Harold J. Grimm Lazanus SpengleR A Lay LeadeR op the Refonmation $15.00 LAZARUS SPENGLER A Lay Leader of the Reformation By Harold J. Grimm Though scholars have, more frequently in re­ cent years, remarked upon the importance of the imperial cities of the Holy Roman Empire in the spread of the Reformation, some among them have pointed out the obvious fact that much more research might profit­ ably be directed toward increasing our knowledge of the lives and activities of those individuals who were responsible for their having gained this importance. In this full-length biography of one such figure — Lazarus Spengler, described by Camerarius, a leading scholar of the day, as "the initiator and executor of all important decisions relating to the Reformation in Nuremberg" — Professor Grimm provides abundant new insights into the complex polit­ ical maneuverings that took place among the City Council of Nuremberg (of which Speng­ ler was secretary from 1507 until his death in 1534), the Empire, and the Vatican to keep the Reformation alive within the city-state. Trained for the legal profession, Spengler provides an excellent example of what was the educated layman's view of his times. De­ voted to the manifold duties of his office, which required that he participate in religious and cultural matters as well as in political, economic, and social affairs, Spengler nonetheless played a major role in the life of the city-state as a whole. Closely associated with its leaders, and making their concerns his own, he did not neglect the needs and interests of the citizenry as a whole, but saw that they were brought to the attention of the city's governors. Already a mature man of thirty-nine vears when he first met Martin Luther, Spengler quickly appropriated the fundamental doc­ trines of the Reformation, made them basic to (Continued on back flap) Lazorzus SpengLerc BY HAROLD J. GRIMM Lazauus SpengLerc a lay leabeu of the rzeforzmation OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS : COLUMBUS Copyright © 1978 by the Ohio State University Press All Rights Reserved. Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Grimm, Harold John, 1901­ Lazarus Spengler: a lay leader of the Reformation. Bibliography: p. 211 Includes index. 1. Spengler, Lazarus, 1479-1534. 2. Reformation- German, West—Nuremberg-Biography. 3. Nuremberg— Biography. BR350.S67G74 270.6'092'4 78-13508 ISBN 0-8142-0290-X To My Students Contents Preface xi 1 Spengler's Family and His City 3 2 Broadening Interests and Concerns 17 3 From Christian Humanist to Lutheran 31 4 Early Religious Changes 45 5 The Road to Reformation 57 6 The Break with Rome 73 7 Social and Religious Ferment 93 8 New Structures 109 9 Nuremberg and the Diets of Speyer, 1526-1529 121 10 The Question of a Protestant Alliance 137 11 Diplomacy of Nuremberg, 1530-1534 157 12 Spengler's Last Years 169 Notes 183 Bibliography 211 Index 229 Illustrations Nuremberg at the end of the fifteenth century. Sketch based on Michel Wolgemut's woodcut for Hartmann Schedel's Liber cronicarum of 1493 and produced in color in 1526 for the so-called Hallerbuch of 1533. Courtesy of the Staatsarchiv Nurnberg. 15 The territory of Nuremberg in the sixteenth century. Courtesy of Fritz Gries, producer of the map, and C. H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuch­ handlung, Munich. 55 Diirer's facetious drawing for Spengler (1511) of a smithy, a printer, and a baker (probably Hieronymus Holzschuher [left], Lazarus Spengler [center], and Kaspar Niitzel [right]) preparing diplomatic reports for the city council. Reproduced with the permission of the Musee Bonat, Bayonne, France. 91 Spengler's home, "Zum Einhorn" and "Zum Rosenbusch," in the Zisselgasse, today Albrecht-Diirer Strasse 19, as seen from the north in 1909, reproduced with the permis­ sion of Erich Mulzer, who published it in "Das Jamnitzerhaus in Nurnberg und der Goldschmid Wenzel Jamnitzer" (MVGN 61 [1974]), and the Stadtarchiv Nurnberg. 167 Prceface Historians have given considerable attention in recent years to the importance of cities in the spread of the Reformation and its influence on the development of urban institutions. Whereas numerous studies have opened new vistas in our look at the movement, much more research must be devoted to individual urban leaders before scholars can make valid generalizations concerning it. The career of Lazarus Spengler of Nuremberg, secretary of its city council, not only illustrates the complexity of the spread of the Reformation but also provides an excellent example of what an intelligent layman in an urban society in Germany considered the movement to be. Busy with the manifold responsibilities of his office that involved religious and cultural as well as political, economic, and social issues, he played an important role in the development of his community as a whole, associating with all its leaders. He was familiar with their chief concerns, made them his own, and helped embody them in appropriate institutions. Fully aware of the needs and interests of all