Tag Archives: 16th century

Argula von Grumbach’s Letter to the University of Ingolstadt

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Argula von Grumbach wrote this letter (here translated from German and abridged) in 1523 when the University of Ingolstadt forced Arsacius Seehofer to recant his Protestant views. It became a sensation, going through 14 editions in two months, and launched Argula von Grumbach as the first female Protestant writer. I'm sharing it here on the occasion of International Woman's Day because it was difficult to come by the text.

The account of a Christian woman of the Bavarian nobility whose open letter, with arguments based on divine Scripture, criticizes the University of Ingolstadt for compelling a young follower of the gospel to contradict the word of God . . .

The Lord says, John 12, “I am the light that has come into the world, that none who believe in me should abide in darkness.” It is my heartfelt wish that this light should dwell in all of us and shine upon all callous and blinded hearts. Amen.

I find there is a text in Matthew 10 which runs: “Whoever confesses me before another, I too will confess before my heavenly Father.” And Luke 9: “Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, I too will be ashamed of when I come in my majesty,” etc. Words like these, coming from the very mouth of God, are always before my eyes. For they exclude neither woman nor man.

And this is why I am compelled as a Christian to write to you. For Ezekiel 33 says: “If you see your brother sin, reprove him, or I will require his blood at your hands.” In Matthew 12, the Lord says, “All sins will be forgiven; but the sin against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, neither here nor in eternity.” And in John 6, the Lord says: “My words are spirit and life…”

How in God’s name can you and your university expect to prevail, when you deploy such foolish violence against the word of God; when you force someone to hold the holy Gospel in their hands for the very purpose of denying it, as you did in the case of Arsacius Seehofer? When you confront him with an oath and declaration such as this, and use imprisonment and even the threat of the stake to force him to deny Christ and his word?

Yes, when I reflect on this, my heart and all my limbs tremble. What do Luther or Melanchthon teach you but the word of God? You condemn them without having refuted them. Did Christ teach you so, or his apostles, prophets, or evangelists? Show me where this is written! You lofty experts, nowhere in the Bible do I find that Christ, or his apostles, or his prophets put people in prison, burnt or murdered them, or sent them into exile…Don’t you know what the Lords says in Matthew 10? “Have no fear of him who can take your body but then his power is at an end. But fear him who has power to dispatch soul and body into the depths of hell.”

One knows very well the importance of one’s duty to obey the authorities. But where the word of God is concerned, neither Pope, Emperor, nor princes – as Acts 4 and 5 make so clear – have any jurisdiction. For my part, I have to confess, in the name of God and by my soul’s salvation, that if I were to deny Luther and Melanchthon’s writing, I would be denying God and his word, which may God forfend forever. Amen…

I beseech you. Trust in God. He will not desert us, for every hair on our heads is numbered and in his care, as Matthew 10 says. I had to listen for ages to your Decretal preacher crying out in the Church of Our Lady: Ketzer! Ketzer!, “Heretic, Heretic!” Poor Latin, that! I could say as much myself, no doubt, and I have never been to university. But if they are to prove their case, they’ll have to do better than that. I always meant to write to him, to ask him to show me which heretical articles the loyal worker for the Gospel, Martin Luther, is supposed to have taught.

However, I suppressed my inclinations; heavy of heart, I did nothing. Because Paul says in 1 Timothy 2: “The women should keep silence and should not speak in church.” But now that I cannot see any man who is up to it, who is either willing or able to speak, I am constrained by the saying, “Whoever confesses me,” as I said above. And I claim for myself Isaiah 3: “I will send children to be their princes; and women, or those who are womanish, shall rule over them . . .

My heart goes out to our princes, whom you have seduced and betrayed so deplorably. For I realize that they are ill informed about divine Scripture. If they could spare the time from other business, I believe they, too, would discover the truth that no one has a right to exercise sovereignty over the words of God. Yes, no human being, whoever he be, can rule over it. For the word of God alone – without which nothing was made – should and must rule…

What have our princes done to merit such conduct from you? Is this the reward for their frequent generosity, bestowing wealth on the poor among you? How do you make them look? Why do you make them and this university of yours, which they are rightly praised for founding, the laughingstock of the whole world? Ah, what loyalty you return for the good they have done you! What gratitude! How dare you?…

I am quite convinced that, if they knew the truth, they would not continue to act on your requests as they have now done with Seehofer and would not have given permission for him to be murdered, as indicated in his oath. May God be their reward eternally. I hope things will improve. Who knows why they gave such an instruction?

