bavarikon4UDescription
Without Martin Luther's (1483-1546) knowledge and consent, the Coburg printer Hans Bern published the "Bekenntnis Martin Luthers für den Reichstag" (Confession of Martin Luther for the Diet) shortly after the opening of the Augsburg Diet in May 1530. The printer had probably got hold of the manuscript with the 17 "Schwabacher Artikel" (Schwabach Articles) which had been kept secret until then. It had happened by the indiscretion of a companion of the reformer who had stayed at the Veste Coburg (Coburg Fortress) since April 1530. The articles written by Luther and several other theologians served as a model for the "Confessio Augustana". In order to avert damage from his case, Luther responded to this publication and to the rebuttal that had emerged in the papal sphere with an additional print which he prepared in June 1530 in Coburg. It essentially consists of a reprint of the Confession with a preface, clarifying the circumstances of the first publication. A preliminary stage of the text before printing has been preserved only for this newly added part of the text as Martin Luther's autograph manuscript. The reformer passed on the draft version to Veit Dietrich (1506-1549) who stayed with him as his assistant at the Coburg Fortress. Today, the draft is part of a composite manuscript, containing further texts by Luther. Datum: 2016
Author
Landesbibliothek Coburg, Dr. Silvia Pfister