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GERMANY
IN THE AGE
OF THE REFORMATION
HONOURS LEVEL EARLY MODERN OPTION (HI242) 2010-11
MODULE DIRECTOR: PROF. BEAT KÜMIN
Barthel Beham, ‘Christ in the Sheep Shed’ (1524), in: Max Geisberg (ed.), Der deutsche Einblatt-Holzschnitt in der ersten Hälfte des XVI. Jahrhunderts (München: H. Schmidt, 1923)
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GERMANY
IN THE AGE
OF THE REFORMATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.Context and introduction2
2.Module tutors and contact details2
3.Times & Venues2
4.Teaching and learning methods2
5.Workload and assessment3
6.Aims & objectives3
7.Intended learning outcomes3
- Module structure and seminar programme / reading4
9.Model exam paper6
10.Module resources8
11.General books and reference works8
- E-resources9
13.Primary sources10
14. Literature in German 11
For full up-to-date information go to:
Click on the ‘Evening’ tab in the left-hand margin
1. Context and introduction
The Reformation triggered the single most significant set of transformations in early modern Europe. Religion and confessional allegiance shaped the social, economic and political culture of the Continent for centuries to come. The protagonist of the German Reformation, Martin Luther, is universally recognised as one of the outstanding historical figures of all times.
This version of ‘Germany in the Age of the Reformation’ runs as an evening honours-level optionfor part-time undergraduates with a particular interest in the early modern period. The module builds on a curriculum originally designed by Henry Cohn and assumes no knowledge of German (although, in line with departmental policy, use of foreign languages is strongly encouraged).
At the close of the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire experienced an age of unrest. Luther’s new doctrines provided the catalyst for fundamental changes. This module focuses on the socio-cultural impact of the Reformation. Particular attention is given to dissemination processes (role of print; visual propaganda; forging ProtestantChurches and identities), the effect on different social groups (Urban / Rural Reformation; Peasants’ War; gender relations) and confessional tensions (Radical Reformation; Catholics; Jews). The course concludes with an assessment of the long-term legacies of the German Reformation.
2. Module director and contact details:
Prof. Beat Kümin, Office H313. T: (5)24915; e: .
3. Times and venues
Classes run weekly (with the exception of weeks 1, 6 and 16) on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 pmin Room H3.03 on the third floor of the Humanities Building.
They are divided into a one-hour seminar and a one-hour lecture (with a short break in between).
4. Teaching and learning methods:
After an organizational meeting in week 2, the module will take the structure of lectures followed (the week after) by a thematically related seminar . Participants are expected to attend classes, read recommended texts in private study and play an active part in seminars. The latter will give opportunities, as appropriate, for brief presentations, preliminary discussion in small groups or formal debates between opposing sides (now facilitated by the Learning Grid). Students write two non-assessed assignments and have the opportunity to submit an additional 2-question mock exam. Individual tutorials will give feedback on the latteras well as seminar performance. Workshops on resources and essay-writing will be offered in term 2 and a revision session in term 3.
5. Workload and assessment:
Written coursework consists of 2 non-assessed assignments, i.e. two2,000-word essays,plus an optional two-question mock exam. The respective submission dates are Friday of week 8 (autumn term), Tuesday of week 18 (spring term) and Tuesday of week 22 (summer terms).
For assessment, students can choose between EITHER a three-hour, three-question examination paper OR a two-hour, two-question paper plus a 4,500 word long essay (to be submitted by the official deadline specified on the History Department’s undergraduate website). Students should decide whether to be assessed or not by the official university deadline and agree a title / relevant reading with their seminar tutor by the end of the Spring Term.
The module is based on materials in English, but students with knowledge of German are encouraged to use it in all assessed and non-assessed work. Consult the module tutor for appropriate topics/materials and see the list of ‘Literature in German’ below.
6. Aims & objectives:
This module highlights the key role of religion in pre-industrial society. It provides an in-depth survey of the country which proved seminal for the development of the European Reformation. Students will examine the roots as well as the dramatic socio-cultural effects of changes in theology and ecclesiastical organization. The Reformation divided sixteenth-century communities and affected each social / gender group in particular ways. The module draws on extensive primary and secondary materials to illustrate how the people of Germany experienced and in turn shaped these fundamental transformations.
