Permanent historical factsheet

Translation of Bible

Germany · Religion / Protestant Church. Chronological records rendered directly from the World History Database.

6Records
1517–1530Date range
1Named people
1Places

Chronological records

1517

Martin Luther1517

Religion / Protestant Church

Luther's translation of the Bible during the Reformation into German was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy, and stimulated the printing and distribution of religious books and pamphlets. From 1517 onward, religious pamphlets flooded Germany and much of Europe

1521

Martin Luther1521

Wartenberg Castle · Religion / Protestant Church

Prince Frederick seizes Luther and hides him in Wartenberg Castle, during his time in Wartenberg Luther begins his German translation of the Bible

1522

Martin Luther1522

Religion / Protestant Church

Translates the Bible into German

1530

Martin Luther1530

Religion / Protestant Church

By 1530, over 10,000 publications are known, with a total of ten million copies. The Reformation was thus a media revolution. Luther strengthened his attacks on Rome by depicting a "good" against "bad" church.

Martin Luther1530

Religion / Protestant Church

Especially effective were writings in German, including Luther's translation of the Bible, his Smaller Catechism for parents teaching their children, and his Larger Catechism, for pastors

Martin Luther1530

Religion / Protestant Church

From there, it became clear that print could be used for propaganda in the Reformation for particular agendas. Reform writers used pre-Reformation styles, cliches, and stereotypes and changed items as needed for their own purposes.

Names involved

Martin Luther

Provenance

This factsheet is generated from stored World History Database records matching the country, broad category, detailed category and exact Event value shown above. Duplicate display records are collapsed; database wording is otherwise preserved. Source provenance varies by record, so formal academic citation should be checked against the relevant primary source, archive or specialist historical reference.