Weimar Edition Volume 39, Part 1: Disputations

This volume is the last of those begun before the war, and it, like no other, experienced the delays of the war and post-war years. And when all external obstacles were overcome, factual and personal impediments for the editor arose, creating new, long-lasting delays (cf. also p. IX f.). Particular misfortunes, such as the loss of a completed manuscript section, were not lacking. And so this volume appears, in view of its printing start, as a particular latecomer, and here again special thanks must be expressed to the publisher, as well as to the Hofbuchdruckerei Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger G. m. b. H., for their understanding consideration of the circumstances and for not altering their accommodating stance and not losing their noble patience towards the often faltering progress of the printing.

The volume brings the first part of the disputations that emerged from the renewed effort, resurgent since 1533, of the Wittenberg theological faculty to revive the disputation activity practiced earlier, and it reaches up to the conclusion of the extensive and comprehensive third disputation against the Antinomians of 6 September 1538. The second volume will then contain the disputations up to the year 1545. The texts have been edited by Professor D. Dr. Heinrich Hermelink (Marburg i. S.); he took over the task from Professor D. Paul Drews († 1912), to whom it was originally assigned. Hermelink himself gives information about the editorial principles in his introduction (p. IX ff.); a comprehensive general introduction is reserved for the second volume. Likewise, the planned word and subject index, lying in the hands of Pastor R. Künzel (Schlaggenwald, Erzgebirge), common to both volumes, will be added to the second volume. The various bibliographies have again been supplied in the customary manner by Professor D. Dr. Johannes Luther, Director of the University Library in Greifswald. The second disputation volume will not be exposed to such difficulties as the first, it will therefore soon follow and can appear in the summer of 1927 (cf. p. X).

The material securing of our edition has made further fortunate progress, namely, besides the benevolent support by the Prussian Ministry for Science, Art, and Public Education, particularly through the generous promotion that the Notgemeinschaft der deutschen Wissenschaft allows our undertaking to benefit from. Not only does it make the printing of the individual volumes possible through its subsidies, it also supports the larger individual works, which could not be carried out without such help. In particular, we have, besides the gratifying and most gratefully acknowledged promotion by His Excellency State Minister a. D. Dr. Friedrich Schmidt-Ott, again enjoyed the understanding and generous help of Geheimrat Siegismund in the Notgemeinschaft, who always stood by us in the most difficult situations and has been a true helper in need. —

The material securing of our edition has enabled us to again approach the great remaining tasks of the edition (German Bible, letters). The continuation of our division Deutsche Bibel with Volume 6 (New Testament 1522/46) will presumably be one of the next publications. It is in the hands of Professor D. D. Albrecht (Staumburg), who has been active as a corresponding member of our commission since 1922.

The last division of our edition, Luther's letters, is again being prepared by Professor D. Dr. Otto Clemen (Zwickau). Under his editorship is the 48th delivery, containing Luther's book and Bible entries (edited by Professor Albrecht) and furthermore very important additions to the sermon tradition from the Codex Besold, discovered and published by Geheimrat Professor D. Dr. Joh. Haußleiter (Greifswald). More than half of the volume is printed, it can be published this year.

Work on the continuation of the church postil (cf. our edition Vol. 10 I°, p. V) continues uninterrupted; at the same time, printing of the last volume of Luther's writings (editors Konsistorialrat D. H. v. Schubert and Professor D. Dr. D. Clemen, Zwickau) has now begun; this volume too will hopefully appear in the course of the next year.

Breslau, March 1926.

Professor D. Dr. Karl Drescher.

Preface. By K. Drescher III-V

Table of Contents and Introduction. By D. Hermelink VII — XII

Luther's Forewords to the Sermon Collections of 1534 and 1538 1—8

The First Disputation de concilio Constantiensi 9 — 39

The Doctor Promotion of Hieronymus Weller and Nikolaus Medler. 11 and 14 September 1535 40-62

The Disputation on Daniel 4, 24. 16 October 1535 63—75

The Sermon Draft on 1 Corinthians 13 76 — 77

The Disputation de iustificatione. 14 January 1536? 78 — 126

The Disputation on Luke 7, 47. 1535 127-133

The Disputation contra missam privatam. 29 January 1536 134—173

The Disputation de homine. 1536 174—180

The Disputation de potestate concilii. 10 October 1536? 181 — 197

The Promotion Disputation of Palladius and Tilemann. 1 June 1537 198—257

Oratio composita in promotione Petri Palladii. 1537 258 — 263

The Circular Disputation de veste nuptiali. 15 June 1537 264 — 333

The Sermons against the Antinomians. 1537 — 1540 334 — 358

The First Disputation against the Antinomians. 18 December 1537 359—417

The Second Disputation against the Antinomians. 12 January 1538 418—485

The Third Disputation against the Antinomians (Promotion Disputation of Christoph Gering) 6 September 1538 486—584

