Luther rejoices at the victory the allies have won over Duke Henry of Brunswick.
Handwritten in Cod. Goth. Printed by Schütze, Vol. I, p. 368 and by De Wette, Vol. V, p. 764.
Grace and peace! More at another time, now a few words, my dear Jonas. How joyful a victory has God, who hears prayer, given us! O let us only believe and pray. He is true who does the promise. It is an unspeakable and unbelievable thing that is accomplished in such a short time, so suddenly. How saddened are certain people, even many of the nobility, who were quite sure of the victory of their Mezentius 6). O God, keep us this joy, rather this your honor. About the matter and the time all write the same as you, but about the manner and other circumstances the rumors go out of each other. We will receive our letters from the court in a short time. For the Lord Brück wrote nothing on "Wednesday" [Oct. 21], on which the battle took place, except that ours were armed and full of the highest fighting spirit, and it would happen that on "Tuesday" the attack would be made, which happened on "Wednesday". That Mezentius with his son and the Count of Ritburg and Weißenburg with the nobles were brought to the castle "Zapfenburg" near Cassel, in order to capture them there.
5) tua D[ominatio], which Luther himself (in No. 3253) renders by E[ure] G[naden], Walch translates by: "your wife".
6) This is the name given to Duke Henry of Brunswick after a character in Virgil.
Bernhard von Mila also writes that. The brave riflemen did it and dispersed the "Heinzen's" stuff. The soldiers soon dispersed. But the rest will only hear. Fare well, and give thanks to our God, praised forever and ever, amen. "Monday after" Crispini [26 Oct.] A. 1545.
Your Martin Luther.
No. 3267.
Elector Johann Friedrich to Luther.
The Elector announces his victory over the Duke of Brunswick.
The concept is in the Weimar Archives, Reg. H, fol. 1090. Printed by Burkhardt, p. 480.
Our gracious greeting before. Venerable and reverend, dear devotee! After we have graciously informed you of the land peacebreaker and rebel, Duke Henry of Brunswick, the nobility, and in what armor the landgrave and we would have to use for ourselves and because of our Christian unity the resistance against him, with gracious request to ask the Almighty God for victory and welfare against the said enemy and his followers, also to exhort the people in the pulpit to pray for this, as we have written to the superintendents of our country in common, so we do not know how to behave in your gracious opinion, to the fact that you will now have heard from common speech that on the next Wednesday after Lucia [21. Oct.] the almighty, merciful God granted mercy to our warband, that they kept the victory and the field against the aforementioned enemy and his followers, and that he surrendered together with his son Carl Victor into our and the landgrave's grace and disgrace; And for this reason it is our gracious request that you also inform the rest of our theologians of this and give praise and thanks to God Almighty, and also order and command the people to do so in the church. How it happened with such an act of war among other things, you will find on the enclosed note 1) summarie recorded, and have it to you, as we are inclined with grace and all good, gracious opinion do not want to behave. Date Weimar, Monday after Ursula [Oct. 26] 1545.
1) This note is missing, but is in any case the common source: the report of the landgrave, in Hortleder, I. IV. pag. 1039. (Burkhardt.)
No. 3268.