Paul Luther (19 November 1533 – 8 March 1593) was a German physician, medical chemist, and alchemist. He was the third son of the German Protestant Reformer

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

and was successively physician to John Frederick II, Duke of Saxony; Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg; Augustus, Elector of Saxony and his successor Christian I, Elector of Saxony. He taught alchemy to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

Early life

Born at

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

, the third son of Martin Luther by his marriage to Katharina von Bora, Luther was named after Saint Paul the Apostle and proved such an energetic child that his father said of him, "He is destined to fight against the Turks." The boy's education began with the study of Greek and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

under Philip Melanchthon and Veit Winsheim.John G. Morris, ''Catharine de Bora, or Social and Domestic Scenes in the Home of Luther'', p. 112 In 1546, when Luther was thirteen, his father died, leaving the family in straitened circumstances without Luther's salaries. At the outbreak of the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

, they fled to

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

and in 1547 to Brunswick. In July, at the end of the war, it was possible to return to Wittenberg, although in relative poverty. On the advice of Melanchthon, Luther attended the University of Wittenberg to study medicine. In September 1552, an outbreak of the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

forced the Luther family to leave their home once again. They fled to Torgau, travelling in a cart which overturned near the city gates, seriously injuring Luther's mother. She died there on 20 December 1552. While in Torgau, on 5 February 1553, at the age of twenty, Luther married Anna, daughter of the translator Veit Warbeck (''c.'' 1490–1534).

Career

Returning to Wittenberg, Luther completed his medical studies and on 29 July 1557 gained the degree of

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

. He turned down an offer to teach at the University of Jena because of his objections to the theology of Victorinus Strigel, a leading academic there. In religion, Luther was an enthusiastic

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and zealously defended his father's teachings. Luther took up a career as a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. He became the personal physician of John Frederick II, Duke of Saxony, remaining at Gotha until the surrender of the city on 13 April 1567, to Augustus, Elector of Saxony. He was then in practice at the court of Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg until his death on 3 January 1571, and was subsequently physician to Augustus, Elector of Saxony, and his successor, Christian I, at

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In 1590 he retired and took up residence at

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Luther was also distinguished as a chemist and developed several drugs, such as ''Unguentum ex nitro'', ''Magistrum perlarum'', ''Magistrum collorum'', and ''Aurum potabile'', which were produced by the pharmacies of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. He was interested in

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

, the ultimate goal of which was the production of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, and has been claimed as the most significant instructor of the amateur alchemist Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony.Jan Apotheker, Livia Simon Sarkadi, ''European Women in Chemistry'' (2011)
p. 35
"Dr. Paul Luther (1533–1593) a doctor and alchemist, may have been her most significant teacher." Luther died at Leipzig on 8 March 1593. His funeral oration was given by his friend Matthias Dresser.

Family

While still a medical student at Wittenberg, Luther had married Anna Warbeck.Henry Worsley, ''The life of Martin Luther'', vol. 2 (1856), p. 419
/ref> They were married for thirty-three years, until Anna's death at

on 15 May 1586. From this marriage there were six children: *Paul Luther (1553–1558) *Margarethe Luther (1555–1597), who married Simon Gottsteig *Johannes Ernst Luther (1560–1637), who became canon of

Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. History First a Slavic pagan settlem ...

. Through him, the male line of the Luther family continued until 1759. *Johannes Friedrich Luther (1562–1599) *Anna Luther (1564–1596), who married in Oberschaar Nicolaus Freiherr Marschall von Bieberstein *Johannes Joachim Luther (1569–1600)

Publications

*''Oratio de arte medica et cura tuendae valetudinis'' (published posthumously at Breslau, 1598)''Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies'', vols. 9–10 (Duke University Press, 1979), p. 34

Notes

Primary sources