Thread by @shefunilife

Look carefully at this week's profile picture and you *might* recognise a man held responsible for massive historical change. -- Martin Luther (1483-1546).

If you don't recognise him, that could be my terrible line drawing. Or perhaps you never met him before.

Let's be honest, I haven't met him either.

But I have spent a fair bit of time studying his writings, and trying my best to 'watch him at work'.

I wrote about some of this last year on my personal blog-- ionasword.net (pun absolutely intended):

ionasword.net/2017/04/19/wat…

My personal interest in Luther is very much about his bible translation. You see, as well as being part of @ShefEnglish, I'm also trained in biblical studies c/o @UniShefSIIBS.

And I specialise in "early modern" bibles.

I use "early modern" in the @SheffieldCEMS sense, so from around 1450 through to 1800. My work has a strong focus on bibles printed in the 16th and 17th centuries.

My PhD research looked at how English bibles connect with versions from mainland Europe.

Making a bible translation was (and is) a hard task, with many different requirements to satisfy.

But to a large extent, Luther (and Erasmus) changed the game.

Back in 1516, Erasmus provoked uproar by publishing a new version of the New Testament. It was bilingual, with Greek text (the original language) and a fresh Latin translation.

Europe's educated were Latin readers. Latin was the language of scholarship and of church services.

Lots of ordinary people didn't understand Latin. But for those who could, it was shocking to read or learn about a different version of the holy text.

By 1522, Luther - who was leading a campaign to oust corruption - went a step further...

...by making a new translation for those who spoke his native language, German. Now even the uneducated could benefit from the "new learning" and hear what (Luther thought) God's message was.

Luther became a publishing sensation. His campaign for change became "the Reformation".

It divided the Western Church. Opponents continued to respect the authority of the Pope (and so remain in the Roman Catholic Church). Luther's supporters based their faith on the Bible.

That made bible translation particularly important.

But Reformation had much wider ramifications. Luther & co. didn't just change bibles.

The depth and variety of change provoked by Reformation is hard to imagine, but it helps to explain why I got up at 6am yesterday morning..

... and headed to @BBCSheffield's Shoreham Street studio to talk about "500 Reformations".

Because I direct the University's @500Reformations project, exploring some of the stories of change that take us from Luther's first protests in 1517 to the present day.

These are stories that stretch beyond bibles & church stuff, into much of our lived experience--for Christians and non-Christians alike.

So some of what I'll be sharing this week will be that kind of 'talk about change'.

You can also expect some insights from my work with @LinguisticDNA, where a team of us---including @ShefEnglish, @dhishef, @UofGlasgow, & @SussexUni---are using big data techniques to study language change, thanks to @ahrcpress.

For now, you can hear y'day's Sunday Breakfast show interview here:
bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06…

--@RadioPegs welcomed me & Dr Sasha Garwood (@Skull_Beneath) live shortly after 7am (~00:09:00). Though you may be better catching the re-run at 01.37:00.