The Luther Bible of 1534

Martin Luther’s Bible, first printed in 1534, was not only the first complete German publication of the Bible but also a major event in the history of Christianity. Luther’s revolutionary translation, very modern in vernacular and interpretation, made the Bible accessible to laypeople for the first time in history and gave life to a new religion: Protestantism. The Luther Bible remains the most widely used version in the Germanic world today. TASCHEN publishes a sumptuous reprint of this seminal book. Including both the Old and New Testaments, separated into two volumes totaling over 1800 pages, TASCHEN’s complete Luther Bible has been meticulously reproduced from a rare colored copy of the original. Careful attention has been paid to woodcuts and elaborate ornaments from the workshop of Lucas Cranach, which are printed in color and gold so as to be perfectly faithful to the original. Contained in a separate booklet is Stephan Füssel’s introduction, providing an overview of Luther’s life, a discussion of the significance of his bible, and detailed descriptions of the illustrations.