7. Intended learning outcomes:
a) the further development of study, writing, presentation and communication skills, including the use of visual evidence and e-resources;
b) greater understanding of the importance of religion in early modern society and the socio-cultural impact of confessional change;
c) the ability, through writing a 4,500-word essay, of presenting a sustained argument backed by precise and well-chosen evidence drawn from appropriate sources and secondary literature;
d) developing critical analytical skills through the assessment of historical approaches often at variance with one another (particularly by participating in debates and writing a book review);
e) enhanced awareness of the contributions of different historical sub-disciplines –ecclesiastical history, the historical sociology of religion, gender history, and others – to an understanding of the Reformation.
8. Module structure and seminar programme / reading:
The module is structured in four parts:
I. Germany on the Eve of the Reformation
II. Reformation Culture
III. Social Impact
IV. Legacies
NB: Guidance about specific seminar reading will be given after each lecture
[Autumn Term]
Part I: GERMANY ON THE EVE OF THE REFORMATION
Week 2. Introduction and organization
Lecture: The political landscape of the Holy Roman Empire
Week 3. Seminar 1: An age of political instability?
Lecture: Socio-economic and cultural life in the late Middle Ages
Week 4. Seminar 2: An age of socio-economic unrest?
Lecture: The late medieval Church
Week 5. Seminar 3: Church and people on the eve of the Reformation
Lecture: Martin Luther - a restless monk
[6. Reading Week]
Hans Baldung Grien, ‘Luther as Monk’ (1521)
Part II: REFORMATION CULTURE
Week 7.Seminar4: Luther - Man and personality
Lecture: Reformation doctrines
Week 8. Seminar5: Luther's message
Lecture: Reformed liturgy and rituals
[non-assessed short essay due]
Week 9. Seminar6:Reformation propaganda: verbal
Lecture: Dissemination of Reformation ideas
Week 10. Seminar7:Reformation propaganda: non-verbal
Lecture: Challenges from within - disagreements among theologians
[Spring Term]
Part III: SOCIAL IMPACT
Week 11. Seminar 8:Workshop on Reformation Resources
Lecture: Rural Reformation
Week 12. Seminar 9: The Reformation in the countryside
Lecture: Urban Reformation
Week 13. Seminar 10:The Peasants' War
Lecture. Radical Reformation
Week 14. Seminar 11: The Kingdom of Münster
Lecture: Gender roles
Week 15. Seminar12: Women and the Reformation
Lecture: The Princes' Reformation
[Reading Week]
Week 17: Seminar13: Essay writing skills
Lecture: The clergy in the age of the Reformation
Week 18. Seminar14: Institutionalizing the Reformation
Lecture: Protestants and other confessions
[non-assessed short essay due]
Week 19. Seminar 15: Confessional identities
Lecture: Imperial Politics
Week 20. Seminar 16: Emperor Charles V
Part IV: LEGACIES
Lecture: Conceptualising the Reformation
[Title / materials for long essay to be finalized with seminar tutor by the end of the Spring Term; there should be no 'significant' overlap with exam questions / long essay topics in other modules]
[Summer Term]
Week 21.Seminar 17: Essay surgery
Lecture: Long-term effects
Week 22. Seminar 18: Conclusion
[mock exam opportunity]
Week 24 or 25: Revision class and exam surgery
[Long essay due at History Office by departmental deadline]
9. Model exam paper:
Recent exam papers for this module can be found at:
For a hardcopy example see the next page
Summer 2xxx
GERMANY IN THE AGE OF THE REFORMATION
(i) For candidates who are offering a whole-unit paper:
Time allowed: 3 hours
Answer THREE questions.
(ii) For candidates who are offering a half-unit paper:
Time allowed: 2 hours
Answer TWO questions
Answers should NOT include any significant amount of material already presented in ANY assessed essays.
Read carefully the instructions on the answer book and make sure that the particulars required are entered on each answer book.
1. ‘Weak and incapable of reform’. Is this a fair judgement on the Holy Roman Empire around 1500?
2. Why did many people go on pilgrimages in the late Middle Ages?
3. Which aspect of Luther’s theology had the greatest appeal in sixteenth-century Germany?
4. How did the Reformation alter the relationship between the living and the dead?
5. What was the most effective means of communicating the Reformation?
6. ‘In 1525, the German peasants embarked on a “holy war”.’ Do you agree?
