Johannes Langer

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Johannes Langer

Johannes Langer ( from Bolkenhain ; * around 1485/1486 in Bolkenhain , Duchy of Schweidnitz ; † September 15, 1548 in Coburg ) was a German Protestant theologian and reformer in Naumburg and Coburg.

Live and act

Childhood and youth

Although the Bolkenhain castle files are fairly complete, nothing is known about Langer's date of birth. However, it can be narrowed down to the years 1484/85. A large number of members of the Langer family appear in the castle files, but which branch of the family he belonged to can only be guessed at.

The secondary literature assumes that the reformer Naumburgs and Coburgs was a nephew (second degree) of a Breslau altarist with a similar name, who was enrolled at the University of Krakow from the summer semester 1464 (and who is referred to in the specialist literature as "the elder" to distinguish it ). In the university's album you can find the entry: Johannes Anthony Langer de Bulkenhayn dioec. Wratislaviensis. Langer himself had a coat of arms that is said to be identical to that of the reformer Langer.

Nothing is known about Langer's youth, but it is assumed that his parents were reasonably wealthy because they enabled him to attend school, which enabled him to attend the University of Leipzig from the winter semester of 1502 . That he did not study under the care and support of an order can be seen from the register of the University of Leipzig.

University time in Leipzig

The first mention of Langer can be found in the register of the University of Leipzig , in which Langer was enrolled for the winter semester 1502 under the heading De nacione Polonorum . The entry reads: Iohannes Langer de Bolkenheyn totum VI. It was listed as the second entry under the Polish nation; From this it can be concluded that Langer must have taken the student oath very early on.

On May 14, 1505, Langer passed his bachelor's degree . Under the chairmanship of the dean, four masters, chosen by lot, examined one from each nation. During the determination that soon followed, a quaestio had to be explained, which the promoter chosen by the bachelor's degree presented to him. The theme of Langer's Quaestio has not survived. Towards the end of 1509, Langer was among the budding masters . The exam took place only once a year, usually on the day of the innocent children, December 28th. The Vice Chancellor chaired the meeting. For the acquisition of the master’s degree, four guilders had to be paid in fees, along with gifts and a festive meal ( Prandia Aristotelis ), which the newly appointed masters organized together.

In order to be able to devote himself to high-level specialist studies, a Magister first had to teach the prospective Magisters in Collegia lectoria et examinatoria for two years . The Liber facultatis provides information on which events Langer held and which exams he participated in.

After that, Langer took on various university tasks and made outstanding contributions to his university. In January 1516 it was announced in a document that the artist faculty had discharged its debts by paying 300 guilders. Langer is mentioned as the dean of this faculty. The Leipzig matriculation is complete and names Johannes Langer von Bolkenhain as the 215th rector since the university was founded . Langer received from Johann III in 1517 . von Schönberg , Bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz, the diaconate - and finally the ordination of the presbyter and Bishop Adolf of Merseburg issued him a certificate that authorized him to take over all church offices. Langer was accepted ad legendum sententias on January 20, 1519 . How and whether he commented on Petrus Lombardus is not known.

Naumburg time

From 1521 Langer worked in Naumburg. He was initially a preacher at the cathedral monastery and then moved to St. Wenzel , where he officially and expressly worked as an evangelical preacher appointed by the city council of Naumburg from October 10, 1525.

Because of the peasant war , which was particularly raging near Naumburg, Bishop Philipp von der Pfalz had his governor and his councilors in Zeitz send out a letter on May 6, 1525 , in which he expressed his concern that among the “Naumburgischen Stiefts Vnderthanen and hope that you are spiritually noble, Bu (e) rgere ader farmer “the riot could smolder. “Because of this, the gracious hern of Freisingk and Naumburgk etc. wier [sc. the governor and the councilors of Zeitz] […], that vnns nimands argue about such us equally, argue ve urge, but keep their duties and the cheap key still amiable and show that we can then also assume that no man as heard from ours (e ) gens [...] want to do ". Finally the bishop himself wrote to the Naumburg council, but in view of the heavy lawfte and rebellious deportations floating in the air, so in vil orthen and in the principalities of the Deutzian nation, especially with the common Pauersmann [...] fride and Einikeyt "Brotherly love, trew and obedient". The council thereupon promised obedience to the bishop and the bishop replied on June 30, 1525 with a letter of thanks: “We have listened to your letter and vnderthenigs, indicated your duties and obedience to us, listened to the content, and carried it from you as our draw, in which we take care of all crew and good ones, a particularly gracious and well-liked, with gracious greetings such as cannot cover you with all graces and award [...] Cedula. We are also happy to you, that in this our letter, still elegant, from hour on and with the most humble (like the others) in our city of Naumburgk on the Cantzell, publicly in the churches with the gathering of the people Your own order to read aloud, that the common people inside will not be necessary and that a whole common people will not have to go ahead ”. Philip did not appear in Naumburg in the following years either, so that the council, fed up with the constant consolation, turned to the Saxon elector in urgent matters . That Langer played a large part in preventing a bloody uprising in Naumburg and that he enjoyed a great reputation in the council and the population is indicated by another letter from the council to the bishop, dated November 24, 1525: “[…] and thank God Overcome such a preacher, who before, in and after just past unchristian indignation prevented the common city [...] from crescendo and unrest [...] and helped [...] save it, so that he would be heard willingly and comfortingly by the whole people ".

