Johann Eberlin von Günzburg

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Johann Eberlin von Günzburg (* around 1470 in Kleinkötz near Günzburg ; † October 1533 in Leutershausen near Ansbach ) was a Reformation German theologian and social reformer in Franconia .

Live and act

Eberlin lost his parents early on. Despite the help of his relatives, he experienced his youth in difficult circumstances. Through the hardships of life, he got a feeling early on what it means to share suffering in times of need and to be so helpful towards those who suffer.

His sponsors soon recognized the young man's abilities and made it possible for him to study at the University of Ingolstadt . After acquiring the baccalaureate , he first became a priest in Augsburg. In the summer of 1489 he resumed his studies at the University of Basel , where he obtained a master's degree in the following year . On his wandering he came to Heilbronn , where he entered the Franciscan monastery on the advice of his relatives and vehemently defended the old Catholic doctrine.

In 1519 he moved to Tübingen as a reading master and preacher, and through the Humanistic Circle there he got in touch with Martin Luther's reformist ideas . He subsequently became a reading master and preacher in Freiburg im Breisgau. In the same position he worked in Ulm at the beginning of 1521 and began to preach in the Lutheran sense. This in turn called his friars on the scene, who were vehemently hostile to him. Due to the disputes, he drew the conclusions and left the order.

He went on a journey to Lauingen , Baden, Augsburg and Bern . During this time he saw it as his duty to campaign for the Reformation faith in sermons and leaflets. His first book, “Fifteen Allies”, was published in Bern. However, his work in Switzerland did not really satisfy him, so he went to Wittenberg, the place of origin of the Reformation .

Registered in the matriculation of the University of Wittenberg , he experienced a time when the Wittenberg movement declined due to the influence of Luther. This calming environment also had an effect on Eberlin. Significantly influenced by Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and Andreas Bodenstein , his writings became more moderate. In his writings he turned against the ceremonies of the Catholic Church and was hostile to monastic life, but his folk-oriented sense of thought pushed towards the rationally tangible style.

In the summer of 1523 he again went on a journey to Ulm, Basel , Rheinfelden and Rothenburg ob der Tauber . However, he did not feel at home anywhere. This only seemed to change when he married in Erfurt in 1524 and found a job as a preacher there. Eberlin had a very fine power of observation and a keen sense for social needs. These gifts enabled him to soothe the public uproar in Erfurt and Ilmenau during the unrest of the German Peasant War .

Johann Eberlin as a reformer in the city and county of Wertheim 1526–1530

In 1526 Johann Eberlin followed a call from Count Georg II von Wertheim to Franconia. In Wertheim he wrote his important writings “Faithful Warning to the Christians in the Burgauian Mark” and the German translation of Tacitus' Germania . As a theologian, he wrote a church ordinance for the county of Wertheim in 1527/28 , which Count Georg II sent to Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon , who, like Johannes Brenz and Andreas Althamer, confirmed them. In the county of Wertheim he is the first Reformation superintendent and is addressed with the title "Doctor" and called "episcopus Werthemensis". However, he could no longer enjoy the fruits of his success, because on April 17, 1530 George II died and his father Michael II († 1531) took over the reign for one year, which after his death became the wife of George II, Barbara von Wertheim († 1561), continued as guardian regent. With his criticism of the "canzel" of the bailiff, mayor, mayor and council, Johann Eberlin had created enough enemies for himself that bailiff Eberhard Hund von Wenkheim wishes in a letter: "... the almighty one will give me time and happiness, to rake me on him, lull. " Unlike his predecessors in this office, Eberlin was not dismissed because of theological differences. His undisputed positive achievement is testified by a letter from Count Michael II von Wertheim, who emphasizes that "we don't know a lot about you." The count describes his dismissal as "... except for proper warnings and causes." These cannot come from his counterparts, because Dr. Andreas Hoffrichter , who succeeded him as superintendent at the request of Count Michael II, wrote a letter together with 9 other clergy as early as May 6, 1530 in which they advocate Johann Eberlin and demanded that the count assign him to the office of superintendent to let. You complain that Eberlin should be "chased away" without a proper legal process. Eberlin's opponents, like u. a. Eberhard Hund von Wenkheim, forced his removal and persecuted him with slander also in his new pastor's office in Leutershausen. Its church order was preserved in the county, as Eberlin himself pointed out in a letter in 1531 that both Michael II and Georg II's widow, Barbara von Wertheim, had ordered that it be "seriously hold on to this day".

