January 2, 1526.
Grace and peace in the Lord. I am sending seven guilders with this Bruno, my dear Amsdorf, for the butter and the dried fish. For I have lost your letter, and as far as I can remember, I owe about that much for it. To Duke George I have sent a humble and completely dedicated letter.
He wrote me a correct letter, but he gave me an exceedingly foolish answer according to his head, in which that boorish crudeness is displayed, which he inherited from his Bohemian blood and which is entirely worthy of him. You will get to see a copy as soon as it will be transcribed. Here was the
*) This letter is found in Latin in Aurifaber, vol. II, col. 292 and in De Wette, vol. Ill, p. 58. According to the latter we have translated.
**) For this time determination (Walch and De Wette place this letter in the year 1525) compare Col. 425 with what was said in the note to No. 11.
†) Latin in Aurifaber II, col. 310 and in De Wette III, p. 77; according to the latter we have translated.
Rumor strongly circulating, you had married my sfrühere] Bride, the Ave Alemann (salutem illam Alemannam1) ) heir; it should me 1) If Luther jokingly speaks of his brides, as here, or of his three wives, as Walch, old edition, vol. XXI, 972, he does not mean (what Walch means) his three monastic vows, but the three virgins Ave von Schönseld (cf. Walch, St. Louis edition, vol. XXII, 1138, Tischreden, Cap. 43, s 28), Ave Alemann from Magdeburg and Catharina von Bora, who were freed from the monastery at Nimptschen. Although here now in our
I would be surprised if you had secretly repaid me like with like. Fare well in the Lord. Wittenberg, Tuesday after New Year's Day [January 2] 1526.
Martin Luther.
Although the Ave Alemann is clearly mentioned in the letters, because Luther translates "Äve" by salutem, Veesenmeyer, in his Litteratur-Geschichte p. 17, assumes that Ave von Schönfeld is meant here. (De Wette, Vol. Ill, p. 77, note.)