Have no doubt about this: God looks mercifully on Arsacius, or will do so in the future, just as he did on Peter, who denied the Lord three times. For each day the just person falls seven times and gets up on his feet again. God does not want the death of the sinner, but his conversion and life. Christ the Lord himself feared death; so much so that he sweated a bloody sweat. I trust that God will yet see much good from this young man. Just as Peter, too, did much good work later, after his denial of the Lord. And, unlike this man, he was still free, and did not suffer such lengthy imprisonment, or the threat of the stake . . .

Are you not ashamed that Seehofer had to deny all the writings of Martin, who put the New Testament into German, simply following the text? That means that the holy Gospel and the Epistles and the story of the Apostles and so on are all dismissed by you as heresy. It seems there is no hope of a proper discussion with you. And then there’s the five books of Moses, which are being printed too. Is that nothing? I hear nothing about any of you refuting a single article of Arsacius from Scripture…

I beseech you for the sake of God, and exhort you by God’s judgement and righteousness, to tell me in writing which of the articles written by Martin or Melanchthon you consider heretical. In German, not a single one seems heretical to me. And the fact is that a great deal has been published in German, and I’ve read it all. Spalatin sent me a list of all the titles. I have always wanted to find out the truth . . . My dear lord and father insisted on me reading [the Bible] when I was ten years old. Unfortunately, I did not obey him, being seduced by the afore-named clerics, especially the Observants who said that I would be led astray.

Ah, but what a joy it is when the spirit of God teaches us and gives us understanding, flitting from one text to the next – God be praised – so that I came to see the true, genuine light shining out. I don’t intend to bury my talent if the Lord gives me grace. “The gospel,” says Christ, Luke 7, “is preached to the poor, and blessed is the one who is not offended by me . . .”

I cry out with the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 22: “Earth, earth, earth! Hear the word of the Lord!” I beseech and request a reply from you if you consider that I am in error, though I am not aware of it. For Jerome was not ashamed of writing a great deal to women, to Blesilla, for example, to Paula, Eustochium, and so on. Yes, and Christ himself, he who is the only teacher of us all, was not ashamed to preach to Mary Magdalene, and to the young woman at the well.

I do not flinch from appearing before you, from listening to you, from discussing with you. For by the grace of God I, too, can ask questions, hear answers, and read in German. There are, of course, German Bibles which Martin has not translated. You yourselves have on which was printed forty-one years ago, when Luther’s was never even thought of.

If God had not ordained it, I might behave like the others, and write or say that he perverts Scripture; that is contrary to God’s will. Although I have yet to read anyone who is his equal in translating it into German. May God, who works all this in him, be his reward here in time and in eternity. And even if it came to pass – which God forfend – that Luther were to revoke his views, that would not worry me. I do not build on his, mine, or any person’s understanding, but on the true rock, Christ himself, which the builders have rejected. But he has been made the foundation stone and the head of the corner, as Paul says in I Corinthians 3: “No other base can be laid, than that which is laid, which is Christ . . .”

I have no Latin; but you have German, being born and brought up in this tongue. What I have written you is no woman’s chit-chat, but the word of God; and I wrote as a member of the Christian Church, against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail. Against the Roman, however, they do prevail. Just look at that church! How is it to prevail against the gates of Hell? God give us his grace, that we all may be saved, and may God rule us according to His will. Now may his grace carry the day. Amen.

Dietfurt. Sunday after the exaltation of the holy Cross. The year of the Lord One thousand five hundred and in the twenty-third year. My signature, Argula von Grumbach, von Stauff by birth.

To the reverent, honorable, well-born, most learned, noble and esteemed Rector and general council of the whole University of Ingolstadt.

Review: The Life of Bernard Gilpin (1629)

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Rating: ★★★★

Author: George Carleton (1559-1628), was a pupil of Bernard Gilpin at Houghton-le-Spring. He became Bishop of Llandaff from 1618 to 1619 and Bishop of Chichester from 1619 to 1628.

