Biblia, Piibli, Paipera

[Facsimile of 1534 Luther Bible, German]. Biblia: das ist, die gantze Heilige Schrifft deudsch. Mart. Luth. Wittemberg: begnadet mit Kurfurstlicher zu Sachsen freiheit. Koln; London: Taschen, 2003.

This facsimile of Martin Luther’s German Bible is a digital reproduction of a copy of the original printed by Hans Lufft at Wittenberg in 1534. Luther’s 1534 translation of the Bible into German consists of two enormous tomes designed as lectern Bibles to be read in churches, and featuring numerous hand-coloured illustrations.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was the first to translate the Bible into a vernacular language on the basis of the original tongues. Luther’s translation of the New Testament known as the September Testament was printed in 1522 - the same year in which Tyndale proposed to create a Bible in the English vernacular.

The 1466 German Bible of Johann Mentelin (ca. 1410-1478) was the first Bible to be printed in any language other than Latin. It preceded the first Italian Bible by five years, the first French and Spanish editions by a decade, and the first complete English Bible by 69 years.

[Facsimile of 1534 Luther Bible, German]. Biblia: das ist, die gantze Heilige Schrifft deudsch. Mart. Luth. Wittemberg: begnadet mit Kurfurstlicher zu Sachsen freiheit. Koln; London: Taschen, 2003.
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