Wittenberg Historiography : Philipp Melanchton and the Reformation of Historical Thought

"In 'The Reformation of Historical Thought', Mark Lotito re-examines the development of Western historiography by concentrating on Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) and his universal history, 'Carion's Chronicle' (1532). With the 'Chronicle', Melanchthon overturned the medieval papal view of history, and he offered a distinctly Wittenberg perspective on the foundations of the 'modern' European world. Through its immense popularity, the 'Chronicle' assumed extraordinary significance across the divides of language, geography and confession. Indeed, Melanchthon's intervention would become the point of departure for theologians, historians and jurists to debate the past, present and future of the Holy Roman Empire. Through the 'Chronicle', the Wittenberg reformation of historical thought became an integral aspect of European intellectual culture for the centuries that followed"--Back cover The Reformation of Historical Thought 4 Copyright 5 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 12 Additional Acknowledgements 14 List of Illustrations 16 Abbreviations 19 1 Introduction 22 1 The Constitution of Europe 22 2 Philipp Melanchthon 25 3 Prior Research 28 4 Reformation of Historical Thought 34 5 Melanchthon's Historical Works 38 6 Carion's Chronicle 46 7 Chapter Summaries 52 2 The Fourth Monarchy and the Translatio Imperii 55 1 Introduction 55 2 Universal History and the Roman Empire 56 3 Christian Historiography 58 4 Late Antiquity and the Fourth Monarchy 63 5 St. Augustine and the Six Ages 65 6 Universal History in the Early Middle Ages 67 7 The Four Monarchies in the High Middle Ages 69 8 Translationes Imperii and the Donation of Constantine 74 9 Papal-Imperial Chronicles 76 10 Challenges to the Curial Theories 80 11 Early Printed Chronicles 83 12 The Germania Illustrata and Nauclerus's Chronicle 92 13 Conclusion 103 3 Johann Carion of Bietigheim: The Berlin Court Astronomer 105 1 Introduction 105 2 Carion's Early Career 109 3 Sintflut of 1524 112 4 A Second Flood Prediction 120 5 Natural Art of Astrology 122 6 The Dispute with Andreas Perlach 125 7 Carion and Königsberg 131 8 Carion and Melanchthon 133 9 Melanchthon and Annius of Viterbo 138 10 Carion's 1532 Visit to Wittenberg 142 11 Seventy Weeks of Daniel 148 12 Celestial Signs and Portents 152 13 Carion's Career after 1532 157 14 Conclusion 161 4 Carion's Chronicle: A Wittenberg View of the Past 163 1 Introduction 163 2 The Reformation of Form and Structure 167 3 Translationes Imperii 170 4 The Holy Roman Empire 174 5 The Four Monarchies and the Turks 182 6 The Wittenberg World Map 187 7 The Turks in Carion's Chronicle 190 8 Ecclesiastical History 195 9 The Melanchthon-Peucer Chronicle of 1572 206 10 Melanchthon's Revisions 207 11 Caspar Peucer's Revisions 212 12 The Electoral College 216 13 The Medieval Papacy 218 14 Ecclesiastical History and Periodization 220 15 Conclusion 226 5 The Transmission and Reception of Carion's Chronicle 228 1 Introduction 228 2 The Early Transmission of Carion's Chronicle 231 3 The Latin Transmission of the Carion-Melanchthon Chronicle 234 4 Translations 239 5 Carion's Chronicle in the Catholic Context 244 6 Johann Funck and the 1542 Turkish Campaign 249 7 The 1546 Wittenberg Edition 257 8 The Schmalkaldic War 259 9 Unauthorized Editions of the Chronicle 260 10 Melanchthon's Revised Chronicle 263 11 Caspar Peucer 273 12 Peucer and the Chronicle 276 13 Wittenberg and Frankfurt 279 14 Wittenberg Chronicle 287 15 The Fall of the Philippists 292 16 Conclusion 299 6 The Legacy of Wittenberg Historiography 302 1 Introduction 302 2 Jean Bodin's Attack on German Political Thought 304 3 The Initial German Response to Bodin 309 4 The Fourth Monarchy and the Theologians 317 5 The Fourth Monarchy and the Imperial Publicists 323 6 The Fourth Monarchy and the Historians 328 7 The Four Monarchies in the Graphic Arts 337 8 The Last Days of the Fourth Monarchy 346 7 Conclusion 354 Appendix A Carion's Chronicle - Textual Transmission 358 Appendix B Carion's Chronicle - Manuscript Notes 373 Appendix C Carion's Chronicle - Stemma of Editions 375 Appendix D Carion's Chronicle - Indices to the Editions 380 Appendix E Carion's Chronicle - Census of Editions 395 Bibliography 491 Index 556