Letters and Records regarding the Church Politics of Frederick the Wise and John the Constant from 1513 to 1532. Reformation in the context of early-modern state formation

Original project title:
Briefe und Akten zur Kirchenpolitik Friedrichs des Weisen und Johanns des Beständigen 1513 bis 1532. Reformation im Kontext frühneuzeitlicher Staatswerdung

Elector Frederick III, also known as Frederick the Wise, and his successor John the Constant were key figures in the early history of the Reformation. As Martin Luther’s sovereigns, they created the political framework which allowed the Wittenberg Reformation to spread and consolidate in the region dominated by the Wettin dynasty in central Germany and beyond.

The editorial project collects and publishes letters and documents pertaining to the church politics of these two outstanding princes of the Reformation for the first time in print and in electronic form making them available for research into church history and general history.

The research team give special attention to the question of the interdependency between the implementation of the Reformation and the state formation and their promotion of each other.

In accordance with this goal, the edition covers the period between the beginning of the brothers’ mutual governance (German: Mutschierung) of Electoral Saxony in 1513 and the death of John in 1532. This time frame allows for a longitudinal analysis covering the period before the public appearance of Martin Luther and the transition from a decentralized development of the Reformation under Frederick to a governmentally directed Reformation under John that spread across the Holy Roman Empire and Europe. The process of these fundamental changes are reflected especially in the correspondence and the decrees of the princes.

Project website

The digital edition is available at: http://bakfj.saw-leipzig.de

The website includes a variety of information and material related to the project, such as news, „cabinet pieces“ (highlights), maps, texts, guidelines, and the project group.

Publications

Neuhes wyssen – Quellen und Forschungen zur Kirchenpolitik Kurfürst Friedrichs und Herzog Johanns von Sachsen um 1520. Hrsg. v. Armin Kohnle, Beate Kusche u. Manfred Rudersdorf
(= Abhandlung, Phil.-hist. Kl., Band 85, Heft 6). S. Hirzel, Stuttgart 2024
(in German)

Volumes published to date (in German)

Further information

Conference report "Die Reformation: Fürsten – Höfe – Räume" (31.10.2016 – 4.11.2016) (in German)
Press release concerning the publication of Volume I (2018, in German)
Press release as to the approval of the project (2013, in German)

The project started on 1 January 2014 and runs for 15 years.