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Summary: H. Sachs the Nuremberg "Master-Singer" and shoemaker became an early and ardent supporter of Luther and the Protestant cause. In this "trio-logue" a baker named Peter, a monk named Heinrich, and a shoemaker named Hans discuss questions relating to monastic life and monastic vows. The work is in prose, a change from Sachs' usual rhymed couplet format. This printing is from the same year as the first printing and re-uses the woodcut from the title page of the first printing.

Summary: Radical reformers such as Karlstadt believed that education was unnecessary for faith. Luther argued against such a position, asking all cities to set up schools to teach correct doctrine. He also emphasized the need for teaching Latin and Greek as part of Christian education. This is the first printing of this important tract.

Summary: Early sixteenth century Europe experienced a serious agrarian crisis, resulting in widespread discontent among the peasants. Luther often had to defend his views, as he does in a letter to the Saxon princes, against accusations that his writing influenced "the spirit of rebellion."

Summary: Sixth printing of a letter addressed to Albrecht von Brandenburg (later Albert, Duke of Prussia) the new General of the Teutonic Knights. In response to a question by the general, Luther applies his critique of monastic celibacy to military orders, stressing that it is pleasing to God to have families and to raise children.

Summary: In 1523, Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights formerly embraced Lutheranism and secularized the lands of the order in Prussia. Luther was named as his court preacher, and was one of Duke Albert's most trusted advisors. This is a letter to the members of the order, advising them to reject their vows of celibacy and marry.

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Summary: One of six 1523 editions of a collection of sermons delivered by Luther in 1522, directed against A. Karlstadt.

Summary: C. Schatzgeyer here writes on the veneration of the saints, the "friends of God". Catholic theology makes a sharp distinction between paying honor to saints (dulia) and worship of God (latria). This is the first printing of this work. No one knows for sure when it was written and printed.

Summary: Johann Eberlin von Günzburg was a former Franciscan who had left the order and joined the Lutheran Reformation in 1521. This is the second edition of his tract on the dangers of priestly celibacy. He himself was married in 1524 and had four children. The title page woodcut shows the wedding of three different priests, including one to a nun.

Summary: This sermon on marriage is an elaboration of an earlier work no longer extant. In its present form there is no set Bible text, nor is the sermon designed for a particular place in the Church year.

Summary: Luther always felt a special fondness for this work. Nearly two decades after writing it, he remembered it as being especially powerful. It elicited response from Catholic opponents five years hence. Luther felt so strongly about this material that he translated it into German himself. The abuse of the title refers to the masses sung by chantry priests for individuals. Luther opposed any celebration of the Eucharist that was not accessible to or provided for the congregation at large.

Summary: A treatise by Luther on the relationship of belief and practice, intended for those "poor consciences, that lie captive to human laws in cloisters and monastic foundations", as he puts it in his preface. It is also noteworthy that Luther assumes his audience includes both those who could read his writings directly, and those who heard them read by others, when he dedicates his pamphlet "to all who read or hear this little book".

Summary: The tribulation of monks-turned Protestant, and then turned out of their monasteries, made fascinating reading for the newly-converted Protestants. In style, it is analogous to martyrologies, such as Foxe's "Book of Martyrs." G. Korn here relates his sufferings on account of the Gospel as one such monk in Nuremberg.

Summary: This is a copy of A. von Alveld's defense of the Catholic Church's doctrine of clerical celibacy.

Summary: First edition and first printing of Luther's address "To the Christian nobility of the German nation" is the first of three great Reformation booklets Luther wrote 1520. This piece was completed in August and divided into three parts: (1) an attack on the Papacy and denial of its claims, (2) a list of abuses by the papacy and curia, and (3) a list of necessary reforms.

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Summary: A letter by Luther to Pope Leo X. Leo had issued his famous bull 'Exsurge Domine' on June 15 1520, demanding that Luther recant his teachings of face excommunication. Luther responded with this letter in September, seeking to explain his position, calling for the church to reform, while emphasizing that his critiques have been directed against abuses within the church, not against the person or office of the pope.

Summary: Early book on the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins by Martin Luther. Originally written in Latin, it is here translated into German by Sebastian Münster, a young Franciscan teacher/scholar, soon to become famous as one of the great Christian Hebraists of his time. This is the first printing of the German translation.

Summary: First printing of the first edition of Hutten's edition of the papal bull Exsurge Domine, which condemns as heretical 41 statements by Martin Luther and offers Luther 60 days to recant. Hutten issued the bull with the papal coat of arms on the title page, and offers his own glosses, introduction, and call to Leo to keep his bulls to himself, and not to bother the German Protestants any longer.

Summary: It is not certain who wrote this tract on the Leipzig Disputation but J. Montanus or J. Cellarius appear to be the most likely candidates. Montanus became the first Protestant preacher in Westphalia, while Cellarius or Kellner, became the first Protestant Superintendent of Dresden.

Summary: A report on the Leipzig Disputation of 1519, ostensibly between Karlstadt and Johann Eck, but with the active participation of Luther both in preparation and in delivery. It was at this formal disputation that Eck was successful in pushing Luther to admit that not only popes, but councils, as well, had erred. This was an important point in Eck's favor, since Luther had, up to this point, appealed from the authority of the Pope to that of an ecumenical council.