Martin Luther was born in the town of Eisleben, within the province of Saxony in what was then known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. His parents, Johannes (or Hans) and Margarethe Luther were native Saxons and had been married in Margarethe's hometown on Eisenach in 1479 when they were just 20 and 16 respectively.

Luther was baptized by his parents soon after his birth at the Church of Saint Peter and Paul in Eisleben and the name they chose for him was the name of the saint whose feast day he had been born on.

A few months after Luther was born his parents moved ten miles to the town of Mansfield which was in the heart of mining-country, situated as it was among the mineral-rich Harz Hills. His father Hans went into mining and became quite successful though he never rose above the social status of a well-to-do peasant.

For the most part, Luther's life was hard and punctuated by poverty. His parents were thrifty and stern, placing a high premium on obedience and education. In later years, during one of his famous Table Talk sessions, Luther referred to a whipping his mother had given him for pilfering some nuts from a bowl on the table without asking for permission. But all in all, he later reflected that he had a good upbringing, one that prepared him for the work that God called him to do.