In 1527 there were disputes between the bishop and the Naumburg council, as changes had been made to the order of worship and mass. The bishop criticized the fact that the mass was allowed to be sung in German. This church order is accessible and there are more provocative corrections recognizable than Langer admits in his own pamphlet. The changes affect only the Sunday and public holiday worship service, and the priest did not have to sing a German word, but the congregation chant was held in German. So the Credo was sung in the Wittenberg manner and the Epiclesis as a request for faith as a Luther song: Now we ask the Holy Spirit . The focus of the service was the German sermon with the sermon text read in German. The Lord's Prayer was prayed in German and according to the Reformation custom, with a “lovely and Christian interpretation and clarification of the same”. The most provocative point was the elimination of the sacrificial character of the Lord's Supper. Because, instead of the offertory, Luther's poetry of the psalms Out of deep need was sung to you , the Catholic theology of the Eucharist was omitted. Despite its resemblance to the Latin mass , it became intolerable for the bishop. The resulting dispute between the bishop and Naumburg's city council led to Langer's dismissal. Secondary literature knows that Emperor Charles V intervened in the form of an edict, but this edict, if it actually existed, seems lost.

In the following years Langer received an appointment to St. Joachimsthal , which the city council knew how to avert. In the now more and more worsening dispute, the city council repeatedly turned on behalf of Langer, but "the bishop stuck to the fact that this preacher would be abolished and he wanted to send the council another one who should also preach the word of God clearly and louder [ ...]. As such, the preacher M. Johann Lange [r] experienced that he did not want to remain in the biting and bickering, but demanded his departure [...] and left for Koburg. [...] Therefore the council said this to the Kurf. to Saxony humbly given and your Kurf. Grace concerns requested. So the advice of the bishop of another preacher is waiting ”. The council very often asked the bishop about a successor to Langer, but this position remained vacant for at least three years.

Coburg time

Langer left Naumburg, but he did not go straight to Coburg, but stayed first in Wittenberg , where he also had his pamphlet printed. There he must have had close contact with Martin Luther and especially with Philipp Melanchthon . During this time the Bautzen City Council was also interested in Langer's services. In the autumn of 1529, however, Langer informed the council that he could not accept the ministry. The reasons he gave was an agreement with the Naumburg Council and the subsequent appointment and acceptance of the position in Coburg.

Langer's fellow student from Leipzig, Balthasar Düring / Thuringia, from Königsberg in Franconia worked in Coburg since 1518 . He had successfully campaigned for the Reformation there and later defended Luther's teachings against the Zwinglis. For this reason he kept in contact with the Wittenberg reformers, as can be seen in the letters he has received. The first Coburg reformer must obviously have died between the end of August and the beginning of October; Melanchthon's last letter to Düring is dated August 29, 1529. Melanchthon can therefore not have known anything about Düring's death at this point in time. From Luther's letter of October 29, 1529 to Elector Johann the Steadfast, in which he recommends Langer as the successor to Düring, it is clear that Düring's death was known in Wittenberg before October 29: “It is here Er Johann La (n) ger von Wolkenhai (n), preacher to Naumburg, there from by the Bisschoff, whom we tried here and found out, as he should be efficient, to Koburg instead of He Baltzars Du (e) ring blessed etc. to to order. Wherever that also applies to E. kfg, they have to agree with Er Johann with letters pointing to koburg and produce ways there, as he offered to accept ”.

Elector Johann replied from Torgau on the following day : “We heard your letter […]; and while the same Johann Langer is looking for your report from you, you also partly recognized him, so that he is well suited to your attention to the place and to the same office, he should also have agreed to accept the same on your negotiation, so is ours If you want to send the same preacher to Torgau, we want to send him back with writings of presentation and a gracious advocacy against Coburg and to have such preaching activities ready to be accepted ”. On November 2, Langer was in Torgau and received the promised letter of presentation issued by Melanchthon, which shows that Melanchthon was convinced of Langer's qualities. This letter from Melanchthon is addressed to Pastor Johannes Fesel in Coburg.

The conviction that Melanchthon had towards Langer can also be inferred from the following correspondence with Fesel. At Christmas of the same year he was astonished that he had not heard from Langer from Naumburg, who had been sent to Coburg, for so long, and later Melanchthon also casually inquired about Langer's condition. As can be seen from the correspondence, other positions were also open to Langer if the position in Coburg had not been convenient for him.

