Detail View: Rylands Collection:
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Image Number:
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EngMS347_198.pdf
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Reference Number:
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English MS 347/198
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Link to Catalogue:
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Series Title:
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Miscellaneous Autograph Collection
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Parent Work Title:
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Letter from Martin Luther to Gerhard Vilskamp
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Creator:
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Luther, Martin, 1483-1546
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Creator Role:
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Author
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Date Created:
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1528
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Description:
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Letter from Martin Luther to Gerhard Vilskamp, Rector of the community of Brethren of the Common Life at Herford in Westphalia. Included is a letter of authentication by William Kunzel to the London bookseller John Waller in 1880.
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Keyword:
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Reformation; Martin Luther; Letter
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Transcription:
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Grace and peace in Christ. I have received your most recent letter of consolation, my Gerard, with much pleasure and gratitude. May Christ reward you in eternity. In truth, this temptation was by far the most severe ever, and although it was not unknown to me from my youth, still so troublesome attack as this I had not expected. Nevertheless Christ triumphed, though my life was hanging by a most slender thread. I commend me to your prayers and [those] of your brothers. I have saved others, but I cannot save myself. My blessed Christ, who passed through the depth of despair, death and blasphemy, will enable us to meet in his kingdom. In the meantime we must make sure that we serve Him in word and deed, but it is not in this that we are justified - we are truly useless as servants , but our glory is to live in the world for Christ, forgetting our former evil life. What remains is that Christ is our life and our justification (ah, how hard and unknown to the flesh!), although hidden in God . Now I rejoice that I understand Peter (with you as witness) that we must fullfil the experience of suffering that strikes our brethren in this world, however severe, until the end of this world. Greetings to my Montanus and all the brothers. [Day] of the Circumcision, 1528. Yours Martin Luther
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Language Code:
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lat
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Language:
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Latin
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Language Code:
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eng
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Language:
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English
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Subject:
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Reformation
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Subject:
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Religion
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Category of Material:
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Manuscripts
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Sub-Category:
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Correspondence
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Technique Used:
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Handwriting
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Medium:
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Ink
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Support:
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Paper
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Time Period Covered:
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16th Century CE
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People Covered:
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Luther, Martin, 1483-1546
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Current Repository:
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The University of Manchester Library, U.K.
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Provenance:
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Raffles, Thomas, 1788-1863, former owner
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Rights Holder - Image:
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The University of Manchester Library
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Rights holder - Work:
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The University of Manchester Library
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Access Rights:
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Date Captured (yyyy-mm-dd):
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2017-05-30
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Image Creation Technique:
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Digital capture by The University of Manchester Library
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Date Image Added (yyyy-mm):
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2017-09
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Educational Notes:
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The Reformation Exhibition
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Metadata Language:
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eng-GB
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Academic Project Lead:
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Julianne Simpson
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Collection Code:
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Rylands
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