Primacy of the Postils

John M. Frymire, Ph.D. (2001) in History, University of Arizona, is Associate Professor of History at the University of Missouri.

“[…] a study of the best kind, not only presenting significant new material but crammed with ideas for future research.”Amy Nelson Burnett, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In: Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1 (2012), pp. 182-183. “[Frymire’s] book is nothing less than a thorough bibliographical study of postils in the first century of Reformation Germany. […] Scholarship has woefully underappreciated postils when one considers the numerically staggering printed output and the service to preaching. […] we may hope that his monograph will arouse the sustained scholarly attention that early modern postils deserve. ”Hilmar M. Pabel, Simon Fraser University. In: The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 62, No. 2 (April 2011), pp. 390-391.

• AcknowledgmentsA Note on Conventions and AbbreviationsIntroduction1. Catholic Preaching and the German Reformation? Postils and their Production, 1520-1535A. Preaching the Word in Late Medieval GermanyB. “Mein allerbestes Buch”: Tradition and Innovation in Luther’s Church PostilsC. A Paradigm in Need of Revision: The Catholic Response to the German ReformationD. Meeting Luther on His Own Terms: The Religious and Propagandistic Functions of Catholic Postils, 1530-15352. Re-Invention, Innovation, and Reaction: Lutheran and Catholic Postils, 1535-1555 A. Improving Upon the Praeceptor: Lutheran Postillators, 1535-1546B. Reaction and Innovation: Catholic Postil Production, 1536-1546C. Catholic Preaching, Printing, and Self-Censorship in the Wake of the Augsburg InterimD. A Cautious Postillator: Johann Wild’s Postille and Preaching in the Archdiocese of MainzE. One Remnant Suffering Under the Cross: Lutheran Postillators, 1547-1555F. Catholic Printing and the Reformation: The Yield of Catholic Postil Production, 1530-15553. Matches Made in Heaven: Lutheran Postillators in the Service of their Princes, 1555-1620A. Renewed Uses for Old Texts: Pericopes in the Service of Confessional Indoctrination and DisciplineB. Tenure of Office and Duration of Production: Lutheran Officials and Their PostilsC. Out of Print: The Preservation of the Praeceptor and the Decline of His Church PostilsD. Fodder catholic or Catholic? Pericopes as the Harvest of the Ancient ChurchE. Verging on Hypocrisy: Postillenschreiber as Enablers of PostillenreiterF. Lutheran Postil Production, 1555-1620: Implications and Questions4. Excursus: Calvinist Postils? The Pragmatism of German Reformed Postillators5. Catholic Postillenfresser: Postils, Catholic Reform, and the Counter-ReformationA. Continuity and Rupture: German Particularism and the Slow Death of the Via mediaB. Plagiarizing Plagiarists: The Repossession of Spangenberg and CorvinC. A Definitive Transition: Postils and the Primacy of Doctrine after 15706. Correcting Catholicicsm: Censorship, Confessional Consolidation, and the Decline of Homegrown PostillatorsA. The Limits of Reform Discourse and the Litmus of Orthodoxy: Catholic Postils in an Era of UncertaintyB. At the Hands of Censors: The Use and Abuse of Johann WildC. The Last of the Popular German Postillators: Production in the Wake of Catholic Consolidation after 1590D. Exiles and Immigrants: The Dominance of Medieval and Foreign Postils after 1600ConclusionAppendices & TablesIntroduction & Directions for UseMethods of SelectionMethods of AbbreviationMethods of Calculating Total Printings to ca. 1620, Year of First Edition, etc.Confessional Designation of AuthorsThe Issue of Latin and German Editions and TranslationsAppendix 1: Catholic and Protestant Postils by Year of First PrintingAppendix 2: Catholic and Protestant Postils by Author (with select annotations)Addendum: Notes on Select Postils Listed as 1621-1650 by Rublack, “Lutherische Predigt,” (1992)Appendix 3: Complete Sets of Catholic Postils by Year of Each PrintingAppendix 4: Luther’s Postils Table 1: Catholic Postil Production: The DataTable 2: Catholic Postil Production in the Empire, 1525-1620Table 3: Luther’s Church- and House Postils, 1521-1620BibliographyAbbreviationsManuscript Sources Printed Primary SourcesSelect Secondary SourcesIndex