the citizens, he did his best to meet them according to his conception of the responsibility of his government to serve the general welfare of the entire community. Already a mature, man, thirty-nine years of age, when he first met Martin Luther, he appropriated the fundamental doctrines of the Reformation in a surprisingly short period of time, made them basic to his decisions with respect to secular matters, and applied them in his relationship with others. An examination of his role as a lay leader of the Reformation gives us new insights into the many aspects of the movement, for one learns about it not only from the literature of the Xll PREFACE reformers and the sermons of the preachers but also from the deliberations of the city council, the memorandums of its jurisconsults, and its vast correspondence. Present at its meetings and instrumental in preserving its records, Spengler had the knowledge as well as the diplomatic ability to influence persons in authority both at home and abroad. It is a pleasant task to acknowledge my indebtedness to the many persons who helped me produce this book. Work in the archives in Nuremberg was facilitated by the kindness of the officials shown my numerous graduate students and me far beyond the line of duty. I am particularly grateful to Fritz Schnelbogl, Otto Puchner, and Giinther Schuhmann of the Staatsarchiv Nurnberg; Werner Schultheiss and Gerhard Hirschmann of the Stadtarchiv Nurnberg; Ludwig Veit of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nurnberg; and Georg Luhr and Helene Burger of the Landeskirchliches Archiv Nurnberg. The following members of the faculty of the University of Erlangen- Niirnberg have given me much friendly advice and assistance: Hans Liermann, Wilhelm Maurer, Gerhard Pfeiffer, Irmgard Hoss, Gerhard Miiller, and Gottfried Seebass. Gerhard Pfeiffer read the entire manuscript and gave me his acute comments and suggestions. The imperfections and errors that persist are my own. I have had considerable help from the officials at the Widener Library at Harvard, the Ohio State University Library, the Center for Reformation Research, and especially from Stanley J. Kahrl of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the Ohio State University. I also am grateful to those of my former students who assisted me in my research, especially Phillip N. Bebb, Lawrence P. Buck, and Jonathan W. Zophy. Gratitude also is due Miss Margarete von Schubert and Mrs. Erika Dingier for making available to the Stadtarchiv Nurnberg materials relating to Spengler formerly in the possession of their father, Hans von Schubert. My thanks likewise are due Weldon A. Kefauver and Robert S. Demorest of the Ohio State University Press for guiding the process of publishing the book to a successful conclusion. I owe a heavy debt to my wife for her patience and help. Lozauus SpengLeR chapter one SPENGLER'S FAMILY AND HIS CITY One can study the complexities of the Reformation in Germany to great advantage by examining the vicissitudes of the imperial city of Nuremberg during the decade and a half following the first appearance of Luther's doctrines within its walls.1 Foremost leader of the Reformation there was Lazarus Spengler (1479-1534), Ratsschreiber,2 or secretary, of the city council, who helped steer Nuremberg through the turbulent waters of his day between the Scylla of Lutheranism and the Charybdis of loyalty to the empire to a political solution that persisted in its main features to the end of the city's existence as a free imperial city in 1806 and to a religious settlement that, in its main features, has continued to our own day. FAMILY BACKGROUND Spengler was able to play a significant role in the Reformation because of his broad cultural background, legal education and training, knowledge of business affairs, diplomatic experience and skill, understanding of human nature, and strong Protestant commitment. He had an opportunity to assert his leadership because of the unique nature of his position in the city government. As council secretary he supervised the secretarial work of that body; took part in its secret sessions and kept its records; carried on its official correspon­ dence; was its chief legal, political, and financial adviser; and served in a diplomatic capacity, often attending imperial diets, diets of cities, and meetings of princes in addition to corresponding with the city's diplomats on mission. 4 LAZARUS SPENGLER Serving in such capacities and having a good salary and perquisites that enabled him to devote all his time to his profession, Spengler could have a complete grasp of the city's politics, both internal and foreign. Although the patricians could rely upon the advice of their official jurisconsults in secular matters and on the city clergy in spiritual matters, neither of whom were permitted to attend meetings of the council, they ultimately looked to Spengler for advice to the extent that their critical decisions during the first decade of the Reformation bear the stamp of his character and leadership.