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A Reinterpretation of Melchior Hoffman's Exposition Against the Background of Spiritualist Franciscan Eschatology with Special Reference to Peter John Olivi

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A Reinterpretation of Melchior Hoffman's Exposition Against the Background of Spiritualist Franciscan Eschatology with Special Reference to Peter John Olivi A REINTERPRETATION OF MELCHIOR HOFFMAN'S EXPOSITION AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF SPIRITUALIST FRANCISCAN ESCHATOLOGY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PETER JOHN OLIVI by WERNER 0. PACKULL Melchior Hoffman's obsession with apocalyptic texts, his seemingly fanciful in­ terpretation of Scripture have been described as the 'childish preoccupation of a fanatical spirit' (schwiirmerischen Geist). 1 But such an assessment based on modern assumptions and on unfavourable comparisons with the concerns of the major Reformers fails to appreciate the inner coherence of Hoffman's thought. For however significant the issues of justification, free will, predestination, Word and Spirit for Reformation theology, they were not the key elements that inspired Hoffman's vision. Without a formal theological training Hoffman drew his inspiration precisely from those apocalyptic texts - Daniel, the fourth book of Ezra and Revelation - which Luther declared obscure and in need of elucida­ tion for the common man. 2 The Book of Revelation in particular held a special place in Hoffman's canon. It constituted the keyhole through which he scanned the rest of Scripture. When his long announced Auslegung de, Offenbarung (hereafter Exposition) appeared in 15 303 major portions of his previous exegetical efforts were an integral part, permitting the inference that these earlier works as well originated in conjunction with a thorough study of the Apocalypse. 4 And even after Hoffman had been reduced to pitiful circumstances, confined for years to a 'solitary dark hole', his preoccupation with the Apocalypse continued. Deprived of ink and paper, dependent on his memory, he committed revisions of 1 Friedrich zur Linden speaks of 'bedauerliche Verwirrung eines schwiirrnerischen Geistes' (p. 193), 'krankenhafte herrneneutische methode' (p. 202) and 'kindische Allegoristik' (p. 318) in Melchior Hofmann, tin Prophet der Wiedmiiufer (Haarlem: De Erven F. Bohn, 1885). 'Martin Luthers Werk,, Kritische Gesamtausgabe (Weimar, 1883), p. 404. Erasmus had earlier ques­ tioned the authenticity of the Apocalypse. 3 Ausslegung der heimlichen Offenbarung Joannis us heyligen Apostels unnd Euangelisten (Strasbourg: Balthasar Beck, 1530) (hereafter Ausslegung der Offenbarung). Hoffman announced his intention to produce the Ausslegung (Exposition) as early as 1526 in Das XII Capitel us propheten Danie/is ausgelegt/ und das evangelion <ks andnn sondagsl .... (Stockholm: Konigliche Druckerei, 1526) (Staatsbibliothek Hamburg, Realcat. OA 4°) (hereafter XII Capitef). Microfilm copies of the above works were made available through the courtesy of Walter Klaassen. See also zur Linden, Hofmann, tin Prophet der Wiedertaufer, p. 83. • Zur Linden observed that the Exposition 'beinahe sein ganzes damaliges Lchrgebiiude zusam­ menfasst' and speculated that Hoffman must have brought this work, with which he had been occupied for years, complete to Strasbourg. Hofmann, tin Prophet der Wiedmiiufer, pp. 190, 191 n.1. REINTERPRETATION OF MELCHIOR HOFFMAN'S EXPOSITION 33 parts of the Exposition to scraps oflinen, thus giving evidence that the Apocalypse had been and remained central to his understanding of the Scriptures and the events of the day. 5 While Hoffman proved singularly obstinate in seeing the rest of Scripture and contemporary events through the Apocalypse, this attitude was by no means novel. It was characteristic of a number of medieval students of the Apocalypse. Hoffman's indebtedness to a pre-Reformation exegetical tradition6 seems con­ firmed by his own insistence that he preferred the exegesis of the 'old inter­ preters' to that of his contemporaties. 7 Unfortunately, Hoffman cited neither names nor sources. However, the internal consistency of the Exposition, its very size and the numerous cross-references lead to the conclusion that the product contained more than the solo effort of an uneducated furrier. Hoffman's con­ siderable Biblical knowledge, it may be assumed, was not the product of direct inspiration nor did its coherence spring directly from the texts but from addi­ tional guides or aids. 8 Of course, as others before him and since, he failed to ap­ preciate the preconditioned assumptions and the external frame of reference which he brought to bear on the sacred text. Indeed, certain comments indicate that he felt no particular loyalty to previous annotations but saw himself as a mere exegete of pure Scripture.9 The historian cannot participate in the same naivety. In as much as possible he must seek an understanding of his subject matter within the larger historical context. Melchior Hoffman is no exception. The constituents of his apocalyptic vision were more than an eclectic assortment of end-time expectations collected while hitchhiking through the radical land­ scape of the early Reformation. Their arrangement and composition suggest the influence on Hoffman of a pre-Reformation tradition. In what follows, an at­ tempt will be made to examine a possible source of that tradition-radical Fran­ ciscan eschatology. It is not the aim to establish a respectable pedigree for Hoffman, but rather to seek a better understanding of this remarkable represen­ tative of the common man. • Ibid., pp. 381-382. 6 This has been suggested by Calvin A. Pater, 'Melchior Hoffman's Explication ofthe Songs(!) of Songs,' Archiv far Rejormationsgeschichte, LXVIII ( 1977), pp. 177; also 'Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt as the Intellectual Founder of Anabaptism' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Study of Religion, Harvard University, 1977), pp. 372-373 n.l, 411-412 since published by the University of Toronto Press, 1984, and by Klaus Deppermann, Melchior Hoj/mJJn. Soziale Unruhm und apokalyptische Visionm im Zeitalter tier Reformation (Gottingen: V andehocck and Ruprecht, 1979), p. 96. 7 XII Capitel, pp. fiv verso, iii recto: 'dass es die alten aussleger eyn teyl besser troffen haben'. 8 It is possible that Hoffman had been exposed to an illustrated commentary of the Apocalypse. In his introduction, he alluded to 'drawn figures of the same prophecy' which would explain his in­ tentions more clearly. Auss/egung tier Offmbarung, p. A vi verso, Z vii recto. Before the Reformation, the Apocalypse had been the most illustrated book in the Bible. Hans-Ulrich Hofmann, 'Luther und die Johannes-Apokalypse' (unpublished Th.D. dissertation, Friedrich-Alexander Universitiit, Erlangen, Niimberg, 1977), p. 256. • Hoffman, Ausslegung tier Offmbarung, p. Z vi verso: 'die sich an kein gloss hencke sunder den text selber ermessen.' .
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