7. Did the Reformation make men and women ‘spiritual equals’?
8. What attracted many German princes to the Reformation?
9. Are the religious changes of the 1520s best characterized as a ‘Communal Reformation’?
10. Should the Reformation be seen as a watershed in German history?
10. Module resources
The following sections contain a great range of resources, arranged in the following order:
- General books reference works (useful for most topics and seminars)
- Film and literature (two non-historical perspectives on Luther)
- E-resources (online tutorials and collections of primary and secondary materials)
- Primary sources (printed versions of original documents from the period)
- Essay titles and further reading (arranged by seminar topics)
11. General books and reference works
Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte [Archive for Reformation History] (1974-):
This specialized journal published under the auspices of the ‘Verein für Reformationsgeschichte’ and the ‘American Society for Reformation Research’ is a key resource for Reformation studies. Each year, it offers a volume of scholarly articles (incl. some in English) and a ‘supplement’ with reviews of new literature.
D. Bagchi, ‘Germany’, in: A. Ryrie (ed.), Advances in the EuropeanReformations (2005)
Th. Brady, German Histories in the Age of Reformations, 1400-1650 (2009)
E. Cameron, The European Reformation (1991) [recommended as a European survey]
H. J. Cohn, ‘The Long Reformation: Lutheran’, in: B. Kümin (ed.), The European World (2009) [a concise introduction]
J. Dewald (ed.), Europe 1450-1789: An Encyclopaedia of the Early Modern World (2004)
C. S. Dixon (ed.), The German Reformation: Essential Readings (1999)
“, The Reformation in Germany (2002) [recommended as a textbook purchase]
S. Ehrenpreis; U. Lotz-Heumann, Reformation und konfessionelles Zeitalter (2002)
M. Greengrass, The Longman Companion to the European Reformation (1998)
H. J. Hillerbrand (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Reformation, 4 vols (1996)
Grosser Historischer Weltatlas, ed. J. Engel, Teil II, Mittelalter (1970), 114-5; Teil III, Neuzeit (1962), pp.109-10, 116
M. Hughes, Early Modern Germany, 1477-1806 (1992)
H. Junghans, Martin Luther: Exploring His Life and Times 1483-1546 (1999)[multimedia CD]
C. Lindberg, The European Reformations (1996)
“, Reformation Theologians (2002)
R. D. Linder, The Reformation Era (2007)
D. MacCulloch, Reformation: Europe’s House Divided (2003)
P. Matheson (ed.), Reformation Christianity (2007)
New Cambridge Modern History, vol. XIV, Atlas, 118-26
S. Ozment, A New History of the German People (2005)
A. Pettegree (ed.), The Early Reformation in Europe (1992)
“(ed.), The Reformation World (2000)
“, Reformation and the Culture of Persuasion (2005)
R. Po-Chia Hsia (ed.), The German People and the Reformation (1988)
“, A Companion to the Reformation World (2003)
U. Rublack, Reformation Europe (2005)
R. W. Scribner, The German Reformation (1986)
“et al. (eds), The Reformation in National Context (1994)
Film and Literature
J. Osborne, Luther: A Play (1961)
Luther (DVD, 2003) [Movie directed by Eric Till, with Joseph Fiennes etc; in: Short Loan]
12. E-resources
Key online resources, with materials for almost all lectures and seminars:
1. TLTP tutorials (only available from campus computers):
C. S. Dixon and M. Greengrass, ‘The Protestant Reformation: Religious Change and the People of Sixteenth-Century Europe’ (1997), which includes a ‘core document’, ‘case studies’, ‘exercises’, ‘biographical index’, ‘glossary’ and ‘bibliography’
[
H. J. Cohn, ‘The Radical Reformation’ (1999)
[
H. J. Cohn, ‘The Impact of the Reformation on Women in Germany’ (1999)
[
2. Historical Association Podcasts(
‘History of the Reformation’ (by Henry Cohn, Beat Kümin, Peter Marshall. Penny Roberts)
Other useful websites include:
- ‘Early European Books Online’ [Full text of early modern holdings of theRoyal Library, Copenhagen, with many Reformation works;
- ‘Euro Docs: Renaissance, Reformation’ [Primary sources on early modern Germany:
- ‘German History in Documents and Images’ [by German Historical Institute Washington (under construction):
- ‘Glossary of Religious Terms’:
- ‘Gothic Germany 1250-1520’ [Extended bibliography of works in English on late medieval Germany by Len Scales:
- ‘Internet Modern History Sourcebook’ [Primary sources provided by Fordham University:
- ‘Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance’ [primarily bibliographical information:
- ‘Luther Memorials Foundation, Saxony’ [information on Luther museums and exhibitions, see esp. the ‘Luther House’ at Wittenberg (with biographical tour):
- ‘Martin Luther’ [extensive collection of / commentary on multimedia resources by A. E. Imhof (Berlin, in German):
- ‘Net Library’ [Collection of e-books available at Warwick:
- ‘Philipp Melanchthon’ [Information and resources on the Wittenberg theologian:
- ‘Post-Reformation Digital Library’[vast collection of primary resources/e-books relating to the development of theology (ca. 16th-18th c.;
- ‘Project Wittenberg’ [electronic collection of works by Martin Luther:
- ‘Protestant Reformation’ [Primary sources provided by Hanover University:
- ‘Reformation Picture Gallery’ [with images of people and places:
- ‘Regesta imperii’ [digital edition of charters and documents of medieval German kings and popes:
- ‘Virtual Library: Early Modern History [general list of historical materials, in German:
- ‘Warwick German Studies Web’ [materials and e-resources on German history:
→ See also the e-resources listed on the webpages of specific seminars !!
