Translation in the Reformation: Luther, the Bible, and Religious Commentary
Luther's Testimony: The Book of Galatians
This edition of Luther's commentary on the New Testament book of Paul's letter to the Galatians is a 1616 printing of an English translation, which began printing in the year 1575, though not by the same printer as this edition. It is based on a series of lectures that Luther gave between 1516 and 1531 in Latin and the commentary he subsequently wrote in 1519, which was originally written and released in Latin.
The book of Galatians was Martin Luther's favourite book of the Bible,1 which makes this commentary quite important in the broader context of Luther's works. While noting the book of Galatians as his favourite, Luther also stated that this commentary is one of his most doctrine-focused works.2 This commentary is a critical contribution to the Protestant faith. By extension, this work is integral to the Reformation and is still read by Protestants today. What makes this work so vital to Protestantism is its core doctrine: justification by faith in Christ alone. This contrasts other teachings contemporary with Luther's ideas. Luther's newfound doctrine is what set Protestantism far apart from Catholicism.3
With Luther's relatively new, polarizing view of faith and salvation, it is easy to see why commentaries were so vital. The dissemination of religious ideas was more important than ever, considering the variety of ideas constantly coming up. The publication of commentaries allowed reformers and other religious figures to get ideas to a broader audience. The translation of these commentaries that followed the printing of the originals allowed for even further reach to audiences of more common people, who were not typically targeted previously.
Martin Luther's works began to be translated into English in the early 1500s; most of this early translation consisted of Luther's commentaries, devotionals, and sermons,4 meaning that his commentary on Galatians was one of his more popular English works, as it was translated somewhat earlier than some of Luther's works. Not all of Luther's works were translated at the same time, largely because Luther did not have the same popularity in England as he had in Germany, nor did he affect English religious reform as much as he did in Germany.5 What popularity Luther gained in England came from Henry VIII's split from the Catholic Church, though Luther and Henry VIII were never in religious agreement.6
Printing and the Reformation: A Mutual Benefit
Luther's commentary on Galatians, as well as his work in general, shows much connection to the printing industry in Germany, or more specifically, Wittenberg. The evolution of the use of the printing press in Wittenberg was largely because of the Reformation; the German printing industry and the German printing industry worked together to a mutual benefit,7 while Luther's writings elevated the Wittenberg press from being a remote, barely consequential press to one of the most important areas in Germany.8 The Wittenberg printing press had to adapt in order to print Luther's works at the volume that was required, which in turn allowed for a quick and broad spread of his works. This is so important because it shows how the printing industry adapted to major events, and, in turn, how major events increased the use of the printing press. Certainly, these two components, the Reformation and the printing press, could (and did) exist separately, but working together, they allowed for a more efficient spread of religious ideas, which in turn created a monetary incentive to increase the use of the printing press.
Expanding the Audience: Translation in the Reformation
Martin Luther believed in the importance of access to the Bible for more than just highly educated people, which eventually compelled him to translate the Bible into vernacular German.9 Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible was not the first, but it was still very consequential, as Luther used different source material. This made his vernacular Bible more accurate and accessible than its predecessors, as it used a more typical, everyday German language.10
The translation of the Bible into vernacular language was part of larger commentarial and interpretational processes.11 With vernacular translation came the need for more commentaries, as audiences who had not previously been able to read the Bible individually now had the ability to. It was generally assumed that common people would need more guidance, though exactly how much guidance was needed was unclear. As a result, many commentaries on every book in the Bible have been written.12,13 Commentaries were also translated into many different languages as the Reformation gained momentum and more ideas were disseminated.
Many commentaries and other religious works were translated into different languages, as stated at the end of the previous paragraph. The two images above are examples of religious texts in translation.
The image on the left is the title page of Der Psalter latein und teutsch, a Latin and German translation Psalter. This was printed in Cologne, Germany in 1535, around the same time that Luther was finishing his vernacular Bible translation. While the two works were done in separate parts of Germany, they were both critical to the Reformation. The Psalter contains both Latin and German translations of the Bible, as well as commentary on the content.
The image on the right is the title page of A Commentarie upon the fiftene Psalmes called Psalmi graduum, an English translation of Luther's commentary on the Old Testament book of Psalms. This translated copy was printed in 1577, relatively close to the first printing of the English translation of Luther's commentary on Galatians. This shows that Luther's works were popular and well-received enough to merit the translation and printing of more of them.
Luther and Galatians
Luther called his published commentary on Galatians an enarratio, a public testimony of his faith.14 Luther had taken an interest in Paul's teaching of justification during his translation of the New Testament. It ultimately became one of his main focuses and core doctrines.15 The idea of justification by faith alone followed Luther through the rest of his works and life. Had he not been persuaded to translate the New Testament, Luther's commentary on Galatians, as well as the majority of his work, likely would not exist. At the very least, Luther's core ideas and teachings would certainly look different, as Paul's writings in the books of Romans and Galatians were pivotal to Luther's Protestant beliefs.
(marginalia from Fol. 210 of Luther's Commentary on Galatians, CRRS)
Reader Interaction
The marginalia in this volume are very extensive. A previous reader evidently had many thoughts about the text, but not enough room to get them all out. As shown in the photos above, the annotator left many annotated brackets, as well as some written marginalia in the book. The pictured annotations are on some of the most important points in the commentary. The reader here has annotated the sections detailing conditions for salvation and eternal life, which are some of Luther's core focuses. The annotator has also marked the section explaining how salvation (or justification) comes through belief in Jesus alone, one of Luther's most critical doctrines. The reader's marginalia points out exactly what Luther wanted the reader to recognize as the most important parts of his commentary on Galatians, among many other notes.
Throughout the volume, there are many instances of the reader taking notes, though they seem to go off the page in some instances. The reader clearly has a lot to say, but as not all the notes are present, it remains unclear whether the reader ultimately agreed with Luther's ideas or not.
(marginalia from Fol. 239 of Luther's Commentary on Galatians, CRRS)
By: Maddie Sipkema
1. Martin Luther. Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, trans. Theodore Graebner (Project Gutenberg, 2013), 8, ebook.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid, 9, ebook.
4. Alyssa Lehr Evans, “English Editions of Martin Luther’s Works” in Martin Luther in Context edited by David M. Whitford (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018): 366
5. Neema Parvini, Shakespeare’s Moral Compass (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2018), 146.
6. Christopher Haigh, English Reformations: Religion, Politics, and Society Under the Tudors (Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 12.
7. Andrew Pettegree, Brand Luther: 1517, Printing, and the Making of the Reformation (New York: Penguin Random House, 2015): 54., 2009), 9.
8. Ibid., xiii.
9. Richard Griffiths. "Introduction" in The Bible in the Renaissance: Essays on Biblical Commentary and Translation in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, edited by Richard Griffiths (London: Routledge, 2001): 3.
10. John L. Flood. "Martin Luther's Bible Translation in its German and European Context" in The Bible in the Renaissance: Essays on Biblical Commentary and Translation in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, edited by Richard Griffiths (London: Routledge, 2001): 48.
11. Andrew Kraebel. Biblical Commentary and Translation in Later Medieval England: Experiments in Interpretation (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2020): 1.
12. Richard Griffiths, "Introduction," 1.
13. Bruce Gordon. "The Bible in Reformed Thought, 1520-1750," in The New Cambridge History of the Bible: From 1450-1750, edited by Euan Cameron (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016), 463.
14. Erik H. Herrmann. "Martin Luther's Biblical Commentary: New Testament." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion (2017): 2.
15. Ibid., 1.