War against the Idols: The Reformation of Worship from Erasmus to Calvin

335 Pages·1989·7.42 MB·English

by  Carlos M. N. Eire

WAR AGAINST THE IDOLS

WAR AGAINST THE IDOLS
THE REFORMATION OF WORSHIP
FROM ERASMUS TO CALVIN
CARLOS M. N. EIRE
University of Virginia
The right of the
University of Cambridge
to print and sell
all manner of books
was granted by
Henry VIII in 1534.
The University has printed
and published continuously
since 1584.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge
New York New Rochelle
Melbourne Sydney
To
the memory of my father
and to
my mother
Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP
32 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022, USA
10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne, 3166, Australia
© Cambridge University Press 1986
First published 1986
First paperback edition 1989
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eire, Carlos M. N.
War against the idols.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Idolatry - History - 16th century. 2. Public
workship - History - 16th century. 3. Reformation.
I. Title.
BR307.E57 1986 248.3W031 85-29069
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eire, Carlos M. N.
War against the idols: the reformation of worship
from Erasmus to Calvin.
1. Worship - History 2. Protestants - Attitudes
3. Reformation
I. Title
264 BL550
ISBN 0 521 30685 X hard covers
ISBN 0 521 37984 9 paperback
Frontispiece: Matthias Gerung, Three Groups Engaged in Idolatry
(1540s). From: Walter L. Strauss, The German Single-Leaf Woodcut,
1550-1600 (3 vols., New York, 1975), vol. I, p. 311.
Transferred to digital printing 2003
Contents
Acknowledgments page vii
Abbreviations ix
INTRODUCTION 1
1 THE STATE OF LAY DEVOTION IN THE LATE
MIDDLE AGES 8
Medieval critiques of popular religion 18
2 ERASMUS AS CRITIC OF LATE MEDIEVAL
PIETY 28
Erasmus and humanistic primitivism 28
Erasmus's critique of late medieval piety 36
The limitations of the Erasmian critique 45
3 EARLY REFORMERS AND THE QUESTION OF
IDOLATRY 54
Karlstadt and the idols at Wittenberg 55
Luther's response to Karlstadt's iconoclasm 65
Ulrich Zwingli and the reformation of worship at
Zurich 73
Bullinger and the history of idolatry 86
Martin Bucer and the Reformation in Strassburg 89
From theology to propaganda: popular attacks on
Catholic piety 94
Drawing the battle lines 104
4 ICONOCLASM, REVOLUTION, AND THE
REFORMATION IN SWITZERLAND AND
GENEVA, 1527-1536 105
Bern 108
The spread of iconoclasm 112
Basel 114
Contents
Neuchatel 119
Iconoclasm and the Reformation in Geneva, 1530-6 122
Iconoclasm as a revolutionary tactic 151
5 HUMANISM AND REFORM IN FRANCE:
THE SEEDS OF CALVINISM 166
Lefevre and late medieval piety 168
The two branches of the Fabrician reform 182
The Affair of the Placards 189
Lefevre's contribution to Protestantism 193
6 JOHN CALVIN'S ATTACK ON IDOLATRY 195
Calvin's theology of worship 197
Calvin's analysis of reverential acts 212
Pollution and punishment: the dangers of misdirected
worship 225
Calvin's challenge 228
7 CALVIN AGAINST THE NICODEMITES 234
Calvin's involvement with Nicodemism 235
Calvin's anti-Nicodemite writings 240
The evidence reconsidered 250
The political dimensions of Calvin's opposition to
compromise 254
Calvin's anti-Nicodemite theology 256
Calvin's alternatives to compromise 259
Calvin's agenda 271
8 FROM ICONOCLASM TO REVOLUTION:
THE POLITICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE
WAR AGAINST IDOLATRY 276
Calvinist iconoclasm in Western Europe 279
The development of theories of resistance 282
Lutheranism and the question of resistance 284
Calvinist theories of resistance 287
The further development of Calvinist resistance
theories 296
Idolatry as the Calvinist shibboleth 304
CONCLUSION 311
Index 319
VI
Acknowledgments
To the many who have personally aided my research and writing
over the past eight years, I extend my thanks. Above all, I am indebt-
ed to Steven Ozment, who patiently directed an earlier version of the
project as my dissertation advisor at Yale University, and who has
since continued to support and encourage my efforts. I owe much to
him. For guidance and inspiration at various times, I would like to