Full title: The life of Bernard Gilpin a man most holy and renowned among the northerne English. Faithfully written by the Right Reverend Father in God George Carleton Lord Bishop of Chichester, and published for the sake of his common auditors, by whom it was long since earnestly desired. The book was first published in Latin in 1628, under the title Vita Bernardi Gilpini, viri sanctissimi, famaque apud Anglos aquolinares [sic: aquilonares] celeberrimi.

Overview:

The Life of Bernard Gilpin (1629) is a brief but interesting account of a bold and compassionate English minister of the early Reformation days, written by one who knew him well. Bernard Gilpin (1517-1583) was well regarded by the English poor, whom he greatly assisted in both evangelism and advocacy work. He became known to many as “the apostle of the north” because he ministered across a large and rural area.

This book includes several of Gilpin’s personal letters, and has pointed stories about how he helped the poor of northern England.

Gilpin had a very independent mind, leading him sometimes to side with Catholics (as, at first, in the Marian persecutions of 1557), other times with Protestants (on the denial of purgatory and indulgences), and other times Gilpin abstains from stating a fast opinion (in the case of transubstantiation, which he believed to lack a clear answer from Scripture and reason). He gives lucid and accessible summaries of several of these Reformation issues in the course of this biography.

The most famous story about Bernard Gilpin is probably how his life was saved by the death of Queen Mary. In 1558, Gilpin was arrested, with a royal warrant secured by the bishop of London. In some versions of the story, Gilpin broke his leg and was thus late to meet his executioner (see page 100 of William Gilpin’s biography, and ch. 7 of All for the Best). In any case, when he was arrested and on the way to be executed, the queen died; the royal warrant against him was dropped as a result, and he preached for 25 more years!

This little book does give a few fine details about Gilpin’s life through his letters and anecdotes. A better sense of how he was “renowned by the northerne English” may be found in the historical novel All for the Best, or Bernard Gilpin’s Motto (c. 1890) by Emily Sarah Holt, which was a very interesting read with some difficult English vernacular. For a longer biography, you can also get a copy of The Life of Bernard Gilpin (1753) by his descendant, William Gilpin.

Read for free: You can read this title on the University of Michigan’s digital collection, here.

Review: A History of the Anabaptists in Switzerland

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Rating: ★★★★

Author:

Henry S. Burrage was an American clergyman who wrote several books about the Civil War, as well as the history of baptism.

Overview:

A History of the Anabaptists in Switzerland (1882) is concise, but researched; informative, but compelling. If you are studying the Reformation as a whole, D’Aubigne is much larger in scope, but this little book by Burrage tops my list of recommendations on Reformation history. He covers in passing:

  • The entry of missionaries into Switzerland (7th c.)
  • Stirrings toward reform (15th c.)
  • Zwingli’s move against indulgences and his sympathizers
  • Luther’s rejection of offered brotherhood
  • Split between Zwingli and the radical reformers (chiefly Grebel and Hubmaier)
  • The move to persecute, execute, or banish those who rejected infant baptism

Theologically, many issues rise to the surface:

  • Infant baptism vs. believers’ baptism
  • State church vs. free church
  • Open communion vs. church discipline
  • Treatment of “heretics”
  • Use of images
  • Abolition of “mass” as an offering
  • Nonresistance theology

The key question to be answered was:

Having separated from the Church of Rome, they naturally asked, what should take its place? (loc. 672)

Here, rather than writing of what I liked about the book, I will set apart some space for historical facts gleaned from this little book.

Key Moments in the History of Baptism:

1. Stirrings Against Corruption

In August 1518, an indulgence seller named Bernard Samson came to Switzerland. Zwingli, quoting Matthew 11:28, called it “the most presumptuous folly” to lay such a burden on Christian people. (loc. 314) Others had preceded him, such as Reuchlin, who instructed Melanchthon, and Wittenbach, who attacked indulgences. (loc. 190-198) Wittenbach believed a new era of Christian learning would dawn.

