With part I (1507–1517), on 1 April 2012 the work on a complete edition of all of Karlstadt’s writings and letters in chronological order will begin. Thus, in cooperation with the Herzog August Bibliothek (HAB) in Wolfenbüttel, this edition shall fill a central gap of sources in Reformation research.

Andreas Bodenstein, called Karlstadt (1486–1541), is the only influential reformer in the German-speaking region whose literary heritage is not yet available in an academically edited form. Because of this situation, the immense publicistic influence which Karlstadt had as an important exponent of the early Wittenberg theology after Luther until the middle of the 1520s has not adequately been taken into account in research. Hence, the perception of the inner diversity of the Reformation movement has been hampered considerably. Furthermore, Karlstadt is the most important liaison person between the Wittenberg Reformation and the representatives of the ‘Radical Reformation’ / Anabaptism coming from Saxony (Müntzer) as well as from Switzerland and south Germany. The mystic way of interpretation of his Reformation theology had lasting effects on the spiritualism of the 16th century; his impact can be traced well into the 17th century.

The edition shall be published as a hybrid edition, thus combining the advantages of both forms of publication, printed and digital. After finishing the work on documents, these shall be put online in the form of a cumulative edition. Besides advanced techniques for researching and visualizing the XML coded edition, further documents shall be added (digital facsimiles of the edition texts, links to texts mentioned in the sources as well as to freely available secondary literature, reference works, bibliographies, etc.) which contextualize the edition and facilitate interpretation.


Contact details:
Prof. Thomas Kaufmann

Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Faculty of Theology
Seminary for Church History
Platz der Göttingen Sieben 2, 37073 Göttingen

Phone (0049-551) 39-10408

E-Mail: thomas.kaufmann@theologie.uni-goettingen.de

Internet: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/55878.html