Martin Luther is the subject of numerous anecdotes, which is natural for a figure who initiated a Reformation with religious, social, cultural, and historical repercussions still felt today. One of the most famous stories recounts the moment Luther narrowly escaped being struck by lightning. On July 2, 1505, the young Luther, then twenty-two, was returning to Erfurt after visiting his parents. Near the village of Stotterheim, he was caught in a fierce summer thunderstorm. As he made his way towards the village, a lightning bolt struck nearby, knocking him to the ground and causing minor injuries. Shaken, he called upon Saint Anne, vowing to become a monk. He honored this vow and joined the Augustinian order just days later, despite opposition from his family and friends—a decision that would have far-reaching consequences for Europe.

Another interesting anecdote involves one of the pillars of Lutheran doctrine: justification by faith alone. According to Luther’s own account, he reached this conclusion while in a heated room (hypocaustum) in the tower of the Wittenberg monastery. Catholics of the time misconstrued this event, suggesting Luther had his revelation in a lavatory. In truth, it was likely his private study, one of the rare heated areas within the monastery. Scholars such as historian Heiko Oberman have sought to merge these interpretations, arguing that Luther may have chosen this place as a symbol of humility, reflecting the human condition's degrading state, in which only Christ can intervene. Ironically, Luther, who suffered from hemorrhoids and constipation, had his own struggles with that type of “privy.”

A final anecdote centers on Luther's family, which included a dog affectionately named Tölpel (“Blockhead”), and his wife, Katharina von Bora, a former nun like himself. They married when he was 40 and she was 26, largely because Luther’s followers urged him to practice the very ideas against celibacy he preached. Initially, Luther was not in love, but he soon came to appreciate her deeply, and the couple went on to have several children.