Martin Luther
Translated and introduced by
Mark D. Tranvik
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
Copyright © 2008 Fortress Press, an imprint of Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/contact.asp or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Interior details: Detail on p. 1 of Wittenberg, 1540, Holschnitt Meister M.S., woodcut; detail on p. 31 from Matthias Gerung, Shipwreck of the Catholic Clergy, 1545, woodcut; detail on p. 47 from Hans Baldung Grier, Martin Luther with a Nimbus and Dove, 1521, woodcut.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Luther, Martin, 1483–1546.
[Tractatus de libertate Christiana. English]
The freedom of a Christian / Martin Luther; translated and introduced by Mark D. Tranvik.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8006-6311-7 (alk. paper)
1. Liberty—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Tranvik, Mark D. II. Title.
BR332.S6L88 2008
233’.7–dc22
2008011150
Translator’s Introduction: Martin Luther’s Road to Freedom
Martin Luther’s work on Christian liberty has long been recognized as one of the classics of the Reformation. His ringing declaration that a Christian is “lord of all, completely free of everything” and a “servant, completely attentive to the needs of all” has echoed through five centuries of history and stimulated numerous discussions on the substance of the faith, what it means to lead a Christian life, and the relationship between the church and the larger society.
There has not been a translation of the longer Latin text (Luther also did a shorter version in German1) since Harold Grimm revised the earlier work of H. A. Lambert for the American Edition of Luther’s Works in 1957. Twenty years of teaching “The Freedom of a Christian” to students and adults convinced me that a new translation was needed. Many of the sentences in Grimm’s revision were long and overly complex. Furthermore, the situation of today’s reader is different from that of the mid-twentieth century. Few have even a general knowledge of Luther or European history.2 This has necessitated a basic introduction to Luther’s era and the use of many footnotes to explain the historical references and theological concepts in the text. A chronology, map, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary also have been added to aid readers who are entering the world of the sixteenth century for the first time. A list of the abbreviations used in this volume can be found in the back matter. Subject dividers have been used to help the reader follow the flow of Luther’s argument. The overall goal is to make one of Luther’s ...
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About The Freedom of a ChristianPerhaps no work of Martin Luther’s so captures the revolutionary zeal and theological boldness of his vision as The Freedom of a Christian. Yet, it is not easily accessible today. Mark Tranvik’s new translation of Luther’s treatise brings alive the social, historical, and ecclesial context of Luther’s treatise. This is the first of a set of student guides to key Reformation treatises by Martin Luther, concentrating on those most widely used in college settings. |
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