Martin Luther: Whether One May Flee From Deadly Plague

A Primary Source Analysis of Martin Luther’s 1527 Treatise Entitled: ‘Whether One May Flee From Deadly Plague’.

A late 15th century depiction of St Sebastian pleading for the life of a gravedigger afflicted with plague during the 7th-century Plague of Pavia.

The Bubonic Plague In Wittenburg (1527)

It was in the late summer of 1527, when a wave of bubonic plague struck the university city of Wittenberg, in Saxony. Wittenberg, the seat of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, was also the home of the already famous radical Church reformer and condemned heretic, Martin Luther (1483-1546).

Luther himself was no stranger to this disease. It had affected the university town of Erfurt in 1505, during his time as a monk at St. Augustine’s Monastery.[1]

The 1527 outbreak of plague, however, elicited the publication of Luther’s remarkable German treatise, titled ‘Ob Man Fur Dem Sterben Fliehen Möge’, which is typically translated in English as ‘Whether One May Flee From Deadly Plague’.

It is generally accepted that Luther had begun composing this work prior to the outbreak in Wittenberg, in response to a request from theologian and fellow reformer, Johann Hess (1490-1547), who was a pastor in the city of Breslau in Silesia.[2] 

Breslau was first troubled by the plague in the month of August 1525, but it is unclear when exactly Hess appealed to Luther for counsel regarding the conduct of the clergy during a plague.

An extant letter from Luther to Hess on the 22nd of April, 1526, makes no mention of the request,[3] so it is reasonable to suppose that it was made sometime after this date.

Despite having suffered various bouts of ill health himself, Luther finally completed his manuscript in October or November 1527,[4] and the pamphlet was published in Wittenberg by the printer Hans Lufft.

The Plague: A Practical, Ethical and Theological Response

Addressing everyone, from the clergy and governing authorities, to household servants and ordinary men and women, Luther, with his unequivocal rhetoric, approaches the issue of dealing with the plague from a practical, ethical and theological perspective.

Throughout this text, Luther places a significant emphasis on the moral duty and responsibility of one Christian to another, a view that can be attributed to the principle of loving one’s neighbour.

Although Luther stresses that every individual is responsible for the welfare of their neighbour, the greatest accountability is placed upon those who were supposed to be the shepherds: i.e., the ecclesiastical and secular authorities.

Utilising the words of St Paul in the sentence prior, Luther makes the following argument:

“To abandon an entire community which one has been called to govern and to leave it without official or government, exposed to all kinds of danger such as fires, murder, riots, and every imaginable disaster is a great sin.”[5]

It seems, both from Luther’s exhortation and other sources from the period, that it was commonplace for parish priests and local magistrates to flee when the plague arrived in their districts, and it is not difficult to envisage the possible consequences of such an action, as Luther vividly describes.

Furthermore, the clergy were not only considered responsible for the spiritual welfare of the people in their care but were also expected to be an example of good conduct.

The Plague at Athens by Nicolas Poussin depicting the infamous plague which struck ancient Athens in 430-427 BCE. (Gallery of Sir Frederick Cook, Richmond, UK)

Whether One May Flee From Deadly Plague

The other significant point Luther makes in this treatise is to distinguish the difference between the risks involved in serving one's neighbour and that of unnecessary recklessness in the face of the plague.

He does not find it necessary to heavily criticise those Christians who stay in the belief that the plague is sent by God as a punishment,[6] but he does, on the other hand, strenuously condemn those who are both irresponsibly careless and those who refuse the assistance of medicinal aid because of their religious beliefs.

“By the same reasoning they might forgo eating and drinking, clothing and shelter, and boldly proclaim their faith that if God wanted to preserve them from starvation and cold, he could do so without food and clothing.” [7]

Despite Luther’s effort to include the majority of the population in his address, it is important to note that the primary question of this treatise, whether to flee from the plague or not, would only have applied to the privileged classes, who either had country estates to retreat to or wealth enough to suspend their own businesses for the duration of the pandemic.

For the poorer members of Luther’s society, the option to abscond was not even worth consideration, since most of them would have relied upon their work or trade in order to live. There was certainly no guarantee of a similar livelihood elsewhere, let alone accommodation, for plague refugees.

A man with a torch walking alongside a cart of plague victims; a woman is holding a dead child. Chalk drawing by E.M. Ward, 1848. Iconographic Collections Keywords: Great Plague; Plague; London; Edward Matthew Ward

Conclusion: Historical Insight

Luther’s treatise affords historians insight into the way people thought and dealt with the plague on an individual and communal level. Its practical advice turned out to be popular with the German public, being reprinted at least ten times in 1527.

Martin Luther himself, as we know, remained in Wittenberg for the duration of the plague’s stay there, despite Frederick the Wise’s insistence that he depart for Jena where it would be safer. Luther’s desire to remain in Wittenberg was certainly a bold move, but it did reveal in him a disregard for the safety of his own family.[8] 

Although we will never know for sure, his inclination to stay in the plague-ridden city may have indicated a desire for martyrdom, but it is more probable that he stayed out of the same sense of human responsibility toward the sick that we find running through this fascinating treatise.

Endnotes:

1. Christopher Gehrz, Courage and Pestilence, (Pennsylvania, Christian History Institute, 2020).

2. We know this because the treatise is addressed to “To the Reverend Doctor Johann Hess, pastor at Breslau, and to his fellow-servants of the gospel of Jesus Christ”.

3. Martin Luther, Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe [Letters] (Weimar: H. Böhlau, 1883-2009) 4:60-61.

4. Anna M. Johnson, Fleeing Plague: Medieval Wisdom for a Modern Health Crisis [Introduction] (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016) page 11.

5. Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee From Deadly Plague (Wittenberg: Hans Lufft, 1527), excerpted from Dean Phillip Bell, Plague in the Early Modern World: A Documentary History (London: Routledge, 2019), pages 98-101.

6. It is worth noting here that nearly all Medieval and Reformation-era Christians held to the belief that plagues and disasters were a form of divine punishment for sin.

7. Martin Luther, Whether One May Flee From Deadly Plague (Wittenberg: Hans Lufft, 1527), excerpted from Anna M. Johnson, Fleeing Plague: Medieval Wisdom for a Modern Health Crisis (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016), page 42.

8. Both Luther’s one-year-old son, Hans, and his wife, Katy, recovered from the plague, but their baby daughter Elisabeth died from its effects less than eight months into her life.

Bibliography:

• Author Unknown. The Reformation at the Taylor Institution Library: Reformation Advice on Dealing with Pandemics. Oxford: Taylor Institution Library, March 2020. https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/taylor-reformation/2020/03/

• Bell, Dean Phillip. Plague in the Early Modern World: A Documentary History. London: Routledge, 2019.

• Gehrz, Christopher. Courage and Pestilence. Pennsylvania: Christian History Institute, 2020. Issue #135. https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/courage-and-pestilence

• Hancock, A. Calculated Risks: Exploring Plague Ethics with Luther and Barth. Bloemfontein: University of the Free State, 2020. https://scielo.org.za/pdf/at/v40n2/05.pdf

• Johnson, Anna M. Fleeing Plague: Medieval Wisdom for a Modern Health Crisis. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016.

• Luther, Martin. Basic Theological Writings. Edited by Timothy F. Lull & William R. Russel. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012.

• Luther, Martin. Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe. Weimar: H. Böhlau, 1883-2009.

• Luther, Martin. Whether One May Flee From Deadly Plague. Wittenberg: Hans Lufft, 1527.

• Roper, Lyndal. Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet. New York: Random House, 2017.