Luther's Table Talk, a Primer

One of the most popular sources for quoting Martin Luther is the Table Talk. It is a collection of secondhand comments written down by Luther's friends and students, published after his death. Many of my Roman Catholic Luther investigations find their way back to the Table Talk. It often falls on deaf ears when I point out to the defenders of Rome that Luther didn't write the Table Talk. Since the statements contained therein are purported to have been made by Luther, they should serve more as corroborating second-hand testimony to something Luther is certain to have written. The Table Talk does though at times provide otherwise unknown important contextual and historical background information to something Luther is known to have written or been involved in. Balancing both of these aspects of the Table Talk requires careful scrutiny.

I found it refreshing to find a contemporary Roman Catholic scholar pointing out that the Table Talk does not qualify unconditionally as a primary source. He stated "the real distortion of the Luther image occurred with the Table Talk" and that the Table Talk should be read for entertainment rather than as a serious historical guide.

The Table Talk is a source that's available in multiple versions spanning the course of history since the Reformation. Within Luther research, studying its contents and the history of its publication has a literary life all of its own. One can spend quite a long time attempting to grasp how this written Frankenstein's monster was put together. Even after multiple years of using the Table Talk, it usually takes more time to research. Who recorded Luther's utterance? Are there similar utterances? What is its pedigree of reliability?  Has it been translated correctly or fully from the original language? Which version of the Table Talk did the comment first appear in? What do we know of the context? What do we know of the date? What was going on at the time Luther is purported to have made the comment? What do we know about the author? Was he a reliable scribe? These are the typical problems that each statement of the Table Talk brings to the table. It becomes fairly easy to judge the pedigree of someone's bias with how they view the reliability and use of the Table Talk to establish Luther's definitive position.

The German / Latin Primary Source Table Talk: Tischreden, Weimar 
The most extensive collection of the Table Talk is found in the original languages, D. Martin Luthers Werke, Weimar 1883-1929 Weimarer Ausgabe. In this collection, the Table Talk is known as Tischreden. These six volumes below are often abbreviated, WA Tr along with the volume number. They are arranged by date, with the sixth volume including the popularized German edition published by Johannes Aurifaber. 

Vol. 1 Tischreden aus der ersten Hälfte der dreißiger Jahre, Sammlungen Veit Dietrichs und Medlers (from the first half of the 1530s)

Nr. 1–656: Veit Dietrichs Nachschriften

Nr. 657–684: Nachschriften Nikolaus Medlers

Nr. 685–1231: Veit Dietrichs und Nikolaus Meddlers Sammlung

Vol. 2 Tischreden aus den dreißiger Jahren, Nachschriften Schlaginhaufens, Sammlungen Rabes und Cordaux' (from the 1530s, continued)

Nr. 1232–1889: Johannes Schlaginhaufens Nachschriften

Nr. 1890–1949: Ludwig Rabes Sammlung

Nr. 1950–2802b: Die Sammlung von Konrad Cordatus (Erste Hälfte)

Vol. 3 Tischreden aus den dreißiger Jahren, Nachschriften Lauterbachs, Wellers u.a.

Nr. 2803a–3416: Die Sammlung von Konrad Cordatus (Schluß) (from the 1530s, continued)

Nr. 3417–3462: Tischreden aus der Handschrift "Cord. B."

Nr. 3463a–3463h: Tischreden aus der Handschrift Zwick.

Nr. 3464a–3464p: Tischreden aus der Handschrift "Wolf. 3231."[

Nr. 3465–3659: Anton Lauterbachs und Hieronymus Wellers Nachschriften aus den Jahren 1536 und 1537

Nr. 3660–3682: Tischreden aus dem 1. Abschnitt der Handschrift "Math. L."

Nr. 3683–4201: Anton Lauterbachs Tagebuch auf Jahr 1538

Vol. 4 Tischreden aus den Jahren 1538 -1540, Sammlungen Khummers, Nachschriften Mathesius u.a. (1538–1540)

Nr. 4202–4318: Tischreden, die in der Sammlung B. und in der Handschrift Khum. ins Jahr 1538 dadiert werden.

Nr. 4319–4719: Anton Lauterbachs Tagebuch aufs Jahr 1539.

Nr. 4720–4756: Tischreden, die in der Sammlung B. ins Jahr 1539 dadiert werden.

Nr. 4757–4857: Die Sammlung Khummer.

Nr. 4857a–4857p: Tischreden aus der Handschrift "Dresd. 1. 423" und aus dem 7. Abschnitt der Handschrift Math. L.

Nr. 4858–5341: Nachschriften von Johannes Mathesius 1540.

Vol. 5 Tischreden aus den Jahren 1540 -1544, Sammlungen Heydenreichs, Besolds, Lauterbachs u.a. (1540–1544)

Nr. 5342–5378: Tischreden aus dem Jahre 1540, die wahrscheinlich nicht von Johannes Mathesius nachgeschrieben sind.

