''Theologia Germanica'', also known as ''Theologia Deutsch'' or ''Teutsch'', or as ''Der Franckforter'', is a

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

treatise believed to have been written in the later 14th century by an anonymous author. According to the introduction of the ''Theologia'' the author was a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and a member of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

living in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, Germany. The ''Theologia'' was written during the disruptive reign of the

Avignon Papacy The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon – at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France – rather than in Rome. The situation a ...

(1309–78), when many clerics were forbidden to perform

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

rites because of the power struggle between the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and Holy Roman Emperor. Lay groups of pious individuals, like the Friends of God, became prominent during this time, and the author is usually associated with the Friends of God. The ''Theologia Germanica'' survives today in only eight manuscripts, all from the second half of the fifteenth century, suggesting that it was not widely disseminated before it came to the attention of Martin Luther.

Luther's view

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

produced a partial edition first in 1516. At that time Luther thought the work might have been written by John Tauler. In 1518, he produced a more complete edition on the basis of a new manuscript that had come to his attention. It was Luther who gave the treatise its modern name; in the manuscripts it is known as ''Der Franckforter'' (''The Frankfurter''). Luther found much that was congenial to him in this

late medieval The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

text. ''Theologia Germanica'' proposes that

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

and man can be wholly united by following a path of perfection, as exemplified by the life of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, renouncing

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

and

selfishness Selfishness is being concerned excessively or exclusively, for oneself or one's own advantage, pleasure, or welfare, regardless of others. Selfishness is the opposite of altruism or selflessness; and has also been contrasted (as by C. S. Lewis) w ...

, ultimately allowing God’s will to replace human will. Luther wrote, Another goal of Luther in the publication was supporting his thesis that the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

was just as well-suited for expressing

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

ideas as the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, Greek, and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

languages. The treatise itself does not discuss or reflect on the fact that it is written in German. ''Theologia Germanica'' gained immense cachet in the Radical Reformation, and in later

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

and

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

traditions. In 1528, Ludwig Haetzer republished ''Theologia Germanica'' with interpretive "Propositions" by the Radical Reformer

Hans Denck Hans Denck (c. 1495 – November 27, 1527) was a German theologian and Anabaptist leader during the Reformation. Biography Denck was born in 1495 in the Bavarian town of Habach. After a classical education, he became headmaster at the St. Sebal ...

. Towards the end of his life (1541–42), the radical Sebastian Franck produced a Latin paraphrase of the Haetzer version.

Sebastian Castellio Sebastian Castellio (also Sébastien Châteillon, Châtaillon, Castellión, and Castello; 1515 – 29 December 1563) was a French preacher and theologian; and one of the first Reformed Christian proponents of religious toleration, freedom of ...

published Latin (1557) and French (1558) translations, after his break with John Calvin over the execution of

Michael Servetus Michael Servetus (; es, Miguel Serveto as real name; french: Michel Servet; also known as ''Miguel Servet'', ''Miguel de Villanueva'', ''Revés'', or ''Michel de Villeneuve''; 29 September 1509 or 1511 – 27 October 1553) was a Spanish th ...

(1553). Just over a decade later, Valentin Weigel studied the work in his ''Short Account and Introduction to the German Theology'' (1571). The mystic

Johann Arndt Johann Arndt (or Arnd; 27 December 155511 May 1621) was a German Lutheran theologian who wrote several influential books of devotional Christianity. Although reflective of the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, he is seen as a forerunner of Pietism, a ...

reedited an earlier printing based on Luther in 1597; this version was endorsed by Philipp Jakob Spener and had over sixty later printings. In total, about two hundred editions were published between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries.

Opposing views

John Calvin rejected the work. In a letter to the Reformed Congregation in Frankfurt, Calvin says it is "conceived by Satan's cunning... contains a hidden poison which can poison the church." The support for the ''Theologia Germanica'' among Protestants led to

suspicion of the work. In 1612,

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

placed it on the Catholic Church’s '' Index Librorum Prohibitorum'', where it remained into the second half of the twentieth century.

Translations

The first English translation of the ''Theologia Germanica'' dates from 1648. It may have been the work of

John Everard (preacher) John Everard (1584?–1641) was an English preacher and author. He was also a Familist, hermetic thinker, Neoplatonist, and alchemist. He is known for his translations of mystical and hermetic literature. Life He graduated B.A, at Clare College, ...

. A text from 1497, the Wuerzburg or Bronnbach manuscript, was discovered in 1843 and contained text not included in Luther's editions. This text forms the basis of most subsequent English translations. Susanna Winkworth translated the book in 1857.Theologia Germanica
Winkworth translation In 1980, Bengt R. Hoffman brought out an English translation of Luther's 1518 edition. David Blamires’ 2003 translation is based on Wolfgang von Hinten’s 1982 critical edition.

Luther's view

Opposing views

Translations

See also