Read the document
The marriage record and the reformers' correspondence of 1540 · Rotenburg an der Fulda, March 4, 1540; the fallout in Corpus Reformatorum and the Weimar edition of Luther's letters
Summarized rather than quoted: the wedding's witnesses, the leak through the Saale family, Luther's insistence that a confessional counsel should be denied publicly, and Melanchthon's breakdown are all preserved in the standard editions.
Put it in context
The surviving fallout focuses on secrecy, scandal, political consequences, and the status of the original counsel. The public controversy does not produce a fresh, widely published biblical argument that resolves the earlier opinion.
That helps explain why the private document becomes obscure. The political disaster is remembered more readily than the narrow exegetical distinction that preceded it.
What is disputed
The political and religious consequences for Philip are a matter of historical reconstruction, and the reformers' later statements and distinctions belong beside their earlier counsel rather than being treated as simple reversal.
How I read this record
This is my conclusion from the source, not part of the quotation.
Once the private advice became public, the reformers retreated from its practical outcome and the scandal overshadowed the biblical question. The record supports that sequence without requiring us to claim we know every participant's private motive.
Open the sources
- Corpus Reformatorum III at archive.org ↗ · The 1540 correspondence follows the Advice in the same volume.