Theologia German
The Theologia Deutsch (also: Der Franckforter or Der Frankfurter ) is a German-language mystical script from the 14th century , which was probably written by an unknown German order priest the Coming in the Frankfurt district of Sachsenhausen .
Work and effect
The text includes an anonymous, in colloquial German authored the treatise from the 14th century . A priest of the Teutonic Order ( Deutschordenskirche ), presumably resident in Frankfurt am Main , is regarded as the author . His text propagated a spiritualized , mystical piety , as it was previously expressed in Meister Eckhart and Johann Tauler as well as other predecessors. Martin Luther, who published this text in two annotated editions in 1516 (fragmentary) and 1518 (complete), stated that, according to the Bible and the Confessions of Augustine, it was the text that spoke most about God , Christ , taught people and the world.
The name goes back to Martin Luther , who published the text for the first time under the title Eyn deutsch Theologia : first in 1516 due to an incomplete handwriting, then in 1518 as a complete text. With this title and the preface he wrote, the reformer opposed Latin scholasticism and claimed that German had a theological ability to express itself on a par with Latin , Greek and Hebrew . This does not correspond to the own intentions of the author, who does not address the German language of his work.
The Frankfurter was handed down several times together with texts from German mysticism : the writings of Meister Eckhart , Johannes Taulers and Heinrich Seuse . In terms of content, it is also in the tradition of these mystics, whose highest goal is the union of the soul with God ( Unio mystica ) already in this world . In doing so, theology places particular emphasis on distinguishing itself from the heretical mysticism of the brothers and sisters of the free spirit , and therefore emphasizes the necessity of obedience and the importance of Jesus Christ for human salvation . Indeed, some scholars argue that scripture was written primarily to reject the heresy of the free spirit. Nevertheless, in the early modern period it was read as the apology of pantheism and therefore placed on the papal index in 1612 .
In the Middle Ages, the script was not criticized by the church, but was still not very widespread: It has only survived in ten, partly incomplete manuscripts; one of them is just a copy of a print from the 16th century. In modern times, however, the publication and appreciation of the text by Luther led to numerous new editions to this day, which document the continuing interest in the Theologia German .
Text output
a) Critical issue:
- Wolfgang von Hinten: The Franckforter (“Theologia Deutsch”) . Critical text edition. Artemis (Munich texts on German literature of the Middle Ages 78), Munich / Zurich 1982
b) A selection of recent translations and editions:
- German theology . Transfer from Franz Pfeiffer, Gernsbach / Baden 1886, digitized at archive.org
- The Frankfurter - A German Theology . Transferred and introduced by Joseph Bernhart . The cathedral, Leipzig 1920
- The little book of the perfect life. A German theology . Edited in the original form and transferred by Herrmann Büttner. Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Jena 1920.
- Theologia German, which teaches many a lovely knowledge of divine truth and says even lofty and even beautiful things about a perfect life . Based on Pfeiffer's text, brought into newer German and provided with a foreword by Rudolf Alexander Schröder . Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1947
- Theologia German. A basic script of German mysticism . Edited and introduced by Gerhard Wehr (References pp. 155–157). Aurum, Freiburg 1980
- "The Franckforter": Theologia German . Edited in New High German translation and provided with an introduction by Alois M. Haas. Johannes Verlag (Christian Masters 7), 2nd edition Freiburg i.Br. 1993, ISBN 978-3-89411-279-0
literature
- Georg Baring: Bibliography of the editions of the "Theologia Deutsch" (1516 to 1961). A contribution to the Luther bibliography . With facsimile print of the first edition and 32 illustrations. Koerner (Bibliotheca Bibliographica Aureliana 8), Baden-Baden 1963, ISBN 978-3-87320-008-1 .
- Friedrich Gustav Lisco : The salvation doctrine of the theologia German. In addition to an outline of Christian mysticism related to them, except for Luther , published by Samuel Gottlieb Liesching, Stuttgart 1857.
- J. Orcibal: La rencontre du Carmel thérésien avec les mystiques du Nord , Paris 1959 (On the debate about the orthodoxy of scripture).
- J. Pasquier: L'orthodoxie de la théologie germanique , Paris 1922 (on the theory that writing should be understood as a refutation of the free spirit).
- Christian Peters: Theologia German . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie Vol. 33 [2002], pp. 258–262.
- Edward Schröder: The tradition of the "Frankfurters" (the "Theologia Deutsch") , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1937
- Walther Tritsch: Introduction to Mysticism . ISBN 3-629-00572-1 Pattloch Verlag
- Lydia Wegener: The 'Frankfurter' / 'Theologia German'. Scope and limits of what can be said, de Gruyter (Early Modern Times 201), Berlin, Boston 2016, ISBN 978-3-11-044371-4 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Robert E. Lerner: The Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Ages . Berkeley et al. a .: 1972, p. 160.
- ↑ Proof of the individual manuscripts in the manuscript census of the University of Marburg ( Memento of the original from June 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
