With the publication of “Streitkultur, Akteure, Wirkungen. Der lutherische Bekenntnisbildungsprozess in der zweiten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts,” the concluding Volume 12 of the project “Controversia et Confessio” has now appeared. Edited by Jan Martin Lies and published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, the volume includes, among other contributions, a chapter by Henning P. Jürgens, research associate at the IEG, examining the roles of Andreas Osiander and Johann Agricola within the Wittenberg network. His contribution focuses particularly on the question of the personalization of inner-Protestant debates.
The edition “Controversia et Confessio,” now reaching its conclusion, documents the theological disputes that emerged after the Augsburg Interim of 1548 and the alternative Leipzig Landtag draft (“Leipzig Interim”).
This edited volume addresses central themes and research questions concerning the history of Lutheran confession-building. The contributions build on the foundational research of the “Controversia et Confessio” project and illuminate the complexity of Lutheran confession-building from a multiperspectival viewpoint. The volume first explores the literary and rhetorical richness of a “culture of controversy” that developed across various theological disputes. On this basis, it highlights the multifunctional dimensions of confession-building. It then analyzes the key actors involved in the controversies and their networks. Another important aspect of the volume is the examination of the effects of the Lutheran confession-building process.
The long-term project “Controversia et Confessio,” conducted from 2007 to 2023, is the result of a cooperation between the IEG, the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and the Center for Digital Editions of the University and State Library Darmstadt (ZEiD). The aim of the project was to document and study the theological controversies that emerged after the Augsburg Interim of 1548 and the subsequent Leipzig Landtag draft. It focused on boundary-making and identity-forming processes that significantly contributed to the confessional landscape of the late 16th century and continue to influence Europe today.
This final volume also documents the concluding conference of the edition project, which took place from 4 to 6 May 2022 at the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz.
