Die Bibel auf der Bühne: Exempelfiguren und protestantische Theologie im lateinischen und deutschen Bibeldrama der Reformationszeit by Wolfram Washof

Abstract

MLR, 105.1, 2010 271 essential reading for those interested in the variegated oeuvre of the man who referred to himself (perhaps rather toomodestly) as 'Der Strieker. University of Reading Neil Thomas Die Bibel auf der Buhne: Exempelfiguren und protestantische Theologie im lateini schen und deutschen Bibeldrama der Reformationszeit. ByWolfram Washof. (Symbolische Kommunikation und gesellschaftliche Wertesysteme. Schriften reihe des Sonderforschungsbereichs, 496,14) Minister: Rhema. 2007. 536 pp. 56. ISBN 978-3-930454-63-1 Martin Luther's evaluation of theApocryphal books Judith and Tobias as praise worthy didactic dramas has often been taken as constituting an authorization for his contemporaries towrite biblical plays. And many did so. In this study Wolfram Washof considers 120 dramas written during theperiod of confessionalization (de fined here as 1520s to 1570s), themajority by Lutheran authors who recognized the homiletic possibilities of thismedium. Unlike some earlier studies,which sought to evaluate the dramatic merit of these plays (and often found themwanting), Washof follows the tendentious aims of the authors, focusing on the doctrines and ethical values they intended to disseminate. Nor ishe interested in tracing dramaturgical influences in any detail, although he does set the plays briefly in context alongside theFastnachtspiel, thePassion play, and theRoman palliata, which had experienced a humanist revival. The study isdivided into three parts. The firstdiscusses the somewhat confusing contemporary terminology associated with the genre, the playwrights' social posi tion, and the question ofwhether it was legitimate forChristians toperform drama, which, asWashof points out, was not unproblematic. Although such background material makes this a useful work for anyone coming to Reformation drama for the first time, some clearer definitions would have been welcome on occasion, for example the distinction between typology and allegory. This part also sets out the Lutheran loci (themes), subdivided into dogmatic and ethical/didactic topics, which Washof regards as central to the dramas. They provide the structure for the main body of the study,where each theme is illustrated by specific plays, with the section focusing on the ethical/didactic loci occupying by far the greatest space. These loci, a term borrowed from Philipp Melanchthon's dogmatic writings, are drawn from Paul Althaus's studyDie Theologie Martin Luthers (Gutersloh: Mohn, 1962), which gives the work a strong Lutheran bias. Washof justifies this bias by claiming that although therewere doctrinal disagreements between Lutherans, Calvinists, and Zwinglians, for example about the real presence in the Eucharist, these do not generally make theirway into biblical drama. When he emphasizes the role played by drama in confessional battles, one is therefore forced to con clude that he is limiting thismerely to points of contention between Protestants and Catholics. This is illustrated in the chapter on justification, which examines polemical workings of theparable of the Prodigal Son, a popular subject fordrama. 272 Reviews An interesting analysis of Burkhard Waldis's Deparabell vam verlorn Szohn (1527), which introduces a repentant brothel-keeper to serve as a stark contrast to the self-righteous elder brother, thus exemplifying the inadequacy of a works-based approach to justification, is followed by discussion of a Catholic response to this text. The study concludes rather disappointingly with a very short discussion of sub sequent developments, mentioning the influence of Jesuitdrama, and the changes brought about by the introduction of fixed stages and troupes of professional play ers. Although Washof wants clearly to distinguish the earlier from the later plays, the brief treatment suggests an over-simplified discontinuity. For themost part this is a useful and clearlywritten study,which offers an introduction to the genre and discusses little-known plays. But one cannot help wondering whether the dramatic strategies employed by thewriters to convey theirhomilies would not have merited greater attention. King's College London Anna Linton 'Das Orakel der Deisten: Shaftesbury und die deutsche Aufklarung. By Mark Georg Dehrmann. Gottingen: Wallstein. 2008. 499 pp. 52. ISBN 978-3 8353-0233-4. Shaftesbury has long been cited as a major influence on eighteenth-century Ger man literature and thought, but no comprehensive study of his reception has yet existed. Mark-Georg Dehrmann's monograph remedies this deficiency. A Whig and opponent of High Church Anglicanism and royalist Toryism, Shaftesbury was perceived by some inGermany as a dangerous subversive (J...