The Formation of a Pious Soul: Theology and Personhood in Christian Scriver’s (1629-1693) Gottholds Zufälliger Andachten (1667) by Richard A. Beinert A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Religion University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright © 2013 by Richard A. Beinert TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ………………………………………………………………. ii Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………. iii List of Abbreviations ………………………………………………………. iv Chapter One: Introduction ………………………………………………. 1 Why Christian Scriver? ………………………………………. 5 Overview of the Literature ………………………………………. 21 The Question of Personhood ………………………………………. 28 Chapter Two: An Overview of Gottholds zufälliger Andachten ………. 43 Devotional Goals ………………………………………………. 49 Emblematik & Sinnbilder ………………………………………. 54 Structure of the Andacht ………………………………………. 67 Chapter Three: Gottholds zufälliger Andachten within the Structure of Scriver’s Devotional Piety ………………………. 78 A Spirituality of the Word ………………………………………. 81 The Social Dimension of Scriver’s Piety ………………………. 93 Situating Gottholds zufälliger Andachten ……………………… 107 Chapter Four: Understanding Scriver’s Theological Anthropology ……… 113 Scriver’s Theological Anthropology ……………………………… 117 Arndt’s Theological Anthropology ……………………………… 129 Contrasts and Conclusions ……………………………………… 139 Chapter Five: Gotthold within Scriver’s Process of Identity Formation ….. 141 Embodied Perception (Self 1) as the Pious Reader ……………… 151 Gotthold as the Reflective Self (Self 2) ……………………… 155 Gotthold as a Model of (Self 3) Human Interaction ……………… 167 Gotthold and Self 4 in Relationship to the Physical World ……… 172 Conclusion ……………………………………………………… 179 Chapter Six: Images of the Other within the zufällige Andachten ……….. 181 Images of Children ……………………………………………… 184 Images of Men ……………………………………………………… 193 Images of Women ……………………………………………… 201 Concluding Comments ……………………………………… 207 Chapter Seven: Conclusion ……………………………………………… 211 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………… 222 i ABSTRACT Roger Smith has noted that theology has been overlooked within studies looking at early modern contructions of personhood. This thesis looks at the Lutheran pastor Christian Scriver’s (1629-1693) Gottholds zufälliger Andachten (1667), a popular seventeenth-century devotional, in order to investigate the way in which the author utilized his understanding of theology in order to help the people under his spiritual care refashion a sense of both self and identity within the turbulent decades following the Thirty Years’ War. This study challenges current historiographies which either marginalize the place of theology within early modern discussions of personhood and identity, or which treat theology’s contribution as being nothing more than a fostering of a radical affective- interiority. It also complicates the received historiographical caricature of Scriver as an uncritical proponent of Arndtian spirituality. Scriver’s zufälliger Andachten illustrate a rich social and interpersonal conception of what it means to be human, built upon the foundations of a Lutheran theological anthropology. Combined with Scriver’s adaptation of medieval exemplarism, and set within Luther’s reformation of the medieval practice of devotional reading, Scriver’s Andachten offer a useful glimpse into the way in which early modern devotional writings contributed to the creation of confessional identities through a process of what Lance Lazar has called “devotional modeling.” At the same time, I argue for a more thorough engagement with theology among historians as a formative part of early modern cultural discourse. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank all of the people who have helped to bring this project to completion. In particular, I must express my deepest gratitude to Valerie, my wife, for both her tireless encouragement and patience as I wrestled through each stage of my doctoral studies; as well as to my two boys for having patiently (and sometimes not) put up with my many hours of study and writing. “Of the making of many books there is no end…” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). I need to express my sincere thanks also to my primary advisor, Dr. Egil Grislis, as well as my co-advisor Dr. Heidi Marx-Wolf who joined the process near to the end, for your patience and wisdom as you guided me through this process. I dare not forget to mention the many prayers and encouraging words which I received also from the members of both St. James Lutheran Church as well as Immanuel Lutheran Church while I was working through my studies. It is with gratitude that I acknowledge all the agencies which supported me and my family throughout this study project. These include