thank Natalie Zemon Davis, William Monter, Robert Kingdon, Carl
Christensen, and, in a special way, John Tedeschi. I am also indebted
to the two anonymous readers for Cambridge University Press,
whose perceptive comments and suggestions helped make this a bet-
ter work in many ways. Peter Brown, who would be surprised to
know that he unintentionally suggested the project when he came to
speak about the sacred in late antiquity one April afternoon in New
Haven, also deserves to be thanked. The monks of St. John's Abbey
and University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where I taught for two
years, were most supportive of my work, and this book, in no small
way, is a tribute to their ecumenical spirit. Here at the University of
Virginia, I have profited greatly from the wisdom of H. C. Erik Mid-
elfort, as well as from the advice and encouragement of other col-
leagues who suggested improvements and urged me to press on,
especially Martin Jaffee, James Childress, David Little, and Gerald
Fogarty. Friends and associates who provided less tangible, but no
less significant support, are Susan Snyder, Jure Kristo, James Lati-
mer, Elizabeth Carroll-Horrocks, Arnold Snyder, and Thomas Safley.
Gail Moore and Daniel Smith, who "keyboarded" the manuscript on
a word processor, also deserve credit for making this possible. Final-
ly, in a most special way, I want to thank Jane Ulrich, my wife, for
making it all worthwhile.
The following have funded this project and helped make my re-
search possible: The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry
Library in Chicago, with Fellowships from the National Endowment
for the Humanities (1980) and the Exxon Educational Foundation
vii
Acknowledgments
(1982); the University of Virginia, with a Faculty Summer Research
Grant (1983); The Center for Reformation Research in St. Louis, with
a Junior Fellowship; and the Council on West European Studies at
Yale, with a research grant.
Portions of this book have previously appeared, in much different
form, as articles. A greatly condensed version of the conclusions
reached in Chapter 4 received the Carl Meyer Memorial Prize at the
Sixteenth Century Studies Conference in St. Louis in 1980, and re-
cently appeared, in a further revised form, in the Journal of the Rocky
Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association (1983), under the title
"Iconoclasm as a Revolutionary Tactic: The Case of Switzerland 1524-
1536." A section of Chapter 7 was included in "Prelude to Sedition?
Calvin's Attack on Nicodemism and Religious Compromise," Archiv
fiir Reformationsgeschichte, 76 (1985). Other brief portions of Chapter 7
appeared in "Calvin and Nicodemism: A Reappraisal," Sixteenth Cen-
tury Journal, 10 (1979). I am grateful to the editors of these journals for
their permission to use this material.
vm
Abbreviations
Allen Erasmi Epistolae, edited by P. S. and H. M. Allen (Ox-
ford, 1906-1958).
ARG Archiv fur Reformationsgeschichte.
AS Erasmus von Rotterdam Ausgewdhlte Schriften, edited by
W. Welzig (8 vols., Darmstadt, 1968-).
CR Corpus Reformatorum: Joannis Calvini Opera auae super-
sunt omnia, edited by W. Baum, E. Cunitz, and E.
Reuss (Brunswick, 1863-80).
DS Martin Bucers Deutsche Schriften, edited by R. Stup-
perich (Paris/Giitersloh, I960-).
Herminjard Correspondance des Reformateurs dans les Pays de Langue
Frangaise, edited by A. L. Herminjard (Paris/Geneva,
1866-97). Reissued by B. DeGraaf (Niewkoop, 1965).
Latin Works The Latin Works and the Correspondence of Huldreich
Zwingli, together with Selections from His German Works,
edited by S. M. Jackson (3 vols., New York, 1912;
Philadelphia, 1922, 1929).
Levain Jeanne de Jussie, he Levain du Calvinisme ou Commence-
ment de VHeresie de Geneve, edited by A. C. Grivel
(Geneva, 1865).
LW Luther's Works, edited by J. Pelikan, H. T. Lehmann,
et al. (St. Louis/Philadelphia, 1955-).
RC Les Registres du Conseil de Geneve, edited by E. Rivoire
and V. van Berchem (13 vols., Geneva, 1900-1940).
WA D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe
(Weimar, 1883-).
ZW Huldreich Zwinglis Samtliche Werke, edited by E. Egli,
W. Kohler, F. Blanke, et al. (Berlin/Zurich, 1905-).
Unless otherwise stated, all translations are my own.
DC