Langer was to receive more remuneration than his predecessor Düring, because he not only took over his preaching office, but also the church leadership and pastoral care in the city and the fortress of Coburg .

Langer was married at the beginning of his time in Coburg. From the temporal circumstances, it can be concluded that he must have married after his release in Naumburg and before starting work in Coburg, probably in Wittenberg. It is recorded that Langer left behind his wife and children when he died. We know of three sons that Langer's other children are not mentioned in the sources.

Langer's importance for the entire history of the Reformation developed during Luther's stay at the Veste Coburg on the occasion of the Augsburg Reichstag in 1530 . In the summer of 1529, during Langer's stay in Wittenberg, Luther designed the Schwabach articles . It is probable that Langer knew these articles, possibly even co-authored them, because Luther admitted: "Is it that I helped to provide such articles (because they are not created by me alone)". This suggests that Langer had a copy of it. In any case, the Schwabach article appeared in Coburg in May 1530 with the printer Hans Bern under the title Die bekentnus Martini Luthers auff einfying for the current Reichstag in Augspurgk, written in seventeen articles. In the XXX. Jar. This printing was not authorized by Luther and does not entirely correspond to Luther's traditional manuscripts. Due to this advance publication and the reactions to it, Luther was compelled to write a counterpart in which he rejected the sole authorship of the Schwabach articles. This work by Luther appeared under the title Auff das Schreilichen Several Papists, About the Seventeen Articles. Martini Luther's answer. Wittemberg. In MD XXX. Jar.

According to a letter from Melanchthon to Langer, there seems to have been a minor visitation in the Franconian region , which was followed by the second major visitation in 1535/36, of which Langer belonged among others. The ecclesiastical conditions since the first visitation in 1528, in which Düring still took part, now seem to have improved considerably.

From 1536 there is hardly any source material left. Only one letter from Luther to Langer about disputes due to moral misconduct in Coburg has survived. Not until 1542 was there again anything worth mentioning about Johannes Langer in the sources. A document from the Coburg State Archives proves that Langer was appointed to the first newly established consistory to decide disputed matrimonial matters. In 1545 the third general visitation took place in Franconia. Langer was involved again.

Johannes Langer's last years

On October 17, 1547, Melanchthon wrote, apparently in response to Langer's request whether he should send one of his sons, probably the eldest, to study in Wittenberg, a last received letter to him in exquisitely friendly words and welcomed his request.

The fact that Langer had a stone disease, probably kidney stones, can be seen from a diagnosis made by the royal physician Melchior Keypisch on August 18, 1548. Shortly after this diagnosis, on September 15, 1548, Langer collapsed during or after an evening sermon, apparently still in church, and died that same evening.

Preserved works

literature

  • Otto Albrecht : Messages from the files of the Naumburg Reformation history. In: Theological Studies and Criticisms 77 (1904), pp. 32–82.
  • Georg Buchwald : An alleged or rejected appointment to the Joachimsthaler Pfarramt from 1528. In: Yearbook of the Society for the History of Protestantism in Austria 14 (1893), pp. 238–240.
  • Paul Langer: Johannes Langer von Bolkenhain and his Reformation work. In: Correspondence sheet of the Association for the History of the Evangelical Church of Silesia. Volume 9 (1906/07), pp. 90-122; Volume 10 (1906/07), pp. 76-109.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ About him see J. Klaus Kipf: Langer, Johannes, von Bolkenhain (-hayn, Bolkin-), d. Ä. In: Franz Josef Worstbrock (Ed.): German Humanism 1480–1520. Author's Lexicon , Vol. 2. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2009–2013, Col. 27–31, there 28. However, the reformer is sometimes also called “the elder” to distinguish him from his son of the same name.
  2. ↑ Alexander Sembdner: The episcopal city of Naumburg between old and new faith. In: Enno Bünz, Heinz-Dieter Heimann, Klaus Neitmann (eds.): Reformations on site: Christian faith and denominational culture in Brandenburg and Saxony in the 16th century. Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2017, p. 168 ff., Here p. 199.
  3. ↑ Documents by Johannes Langer from Bolkenhain, Protestant theologian and former reformer in Naumburg and Coburg, discovered in the city archive. Archive network Bautzen, February 2018, accessed on April 16, 2018 .
  4. ^ D. Martin Luther's works. Critical complete edition ( Weimar edition ), correspondence. Volume 7. Weimar 1897 ( online resource )
  5. ^ Regest in Melanchthon's Correspondence - Regesten online .
  6. ^ Regest in Melanchthon's Correspondence - Regesten online .
  7. ^ Regest in Melanchthon's Correspondence - Regesten online .
  8. ^ Regest in Melanchthon's Correspondence - Regesten online .
personal data
SURNAME Langer, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian and reformer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1485–1486
PLACE OF BIRTH Bolkenhain , Duchy of Schweidnitz
DATE OF DEATH September 15, 1548
Place of death Coburg