Who was Luther?

Martin Luther was born in 1483 in Germany. He was raised in the Catholic church, eventually being ordained a priest in 1507. In 1512 he became professor of sacred scripture at the University of Wittenburg, where he began to emerge as a biblical theologian and church reformer. His most outstanding theological belief was that sinners are justified by faith alone, an idea contrary to the Catholic church's thinking at the time. This aroused much conflict between Luther and the church, causing him to eventually be excommunicated and condemned as an outlaw by the state. After being forced to leave, he was able to return to Wittenburg in 1522 because of civil unrest. There, he began to reorganize the German church according to biblical principles. The form of the service was changed, hymnbooks began to be used, and Reformation doctrine was taught.

In addition to being a great theologian, Luther was an accomplished musician. He sang and played the flute and lute with great skill. Luther, according to Paul Nettl in his book Luther & Music, said that "Music is a beautiful and glorious gift of God and second only to theology." Driven by this great love for music, Luther, beginning in 1523, along with others, began writing, revising, composing, and arranging hymns for the new Protestant services. Not only did Luther see music as being vital in religious life, but he was also greatly concerned with the importance of music in education. And through his influence, it became common in the Lutheran church for musicians to study theology and priests to study music.

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This page was created in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance class at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music.