London wrote that "the English Reformation was not started by disciples of Zwingli and Calvin, but by those of Luther, so that Luther, the great instrument of God in reforming the British Church, opened the way to England and Scotland to extricate themselves from Papal servitude."
• Archbishop John Bramhall of Armagh, Ireland († 1663) said: "The name Protestants is one to which others have no right but by communion with Lutherans".