Nr. 5379–5603: Kaspar Heydenreichs Nachschriften aus den Jahren 1542 und 1543

Nr. 5604–5658: Tischreden aus der Handschrift "Clm. 937".

Nr. 5659–5675: Hieronymus Besolds Nachschriften 1544

Nr. 5676–5749: Tischreden aus der Handschrift "Clm. 943".

Nr. 5750–5790: Tischreden aus der Handschrift "Clm. 939".

Nr. 5791–5824: Tischreden der Handschrift "Bav." und "Oben."

Nr. 5825–5889: Tischreden aus der Handschrift "Luth.-Mel."

Nr. 5890–5941: Tischreden aus der Handschrift "Wolf. 3232"

Nr. 5942–5989: Tischreden aus Georg Rörers Handschriftenbänden.

Nr. 5990–6507: Tischreden aus Anton Lauterbachs Sammlung "B."

Vol. 6 Tischreden aus verschiedenen Jahren, Sammlungen Aurifabers; Register

(i.e. from various years from the collection made by Johannes Aurifaber)

Nr. 6508–7075: Tischreden aus Johannes Aurifabers Sammlung (Abkürzung: FB) (i.e. Table talks from the collection made by Johannes Aurifaber (abbreviation: FB))

These volumes standardized the numbering of each Table Talk utterance. Contemporary scholars typically follow the Weimar numberings. Older sources though, especially in the early twentieth century and before, often follow different and varied utterance numberings that were published before Weimar. If you come across a contemporary source not utilizing Weimar's numberings, there's a good chance that a copy-paste from a secondary source is occurring. 

English Editions of the Table Talk

The six Weimar Tischreden volumes above have not completely been translated into English. The largest English collection is found in Luther's Works, volume 54 (LW). Even though this source is a well-researched extensive presentation, it doesn't come close to completeness. The editor's state:

What is presented in this volume is only a selection from the six volumes of Table Talk reproduced in the Weimar edition. This selection represents about one-tenth of the total bulk of what is known as the Table Talk. It is therefore of some importance to explain on what basis the selection was made (LW 54: xxiii).

Sometimes Luther's English detractors present the conspiracy that this volume sought to downplay Luther's most shocking Table Talk utterances. Contrarily, the editors of Luther's Works state,  

A special effort has been made to include pieces that have played a role in later polemical literature, pieces that have often been cited with triumph by unsympathetic writers or that have often been hidden with embarrassment by friendly writers. There are examples which show to what an extent Luther shared superstitions of his time and was guilty of “coarseness” in speech. It must be admitted that instances of the last kind presented particular problems in translation, for it has not always been easy to find English equivalents that have precisely the same connotation to modern readers as the German or Latin expressions had to auditors or readers in the sixteenth century. The same is true with respect to the powerful invective which Luther directed against his opponents (LW 54:xxiv).

For those English speakers not willing to purchase Luther's Works vol. 54 (Table Talk) in English, the Internet provides a number of free alternate versions. Here's a partial list by publication date of what's available:

Dris Martini Lutheri Colloquia Mensalia: Or, Dr Martin Luther's Divine Discourses at His Table, etc. 

The Familiar Discourses of Dr. Martin Luther (1818)

Luther's Table Talk; or, Some Other Choice Fragments... (1832) Full

Martin Luther's Colloquia Mensalia Vol. 1 (1840) Full

Martin Luther's Colloquia Mensalia Vol. 2 (1840) Full

The Table Talk or Familiar discourses... (Hazlitt) (1848)

The Table Talk of Martin Luther (Hazlitt) (1857) Full

Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners (Hazlitt) (1871) (Full)
The Table Talk of Martin Luther (Hazlitt) (1872) Full

The Table Talk of Martin Luther (Hazlitt) (1875) Full

The Table Talk of Martin Luther (Hazlitt) (1878) no preview

Luther's Table Talk. Extracts Selected by Dr. Macaulay (1883)

The Table Talk of Martin Luther (Hazlitt) (1884) Snippet

Luther's Table Talk. Extracts Selected by Dr. Macaulay (1885)

Selections From the Table Talk (1886) Full

The Table Talk of Doctor Martin Luther (1893)

The Table Talk of Martin Luther (Hazlitt) (1902) Full

Conversations With Luther (Smith) (1915)

Selections From the Table Talk (2011) Limited Preview

While not completely reliable, an A.I. English translation of the Johann Georg Walch Dr. Martin Luthers Sämmtliche Schriften vol. 22 (Colloquia or Table Talk) is available online.

Captain Henry Bell and the Different English Editions of the Table Talk
Many of the English editions above contain a less than historical account of how the Table Talk was translated into English by someone named Captain Henry Bell. The story put forth is that Luther's Tischreden was being sought out and destroyed by the authorities, but one copy was discovered in 1626 "in a deep obscure hole" and eventually translated by Captain Henry Bell. The story takes twists and turns of what it took for Bell to eventually get the book translated and published, including false arrest, years of incarceration, and political subterfuge. The crowning moment of its publication was the House of Commons in 1646 noticed that in the book Luther "revok[ed] his opinion, formerly held, touching Consubstantiation in the Sacrament."

