Martin Luther and the Lutheran Dog

“I just received a letter from Jonas. He wrote that a dog had shit into the grave of the bishop of Halle. I believe it’s fatal, for it has also happened to others before. Once when there was a procession with banners around a church, the verger put the holy water pot on the ground. A dog came along and pissed into the holy water pot. A priest noticed this because he was sprinkling the water, and he said, ‘You impious dog! Have you become a Lutheran too?’ – Between April 11 and June 14, 1542