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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 383-407).

The thesis comprises two parts: the first examines German Reformation dialogues from the period 1520 to 1525 in a general study; the second discusses six texts in detail. The introduction deals with the literary tradition of dialogue, with the place of Reformation dialogues among other contemporary forms of literature, with the rapid growth of printing and the output of polemical pamphlets, and with present-day evaluations of both German Reformation dialogues and the society which produced them. As most dialogues were published anonymously, the question of authorship is treated. The authors' aims, views and loyalties coincide in some instances and display dissimilarities in others. The broad anticlerical movement encompasses a variety of different shades of opinion. Common characteristics in the way polemical dialogues were written are determined, and variations noted. The 'common man' appears both as a frequent interlocutor in dialogues and as a recurrent topic of debate. It is the conduct and the role of the Roman church, however, which represents the predominant concerns of the dialogue-authors. The possibility that the 'common man' protagonist influenced the way in which commoners saw themselves and were seen by other social groups is examined, as is the possible effect of the literary 'common man' on social unrest among the contemporary lower classes. Part I concludes that there is no evidence to show that German Reformation dialogues played any direct or even indirect role in inciting rebellion. It is, moreover, doubtful whether significant numbers of the actual insurgents were influenced by or even familiar with the German Reformation dialogues. The pamphlets were primarily for the literate classes, the educated and semieducated. The dialogues studied in detail in Part II are Karsthans, Pfarrer und Schultheiß, Kunz und Fritz, Chorherr und Schuhmacher, Bauer, Belial, Erasmus und Dr. Faber, and Muntzerischer Schwarmer und evangelischer Bauer. This choice reflects the changing preoccupations of the authors from the beginning to the end of a singularly formative period in German history. This study aims to ascertain the particular concerns of each author and the manner in which he has sought to present them to the reader.

The existing literature on the sixteenth-century Christian-Hebraist, Immanuel Tremellius, is seriously inadequate. Two very short German biographies did appear in the nineteenth century, but nothing substantial has ever been written about him in English, while he has been almost entirely overlooked in the twentieth century by Reformation scholars from all countries. It is the underlying contention of this thesis, however, that his contribution was far more significant than this lack of attention would suggest. The dissertation begins by constructing as detailed a biography of Tremellius as the surviving sources allow. This then provides the necessary framework against which his contribution to the age may be properly evaluated. In particular, the high regard in which he was held by his contemporaries, his activities as a Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament studies, and his written works, especially his Latin translation of the Bible, generally regarded as the pre-eminent Protestant Latin translation to emerge from the sixteenth century, all highlight the important position which he filled. Expressly because the different elements of his contribution have been overshadowed in recent Reformation scholarship, the experiences of Tremellius have much to tell us about the early modern period as a whole. He highlights the importance of both the Jewish and the Italian contributions to the culture of sixteenth-century Protestantism. In addition, the crucial role attached to the finest biblical scholarship, shown both in the efforts to find suitable teaching positions for Tremellius and the success of his Bible editions forces a re-evaluation of Calvinism as a whole. Confessional polemic was undoubtedly a significant feature of the religious culture of the period, but this was something which Tremellius consciously avoided in all he did. Moreover, despite the prejudices against him both as a Jew and as an Italian, Tremellius, simply through the quality of his scholarship, won the respect of figures as exalted as Calvin himself.

The main focus of interest in this PhD dissertation is the Reformation historian and diplomat Johann Sleidan (1506-1556). Born in Schleiden and brought up together with Strasbourg's famous Jean Sturm, Sleidan soon entered a period of active political life with his employment at the chancellory of Cardinal Jean Du Bellay in Paris in the mid-1530s. There and later in Strasbourg his main concern was to encourage a rapprochement or possible alliance between France and the German Protestants. It was also in Paris that Sleidan discovered history as his second passion. After translating key French historians into Latin, Sleidan moved on to produce his own works of a political-historical nature. His main work, De statu religionis et reipublicae Carolo Quinto Caesare commentarii, 'Commentaries on religion and state under Emperor Charles V', published in 1555, was initially commissioned by the Schmalkaldic League as the official history of the Reformation. Despite early hostile reactions, this history was an immediate success with the buying public, published in numerous editions and by the year 1560 circulated in six different languages. Chapters one to three explore Sleidan's biography in depth. The collection and analysis of contemporary correspondence has provided the cornerstone for a new narrative of Sleidan's life in the second half of this thesis I move to a detailed study of his principal published works. Chapter four concentrates on Sleidan's main work, the Commentaries. After placing this history in the context of contemporary German history writing, I examine this work in detail, treating its genesis, character, and methodology. I examine the unexpectedly hostile reactions to the first edition and its very rapid success with purchasers. I then move on to consider the longer-term reaction to Sleidan's great work, first in Germany and then in France. I explore the controversies aroused by Sleidan's work, among both Catholics and Protestants, and in contrast, the great respect for his scholarship that also straddled the religious confessions. Sleidan provided the context through which I have been able to analyse the life of a scholar in the sixteenth century, and the works of one of the foremost historians of the new evangelical movement. His life and his works have not, until this point, been placed in a broader context. His work as a translator and historian provides an excellent example of the movement of text around the cultural communities of Europe. Sleidan played a vital part in this process by offering Latin translations of leading French historians which would later be translated into other languages, and by publishing his own works in German or Latin, which were then translated into many other vernaculars. But Sleidan was also engaged in the world of public affairs. Sleidan's position in Du Bellay's chancellery in Paris has provided a new picture of French evangelism. This contact was not given up when Sleidan moved to Strasbourg. The Franco-imperial city has been shown again as one of the cultural centres of Europe from where an intellectual and political elite operated on a cross-national and cross-confessional level. Strasbourg with its francophone scholars was also the Schmalkaldic League's gateway to France. Sleidan's connections as a diplomat linked Germany and France, and have formed the basis for a new study of those in the Franco-German world who shared Sleidan's concerns to promote peace across the religious divide.