“In Zurich . . . Zwingli was continually growing in popular favor. . . . Only gradually, however, did Zwingli break with the Church of Rome.” (loc. 390-395)

2. The Reformation Organizes—”Magisterial” & “Radical”

The First Zurich Discussion was held January 29, 1523, in which Zwingli defended himself against rumors of heresy. Only one man defended invocation of the saints, and when the others appealed to sola scriptura, he had little to say. “Zwingli had won an easy and decisive victory.” (loc. 549)

The Second Zurich Discussion was held October 26-28, 1523, after an outbreak against Christian images. Hubmaier, Grebel, and Stumpf appealed against the use of images and the offering of the Mass, but Zwingli took a more moderate course of reform:

“Especially was it an occasion of dissatisfaction with them that the churches in and around Zurich, which had broken away from the grasp of Rome, should thus be made dependent upon the State. ‘It stands ill with the gospel in Zurich,’ wrote Grebel to Vadian, ‘and Zwingli no longer acts a shepherd’s part.’ From this time the reform party was hopelessly divided.”

Stumpf was significant in re-evaluating the meaning of “church.” He said it should be believers only, and he was dismissed by the Zurich Council. (loc. 665)

3. The Magisterial Reformation Works Against the Radical Reformation

Grebel, Reublin, and others were teaching believers’ baptism by March 1524 and in August 1524 a fine was ordered for those who didn’t baptize their children. Hubmaier, after being pressured to resign his pastorate, wrote to the Council:

Divine truth is immortal, and although for a while it may be arrested, scourged, crowned, crucified, and buried, it will, nevertheless, on the third day rise victorious, and rule and triumph forever and ever. (loc. 734)

On January 16, 1525, Grebel wrote, “Christianity will not prosper unless baptism and the Lord’s Supper are brought back to their original purity.” A call was issued to discuss infant baptism on January 17, 1525. On January 18, banishment was ordered for those with unbaptized children. Several leaders, Hetzer and Reublin, left.

Here follows a description of an early Anabaptist conventicle:

After a season of prayer, the Scriptures were read, Grebel and Mantz translating from the original Hebrew and Greek for the benefit of those who were unacquainted with the ancient tongues. The meaning of the sacred Word was then unfolded, under the guidance, as it was believed, of the Holy Spirit. (loc. 895)

Around this time, several preached conversion in the streets of Zurich, using apocalyptic language and shouting “woe to Zurich!”

On March 7, 1526, drowning was ordered for re-baptizers (“Anabaptists”). When Falk and Rieman were arrested in May 1526, “they confessed that they had been baptized, and that, atlhough they knew the penalty was death, they had baptized others, and would do so again.” (loc. 1545)

The above edict was confirmed November 17, 1526, and Mantz was drowned on January 5, 1527.

It was soon found that persecution increased rather than diminished the membership of the Anabaptists Churches. (loc. 1642)

4. Leaders in the Radical Reformation & Their Practices

A key figure in believers’ baptism was Conrad Grebel. Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock on January 21, 1525—the first adult baptism of the Reformation. Conrad Grebel also baptized Wolfgang Ullmann in the Rhine—the first adult baptism by immersion of the Protestant Reformation. (He died of the Plague in 1526.)

Grebel also taught non-resistance theology.

“In lonely cottages in the valleys and along the mountain slopes, the people were quietly summoned together. The Bible was read, its divine lessons unfolded, and sinners were urged to flee from the wrath to come. It was a new gospel to thousands . . .” (loc. 987)

Another leading figure Balthasar Hubmaier. Hubmaier was a “Schwertler” (sword-bearing) Anabaptist, as opposed to the total non-resistance theology of others. He chose to write in vernacular German; “the death of the Lord should be preached after any land’s tongue.” Hubmaier was burned at the stake publicly on March 10, 1528, and his wife was also executed. He had endured considerable torture during his imprisonment.

Hubmaier practiced child dedication. (loc. 1023) There is also some mention that children “belong to the Kingdom.”

“For I am wholly of a different view from those who bind the Kingdom of God to the ceremonies and elements of the world.” (Denk, loc. 1712)

Bones:

It almost goes without saying that the writer of this book had a great disdain for the Magisterial Reformation represented by Zwingli, and does not present them in a positive light! In fact, Zwingli defended several Reformation principles—sola scriptura, the Lord’s Supper, etc.—that all Protestants today would consider indispensable.

Read for Free: The Internet Archive (pdf).