13. Primary sources
NB: Many of the web resources also featureprimary evidence (sermons etc).
M. G. Baylor (ed.), The Radical Reformation (1991)
W. A. Coupe (ed.), German Political Satires, vols. 1-2 (1985)
C. Fraenkel-Goldschmidt (ed.), The Historical Writings of Joseph of Rosheim (2006)
M. Geisberg; W. L. Strauss (ed.), The German Single-Leaf Woodcut 1550-1600: a Pictorial Catalogue (4 vols, 1974-5)
H. J. Hillerbrand (ed.), Protestant Reformation: Selected Documents (1968)
P. Johnston; R. Scribner (eds), The Reformation in Germany & Switzerland (1993)
S. Karant-Nunn; M. Wiesner-Hanks (eds), Luther on Women: A Sourcebook (2003)
W. Klaassen (ed.), Anabaptism in Outline. Selected Primary Sources (1981)
C. Lindberg (ed.), European Reformations Sourcebook (1999)
M. Luther, Works (American edn in 55 volumes [incl. index]; 1958-86)
“, Selections from his Writings, ed. J. Dillenberger (1961)
“, Three Treatises (1970)
P. A. MacKenzie (ed.), Caritas Pirckheimer: A Journal of the Reformation Years 1524-28 (2006)
E. A. McKee (ed.), Katharina Schütz Zell, vol. 2: The Writings (1999)
J. C. Olin (ed.), Christian Humanism and the Reformation (1987)
E. Rummel and M. Kooistra (eds), Reformation Sources: The Letters of Wolfgang Capito and his Fellow Reformers in Alsace and Switzerland (2007)
U. Rummel (ed.), Five Reformation Satires (1993)
T. Scott; R. Scribner (eds.), The German Peasants’ War: History in Documents (1991)
G. Strauss (ed.), Manifestations of Discontent in Germany on the Eve of the Reformation (1971)
E. Vandiver et al. (eds), Luther’s Lives: Two Contemporary Accounts of Martin Luther (Manchester, 2002)
→ For more specialized reading see the seminar pages of the module website !!
Jacob Murer, ‘Plunder of the Monastery of Weissenau’ (1525)
14. Literature in German (suitable for non-assessed and long essays)
(+ = available from tutor)
A) Sources
Luther, Martin, Luther-Bibel (1545 original and 1912 edn) [UL CD-ROM Network]
“ , Gesammelte Werke, ed. K. Aland (2002 edn) [UL CD-ROM Network]
B) Secondary works
+P. Blickle, Die Reformation im Reich (3rd edn, Stuttgart, 2000)
+S. Ehrenpreis and U. Lotz-Heumann, Reformation und konfessionelles Zeitalter, Kontroversen um die Geschichte (Darmstadt, 2002) [also held by the UL]
E. François,‘Konfessioneller Pluralismus und deutsche Identität’, in: S. Ehrenpreis (ed.), Wege der Neuzeit (Berlin, 2007)
O. Mörke, Die Reformation: Voraussetzungen und Durchsetzung (Munich, 2005)
H. Schilling, Aufbruch und Krise: Deutschland 1517-1648 (Berlin, 1988)
+L. Schorn-Schütte, Die Reformation: Vorgeschichte, Verlauf, Wirkung (Munich, 1996)
H. Schmidt, ‘Sozialdisziplinierung? Ein Plädoyer für das Ende des Etatismus in der Konfessionalisierungsforschung’, Historische Zeitschrift CCLXV (1997), 639-682
H. Wunder, ‘Frauen in der Reformation: Rezeptions- und historiographie-geschichtliche Überlegungen’, Archive for Reformation History 92 (2001)
The specialized journalArchiv für Reformationsgeschichte/ Archive for Reformation History,held by the UL, features articles in German as well as English and produces an annual Literaturbericht (survey of new scholarly work).
Further German works are also available.