the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for a SSHRC doctoral award (2007-2009); St. John’s College with their Colin Inskster Award (2006 -2009); Faithlife Insurance for their Horizon University Scholarship (2007); Lutheran Church-Canada and Concordia Lutheran Seminary for scholarship support from their Alive in Christ Endowment Fund (2005-2009); the University of Manitoba for the University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship (2005-2007); as well as the Government of Manitoba for the Manitoba Graduate Scholarship (2005-2007). VDMÆ iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS The following is a list of abbreviations which have been used throughout this dissertation. AE Martin Luther. Luther’s Works. 55 volumes. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut Lehmann. St. Louis/Philadelphia: Concordia Publishing House/Fortress Press, 1955-1986. GzA Christian Scriver. Gottholds zufälliger Andachten. Leipzig: Andreas Ball, 1686. PL J.P. Migne, ed. Patrologia Cursus Completus, Series Latina. 221 volumes. Paris: Migne, 1844-1864. WA Martin Luther. D. Martin Luthers Werke. 98 Bände. Weimar: Herman Böhlau, 1883- All references to the Lutheran Confessional documents contained within the Book of Concord are taken from the following source: Die Bekenntnisschriften der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche. Third edition. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1956. iv Chapter One: Introduction At four o’clock in the afternoon on April 5th 1693, Christian Scriver (b. January 2nd 1629), the Lutheran court preacher in the historic city of Quedlinburg, died following a long and distinguished career.1 The news of his passing was announced at ten o’clock the next morning as the peals of church bells were heard throughout the city for a full half an hour. Six days later, on April 11th, the bells tolled again at eight o’clock in the evening for three quarters of an hour as Scriver’s body was carried out of the city in solemn procession to Magdeburg where he was buried on April 20th under the altar of the Castle Church of St. Jacob. Seth Calvisius, Superintendent of the churches in Magdeburg, preached the funeral sermon based on Psalm 37 verses 3 and 4.2 Samuel Schmidt, Rector of the local school board and a former colleague of Scriver’s, composed the eulogy (Letzt-schuldigst Ehren Schrifft), a glowing tribute which he read to congregation after the closing benediction from the front of the Church, standing 1 The Sterberegister of the Castle Church of St. Servatius records the following: “Den 5. April nachmittage um 4 Uhr ist der hochehrwürdige, in Gott andichtiger, großachtbare und hochgelahrte H.[err] Mag.:[ister] Christianus Scriverius fürstl.[ich] sächs:[ischer] in die drey Jahr gewesener wohlmeritierter Obershoffprediger allhier im Herrn sanft und selig entschlafen.” The text of this register is taken from Holger Müller, Seelsorge und Tröstung: Christian Scriver (1629-1693) (Waltrop: Hartmut Spenner, 2005), 129. 2 “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37: 3-4 NIV. 1 “over Gotthold’s crypt” (über das / Grab Gottholds) where Scriver’s body would be laid to rest.3 Schmidt’s reference here was to the fictional character named Gotthold who had served as a literary anchor throughout Scriver’s collection of devotional meditations called Gottholds zufälliger Andachten (1663-161).4 In the first preface to this work, Scriver introduced this Gotthold as “the Christian Pilgrim”5 – a kind of everyman figure – who offered up devotional reflections on a variety of people, objects, and situations as he encountered them on his daily pilgrimage through life. The work is ingenious in that it brought the spiritual ideals of Scriver’s own confessional Lutheran heritage into the sphere of his readers’ everyday lives through the narratives of this Gotthold’s own life and encounters. Through him, Scriver provided his readers with a human exemplar of an ideal spiritual individual around whom they too could build and model their own religious lives as they wandered through their own earthly pilgrimages. Scriver’s Gotthold and his zufälliger Andachten quickly took on a life of their own as a popular resource to help people rebuild a sense of self and personhood within the turbulent social conditions left behind in the wake of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Lamenting Scriver’s passing, Schmidt encouraged those who 3 “über das / Grab Gottholds.” Calvisius’ funeral sermon and Schmidt’s tribute were made available in print in 1698 for popular consumption. See Johannes Christmann, Kurzer Lebens-Abriß des um evangelisches Christenthum hochverdienten M. Christian Scriver, ehemaligen Sächs. Oberhofpredigers, Konsistorialrathes und Schuleninspektors in Quedlinburg (Nürnberg: