# Did Martin Luther walk from Wittenberg to Worms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-martin-luther-walk-from-wittenberg-to-worms/923776 "2020-10-24T17:19:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-martin-luther-walk-from-wittenberg-to-worms/923776/1 "2020-10-24T17:19:07Z")
Did Martin Luther walk from Wittenberg to Worms ? I haven’t been able to find any information specifying how to travelled to the Diet of Worms in 1521. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-martin-luther-walk-from-wittenberg-to-worms/923776/2 "2020-10-24T17:47:53Z")
He traveled in a roofed wagon: (probably drawn by an ox, but that’s just my guess). Quote from [German wiki](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_auf_dem_Reichstag_zu_Worms_1521): > [@](#): > > Wohl am 2. April 1521 machten Martin Luther und seine Begleiter sich auf den Weg > […] > Die Stadt Wittenberg stellte einen mit einem Schutzdach versehenen Wagen des Goldschmieds Christian Döring zur Verfügung, die Universität 20 Gulden Zehrgeld. > > _My translation:_ > > Probably on April 2nd, 1521, Martin Luther and his companions departed. > […] > The city of Wittenberg supplied a wagon equipped with a roof for shelter of the goldsmith Christian Döring, and the university an allowance of 20 guilders. ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-martin-luther-walk-from-wittenberg-to-worms/923776/3 "2020-10-25T04:31:04Z")
Thanks EinsteinHund. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-martin-luther-walk-from-wittenberg-to-worms/923776/4 "2020-10-25T22:34:20Z")
At your service! As a interesting aside, when Martin Luther earlier went on his famous, much longer voyage to Rome, he made it by foot. But of course he was merely a lowly monk at that time and had no official support, only a mission from his convent. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-martin-luther-walk-from-wittenberg-to-worms/923776/5 "2020-10-25T23:47:28Z")
Also, to complete the journey, Luther had a safe conduit pass to and from Wurms, but many expected him not to survive the return trip as Luther had been excommunicated, allowing anyone to kill him w/o staining their soul. So, upon returning, his carriage was ‘attacked’ by bandits (secretly on hire from his benefactor, Prince Frederick of Saxony), and Luther was squired away in Wartburg for about a year. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-martin-luther-walk-from-wittenberg-to-worms/923776/6 "2020-10-26T00:01:49Z")
And at the Wartburg, he used his time to translate the New Testament into German. (Later, he translated the Old Testament too, and thus laid the groundwork for the modern High German language.)