Searching for the true religion

The Church History of the Magdeburg Centuries between critical methods and confessional polemics

Bibliographic Data

ID11499110
AuthorsHarald Bollbuck (Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities Germany, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume35
Issue1
Pages100-117
Publication date2021-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRenaissance Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-1213 • E-ISSN: 1477-4658
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/rest.12642
OpenAlexW2982571640
LanguageEN
Citations received2

The Magdeburg Centuries (1559–74) constituted the first attempt at a comprehensive Lutheran church history. Written as a collaborative project and starting its account in the Apostolic age, the Centuries aimed also to describe the theological changes of their own century, although the printed version extended only to the thirteenth century. In its development, the project was closely connected to the so‐called Chancery of God, a propaganda office of strict Lutheran theologians in Magdeburg which worked against the emperor, the Catholic Church and confessional opponents in Wittenberg. Written during a time of political threats, the work was driven by apocalyptic thinking and a certain scepticism about authorities. The search for historical testimonies of religious truth, the critical methods of a humanist education, the deconstruction of myths, and the writing for specific confessional goals intermingled and informed the compilation of excerpts from historical sources. The authors of the Magdeburg Centuries used these different techniques according to their needs

Ancient history · Archaeology · Confession (law · Confessional · Deconstruction (building · Emperor · Humanism · Mythology · Political science · Politics · Skepticism · Theology · Classics · Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · History · Law · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access