Biblia de Lutero
A Vorlage (; from the German for "prototype" or "template") is a prior version or manifestation of a text under consideration. It may refer to such a version of a text itself, a particular manuscript of the text, or a more complex manifestation of the text (e.g., a group of copies, or a group of excerpts). Thus, the original-language version of a text which a translator then works into a translation is called the "Vorlage" of that translation. For example, the Luther Bible is a translation of the Textus Receptus, so the Textus Receptus is the "Vorlage" of the Luther Bible.