Luther asks him to make inquiries about a young man who had started a relationship with Luther's niece.
Handwritten in Aurifaber, vol. III, p. 744, printed in Schütze, vol. I, p. 353 and in De Wette, vol. V, p. 744. German in Walch, vol. XXI, 1548.
To the man to be highly honored in Christ, Mr. M. Anton Lauterbach, the extremely faithful pastor and bishop of Pirna and the neighboring churches, his brother who is extremely dear to the Lord.
Grace and peace in the Lord! There is a certain young man here, my dear Anton, who gives his name as Ernst Reuchlin from a city that lies beyond Dres
3) namely Schwabe and Wolder. "Person" in the text is the plural.
4) utsupra has been added by the transcriber to save the repetition of the names given above.
Geusing 1) (Gensing). He has approached the widow of M. Ambrosius Berndt, my niece Magdalena, and lured her with many and big words, so that it seems that he is looking for nothing else than her little bit of money, under the pretext of marriage. When I learned this, I became very agitated, because the unknown and so young person (for he has not yet exceeded twenty years) seems to be setting an ambush for me by the devil, since he, without consulting me and my family, also without giving any indication of his father or his origin, is dragging the poor and foolish woman around. Therefore I ask you, for the sake of our loyal friendship, to let yourself be burdened with this matter, and to find out for me his relatives, and if you can, either his father or his family, what they are like, or what they are worth, but especially whether they know that their son or relative is doing such things. For if he should perhaps have written to them that he has my consent and good will, or that of my family, you can always say that it is a lie. For we advise against it with the utmost strength, because this is neither suitable for him nor for her. And I would like the young man to be called back by his parents before I am forced to act more harshly against him. For my duty cannot suffer that he undertakes a marriage in this church without the knowledge of his father, much more wavy with my niece, since I have already condemned this example for two years against the lawyers. Summa: It seems to me serious to act everything in a lying way and to have the foolish woman as a fool, by doing this to my disgrace through the malice of the devil. Therefore write everything carefully to me. For this marriage I will already prevent for its sake,
1) Walch offers: "Geusing"; Seidemann in De Wette, vol. VI, p. 535, note 7, remarks: It is to be read Geusing or Geising. Des Ambrosius Berndt Wittwe, "die Muhme Lene", married again with the Dr. med. Ernst Renchlin, native from Geisingen, who published still in the year 1577 as appointed physician of the city Lübeck "zwo Haußtafeln vnd vnderricht vor die Reichen vnd Armen - wider die Pestilentz" (Lübeck 1577.4.), in which he calls the Dr. Luther "his dear brother-in-law".
because he did not show his father's will until now and at the same time he despised my reputation with her. And I will (God willing) ridicule Satan, who wanted to ridicule me with my church. Be well and do that which I promise you. Sunday after the Visitation of Mary [July 5] 1545.
Your Martin Luther, D.
Lauterbach added to this letter:
As soon as I had read this letter from the reverend father, I immediately went to Maxen with Diaconus Christoph Justi and my brother, Balthasar Lauterbach, to Georg Reuchel, pastor of the church, the father of this young man, who assured me in a modest answer that he and his son would do nothing against the will of D. Martinus, and he showed a letter from his son, who announced that he had been seriously admonished by Phil. Melanchthon on St. John's Day that he should not do such great things with the widow. He added these words to the letter: "I would like to be satisfied with this widow, if I can get rid of her. For she will not let me" 2c. The father promised that he would send a letter the next morning and call the son back.
No. 3237.