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Primary sourceDocument1515-1516

Römerbriefvorlesung: Autograph on Romans 3:1-9a

Martin Luther · 1515-1516

A page from Luther's own copy of the Epistle to the Romans with his handwritten lecture notes from 1515-16.

These are Luther's own handwritten study notes from the lectures where his key doctrine took shape.

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Black and white scan of a manuscript page covered in handwritten Latin annotations in Martin Luther's hand, with printed Latin Bible text in bold lines running across the middle of the page, including 'Vid ergo amplius iudaeo' and 'Quid ergo praecellimus'.
Martin Luther, annotations on Romans 3:1-9a, from his hand copy of the Epistle to the Romans, c. 1515-16. Transcription by Johannes Ficker, 1908.

About this source

What it is

This is a page from Martin Luther's personal copy of the Epistle to the Romans, covered with his handwritten Latin notes, made while preparing his lectures. A transcription was produced by Johannes Ficker in 1908.

Why it matters

These lecture notes date from the period when Luther was working out his understanding of justification by faith, an idea that would become central to the Reformation. Seeing his own handwriting wrapped around the printed Bible text shows a scholar thinking on the page, years before his public break with Rome.

Look closer

  • What does the mix of printed Bible text and handwritten notes tell you about how Luther studied scripture?
  • Why might historians value a working manuscript like this more than a later printed book?
  • What questions might Luther have been asking himself as he wrote these comments?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Martin Luther on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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