For a critical evaluation of Bell's claims, see: Preserved Smith, Luther's Table Talk, A Critical Study (1907) pp. 76-81. Smith challenges the notion that the German text was so obscure to find, or that it was ever under order to be destroyed on such a grand scale. Bell's ten year prison term is thought to be entirely improbable. Also, according to Smith, there isn't any evidence of Luther's changing view on the Sacrament in the Table Talk text. 

The actual German text was probably from one of Aufifaber's editions, perhaps that of 1571, and what Bell put together was an incomplete translation (two-thirds may have been omitted from the German). Smith states, "The omissions were made with the purpose of pleasing the theologians of that day and place." The translation was also later attached to what Smith calls "the good old-fashioned style of invective" against Rome.

It appears there were at least three different English translations of the Table Talk: Bell, an unnamed translator, and that done by William Hazlitt. The unnamed translator is responsible for those volumes above entitled, Choice Fragments from the discourses of Luther. According to Smith, 1832's "Choice Fragments"

...[S]ppressed with the greatest care whatever really showed the free, joyous and somewhat coarse character of Luther, and in his translation we see him transformed into an English clergyman with an unctuous regard for the proprieties, polished, well brought-up, grave and formal in his conversation.

Hazlitt's translation (1848) seems to be the most readily available on the Internet. Hazlitt's preface takes parts of Bell's introduction and part of a French translation (Brunet) and includes errors found in the French version. For a helpful list of the English versions of the Table Talk previous to 1915, see Smith's compilation.

Here's my advice for English speakers: if you're going to utilize the Table Talk, stick with Luther's Works vol; 54. While it's wonderful to have all these free old editions of the Table Talk, having the more critical and careful English edition shows a critical and careful love of history.

Addendum #1
Here's an example of a nineteenth century writer pointing out the flaws in utilizing the Table Talk as a primary source for determining Luther.  The following was written by Julius Charles Hare in response to someone quoting Luther's Table Talk against him:

The Reviewer, it has already been stated, gives no references for his extracts, a practice utterly to be reprobated when they are cited as the grounds of censure. The chief part however of the "hasty anthology" collected under the head of Biblical Criticism may be traced to Luther's Tabletalk; and when we compare these so-called extracts with the original passages from which they appear to have been taken, we discover more than one reason why it may have been thought expedient that the references should here be left out, though in other parts of the Article they are given carefully. In the first place the importance of the allegations, for whatsoever purpose they may be cited, is much diminished when they are known to come from the Tabletalk. Precious as that book is, both for the body of truths contained in it, and for its vivid portraiture of Luther's character and familiar habits, we are not entitled to regard it as a sufficient authority for Luther's opinions, except so far as it is confirmed by his acknowledged writings: at least we certainly have no right to make it the ground of accusations against him. For in all conversation there is much that is prompted, and, it may be, exaggerated, by casual impulses of the moment, much that, at the time of utterance, is limited by previous or subsequent remarks, and so cannot be rightly understood without them. Besides even the best hearers will often misapprehend and misconceive, the best reporters will often misstate, especially when the report is not committed to writing for hours, it may be days or weeks after. Some collections of Tabletalk are indeed very interesting 'and delightful; but they should always be read in an indulgent, not in a censorious spirit. The only safe rule is to ascribe whatever we find that is wise or ingenious or instructive, to the speaker, since this is not likely to have been invented by the reporter; while the blunders, the absurdities, the extravagances should be overlooked, from the probability that they may be the scribe's interpolations or perversions, or that they may have had some unrecorded justification at the moment. And these remarks apply with double force to Luther's, which is compiled from the manuscripts of a dozen of his friends. A second reason for the omission of all references might be, that, when it was seen from what a tiny spot in the vast expanse of Luther's writings they were drawn, this would have swept away all appearance of that extensive acquaintance with them which the Reviewer now seems to claim, but which his extreme ignorance of what Luther was proves he cannot have possest. There is also a third reason why it certainly is expedient for the Reviewer that his readers should not have any facilities for referring to the passages he professes to cite; for then any one would easily have detected how grossly several of them are misrepresented. At present, even if we fancy we have found them out, there is always a possibility that the same words may occur somewhere else, without the context, through the omission of which they convey a totally different meaning from what Luther intended to express by them.

Addendum #2 Non-English Editions of the Table Talk

Tagebuch Uber Dr. Martin Luther Gefuhrt von Dr. Conrad Cordatus 1537 

Tischreden Luthers aus den Jahren 1531 und 1532 nach den Aufzeichnungen von Johann Schlaginhaufen, herausgegeben von Wilhelm Preger (Leipzig: Dörffling & Franks, 1888.

This entry revised February 2026.