THE PULPITS AND THE DAMNED WITCHCRAFT IN GERMAN POSTILS, 1520-1615 _______________________________________ A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts _____________________________________________________ by TANNER H. DEEDS Dr. John M. Frymire, Thesis Advisor DECEMBER 2018 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled THE PULPITS AND THE DAMNED: WITCHCRAFT IN GERMAN POSTILS, 1520- 1615 presented by Tanner H. Deeds a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Professor John M. Frymire Professor Kristy Wilson-Bowers Professor Rabia Gregory I owe an enormous debt to my entire family; but my greatest debt is to my maternal grandmother Jacqueline Williams. Her love and teachings were instrumental in making me who I am today. Unfortunately, she passed away during the early stages of this project and is unable to share in the joys of its completion. My only hope is that whatever I become and whatever I accomplish is worthy of the time, treasure, and kindness she gave me. It is with the utmost joy and the most painful sorrow that I dedicate this work to her. ACKNOWLEGEMENTS At both the institutional and individual level, I have incurred more debts than I can ever hope to repay. Above all I must thank my advisor Dr. John Frymire. Dr. Frymire has been an exemplar advisor from my first day at the University of Missouri. Both in and out of the classroom, he has taught me more than I could have ever hoped when I began this journey. His kindness and generosity have been invaluable in this process. As is the case with many young graduate students, the process at times overwhelmed me. Dr. Frymire was there at every turn to guide me through. Whether it was struggles with the awkwardness in translating 500-year-old sources, writing, or just getting through the day to day grind that is graduate school, he has been a keen source of inspiration and motivation. His keen eyes have caught many errors, and his kindness has ensured that this process never became too overwhelming. My entire professional future is thanks to Dr. Frymire and his tutelage. I should also thank my two other committee members. Dr. Rabia Gregory and Dr. Kristy Wilson-Bowers have both been of the utmost importance to my development as a scholar. I doubt that I would have been capable of undertaking this project two years ago when I had the took Dr. Wilson-Bower’s Early Modern Spain course. The constructive criticisms that I received on my work as well as the constant pushing to go deeper into my argument was foundational to my journey. Dr. Gregory not only brought a different perspective to my work, she also proved to be a constant support as I navigated through the endless maze that is graduate school. Her support for graduate students cannot be understated. She is not just an advocate to me, but to all other graduate students, no matter their field of study. ii I thank Dr. Lois Huneycutt and her students for generously allowing me to take part in their writing group during the spring of 2018. Their comments on chapter one were instrumental to the early stages of this project. I should also thank Doctors Jeff Stevens, Dennis Trout, and John Wigger for various discussions, both in and out of the classroom, that were important points in the development of this thesis and my personal development as a teacher and student. Like so many graduate students before me, I have benefited greatly from the advice and teachings of Dr. Mark Smith. It was my pleasure to be able to take an independent study with him my first year, his lessons on the via moderna and via antiqua were fundamental to this work. Prior to arriving at MU, I had the pleasure of learning from extremely passionate and inspiring professors at Northwest Missouri State University. I should thank in particular Doctors Joel Benson, Dawn Gilley, Brian Hesse, Ryan Reed (now at Bradley University), Devlin Scofield, and Robert Voss. Their teachings early on inspired me to pursue this craft, and their passion still resonates with me. My fellow graduate students have been constant pillars of support throughout this entire process. Although I hesitate to list them for fear of omitting someone, I must thank several specifically: Lawrence Celani, Zach Dowdle, Forrest Duncan, Caitlin Lawrence, K. James Myers, Andrew Olden, and Colton Ochsner have all been extraordinarily kind throughout this process. I owe special thanks to Grace Atkins (University of Missouri Libraries) and Henry M.J. Tonks for their comments on the penultimate draft of this thesis. They caught many errors, those that remain are my responsibility. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGEMENTS ................................................................................................... ii List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION THE PULPITS AND THE DAMNED ................................................ 1 Historiography ................................................................................................................ 3 The Pulpits .................................................................................................................... 14 The Damned .................................................................................................................. 23 CHAPTER I DIVINE REDEMPTION AND EVIL MALICE ........................................ 37 Protected and Persecuted by Providence: Lutheran Discourse to 1560 ...................... 38 Wicked Deviance and Maleficent People: Catholic Discourse through Trent ............. 54 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER II WEATHERING A STORM ...................................................................... 69 The Suffering Servants of God: Lutheran Sermons ...................................................... 71 Suffering the Servants of Satan: Catholic Sermons ...................................................... 88 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 102 CONCLUSION A TALE OF TWO COVENANTS ...................................................... 104 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 110 iv List of Abbreviations LW Luther’s Works. Ed. Benjamin T.G. Mayes and James L. Langebartels vol. 56-82. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2013-. WA D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe [Shriften]. 65 vols. in 127. Weimar: Bohlau, 1883-1993. VD16 Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienen Drucke des 16. Jahrhunderts. Digital ed: http:www.vd16.de. VD17 Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienen Drucke des 17. Jahrhunderts. Digital ed: http:www.vd17.de Malleus The Hammer of Witches: A Complete Translation of the Malleus Maleficarum. Trans. Christopher S. Mackay. Cambridge: Cambridge Univeristy Press, 2006. Note on translations and usage: Unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own. All English Biblical citations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), unless the passage is contradicted in an original source or differs dramatically from the Vulgate. I have rendered original languages as they appear in the sources when possible. I use the term Germany to describe all German-speaking lands in Europe between the years 1200 and 1700. I have capitalized Devil when referring to the alternative name for the Christian evil architype Satan. This has been done because it is more representative of late Medieval and early modern Christian understandings of the figure. Additionally, I refer to the Hebrew Bible as the Old Testament when discussing Christian interpretations of its contents. v THE PULPITS AND THE DAMNED: WITCHCRAFT IN GERMAN POSTILS, 1520- 1615 Tanner H. Deeds Dr. John M. Frymire, Thesis Supervisor Abstract This thesis explores discussion of witchcraft in German postil sermons circulated between 1520 and 1615. The introduction discusses my methodology, changes to historiography between 1900 and present day, and the history of the role of witchcraft in Christianity to the fifteenth century. Chapter one explores the changes to discourse between 1520 and 1560 and concludes that in this period discourse on witchcraft developed from the perspectives of the via antiqua and the via moderna. Ultimately, Lutherans endorsed a providential perspective, which held that witches could do no harm. While Catholics expressed caution discussing witchcraft in public, they ultimately held that all witches were in an explicit pact with Satan and had the power to harm others. Chapter two discusses the later developments of discourse as was related to both religious changes after the Council of Trent and the Schmalkaldic War, as well as changes that occurred as responses to the “Little Ice Age.” Lutherans and Catholics both argued that changes to the climate came from an angry God. However, they disagreed on the method through which God expressed his anger. For Lutherans, God did not use secondary causes to inflict suffering; instead, he interfered directly. For their part, Catholics argued that God