The Luther family had been a peasant family for many generations. Hans struggled out of that mold, moving to the town of Mansfield when Martin was still a baby. In a few years, Hans leased some copper mines and smelting furnaces, becoming an entrepreneur.
Life in Germany in those days was rough. Parents and teachers were abusive in their discipline, language was often vulgar, and the common person's social life was coarse. Witches, ghosts, and goblins were thought to inhabit the woods, the fields, and the mines. Any ill, from terrible plagues to missing milk in the larder, was blamed on these unseen evil ones.
However, not everything was blamed on these beings. When Martin once stole an acorn, his mother beat him until the blood flowed. No one thought anything of it--except Martin. At school, Martin was once "caned fifteen times in a single morning" for some small infraction. Again, Martin seemed the only one who cared.
The only church in Germany was the Catholic, and Martin became very devout. He loved the music, the pageantry, the beauty of the Mass. But he was afraid of God, for God's wrath was great and Christ would come someday to damn the guilty. Martin knew he was guilty of so many small sins.
Martin began school when he was seven, and by the time he was twelve, he was educated enough to begin working in the mines as his father expected. Martin, however, hated it, and worse, he was not good at it. He preferred singing, discussing interesting ideas, and socializing in the provincial manner of his peers.
Hans soon realized that Martin was an intellectual, and he thought that perhaps Martin might be able to become a lawyer, so he sent his to another school. With the clothes on his back and a good friend by his side, thirteen year old Martin set out on the 50 mile walk to Magdeburg. Traveling students were expected to beg for their dinner by singing, but because of Martin's especially pleasant voice, meals were not hard to come by on the journey. He did well in school, and the next year he went to an even better school in Eisenach.
At Eisenach, he was able to stop singing for his supper. Frau Cotta, the mother in a well-to-do, refined and cultured family, was entranced with Martin. His large eyes appealed to her mother-heart; his buoyant good spirits encouraged her; his pleasant voice soothed and entertained her. She took him into her family, refined his manners (at least under certain circumstances), and mothered him. Martin blossomed under such care.
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