The Correspondence of Wolfgang Capito: Volume 2: 1524-1531

Wolfgang Capito (1478-1541) was one of the most important figures of the Reformation in Southern Germany, a leading churchman who turned from Catholic to Protestant. A professor of theology and advisor to the Archbishop of Mainz, he moved to Strasbourg and worked for two decades toward the reformation of the city, which became, after Wittenberg, the most active centre of the Reformation movement. This volume - the second of three - is a fully annotated translation of Capito’s existing correspondence, covering the years 1524-31, during which the Reformation took root in Strasbourg. It was characterized by the strenuous efforts of Capito and his fellow reformer Martin Bucer to enlist the support of the city council in establishing an evangelical church, to vanquish Catholic opponents in court, in polemical writings and public disputations. The same years also saw disputes among the reformers over the interpretation of the Eucharist. Erika Rummel’s head- and footnotes provide historical context by identifying classical, patristic, and biblical quotations as well as persons and places. This volume continues in the tradition of rigorous scholarship established by the first, providing crucial details on the evolution of Capito’s thought to Reformation scholars.