Lutheran Churches in Early Modern Europe

Until recently the impact of the Lutheran Reformation has been largely regarded in political and socio-economic terms, yet for most people it was not the abstract theological debates that had the greatest impact upon their lives, but what they saw in their parish churches every Sunday. This collection of essays provides a coherent and interdisciplinary investigation of the impact that the Lutheran Reformation had on the appearance, architecture and arrangement of early modern churches. Drawing upon recent research being undertaken by leading art historians and historians on Lutheran places of worship, the volume emphasises often surprising levels of continuity, reflecting the survival of Catholic fixtures, fittings and altarpieces, and exploring how these could be remodelled in order to conform with the tenets of Lutheran belief. The volume not only addresses Lutheran art but also the way in which the architecture of their churches reflected the importance of preaching and the administration of the sacraments. Furthermore the collection is committed to extending these discussions beyond a purely German context, and to look at churches not only within the Holy Roman Empire, but also in Scandinavia, the Baltic States as well as towns dominated by Saxon communities in areas such as in Hungary and Transylvania. By focusing on ecclesiastical 'material culture' the collection helps to place the art and architecture of Lutheran places of worship into the historical, political and theological context of early modern Europe.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface; Introduction: Lutheran churches and confessional identity, Andrew Spicer; Early modern Lutheran churches: redefining the boundaries of the holy and the profane, Vera Isaiasz; Lutheran churches and confessional competition in Augsburg, Emily Fisher Gray; Epitaphs in dialogue with sacred space: post-Reformation furnishings in the parish churches of St Nikolai and St Marien in Berlin, Maria Dieters; Framing the sacred: Lutheran church furnishings in the Holy Roman Empire, Margit Thøfner; Marian imagery and its function in the Lutheran churches of early modern Transylvania, Maria Craciun; 'On Sundays for the laity ... we allow mass vestments, altars and candles to remain': the role of pre-Reformation ecclesiastical vestments in the formation of confessional, corporate and 'national' identities, Evelin Wetter; The material presence of music in church: the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, Matthias Range; Lutheran theology and artistic media responses to the theological discourse on the visual arts, Sven Rune Havsteen; Re-forming the confessional space: early Lutheran churches in Denmark, c.1536-1660, Birgitte Bøggild Johannsen and Hugo Johannsen; State church and church state: churches and their interiors in post-Reformation Norway, 1537-1705, Øystein Ekroll; Church furnishings and rituals in a Swedish provincial cathedral from 1527 to c.1660, Riitta Laitinen; 'Das "Geistliche Gebäwde" der Kirche': the Lutheran Church in early modern Estonia as a meeting place of theological, social and artistic ideas, Krista Kodres; Lutherans in Cracow - contesting the sacred topography, Agnieszka Madej-Anderson; Lutheran churches in Poland, Jan Harasimowicz; 'Hic coeli porta est, hic domus ecce dei'. Lutheran churches in the Dutch world, c.1566-1719, Andrew Spicer; Afterword, Susan C. Karant-Nunn; Index.

About the Author :
Andrew Spicer is Professor of Early Modern European History at Oxford Brookes University, UK.

Review :
'Although thematically focused, the volume’s geographic breadth is expansive, covering Germany, Transylvania, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Poland, the Dutch Republic, and its overseas settlements in Batavia and Cape Town. The essays offer a capacious understanding of spatiality through their interdisciplinary explorations of material culture, theology, politics, and social context.' Renaissance Quarterly 'This collection of essays ... moves past a discussion of Lutheran images to address Lutheran material culture as a whole, from liturgical vestments to organ decoration. Departing from a Germanic-centred perspective, the European scope of the work allows for comparisons between those regions where Lutheranism was firmly adopted, in Germany and Denmark for example, and those countries where Lutherans were in a minority, such as Holland.' European History Quarterly 'The case studies brought together in this volume reveal a variety of circumstances faced by Lutheran worshipers across early modern Europe. The emphasis on diverse and distinctive characteristics and traditions in material culture within this wide geographical scope renders possible a comprehensive understanding of Lutheran Churches' layouts in the wake of the Reformation.' Sixteenth Century Journal