Bernhard Von Clairvaux Als Quelle Martin Luthers

Abstract

SummaryIt is a well-known fact that the reformer Martin Luther highly esteemed Bernard of Clairvaux. But what exactly was the significance of Bernard for him? During the last years some Luther scholars became highly interested in the theological and historical relations between these two remarkable theologians. Recently Franz Posset published an article on this subject in Luther Jahrbuch. He discusses Bernard of Clairvaux's Sermons of Christmas-time, Lent- and Easter- time as a source for Martin Luther. Theo Bell contributes to this discussion firstly by examining some of the references, which are given by Posset. Did Luther refer to the Bernards second Easter sermon indeed? Was he not familiar at all with his Lenten sermons on Ps. 90? Secondly he argues, that Posset's statement, that Luther is a Bernardus redivivus, is a questionable one. Finally: the main question to the relation Luther-Bernard no longer is: did Luther read Bernard's writings and which ones did he explicitely know, but how did he read a...