Response to No. 3269, Intercession for the Helmstadters.
The original is in the Weimar Archives, Reg. H, fol. 1103. n. 3. Printed by Burkhardt, p. 481.
Dignified and esteemed, dear faithful! We have received and read your intercessory letter concerning Helmstädt. Now it is not without reason that those of Helmstädt have grossly forfeited it against our friendly dear cousin and brother, the Elector of Saxony, us and our related estates. The
1) In the original, probably by misspelling: velatis instead of: levatis,
2) "Hassfurt" is our conjecture. De Wette offers "Haffurt". Walch offers: "Staßfurt". Haßfurt is a city in Lower Franconia. "Haffurt" does not exist.
But because the matter concerns not only us, but also the Elector of Saxony and others of our religious relatives, we want to further compare and decide with them what is to be done about it. We therefore do not wish to reprove you in your gracious opinion, to whom we are inclined with but grace. Date Cassel, November 21, 1545.
No. 3274.
To King Christian of Denmark.
Luther recommends M. Georg Stur and thanks for a gift received.
Printed in the Leipzig Supplement, p. 110, no. 212; in Walch, vol. XXI, 510; in De Wette, vol. V, p. 769 and in the Erlangen edition, vol. 56, p. 145.
To the most magnanimous, most noble, high-born Prince and Lord, Lord Christian, King of Denmark, Norway, the Goths and the Wends, and Dukes of Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn and the Ditmarschen, Counts of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, my most gracious Lord.
Grace and peace in the Lord, and my poor Pater noster. Most powerful, most illustrious, most highborn Prince, most gracious Lord King! Magister Georgius Stur, a native of the Principality of Schleswig, has asked me to do this writing to His Majesty, after he has received a grant from His Majesty, and also some money, so that His Majesty may graciously remember all of him, and complete this grant. For he has a good name here, that he is pious and honest, studies diligently, and has good hopes of becoming a useful man, for which reason I could not deny him this testimony and endorsement. Most humbly request that E. K. M. command him in grace; this is a good work, and will please God, who gives all good things abundantly, and repays even more abundantly. To the same, may His Royal Highness, together with the young dominion, country, people and the whole regiment, be faithfully commanded, amen. Thursday after Catharine [Nov. 26] 1545.
E. K. M.
subservient
Martinus Luther, D.
Letters from the year 1545. No. 3274 to 3277.
I have also received through Doctor Pommer the fifty Thaler, E. K. M.'s most gracious gift, and I thank E. K. M. most sincerely. God give everything back abundantly, here and there, amen.
No. 3275.
To the Elector Johann Friedrich.
(Missing letter.)
Intercession for Jörg von Selmenitz at Wittenberg that he be made an assessor of the High Court. - This request was rejected on Dec. 1.
According to Reg. O, fol. 394. W W. in the Weimar archive. The above evidence is found in Burkhardt, p. 483.
No. 3276.
End of Nov. or Auf. Dec. 1545.
Elector Johann Friedrich to Luther.
The Elector asks him to speed up the printing of the letter addressed to him and the Landgrave from the captive Duke of Brunswick (St. Louis Edition, Vol. XVII, 1396, No, 1440). From the publication of the wedding order.
The original is in the Archives at Weimar, Res. O, p. 146. n. 20. Printed by Burkhardt, p. 482.
Our greeting before. Venerable and reverend, dear devotee! After we have spoken to you through the reverend, our councilor and dear faithful, Gregorius Brück, the right doctor, about printing a public letter to us and our cousins and brothers, the Landgrave of Hesse, for the sake of the prisoners of Brunswick, the said Doctor Brück has reported to us that you have willingly offered to do so, which we graciously note. Although we now want to make sure that you will now be finished with it and the same letter will be printed; 1) after that, in case it does not happen, we graciously request that you, as much as you are able due to weakness of body, promote the same letter for the first time, because there is much to be done about it due to all kinds of concerns and causes. So we also know to remember that we have ordered our university and the council of Wittenberg to consider a regulation of the unnoth
1) Already on November 5, Luther had put his writing into print (see No. 3270), but due to Klug's "only one press" the printing was delayed.
and other misdemeanors at weddings, child baptisms, and the like, and especially how to prevent the misconduct that is to be practiced at dances and with unseemly shouting in the streets there in Wittenberg. And although we received the concerns of the university and the council last summer, and you reviewed them when you were with us, we have not yet ordered them to be published, unless you, or the university and the council, have seen one. For this reason, we graciously request that you overlook any doubts you may have about it, and that you consider it without any worries. 2c.
No. 3277.