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Wolfenbüttel Psalter with Luther's Annotations

Werkstatt von Johann Rhau-Grunenberg in Wittenberg · 1513

A 1513 printed Psalter annotated by hand by the young Martin Luther while preparing his lectures on the Psalms.

The handwritten marginal notes are Luther's own, from his early lectures on the Psalms.

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Cropped scan of a handwritten Latin manuscript page with brown ink script in the left and center, and printed black-letter text at right reading 'Et anima' and 'Conuerte' and 'propter'. Lines of marginal notes are visible on aged paper.
Wolfenbütteler Psalter, 1513, with handwritten notes by Martin Luther. Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel.

About this source

What it is

This is a page from a 1513 printed Psalter, printed in Wittenberg, containing handwritten notes by Martin Luther in the margins, part of his lecture preparation on Psalm 6. It is held at the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel and is recognised as UNESCO World Documentary Heritage.

Why it matters

Before Luther became famous for challenging the Church, he was a professor working closely through scripture by hand. This annotated Psalter shows him as a young theologian engaged in close, careful study years before the Reformation broke out, giving insight into how his ideas began to form.

Look closer

  • What can handwritten margin notes tell us about how someone studies a text, compared to a clean printed book?
  • Why do you think this object was recognised as a world heritage document?
  • What does this early, quiet work suggest about Luther's character before he became a famous reformer?

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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