The Reformation of the Keys : Confession, Conscience, and Authority in Sixteenth-Century Germany / Ronald K. Rittgers.
2009
BR307 R58 2004eb
Linked e-resources
Linked Resource
Online Access
Details
Title
The Reformation of the Keys : Confession, Conscience, and Authority in Sixteenth-Century Germany / Ronald K. Rittgers.
Author
Rittgers, Ronald K., author.
ISBN
9780674042797
Published
Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, [2009]
Copyright
©2004
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource (330 p.)
Other Standard Identifiers
10.4159/9780674042797 doi
Call Number
BR307 R58 2004eb
Dewey Decimal Classification
262/.8/09031
Summary
The Catholic Church's claims to spiritual and temporal authority rest on Jesus' promise in the gospels to give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. In the sixteenth century, leaders of the German Reformation sought a fundamental transformation of this "power of the keys" as part of their efforts to rid Church and society of alleged clerical abuses. Central to this transformation was a thoroughgoing reform of private confession. Unlike other Protestants, Lutherans chose not to abolish private confession but to change it to suit their theological convictions and social needs. In a fascinating examination of this new religious practice, Ronald Rittgers traces the development of Lutheran private confession, demonstrating how it consistently balanced competing concerns for spiritual freedom and moral discipline. The reformation of private confession was part of a much larger reformation of the power of the keys that had profound implications for the use of religious authority in sixteenth-century Germany. As the first full-length study of the role of Lutheran private confession in the German Reformation, this book is a welcome contribution to early modern European and religious history. Table of Contents: List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Allegiance to the Regnum 2. Between Hope and Fear 3. The Assault on the Keys 4. Tentative Beginnings 5. An Evangelical Dilemma 6. The New Rite 7. Resisting the Old Jurisdiction 8. Confession Established 9. Propaganda and Practice Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index Figures Map of the Holy Roman Empire Late medieval Nuernberg The 1539 Schembartlauf hell-float The storming of the hell-float Woodcut from Andreas Osiander's children's sermon on the keys In an exceptionally fair-minded and scrupulous book, Ronald Rittgers charts a route through theological and social complexities with great clarity and subtlety. Lutherans experienced strong and conflicting emotions about confession, and Nuremberg makes a fine case study of their divergent reactions. This is an original and important addition to scholarship.--Andrew Pettegree, University of St. AndrewsA finely detailed survey of the disputes and controversies surrounding the introduction of an evangelical form of confession in sixteenth-century Nuremberg. There is, to my knowledge, no comparable treatment of the subject. Rittgers's study is deeply researched. His writing is fluent, the argument easy to follow. Useful for Reformation scholars, this book also holds much for the general reader with a serious interest in the history of the Reformation.--Gerald Strauss, Emeritus, Indiana University
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Aug 2023)
In
HUP eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013 (Canada)
Harvard University Press eBook Package Backlist 2000-2013
Harvard University Press eBook Package Backlist 2000-2013
Linked Resources
Online Access
Record Appears in
Online Resources > Ebooks
All Resources
All Resources
Table of Contents
Frontmatter
Contents
Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Allegiance to the Regnum
2 Between Hope and Fear
3 The Assault on the Keys
4 Tentative Beginnings
5 An Evangelical Dilemma
6 The New Rite
7 Resisting the Old Jurisdiction
8 Confession Established
9 Propaganda and Practice
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Contents
Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Allegiance to the Regnum
2 Between Hope and Fear
3 The Assault on the Keys
4 Tentative Beginnings
5 An Evangelical Dilemma
6 The New Rite
7 Resisting the Old Jurisdiction
8 Confession Established
9 Propaganda and Practice
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index