Theologia Germanica

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Theologia Germanica, also known as Theologia Deutsch or Teutsch, or as Der Franckforter, is a mystical treatise believed to have been written in the later 14th century[1] by an anonymous author. According to the introduction of the Theologia the author was a priest and a member of the Teutonic Order living in Frankfurt, Germany.[2]

The Theologia was written during the disruptive reign of the

Catholic rites because of the power struggle between the Pope and Holy Roman Emperor. Lay groups of pious individuals, like the Friends of God, became prominent during this time, and the author is usually associated with the Friends of God.[citation needed
]

The Theologia Germanica survives today in only eight manuscripts, all from the second half of the fifteenth century, suggesting that it was not widely disseminated before it came to the attention of Martin Luther.[citation needed]

Luther's view

late medieval
text.

Theologia Germanica proposes that

Christ, renouncing sin and selfishness
, ultimately allowing God’s will to replace human will. Luther wrote,

[N]ext to the

St. Augustine, no book has ever come into my hands, from which I have learned... more of God, and Christ, and man and all things that are...[3]

Another goal of Luther in the publication was supporting his thesis that the

Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages.[4]
The treatise itself does not discuss or reflect on the fact that it is written in German.

Theologia Germanica gained immense cachet in the

Philipp Jakob Spener and had over sixty later printings.[5]
In total, about two hundred editions were published between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries.

Opposing views

John Calvin rejected the work. In a letter to the Reformed Congregation in Frankfurt, Calvin says it is "conceived by Satan's cunning... [I]t contains a hidden poison which can poison the church."[6]

The support for the Theologia Germanica among Protestants led to

Catholic suspicion of the work. In 1612, Pope Paul V placed it on the Catholic Church’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum
, where it remained into the second half of the twentieth century.

Translations

The first English translation of the Theologia Germanica dates from 1648. It may have been the work of the preacher John Everard.

A text from 1497, the Wuerzburg or Bronnbach manuscript, was discovered in 1843 and contained text not included in Luther's editions. This text forms the basis of most subsequent English translations. Susanna Winkworth translated the book in 1857.[7]

In 1980, Bengt R. Hoffman brought out an English translation of Luther's 1518 edition.

David Blamires’ 2003 translation is based on Wolfgang von Hinten’s 1982 critical edition.

See also

References

  1. ^ McGinn 2005, p. 394.
  2. ^ Hoffman 1980, p. 2.
  3. .
  4. ^ Luther, Martin, ed. (1518), "Preface", Theologia Germanica, The Christian Classics Ethereal Library, retrieved 2010-04-20
  5. ^ McGinn 2005, p. 393.
  6. ^ Hoffman 1980, p. 26, ‘Introduction’.
  7. ^ Theologia Germanica Winkworth translation

Sources

  • Theologia germanica, Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
  • Theologia Germanica public domain audiobook at LibriVox
  • David Blamires, trans., Theologia Deutsch—Theologia Germanica: The Book of the Perfect Life (Sacred Literature Series. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press, 2003)
  • John Furguson, Encyclopedia of Mysticism and Mystery Religions (Crossroad: New York, 1982)
  • Hoffman, Bengt, tr (1980), The Theologia Germanica of Martin Luther, The Classics of Western Spirituality, Paulist Press{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
  • McGinn, Bernard (2005), The Harvest of Mysticism, pp. 392–404.
  • Winkworth, Susanna, tr (1857), Theologia Germanica, Andover: John P Jewett & Co{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)