Off The Record with Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Katharina von Bora Luther

Foreword by Dr. Paul L. Maier

Anyone acquainted with the voluminous writings of Martin Luther will know that his comments while dining at table with his family, students, and friends show the most fascinating side of the great reformer. Here he was under no obligation to dispute theology, sermonize, or indulge in philosophical speculation. Rather, just as wine is supposed to loosen one’s tongue, so the conviviality of table conversation succeeds even better in revealing one’s inner thoughts and outer observations, which is especially the case in Luther’s Table Talk.

Here we find his choicest opinions, wry comments, unguarded remarks, passionate involvements, and, above all, his best humor. Martin Luther had a sense of humor that was as huge as the man himself, and he loved to regale guests at the dinner table with the latest witticisms he had picked up hither and yon. Some of his jokes provoke laughter to the present day, despite the ravages of time and circumstance. Probably it was his capacity to see the funny side of things that helped support the man in the face of the enormous challenges in reforming an apparently unreformable church—one man against the world of his day.

In the four-storey Black Cloister at the eastern end of Wittenberg where Luther lived with his family—a gift of Frederick the Wise—it was open house all year at the Luthers. University students roomed and boarded there, visitors used it as a hotel, while relatives and friends dropped in regularly, especially at mealtime. The world is forever grateful to the students who had the foresight to take up pen, as well as fork, to record the master’s words as he presided at the table.

To be sure, several editions of Luther’s Table Talk are currently available, and one may wonder why another such is necessary. First, the popular translations available are reprints of a 17th Century translation that has been discredited. What is less known is the fact that only about twenty per cent of the authentic six volumes of the Tischreden in the Weimar edition of Luther’s writings have, in fact, been translated. Accordingly, many scholars of the Reformation are minded to do a full translation and commentary on all or most of Luther’s Table Talk. I, for one, had planned such a project—until, that is, Charles Daudert showed us all how it should be done! Any frustration or even jealousy that I might have had was quickly submerged in the joy of reading material from the great reformer that I had never before encountered, which only added to my appreciation for Luther’s fresh originality and his way with words and phrases.

Fair warning to the reader: in the Table Talk, Luther is at his unwary best and not hindered by such niceties as prudence, propriety, etiquette, or convention. Some of the material is salty, saucy, and even “over the top.” At such passages, it would be well to remember that Luther himself did not write this material or sign-off on it. It is all recorded by his eager students, who somehow managed to eat meat and potatoes at Luther’s table, yet also take copious notes on whatever he said. His dear wife Katie, who alone could balance the books in the Luther household, thought students should pay advance royalties to her husband—knowing that the material would eventually be published. But Luther countermanded the idea: actor that he was, he needed an audience, not money. Besides, he said, “I never worry about debts: when they are gone, there will always be more.”

Modern tastes may also frown at the hyperbole and exaggerations in which Luther so freely indulged. There is no question but that if Luther had had access to a computer, he would have used italics, bold, and underline for much of his discourse. That was his way, but also the way of Old Testament prophets, New Testament evangelists, and especially that of Jesus Christ Himself.

One need not be a Lutheran to relish this material, nor, on the other hand, will Lutherans concur with all the thousands of insights Luther unleashed before his table guests. Everyone, however, will agree that this is fascinating reading served up in a graceful—and faithful—translation by Charles Daudert, and I heartily recommend it to anyone, especially those intrigued by the Reformation era.

--- Paul L. Maier

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