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Secondary sourceBook1857 (recording Luther's remarks)

The Table Talk of Martin Luther

Martin Luther · 1857 (recording Luther's remarks)

An 1857 English edition of Luther's recorded conversations and sayings, collected as 'Table Talk.'

A collection of Luther's recorded informal remarks, giving insight into his personality beyond his formal writings.

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Full text (Internet Archive)

About this source

What it is

This is an 1857 English edition of 'The Table Talk of Martin Luther,' translated and edited by William Hazlitt, with a Life of Luther by Alexander Chalmers and additional material drawn from other biographers added. 'Table Talk' is a traditional term for recorded informal conversations and remarks.

Why it matters

Table Talk collections give a more personal, informal view of Luther than his formal theological or reforming writings, showing his opinions and personality as recorded by those around him. Because it was compiled and edited by others long after Luther's own lifetime, students should consider how reliable such recollections are.

Look closer

  • Why might later editors add a biography and extra material to a collection like this?
  • How might the recorded 'table talk' differ in tone from Luther's formal published writings?
  • What problems can arise when someone's informal remarks are written down by others after the fact?

This book 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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