Junker Jorg

Every night at bed time my boys beg me to tell or read them a story. So last night I told them one which I knew would be right up their alley. It involved a fugitive on the run, kidnapping, a fast ride through a forest, and a castle with a knight. In the story, ML was the name of the main character and the face. The heel was simply known as "the organization." The organization was out to get ML and found him guilty of treason. ML was a fugitive on the run and in order to keep him safe, his friends staged his kidnapping and hid him in a castle disguised as a knight. Just the kind of story a young boy would like.

Sound familiar? If it does, it may be because the story is true. ML is Martin Luther, the organization is the Catholic Church. When Luther left the Diet of Worms his friends kidnapped him to keep him safe from those who sought his life. He was taken to the castle in Wartburg where he grew a beard and disguised himself as Junker Jorg (Knight George). It was here that Luther was allowed to work and translated the Scriptures into the German language.
 

The bearded Luther, Junker Jorg