The Politics of the Reformation in Germany: Jacob Sturm (1489-1553) of Strasbourg by Thomas A. Brady, Jr.

Abstract

The Politics of the Reformation in Germany:Jacob Sturm (1489-1553) of Strasbourg. By Thomas A. Brady, Jr. (Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press. 1997. Pp. xiii, 280; 4 maps. $19.95 paperback.) Based on thirty years of archival research, Thomas Brady's book is a masterful study of the impact of the Reformation on the German Empire and the role of the Empire in shaping that reform. Breaking with the Rankean tradition of the Reformation as the foundation of German national unity, Brady emphasizes the movement's broad appeal to all ranks of German society, each interpreting the message in its own way. He rejects the view of the Empire as an archaic aggregation of states incapacitated by decentralization. Brady emphasizes that the Empire protected a form of political life with multiple layers of power and authority. It was a dispersed governance which preserved local autonomy. The book follows the simultaneous development of the Reformation at imperial, territorial, and local levels through the eyes of one man,Jacob Sturm, Strasbourg magistrate and diplomat. The first two chapters on the Empire and on Strasbourg provide the setting. Each element of the imperial structure is described with its ambitions and weaknesses: the Emperor; the territorial states; the cities; the towns and villages. The city of Strasbourg c.1500 is similarly described: the city's constitution and magistrates; the rituals of civic order; the influence of the Hapsburgs under the Emperor Maximilian. The solemn entry of the bishop-elect in 1507 for his enthronement dramatized the tension between church and city Met at the city gate by sixty mounted, armored urban nobles and guildsmen, the noble bishopelect with 600 officials and 1000 horses, was denied permission to enter the city until he had sworn to uphold its traditional liberties. Armed guildsmen and villagers formed a barricade along the streets. The demonstration reflected the collapse of trust between the city and the Church. Geiler von Kaysersberg had tried for years to close the gap, but his appeal for individual moral renewal did not meet the laity's longing for reform of the Church. Despite their enthusiastic response to Geiler himself, the antagonism between Church and people deepened. At an early age Jacob Sturm was dedicated by his noble family to fill the position of his deceased uncle, a revered churchman and humanist. Instructed by his tutor Jacob Wimpheling that church reform could be achieved by an educated, disciplined clergy, Sturm attended Heidelberg and Freiburg universities, leaving in 1508 without a theological degree. He waited for the next ten years for the prestigious, well-endowed benefice his family believed he deserved. His intellectual life quickened when, influenced by Erasmus, he began the serious study of Latin and Greek, which laid the foundation of his adult life. In 1517, aged thirty-four, he was appointed secretary to the provost of the Strasbourg Cathedral. Sturm converted slowly to the Evangelical movement. In 1524 he left his church appointment to enter the city government, moving swiftly through the hierarchy of offices. Within two years he was a member of the privy council for foreign affairs, a life appointment. The magistrates, yielding to popular pressure from below, were beginning to make changes in religious practices. …