Friedrich Myconius (1490–1546). Vom Franziskaner zum Reformator ed. by Daniel Gehrt and Kathrin Paasch (review)

Many of the most influential in the Wittenberg circle in the early days of the Reformation worked in other locations. One was the ecclesiastical superintendent of Gotha, Friedrich Myconius. As a confidant of Luther and Melanchthon and a reliable administrative arm of the Saxon electors, Myconius helped shape the reformational thinking and structure of the Saxon church, and his impact reached far beyond the borders of the electorate. Little scholarly research has focused on Myconius. Thus, this volume is a welcome contribution to our understanding of the dynamic of the Wittenberg circle and a lively stimulus to further research.

The fourteen essays treat several aspects of the reformer's life: his background as a Franciscan brother; his active place in the Wittenberg network of reformers; his pioneering function as a kind of regional bishop for Thuringia; his participation in theological conferences and the Reformation in Albertine Saxony including his catechism introducing Luther's thinking to the populace. Essays on his chronicle of the Reformation, on his dream that he interpreted as a prophecy of Luther's coming as prophet, and the ways in which later generations celebrated his activities explore further details of his life. Crowning the work, along with a bibliography of materials from his hand that were printed, some posthumously, as prepared by Franziska König, is a masterful inventory of the 816 extant letters from or to him, assembled by Ernst Koch. Koch's essay on Myconius memoria also portrays masterfully how historical accounts arose out of anniversary events honoring him, beginning in the late sixteenth century.

All essays competently provide insights into these aspects of Myconius's career. Some that I found particularly stimulating were those treating the development of regional supervision within the electorate of Saxony, namely, experiments at replacing the episcopal structures of the medieval church. For example, Daniel Gehrt probes the development of the electoral Saxon ecclesiastical governance at the level above that of local ecclesiastical superintendent. Myconius, initially alone and later in conjunction with the superintendent in nearby Eisenach, Justus Menius, served as regional visitor and reference figure, extending their leadership even into ducal Saxony in the introduction of its Reformation in 1539. These developments did not take on structural permanence but appear to be based on the personal gifts and relationships of Myconius and Menius. Nonetheless, Gehrt poses them as models for whom parallels in other lands and other bonds with Wittenberg probably exist, awaiting the kind of scrutiny Gehrt gives Myconius's exercise of influence and leadership. His insights on the development of Wittenberg "middle management" are supplemented by studies by Andreas Dietmann, Friedemann Witting, and Stefan Michel. Michel explores Myconius's dealing with the Anabaptist movement in the region with perceptive sensitivity.

As Christine Mundhenk shows, Myconius served as an integral part of the Wittenberg circle, with close relationships to Luther and especially Melanchthon, as reflected in their correspondence. Johannes Hund sketches the roles he played representing electoral Saxony at Marburg in 1529, in negotiations leading to the Wittenberg Concord of 1536, at Smalcald in 1537, and in Hagenau in 1540. Armin Kohnle carefully examines the rather meager sources on his leadership in introducing reform to Albertine Saxony in 1539. Although Myconius published little during his lifetime—an exception was his catechism of 1539/40—his chronicle of the Reformation, rescued from obscurity in manuscript in the eighteenth century, provides insider information on the course of reform in Gotha, Wittenberg, and beyond, as Harald Bollbuck demonstrates. Sascha Salatowsky's review of the reception of Myconius's dream of 1510, which he later came to see as a prophecy of Luther's bringing him to the gospel, places this fascinating aspect of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century religious perceptions into context clearly and effectively.

In recent years the Wittenberger Frühjahrstagung and the Forschungsbibliothek in Gotha have hosted conferences focused on significant Reformation leaders whose lives and...