Johann Luther

Havde ansættelse ved et bjergværk i Eisleben. Var af bondeslægt

Mineejer i Mansfeld, byråd Først bonde i Eisleben, men drog kort efter Martins fødsel til Mansfeld for at arbejde i bjergværkerne der. Arbejdede sig frem til at eje flere skakter, smeltehytter mm, og blev en af 'de 4 i menigheden', dvs en slags byråd. (Kilde: Salmonsens Konversations Leksikon, 2' udg. 1915-1930).

Father of Martin Luther.

Martin Luther was born to Hans Luder (or Ludher, later Luther) and his wife Margarethe (née Lindemann) on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was baptized the next morning on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours. His family moved to Mansfeld in 1484, where his father was a leaseholder of copper mines and smelters, and served as one of four citizen representatives on the local council. Martin Marty describes Luther's mother as a hard-working woman of "trading-class stock and middling means," and notes that Luther's enemies would later wrongly describe her as a whore and bath attendant. He had several brothers and sisters, and is known to have been close to one of them, Jacob.

Hans Luther was ambitious for himself and his family, and was determined to see Martin, his eldest son, become a lawyer. He sent Martin to Latin schools in Mansfeld, then Magdeburg in 1497, where he attended a school operated by a lay group called the Brethren of the Common Life, and Eisenach in 1498.The three schools focused on the so-called "trivium": grammar, rhetoric, and logic. Luther later compared his education there to purgatory and hell.

A bit of Hans Luther’s biography will illustrate some of his God-given traits and may help us to understand some of his famous son’s behavior as the Reformer.

Custom dictated that as the oldest son, Gross-Hans could not expect to inherit any of the land his father owned. Consequently, he and his young wife moved to Eisleben and later to Mansfeld to gain his livelihood and fortune in the copper mining industry. He and his family lived in poverty for a time, but through determination and persistence he eventually became “part owner of at least six [mine] shafts and two foundries.” (Boehmer, 11)

Hans LUDER is the 14th great grandfather of Val John JENNINGS.

Martin Luther was named after St Martin by his parents Hans and Margarette Luther, a pair of hardworking and pious Germans who were determined their son would suceed in life.

Hans Luther's was a farmer's son but turned his back on the land and became a copper miner. In 1484 following the arrival of baby Martin the Luthers moved from Eisleben to Mansfeld to improve Hans' job prospects.

Hans became a successful copper smelter and by 1491 the Luthers were one of the most respected families in Mansfeld.

Hans ruled his son with an iron fist, Martin later recalled, "my father once whipped me so hard I ran away - I hated him until he finally managed to win me back".

Hans had high hopes for his first son and had his heart set on Martin becoming a lawyer which would enable the Luthers to climb even higher up the social ladder.

Young Martin followed his father's wishes without protest. He was sent to the best schools in the area and then university at Erfurt.

In 1505 Hans was devestated to learn that his son, without consulting him, had decided to embrace religion and had sought admission to the house of the Augustinian Hermits in Erfurt.

Both lived to see their son married in 1525 and the birth of several grandchildren before Hans died in 1530 and Margarette in 1531.

The Luthers, who were disappointed that their son had not become a middle-class lawyer, both witnessed his transformation into one of the most famous and infamous figures of the medieval world.