Additions and Corrections 585

Introduction

Luther's disputations were unknown until their discovery by Paul Drews. Occupied with Melanchthon studies, Drews became aware of the volumes of the State Library in Munich (Cod. Monac. 940 and 945) and the library in Wolfenbüttel (Cod. Helmst. 83, 688, 722, 773 and Cod. lat. Aug. 67. 2 and 8. 6), which contained, besides disputations of Melanchthon, also copies of Luther disputations in great abundance. And he turned from Melanchthon to the more valuable find. The results of his discoveries are laid down in the excellent edition: "Disputationen Dr. Martin Luthers in den Jahren 1535—1545 an der Universität Wittenberg gehalten. Zum ersten Male herausgegeben von Paul Drews, a. o. Professor in Jena. Göttingen, Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1895." While in earlier Luther editions under the title of disputations only the sermons, the Propositiones to the disputations held by Luther, which had been compiled since the sermon collections of 1538 and 1558 (cf. p. 4 ff.), had been published, here for the first time insight is given into the course of almost all disputations organized by Luther between 1535 and 1545, and these themselves, insofar as they treat generally interesting themes of Reformation theology, have been completely communicated.

For our edition too, Paul Drews had originally undertaken the editing of the disputations; he handed it over to me in the year 1908, some years before his death († 1912). Adverse circumstances of various kinds, my double vocation as pastor in a suburban parish growing in work at Liebstadt immediately before the gates of the large city (1909-1914) and as Privatdozent at the University of Leipzig, to whom in those very years the elaboration of the large church history lectures was entrusted in place of the ailing Professor D. Dr. Theodor Brieger, then the World War, which from the first day completely claimed me as a soldier, as field chaplain, and then again as a soldier (until 31 January 1919), then the post-war activity in the new office in Marburg, have allowed the work on the disputations to progress very slowly. The printing of the first of the two volumes planned for the disputations in our edition, begun in the year 1912 all too hopefully, dragged on under these circumstances for almost two and a half decades. The preparatory work for the second volume is advanced so far that the printing could be completed in the summer of 1927.

Compared to the Drews edition, this new edition of Luther's disputations is characterized by the fact that a number of new copies have come to light and had to be considered regarding the final form. These are the Luther disputations in the volumes of the State Library in Gotha (Cod. Ch. A 94 and 264) and the State and University Library in Hamburg (Cod. 47 Uffenbach. and 44 Uffenbach., the latter with the inscription Suppellex epistolica Uffenbachis et Wolfiorum 74), which Drews himself also used in the second part of his edition. In addition come two manuscripts of the State Library in Riga (Cod. Chart. 242 and 243), with numerous copies of disputations of Luther and Melanchthon, on which Professor Walch in Dorpat had already pointed in Ztschr. f. Kirchengesch. II, 1878, p. 297 ff. and from which Karl Hollenjäger had published a publication, also appearing as a separate print, of the doctoral disputation of Georg Major from the year 1544 in the 10th volume of the proceedings of the learned Estonian Society in Dorpat (1880). These Riga manuscripts (cf. Drews' introduction p. XXX) were only made available to Drews after the publication of his edition, so that I could use their content from Drews' entries in his personal copy for our edition. Furthermore, as another manuscript containing Luther disputations, the Cod. Palatinus 1827 in the Vatican Library has been established, whose numerous copies of Luther disputations Professor D. Dr. Gerhard Ficker (now in Kiel) had collated for the Weimar Luther edition with the task from Drews in the year 1901. Finally, by Kathe Nau in the Breslau University Library, a small paper volume (Cod. 045) with copies of disputations of Luther and Melanchthon was established, which offered very peculiar variants for a series of disputations. Further research and inquiries at almost all notable libraries in Germany and in European foreign countries remained without success. A detailed description of all manuscripts of Luther's disputations that we have, as well as an appreciation and characterization of Luther's disputation activity since the reorganization of theological studies in the year 1533, will be given in a comprehensive general introduction to the second volume.