News in from the BBC:
A first edition of one of the most important works of the man who inspired the Protestant Reformation has been discovered in a library in France. The publication by German theologian Martin Luther, called On the Freedom of a Christian, dates back to 1520.
This was a year before he was excommunicated by the Pope for criticising the Catholic Church.It includes around 50 notes written in red by Luther himself, indicating changes he wanted for a second edition.
The American who made the discovery, James Hirsten, said it gave an important insight into Luther’s thinking at the time.
The annotated edition was found in The Humanist Library in Selestat, in the north-east of France.
So, once again, the best place for making discoveries is in a library?
ReplyDeleteJust because librarians spend all their time sleeping or watching the clock…
ReplyDelete(I’ve sent my congrats to Dr Hirstein – not “Hirsten”… –, his email is easy to find ; « You know what ? He is happy. »…)