The town chronicle of Johannes Hass: history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth century

The council annals of Johannes Hass, the last Catholic mayor of the West Bohemian town of Görlitz, are a fascinating document. In a single source we can see the author’s changing interpretation of divine intervention between c.1509 and 1542. After the introduction of the Reformation, Hass steadily d...

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Үндсэн зохиолч: Christ, M
Формат: Journal article
Хэвлэсэн: Oxford University Press 2016
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author Christ, M
author_facet Christ, M
author_sort Christ, M
collection OXFORD
description The council annals of Johannes Hass, the last Catholic mayor of the West Bohemian town of Görlitz, are a fascinating document. In a single source we can see the author’s changing interpretation of divine intervention between c.1509 and 1542. After the introduction of the Reformation, Hass steadily decreased the importance of God, whilst the Devil became increasingly important. Regardless of Hass’s staunch Catholicism, Martin Luther’s impact can be felt in his vision of the divine and the demonic as he subconsciously incorporated minor elements of Lutheranism and commented positively on small changes brought about by the Reformation. Hass shows how receptive Catholics were towards Lutheran theology, without necessarily acknowledging it, as long as the new religion did not challenge the urban order. In rich and colourful language, Hass changed the very nature of God, the Devil and the saints. In this way he was responding to the slow but steady introduction of the Reformation in Görlitz. Only by gradually turning God into a passive observer and giving greater agency to human actors could Hass make sense of the absence of a clear sign in favour of the Catholics in Görlitz.
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spelling oxford-uuid:67400c63-0d8b-46b8-b9fa-0d7eb8324dce2022-03-26T18:36:59ZThe town chronicle of Johannes Hass: history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth centuryJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:67400c63-0d8b-46b8-b9fa-0d7eb8324dceSymplectic Elements at OxfordOxford University Press2016Christ, MThe council annals of Johannes Hass, the last Catholic mayor of the West Bohemian town of Görlitz, are a fascinating document. In a single source we can see the author’s changing interpretation of divine intervention between c.1509 and 1542. After the introduction of the Reformation, Hass steadily decreased the importance of God, whilst the Devil became increasingly important. Regardless of Hass’s staunch Catholicism, Martin Luther’s impact can be felt in his vision of the divine and the demonic as he subconsciously incorporated minor elements of Lutheranism and commented positively on small changes brought about by the Reformation. Hass shows how receptive Catholics were towards Lutheran theology, without necessarily acknowledging it, as long as the new religion did not challenge the urban order. In rich and colourful language, Hass changed the very nature of God, the Devil and the saints. In this way he was responding to the slow but steady introduction of the Reformation in Görlitz. Only by gradually turning God into a passive observer and giving greater agency to human actors could Hass make sense of the absence of a clear sign in favour of the Catholics in Görlitz.
spellingShingle Christ, M
The town chronicle of Johannes Hass: history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth century
title The town chronicle of Johannes Hass: history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth century
title_full The town chronicle of Johannes Hass: history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth century
title_fullStr The town chronicle of Johannes Hass: history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth century
title_full_unstemmed The town chronicle of Johannes Hass: history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth century
title_short The town chronicle of Johannes Hass: history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth century
title_sort town chronicle of johannes hass history writing and divine intervention in the early sixteenth century
work_keys_str_mv AT christm thetownchronicleofjohanneshasshistorywritinganddivineinterventionintheearlysixteenthcentury
AT christm townchronicleofjohanneshasshistorywritinganddivineinterventionintheearlysixteenthcentury