Martin Luther Biography, Part 2: Early Education

[Continued from Part 1.]

Young Martin Luther's childhood was not a happy one. His parents were extremely severe [even, it seems, by late medieval standards], and many years later he would still speak bitterly of some of the punishments he had suffered. His first experiences at school were no better, and he later spoke of having been whipped for not knowing the lessons.

Luther's grammar school education took place in Mansfeld. In 1497-98 Luther attended a school run by the Franciscan Brothers at Magdeburg; as typical at such a school, Luther was required to go into the town and beg for his food. In 1498-1501 Luther went to school in Eisenach, where he was cared for by the Cotta family.

[Sources:

Roland Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1978), 18.
Justo Gonzales, The Story of Christianity, Volume 2 (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1985), 15.

Timothy Lull, Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2005), 3.
Virgil Robinson, Luther the Leader (Ithaca, MI: A.B. Publishing, 1997), 8-12.]