Valentin Weigel (1533-1588): German Religious Dissenter, Speculative Theorist, and Advocate of Tolerance

This first English-language consideration of Valentin Weigel, an important but neglected figure in German intellectual history, examines his life and his writings on tolerance.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction 1. Weigel's Life Curriculum Vitae Two Key Episodes 2. The Historical Background Power against Faith Authority against Laity Doctrine against Doctrine 3. Weigel's Place in Tradition Pietism and Mysticism The Sources of Weigel's Synthesis 4. Weigel's Early Writings, 1570--1572 Context and Continuity of Weigel's Work The Path to Self-Knowledge Gnothi seauton The Good Life as the Inner Life: De Vita Beata 5. Weigel's Defense and Pastoral Turn in 1572 The Defense The Manuscript Collection of Sermons On Prayer 6. Weigel's Resumption of Speculative Writing until 1578 On the Place of the World The Golden Grasp 7. Protesting Intolerance after the Formula of Concord On the Life of Christ The Dialog on Christianity 8. The Problem of Distinguishing the Authentic Later Writings The Posthumous Compendium of Sermons The Lazarus Sermon 9. Contemplation of the Creation "Genesis" and the Design of the World 10. Early Reaction to and Later Reception of Weigel's Work The Complexities of Influence Conclusion: Weigel's Idea of Tolerance Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Andrew Weeks is Associate Professor of German, Illinois State University. He is the author of Boehme: An Intellectual Biography of the Seventeenth-Century Philosopher and Mystic; German Mysticism from Hildegard of Bingen to Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Literary and Intellectual History; and Paracelsus: Speculative Theory and The Crisis of the Early Reformation, all published by SUNY Press.

Review :
"This is an excellent study of Valentin Weigel, a significant figure who has been unjustly overlooked. In his own day Weigel might not have had much influence or stature, but given that many of his ideas were far ahead of his time, and that much of the historical writing on the Reformation has been confessionally-generated, this is not surprising. But due to the very fact that Weigel was so much more in line with the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries than the sixteenth, he presents us with an extremely interesting case study of a man out of joint with his own time. Weeks does a wonderful job of outlining and analyzing Weigel's life and thought, and of placing Weigel in the proper context of late medieval mystical traditions and the doctrinal disputes of the sixteenth century." - Carlos M. N. Eire, Yale University