Madeleine Ahern The Taylor Institution Library’s Latin copy of Martin Luther’s 1520 work On Christian Freedom (De Libertate Christiana) sits in the Special Collections storeroom on a rolling stack among an impressive selection of early modern printed texts from the Reformation. The text is identifiable by its shelfmark ARCH. 8o.G.1521.10 and its brown leather re-bound exterior with …
Tag: Reformation
eLeUTHERia – Luther’s ‚Freiheitsschrift‘ as a Publishing Phenomenon
by Maximilian Krümpelmann Luther Demands ‘Freedom’ When Luther stumbled upon the word ‘eleutheria’ in October 1517 – Greek for ‘freedom’ or ‘liberty’ – he changed his name from ‘Luder’ to ‘Luther’.[1] This is more than a pun: the change anticipates the central role that the concept of ‘freedom’ would play in his writing and thinking, …