Using nineteenth-century lithographic facsimiles of Luther’s work, Kyrieleis patiently copied the reformer’s handwriting until he mastered it. What is most astounding is he had little formal education beyond elementary school. Between 18, Kyrieleis produced at least 130 Luther forgeries. He didn’t.īoth inscriptions are the work of the notorious nineteenth-century forger, Hermann Kyrieleis, who capitalized on the enduring popularity of Luther and his works in Germany. Why would Luther give a good friend a book containing Pontano’s poetry about conjugal love and his steamy affair as an old widower with a much younger woman? And why would Luther give another good friend a book containing texts specifically selected to contradict his own teachings? The miscellany contains Isidore of Seville’s work on the sects and names of heretics, Augustine on faith and works, and Jerome on the perpetual virginity of Mary and the veneration of relics of the saints. There is something odd about each of these dedications. Click here to see more on the Collections page.Ī 15-line poem begins with an exhortation to hold on to prayer and the truth, then concludes with these additional lines, “Dedicated to my good friend, Hans Dann at Wittemberg ( sic), in the year 1526.” The last lines say, “To my good friend Malyno, 1533, Martinus Luther.” The second appears in PBK.000190, a 1523 collection of miscellaneous Latin Patristic texts compiled by Hieronymus Gebwiler, the headmaster of the cathedral school in Strasbourg, France.įigure 2: Inscribed page in PBK.000190, showing a forged Luther signatures.

The inscription begins with the first seven verses of the German text of Psalm 95. Click here to see more on the Collections page. The first of these inscriptions appears in PBK.000186, a 1518 Aldine Press edition of the love poetry and elegies of the Italian humanist Giovanni Gioviano Pontano (1426–1503).įigure 1: Front pastedown of PBK.000186, showing a forged Luther signature. Our collections also contain two small booklets printed in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, each with a lengthy handwritten dedication in brown ink, a date, and the name Martinus Luther. There are even a few with Luther’s autograph. Museum of the Bible has many items associated with Luther in its collections. Martin Luther’s fame as the author of the 95 Theses, the translator of the Bible, the writer of hymns such as 'A Mighty Fortress,' and the man who defied popes and an emperor is deeply entrenched in popular imagination.

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