Born at
Wittenberg, the third son of Martin Luther by his marriage to
Katharina von Bora, Luther was named after
Saint Paul the Apostle and proved such an energetic child that his father said of him, "He is destined to fight against
the Turks." The boy's education began with the study of
Greek and
Latin under
Philip Melanchthon and Veit Winsheim. In 1546, when Luther was twelve, his father died, leaving the family in straitened circumstances without Luther's salaries. At the outbreak of the
Schmalkaldic War, they fled to
Magdeburg and in 1547 to
Brunswick. In July, at the end of the war, it was possible to return to Wittenberg, although in relative poverty. On the advice of Melanchthon, Luther attended the
University of Wittenberg to study medicine. In September 1552, an outbreak of the
bubonic plague forced the Luther family to leave their home once again. They fled to
Torgau, travelling in a cart which overturned near the city gates, seriously injuring Luther's mother. She died there on 20 December 1552. While in Torgau, on 5 February 1553, at the age of twenty, Luther married Anna, daughter of the translator
Veit Warbeck (
c. 1490–1534). ==Career==