Lay Prophets in Lutheran Europe (c. 1550–1700)

Download or read book Lay Prophets in Lutheran Europe (c. 1550–1700) written by Jürgen Beyer and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lay prophets in Lutheran Europe (c. 1550–1700) is the first transnational study of the phenomenon of angelic apparitions in all Lutheran cultures of early modern Europe. Jürgen Beyer provides evidence for more than 350 cases and analyses the material in various ways: tracing the medieval origins, studying the spread of news about prophets, looking at the performances legitimising their calling, noting their comments on local politics, following the theological debates about prophets, and interpreting the early modern notions of holiness within which prophets operated. A full chronology and bibliography of all cases concludes the volume. Beyer demonstrates that lay prophets were an accepted part of Lutheran culture and places them in their social, political and confessional contexts.