When George II died on April 17, 1530, Eberlin was dismissed from the service. Therefore he accepted a position as a parish administrator in Leutershausen. Here, however, he did not really gain a foothold, as his toughness met resistance in church discipline. After an illness he died in October 1533.

Along with Luther, Eberlin was considered the most eloquent and eloquent theologian of the beginning Reformation. The social thoughts, which he preached with great force in his sermon in the 1620s, make this Swabian reformer one of the most interesting and attractive figures of his time.

Eberlin was also in correspondence with women of the Reformation such as Susanna Truchsess and Argula von Grumbach . It was part of his conviction that God "turned the noble frawen Argula von Gumbach into an honest tool", admiring the bravery with which she - like other women of the Reformation - publicly represented her beliefs.

His thinking

With regard to celibacy , Eberlin has taken a very clear position. A writing from 1522 has the meaningful title: How dangerous it is when a priest has no wife! There he attacks celibacy for biblical and historical reasons and describes its public harm. He appeals to the bishops to give up their opposition to priestly marriage.

Works

  • 15 members of the Confederation , 1521
  • Against the molesters of God's creatures by consecration or blessing , 1521
  • The 7 pious but desolate priests lament , 1521
  • How dangerous it is if such a priest does not have a wife , Augsburg 1522
  • I am amazed that there is no money in the country , 1524
  • How a servant should keep God's word in everything he does, and especially against those to whom the gospel has not been preached before, so that they do not get angry , 1525
  • A faithful warning to the Christians in the Burgauische Mark to beware of riots and false preachers , 1525
  • Germania of Tacitus

literature

Essays
Monographs
  • Günther Heger: Johann Eberlin von Günzburg and his ideas about reform in the empire and the church (writings on legal history; RG 35). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-05818-6 (plus dissertation, Heidelberg University 1984).
  • Christian Peters: Johann Eberlin von Günzburg (approx. 1465–1533). Franciscan reformer, humanist and conservative reformer (sources and research on the history of the Reformation; 60). Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 1994, ISBN 3-579-01686-5 (plus dissertation, University of Münster 1990).
  • Bernhard Riggenbach: Johann Eberlin von Günzburg and his reform program. A contribution to the history of the 16th century . Publishing house B. de Graaf, Nieuwkoop 1967 (reprint of the Tübingen edition 1874).
  • Robert Stupperich : Reformatorenlexikon . Max Mohn Verlag, Gütersloh 1984, ISBN 3-579-00123-X .

Web links

Wikisource: Johann Eberlin von Günzburg  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Christian Peters: Johann Eberlin von Günzburg approx. 1465-1533. Franciscan reformer, humanist and conservative reformer . In: Sources and research on the history of the Reformation . tape 60 . Gütersloh 1994, p. 298 .
  2. ↑ Erich Langguth: Unanimous in the new teaching: Dr. Johann Eberlin - Count Michael II. - Dr. Andreas Hoffrichter. The change in the Wertheim rectory in 1530. In: Historical Association Wertheim in connection with the Wertheim State Archives (ed.): Wertheimer Jahrbuch 1983 . Verlag des Historischer Verein Wertheim eV, Wertheim 1985, p. 73-102 .
  3. ↑ Erich Langguth: Unanimous in the new teaching: Dr. Johann Eberlin - Count Michael II. - Dr. Andreas Hoffrichter ... p. 81 .
  4. ↑ Erich Langguth: Unanimous in teaching: Dr. Johann Eberlin - Count Michael II. - Dr. Andreas Hoffrichter ... p. 85 .
  5. ^ Christian Peters: Johann Eberlin von Günzburg .... p. 299 .
  6. ^ Argula von Grumbach: Writings . In: Peter Matheson (ed.): Sources and research on the history of the Reformation . tape 83 . Heidelberg 2010, p. 50 .
  7. ↑ digitized version .
personal data
SURNAME Eberlin von Günzburg, Johann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eberlin, Johann; Eberlein, Johann; Eberl, Johann; Apriolus, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theologian
DATE OF BIRTH around 1470
PLACE OF BIRTH Kleinkötz near Günzburg
DATE OF DEATH October 1533
Place of death Leutershausen near Ansbach