Divine Wisdom

In this essay, I explore the notion of wisdom in Johannes von Tepl's Der Ackermann (c. 1401). “Wisdom” is central to the text because it serves to justify God's concluding judgment in the dispute between man and Death: Death is awarded victory for having spoken weyßheyt . In previous interpretations, the term is tentatively explained as “divine wisdom.” The question remains open, however, what this “Gottesweisheit” might be. Drawing on medieval biblical exegesis, I argue that it refers to the Book of Proverbs and, in particular, the account of personified Sapientia . “Wisdom” as it is used in chapters 18 and 33 of the dialogue reflects the exegetical tradition of Prov. 8.22–31 and thus serves as a metonymic expression for the person of Christ. Furthermore, with this Christological interpretation of divine wisdom in the Ackermann , I challenge the widespread notion of a “Christological gap” in von Tepl's text

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