During the Diet of Augsburg, from April till October, 1530, Luther was an honorable prisonerin the electoral castle of Coburg.^981 From that watch-tower on the frontier of Saxony and Bavaria,
he exerted a powerful influence, by his letters, upon Melanchthon and the Lutheran confessors at
the Diet. His sojourn there is a striking parallel to his ten months’ sojourn at the Wartburg, and
forms the last romantic chapter in his eventful life. He was still under the anathema of the Pope
and the ban of the empire, and could not safely appear at Augsburg. Moreover, his prince had reason
to fear that by his uncompromising attitude he might hinder rather than promote the work of
reconciliation and peace. But he wished to keep him near enough for consultation and advice. A
message from Augsburg reached Coburg in about four days.
Luther arrived at Coburg, with the Elector and the Wittenberg divines, on April 15, 1530.
In the night of the 22d he was conveyed to the fortified castle on the hill, and ordered to remain
there for an indefinite time. No reason was given, but he could easily suspect it. He spent the first
day in enjoying the prospect of the country, and examining the prince’s building (Fürstenbau) which
was assigned him. His sitting-room is still shown. "I have the largest apartment, which overlooks
the whole fortress, and I have the keys to all the rooms." He had with him his amanuensis Veit
Dietrich, a favorite student, and his nephew Cyriac Kaufmann, a young student from Mansfeld. He
let his beard grow again, as he had done on the Wartburg. He was well taken care of at the expense
of the Elector, and enjoyed the vacation as well as he could with a heavy load of work and care on
his mind. He received more visitors than he liked. About thirty persons were stationed in the castle.
"Dearest Philip," he wrote to Melanchthon, April 23, "we have at last reached our Sinai;
but we shall make a Sion of this Sinai, and here I shall build three tabernacles, one to the Psalms,
one to the Prophets, and one to Aesop .... It is a very attractive place, and just made for study; only
your absence grieves me. My whole heart and soul are stirred and incensed against the Turks and
Mohammed, when I see this intolerable raging of the Devil. Therefore I shall pray and cry to God,
nor rest until I know that my cry is heard in heaven. The sad condition of our German empire
distresses you more." Then he describes to him his residence in the "empire of birds." In other
letters he humorously speaks of the cries of the ravens and jackdaws in the forest, and compares
them to a troop of kings and grandees, schoolmen and sophists, holding Diet, sending their mandates
through the air, and arranging a crusade against the fields of wheat and barley, hoping for heroic
deeds and grand victories. He could hear all the sophists and papists chattering around him from
early morning, and was delighted to see how valiantly these knights of the Diet strutted about and
wiped their bills, but he hoped that before long they would be spitted on a hedge-stake. He was
glad to hear the first nightingale, even as early as April. With such innocent sports of his fancy he
tried to chase away the anxious cares which weighed upon him. It is from this retreat that he wrote
that charming letter to his boy Hans, describing a beautiful garden full of goodly apples, pears, and
plums, and merry children on little horses with golden bridles and silver saddles, and promising
him and his playmates a fine fairing if he prayed, and learned his lessons.^982
(^981) Coburg is the residence, alternately with Gotha, of the Duke, and capital of the duchy, of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 185 m. S. S. W. of
Berlin, nearly midway between Wittenberg and Augsburg, and has now (1888) about sixteen thousand inhabitants. The castle is situated
on an eminence overhanging the town, and has been in part converted into a prison and house of correction; but some chambers remain
in their original condition, chiefly those occupied by Luther, with his bedstead and pulpit.
(^982) See above, p. 464.