Born at Eisleben in Germany on November 10, 1483, Martin Luther when 18 years old entered the University of Erfurt to study law in order to please his father. In 1502, he was awarded the baccalaureate degree in philosophy and proceeded to study for the master's degree. In July of 1505, however, Luther entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, probably for the reasons that he himself states in a letter to his father: that he was overwhelmed by anxiety of imminent death. The Augustinian monastic order in this era required novices to focus their studies on Scripture. Ordained as a Catholic priest in 1507, Luther went to the recently established University of Wittenberg in Saxony in order to teach philosophy and continue to study theology. Sometime in 1510-11, Luther spent time in Rome,…
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Citation: Labriola, Albert. "Martin Luther". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 February 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2823, accessed 23 November 2024.]