Luther rose
The Luther rose is a symbol of the Evangelical Lutheran churches . It emerged from the seal that Martin Luther used for his correspondence from late summer 1530. The model for this seal can be found in the lion and parrot window of the Augustinian Church of the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt , where Martin Luther lived as an Augustinian monk between 1505 and 1512.
In the form of a golden seal ring, the Luther rose was made in the summer of 1530 on behalf of the Prince Elector and later Elector of Saxony, Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous , for Luther in an Augsburg goldsmith's shop during the Diet of Augsburg, which began on June 20, 1530, for security reasons stayed in the Veste Coburg belonging to the Wettin part of Franconia . On the return journey from the Reichstag to Electoral Saxony, the Prince Elector presented Luther with the precious signet ring on September 14, 1530 in recognition of his outstanding service as a gift. Luther was very happy about this gesture by the Elector, although the ring to be worn over the glove was too big for Luther's hand. Lazarus Spengler sent Luther a drawing of the signet ring. The famous Electoral Saxon court painter Lucas Cranach the Elder used the Luther rose in numerous depictions in the following years, helping to make it widely known as a symbol of Luther's Reformation theology of Christ and grace.
On September 15, 1530, Luther informed Philipp Melanchthon that Prince Johann Friedrich had visited him in the Veste Coburg and had given him a signet ring .
Symbols used by Luther before 1530
In 1519, Wolfgang Stöckel published a speech by Luther in Leipzig with a woodcut by the reformer, the first picture that he has survived. Since then, a simple rose has been Luther's mark. On his doctor's ring was a heart-shaped shield, symbol of the Holy Spirit .
Luther's interpretation of the seal
In a letter dated July 8, 1530, Luther wrote to Lazarus Spengler that the Luther rose was
“A mark of my theology. First of all there should be a cross, black in the heart, which would have its natural color, so that I would remind myself that faith in the crucified makes us happy. Because if you believe from the heart, you will be righteous. Whether it is a black cross, it mortifies and should also cause pain, nevertheless it leaves the heart in its color, does not spoil nature, that is, it does not kill, but keeps it alive ... But such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose to indicate that faith gives joy, consolation and peace, therefore the rose should be white and not red; for white is the color of spirits and of all angels. Such a rose stands in the sky-colored field, that such joy in spirit and faith is a beginning of the heavenly joy in the future, now probably already understood within and captured by hope, but not yet evident. And in such a field a golden ring, that such bliss in heaven lasts forever and has no end and is also delicious over all joy and goods, as gold is the highest, most delicious ore. "
Use of coat of arms
The Luther rose is used in many coats of arms , but it cannot be concluded from this that Luther stayed in these places. The rose is a common figure in heraldry .
During the reign of Solms-Baruth , the family led the Luther rose as the Wildenfels reign. The Ring of Evangelical Congregation Scouts uses the Luther rose as a union badge. In addition, the Luther rose is a symbol of Evangelical Lutheran churches and institutions worldwide.
Kemeneshőgyész (Hungary)
Kötcse (Hungary)
Rodgau- Dudenhofen (district)
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The Luther rose is also widespread in the coats of arms of other Hungarian communities, such as in the coats of arms of Dunaegyháza, Kajárpéc, Kemeneshőgyész and Malomsok.
To mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, the federal government issued a 50 euro gold coin. The Luther rose is shown on the front. The jury's reasoning stated: "The Luther rose as an important symbol for Martin Luther's theology and thus for the significance of the Reformation is shown convincingly on this coin."
price
The International Martin Luther Foundation awards the Luther Rose to personalities who "have used the Reformation tradition of freedom and responsibility for the common good". The first prize winner in 2008 was the entrepreneur Heinz-Horst Deichmann .
Others
The Lutherid Association , the association of Martin Luther's relatives, uses the Luther rose as a club symbol. To commemorate the introduction of the Reformation in the parish of (Unna-) Lünern 450 years ago, "one of the first churches with a Lutheran creed in the country", the community's environmental group planted a "Lutheran" on the 1st of Advent 1995 opposite the entrance to their medieval church. Rose". A sign on this church next to the bush, which has now become mighty, informs about this. The rose, which produces an abundance of white flowers on mostly overhanging, flexible annual shoots and which was selected on the advice of the German Rosarium in Dortmund , is the variety "Paul's Himalayan Musk Rambler".
In Saxony and the surrounding area, the Reformation bread roll is a pastry based on the Luther rose. It is always available in pastry shops in the period before the Reformation Day.
In 1954, a Luther rose was attached to the art-forged garden gate near the church in the Goldenberg district of Remscheid .
In 2012 three windows by the artist Karl-Martin Hartmann were inaugurated in the Marktkirche Wiesbaden on the occasion of the 150th church anniversary . One of the windows shows a red rose in front of green leaves and is supposed to remind of the Luther rose as a symbol for Luther.
See also
Logo of the Lutherid Association
literature
- Barbara Cornelissen: Luther oak, Lutherin tree, Luther rose - the environmental group of the Lünern Church keeps traditions alive. In: Nature report. Yearbook of the Nature Promotion Agency for the Unna District, Vol. 7, 2003, ISSN 0933-3363 , pp. 89-93.
- Martin Luther: D. Martin Luther's works, critical complete edition. Correspondence. 18 volumes. Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1930–1985.
Web links
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- ↑ Press release of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany from November 8th, 2009: Fundraising campaign for choir windows of the Erfurt Augustinerkirche starts on November 10th
- ↑ Cf. Thomas Kaufmann: Redeemed and Damned. A story of the Reformation. Munich: CH Beck 2017 (2nd edition), p. 191.
- ↑ See Heinz Schilling: Martin Luther. Rebel in a time of upheaval. Munich: CH Beck 2017, p. 479.
- ↑ See Heinz Schilling: Martin Luther. Rebel in a time of upheaval. Munich: CH Beck 2017, p. 418f.
- ↑ According to: Luther interprets his coat of arms as a mark of his theology.
- ↑ "Luther Rose" 50 euro gold coin. Sales point for collector coins, August 31, 2016, archived from the original on September 19, 2016 ; accessed on April 10, 2019 .
- ^ The collector coins of the Federal Republic of Germany 2017. Federal Ministry of Finance, September 29, 2016, accessed on April 10, 2019 .
- ↑ LutherRose: Der Preis , luther-stiftung.org, accessed on November 17, 2015.
- ^ Deichmann, Luther and the financial crisis. In: handelsblatt.com . November 11, 2008, accessed February 16, 2015 .
- ↑ [1] Report on the Luther window in the community newspaper of the Marktkirche Wiesbaden, accessed on January 14, 2019