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  • The New Luther's Works Companion Volume: Contemporary Biography:
  • Samuel J. Dubbelman

You can soon access in one volume English translations of seven important sixteenth-century sources on Luther's life. Editorial work on the new series of Luther's Works: American Edition is now focused on the Companion Volume: Contemporary Biography, edited by Christopher B. Brown and scheduled for a late 2017 release date. The Contemporary Biography volume will be unnumbered, like Jaroslav Pelikan's Luther the Expositor in the original series. It is "contemporary biography" in that it contains sixteenth-century biographical accounts of Luther's life. This brief comment describes the seven documents found in the collection, which reflects a central emphasis of the new series, namely, the turn in Luther studies from depicting Luther as an isolated hero toward reconstructing the important contributions of other people and institutions in Luther's life.

The only piece written by Luther himself is the short Preface to the Catalog of Luther's Writings (1533). In this preface Luther reflected on the way that his writing had changed over the prior fifteen years: his early works yielded too much to the papacy, whereas his later writings dealt solely with Christ. In his own defense, Luther enlisted Augustine's claim to have likewise developed his thoughts while writing and teaching. As such, he seems to be responding to opponents who noted inconsistencies in his writing, for example, Johann Cochlaeus and Johann Fabri.

The volume includes two important biographical accounts by Philip Melanchthon: his Preface to the Second Wittenberg Volume of Luther's Latin Works (1546), and his Oration at the Funeral of Dr. Martin Luther [End Page 189] (1546). Melanchthon understood his Preface as a fulfilment of Luther's unsuccessful autobiographical attempt due to his untimely death. Melanchthon's emphasis in both the Oration and the Preface is doctrinal: Luther was an inspired teacher and guardian of true doctrine, who came to his insights through diligent study. The fact that Melanchthon's eyes are on doctrine is also clear in that he takes time in a "biography" of Luther to outline four historical stages of doctrinal mutations. In the Oration, Melanchthon places Luther in a privileged list that extends from Adam through the apostles to various church fathers such as Polycarp, Irenaeus, Gregory of Neocaesarea, Basil the Great, Augustine, Prosper of Aquitaine, Maximus the Confessor, Hugh of St. Victor, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Johann Tauler.

The most unusual contribution of the volume is Johann Walther's A New Spiritual Song, about the Blessed, Precious, and Highly-gifted Man, Dr. Martin Luther, the Prophet and Apostle of Germany (1564). The hymn consists of sixty-four rhymed stanzas divided into four parts: part one details the rule of the antichrist, who is clearly identified with the papacy; part two describes God's use of Luther, "Mansfeld's rarest treasure," to expose the papacy as the Antichrist; part three entails a summary of Luther's doctrine and achievements; and part four exhorts the listeners to remain thankful for and faithful to Lutheran doctrine. The poetry is beautifully translated and affords a unique look into how "biography" functioned in sixteenth-century religious settings.

The volume also includes the Account of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther's Christian Departure from this Mortal Life by Justus Jonas and Michael Coelius (1546). This document is a detailed narrative of Luther's journey from Wittenberg to Eisleben in late January of 1546, the immediate events preceding his death in Eisleben, and the procession of his body back to Wittenberg. The authors emphasize Luther's blessed departure. Jonas and Coelius ask Luther if it is his intent to die in Christ and the doctrines as Luther had preached them. Luther emphatically answers, "Yes" (thus his last word, according to this account). The authors reiterate that Luther did not experience the "pangs of death," but died peacefully. Luther's death is then interpreted through John 8:51, "Truly I say to you, whoever keeps my words will never see death eternally." [End Page 190]

Johannes Bugenhagen's funeral sermon A Christian Sermon Over the Body and Burial of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther (1546) is an emotionally charged exposition of 1...

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