The sixteenth-century Reformation in Germany is often viewed as having made a radical change by breaking with the thinking of the past and starting something new. One example given is the Reformation's perceived rejection of philosophy (that is, philosophy's method, subject matter, and purpose), although the regard for philosophy has often been assessed only on the basis of second-order data. Past research has looked at various individuals' keeping or breaking with the preceding era and at the question of continuity between individuals within the Reformation movement of the sixteenth century. This interdisciplinary study examines the regard for philosophy and both the keeping and breaking of the whole movement, by considering how philosophy is used in The Book of Concord, which contains Reformation documents from the earlier and later sixteenth-century that were widely accepted and given authoritative status. The specific Book of Concord uses of philosophy considered are second-order statements about philosophy and its cognates and about logic, as well as first-order uses of organization by [ancient Greek topoi] ("topics") or loci ("places") and of argumentation by both induction (namely, example and analogy) and deduction. The study's taking philosophical uses as indicators of regard for philosophy has been called for in previous research and is relatively unique. Another significant contribution of this study is a detailed treatment of syllogisms used in arguing, for example, for the Reformers' position that justification, or righteousness before God, is only on account of faith in Jesus Christ. The study also considers the Reformers' formal distinction between justification and sanctification, or holy living, as a case study for philosophy in service to theology as its handmaiden in a ministerial role. More than finding an inexplicable, eclectic use, the dissertation concludes that The Book of Concord where necessary rejects philosophy and logic but nevertheless at the same time makes use of them, except where the use of such methods contradicts or goes beyond the Reformers' understanding of God's revelation in the Bible. Such rejection but simultaneous use both keeps and breaks with the preceding medieval period and continuous within the Reformation movement of the sixteenth century.

This is a thesis centering around the importance of humility in Martin Luther's Lectures on Romans, written in 1515-1516. Included are a word study of humility and its derivatives in Luther's original Latin text, an exposition of each usage, and a thematic exegesis of Luther's theology of humility in his Lectures on Romans.

Early modern Lutherans, as is well known, worshipped in decorated churches. They adopted a path of reform that neither disposed of all ornament nor retained all the material trappings of the Catholic church. This thesis studies the fortunes of ecclesiastical art in the Duchy of Württemberg after its Reformation in 1534 and the place images found for themselves in the devotional lives of Lutherans up to c. 1700. The territory was shaped not just by Lutheranism, but initially by Zwinglianism too. The early years of reform thus saw moments of iconoclasm. The Zwinglian influence was responsible for a simple liturgy that distinguished Württemberg Lutheranism from its confessional allies in the north. This study considers the variety of uses to which Lutheran art was put in this context. It addresses the different ways in which Lutherans used the visual setting of the church to define their relationships with their God, their church, and each other. The Dukes of Württemberg used their stance on images to communicate their political and confessional allegiances; pastors used images to define the parameters of worship and of the church space itself; parishioners used images, funerary monuments, and church adornment to express their Lutheran identity and establish their position within social hierarchies. As Lutheranism developed in the seventeenth century, so too did Lutheran art, becoming more suited to fostering contemplative devotion. While diverse in their aims, many Lutherans appreciated the importance of regular investment in the visual. Ducal pronouncements, archives held centrally and locally, surviving artefacts and decoration in churches, and printed sources enable the distinctive visual character of Lutheranism in Württemberg to be identified here.

This thesis describes effects of Luther Decade on tourism in Germany. It deals with German tourism market and its segments of cultural and spiritual tourism, as well as with potential of Luther Decade for tourism. It characterizes meaning of Luther Decade for Germany and the worldwide effect of reformation and presents the organizational structure of Luther Decade. It defines potential of Luther Decade for tourism of three German countries: Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, using SWOT analysis. The outcome of the thesis is that the effect of Luther Decade on visit rate in German tourism cannot be proved, because of missing statistical data. Luther Decade is a contribution for tourism due to financial investment in tourism infrastructure and sights reconstruction. It also has a positive impact on Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt who received most of the financial resources and who are being promoted at home and abroad. Germany should monitor visitors of Luther Decade and continuously evaluate this project.

When Martin Luther supposedly nailed his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, the small town had only a single printing press. By the end of the century, Wittenberg had published more books than any other city in the Holy Roman Empire. Of the leading print centres in early modern Europe, Wittenberg was the only one that was not a major centre of trade, politics, or culture. This thesis examines the rise of the Wittenberg printing industry and analyses how it overtook the Empire's leading print centres. Luther's controversy—and the publications it produced—attracted printers to Wittenberg who would publish tract after tract. In only a few years, Luther became the most published author since the invention of the printing press. This thesis investigates the workshops of the four leading printers in Wittenberg during Luther's lifetime: Nickel Schirlentz, Josef Klug, Hans Lufft, and Georg Rhau. Together, these printers conquered the German print world. They were helped with the assistance of the famous Renaissance artist, Lucas Cranach the Elder, who lived in Wittenberg as court painter to the Elector of Saxony. His woodcut title page borders decorated the covers of Luther's books and were copied throughout the Empire. Capitalising off the demand for Wittenberg books, many printers falsely printed that their books were from Wittenberg. Such fraud played a major role in the Reformation book trade, as printers in every major print centre made counterfeits of Wittenberg books. However, Reformation pamphlets were not the sole reason for Wittenberg's success. Such items played only a marginal role in the local industry. It was the great Luther Bibles, spurred by Luther's emphasis on Bible reading, that allowed Wittenberg's printers to overcome the odds and become the largest print centre in early modern Germany.