Jutta Krauss

This volume is an invitation to meet this extraordinary woman of the 13th century, kings daughter, landgravine, and saint, in Germany, Hungry, Italy and Slovakia. The pictures evoke stations of her life, trace the path of her husband Ludwig IV who was called the Holy, lead to the source of her Franciscan ideal, present the preserved remains of a distant past, tell legends and guide ones gaze towards the artwork of pious veneration. The text and pictures of this book incite the reader to come closer: What appears to be a legend might seem, as a life really lived, strange to us nowadays. With Franciscan humility, Elisabeth chose a pathway removed from the beaten track of her times. She set an example of humanity which can be understood the world over down to the present day.

Old alleyways seem to echo with the footsteps of the Latin scholar in Mansfeld or the student in Erfurt. The reader can envisage the medieval traveller in the images of roads that Luther travelled 500 years ago. Portraits by Wittenberg painter Cranach and historical paintings of later eras illustrate biographical incidents, giving a face to Luther’s companions and opponents and a vivid impression of the places where the events took place. The text is closely linked to the images. It is not didactic; it tells Luther’s story and motivates the reader to reflect on the man, his work and his time. Across the centuries, the interested reader will find much that is familiar.