Turn to Reformation
Karlstadt's Commentary on Augustine's De spiritu et littera, 1517-1519
By (author) Alyssa Lehr Evans
Hardback (Published)
(September 2026)
ISBN: 9783161639807
6.1 x 9.13 inches
Price: $194.00
On back order
Alyssa Lehr Evans examines how Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, a central player in the development of the Reformation in Wittenberg, became and continued to self-consciously develop as a reformer. She shows how Karlstadt’s reading and reception of Augustine played a pivotal role in his development and approaches understanding Karlstadt by considering fundamental issues of authority and interpretation.
English summary: Karlstadt’s commentary on Augustine’s “De spiritu et littera” is an exceptional resource for understanding Karlstadt’s conversion and his continued development into a reformer in these years of rapid change in Wittenberg (1517-1519). Alyssa Lehr Evans shows his “learning by doing,” how he self-consciously transitioned away from his scholastic career and developed new ways to move forward, even while still holding on for a time to traditional methods and style. Karlstadt openly wrestled with fundamental questions about which religious sources are authoritative and how they ought to be read. Evans shows how Karlstadt’s reading and reception of Augustine played a pivotal role in his development and affected his theology and its practical applications, even his writing style. Placing this commentary and surrounding writings in their historical context provides a deeper understanding of Karlstadt’s early thought, his reading and working methods, as well as his active role in the emergence of the reformation in Wittenberg. This work was awarded the 2025 Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise. German description: Alyssa Lehr Evans untersucht, wie Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, zentraler Akteur in der Entwicklung der Wittenberger Reformation, zum Reformator wurde und sich in dieser Rolle bewusst weiterentwickelte. Sie zeigt die wichtige Rolle auf, die die Beschaftigung mit Augustin fur Karlstadts Entwicklung spielte und nahert sich Karlstadt uber die Grundfragen von Autoritat und Interpretation.
Introduction: The Commentary on Augustine as a Snapshot into Karlstadt in Transition
1. The Commentary in Context: Karlstadt as Reformer in Wittenberg 1517-1519
1.1 Reconstruction of the Lectures and Printing of the Commentary: Karlstadt's 151 Theses to his Epitome
1.2 Conclusion
2. Karlstadt Encounters Augustine: The Introduction Materials to the Commentary
2.1 Karlstadt's Scholastic Background and Early Works in the Wittenberg Context
2.2 An Analysis of The Introduction Materials to the Commentary
2.3 Karlstadt's Dedication Letter in Context: Conversion Narratives in Wittenberg
2.4 Conclusion
3. Sources: "Out with the New, in with the Old"
3.1 Karlstadt's Library and Sources
3.2 Authorship Questions in the Commentary
3.3 The Church's Prayers as Authoritative Sources for Theological Debate
3.4 Karlstadt's Explanations to his 151 Theses and their Content
3.5 Compiled Evidences and Sourcebooks
3.6 Conclusion
4. Karlstadt Reads Augustine: A Developing Hermeneutic
4.1 The "Right" Reading of Augustine
4.2 Interpreting Augustine by Augustine
4.3 Imitatio Augustini et Imitatio Pauli: Augustine as Interpreter of Paul par excellence
4.4 The Development of a New Hermeneutic: Karlstadt on Hermeneutical Principles in his 151 Theses
4.5 Karlstadt's Hermeneutical "Rules" in the Commentary
4.6 Karlstadt on Scripture and His Understanding of the Spirit/Letter Distinction
4.7 An Example of Karlstadt Reading and Wrestling with Augustine
4.8 Conclusion
5. Further Development in Style and Theology
5.1 A Change in Style
5.2 Developments in Theology
5.3 Conclusion
6. Karlstadt's Commentary on Augustine and His Development as a Reformer
Born 1986; 2015-17 Fulbright and DAAD Fellowships; 2021 PhD in the History of Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary; member of the Karlstadt Critical Edition team in Göttingen on Karlstadt’s letters and writings (1507-1520); Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chair of Church History at the University of Göttingen.
- By (author) Alyssa Lehr Evans
Other Titles in this Series
Die Erfindung des Theologen
Wittenberger Anweisungen zum Theologiestudium im Zeitalter von Reformation und Konfessionalisierung
Volume 28
Reformation als Transformation?
Interdisziplinare Zugange zum Transformationsparadigma als historiographischer Beschreibungskategorie
Volume 126
Der Anfang der Reformation
Studien zur Kontextualitat der Theologie, Publizistik und Inszenierung Luthers und der reformatorischen Bewegung
Volume 67
Transformationen
Studien zu den Wandlungsprozessen in Theologie und Frommigkeit zwischen Spatmittelalter und Reformation
Volume 86
Die Rezeption der ‘Theologia Deutsch’ bis 1523
Stationen der Wirkungsgeschichte im Spatmittelalter und in der fruhen Reformationszeit
Volume 112
Liturgie und Reform im Kloster Medingen
Edition und Untersuchung des Propst-Handbuchs Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Lat. liturg. e. 18
Volume 76
Interim und Apokalypse
Die religiosen Vereinheitlichungsversuche Karls V. im Spiegel der magdeburgischen Publizistik 1548-1551/52
Volume 47
Logik der Freiheit
Die Pradestinationslehre Wilhelms von Ockham im Rahmen seiner Theologie
Volume 99
Martin Bucer zwischen den Reichstagen von Augsburg (1530) und Regensburg (1532)
Beitrage zu einer Geographie, Theologie und Prosopographie der Reformation
Volume 55
Marias Lied in Luthers Deutung
Der Kommentar zum Magnifikat (Lk 1, 46b-55) aus den Jahren 1520/21
Volume 34
Uber Religion entscheiden/Choosing my Religion
Religiose Optionen und Alternativen im mittelalterlichen und fruhneuzeitlichen Christentum/Religious Options and Alternatives in Medieval and Early Modern Christianity
Volume 125
Theologiestudium um 1600
KonfessionsĂ¼bergreifende Perspektiven auf Studienorganisation, Studierpraxis und studentische Kultur
Der ‘Oberdeutsche vierzeilige Totentanz’
Formen seiner Rezeption und Aneignung in Handschrift und Blockdruck
Volume 88
Die Strassburger Kloster im 16. Jahrhundert
Eine Untersuchung unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der Geschlechtergeschichte
Volume 69
The Liber ordinarius of Nivelles (Houghton Library, MS Lat 422)
Liturgy as Interdisciplinary Intersection
Volume 111
Gelehrtentum und Patrizierstand
Wirkungskreise des Nurnberger Humanisten Sixtus Tucher (1459-1507)
Volume 77
Scala Christus est
Reassessing the Historical Context of Martin Luther's Theology of the Cross
Volume 135
Familienbucher als Medien stadtischer Kommunikation
Untersuchungen zur Basler Geschichtschreibung im 16. Jahrhundert
Volume 98
Kirche und Politik am Oberrhein im 16. Jahrhundert
Reformation und Macht im Sudwesten des Reiches
Volume 89
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