Ludwig Rabus (also Rab or Günzer) (10 October 1523 – 22 July 1592) was a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

theologian and

Protestant reformer Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...

Life

He was born in Memmingen, in poor circumstances. He went to

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, where he was supported by the preacher

Matthäus Zell Matthäus Zell (also ''Mathias Zell''; anglicized as ''Matthew Zell'') (21 September 1477, in Kaysersberg – 9 January 1548, in Strasbourg) was a Lutheran pastor and an early Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg. He joined the Reformatio ...

and his wife Katharina. In 1538 Rabus became a student at

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

, and graduated M.A. in 1543. In the following years Rabus became Zell's assistant, made a reputation as a preachers, and in 1548 was Zell's successor. The Augsburg Interim meant he lost his post, but he remained in Strasbourg. In 1552 he became head of the Collegium Wilhelmitanum and teacher at the High School; in 1553 together with

Jacob Andreae Jakob Andreae (25 March 1528 – 7 January 1590) was a significant German Lutheran theologian and Protestant Reformer involved in the drafting of major documents. Life He was born in Waiblingen, in the Duchy of Württemberg. He studied at the Un ...

he was awarded a Tübingen doctorate. When the Strasbourg council favoured Johannes Marbach, Rabus left the city, where he was regarded as something of a fanatic, and went as minister and dean to Ulm, where he worked for 34 years. In the controversy around Kaspar Schwenckfeld he wrote against Katharina Zell, who defended herself; what had been a long-running private disagreement about her husband's legacy became a public quarrel. In Ulm Rabus standardised teaching, held inspections, introduced liturgical books, and supported Andreae in his efforts towards the Swabian Concord. He died there.

Works

Rabus began to work on a selective Protestant martyrology in the late 1540s, as the Interim began to affect churches in his region. A Latin version appeared in 1552. Historien der Heyligen 1557

The German ''Historien der Heyligen'' appeared in six volumes (completed 1557), published at Strasbourg by Samuel Emmel. It is framed as a

universal history A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...

. The first volume begins with Abel and discusses biblical stories and martyrs of the Early Christian Church; it uses

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...

as a source. In the following five books around 70 martyrologies are given. He dedicated his book of martyrology to the Strasbourg council; as well as to Christoph, Duke of Württemberg.Kolb, p. 47
Google Books

References

* :de:s:ADB:Rabus, Ludwig

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabus, Ludwig 1523 births 1592 deaths German Lutherans Martyrologists