Critic of power and advisor of princes: the court preacher in Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel 1568-1714

In Co-operation with the Interdisziplinären Institut für Kulturgeschichte der Frühen Neuzeit
at the Universität Osnabrück (IKFN)

Internetportal:  http://www.oberhofprediger.de

Early modern court preachers acted at the interface of courtly pastoral care, scholarly theological discourse, executive power, political consulting and personal faith. They constituted an especially influential group within the variety of early modern elites. A closer examination of court preachers can broaden the understanding of political culture, modern state building and the development of church and theology between the 16th and 18th century.

Inquiring and examining the fields, scopes and conditions of action of the court preachers of the duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel will be the aim of an interdisciplinary research project jointly organised by the Herzog August Bibliothek (HAB) Wolfenbüttel and the Interdisziplinäres Institut für Kulturgeschichte der Frühen Neuzeit (IKFN) at the University of Osnabrück. Within the framework of this project three extensive biographical case studies are being produced. At the HAB a monograph study is being composed, dealing with the influential and combative court preacher Basilius Sattler (1549-1624), who was active for more than fifty years in the duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The study aims at reconstructing Sattler's fields of social interaction, his guiding principles and the strategies and forms which characterised his behaviour in order to gain a precise measure of his political scope of action. The two further studies conducted at the IKFN are dedicated to the court preachers Joachim Lütkemann (1608-1655) and Eberhard Finen (1668-1726). A comparison of the three studies allows to point out trends and developments in the office of the court preacher for about 150 years.

A conference was held in October 2011 to promote scholarly discussion on the phenomenon of the court preacher in early modern Europe. Preliminary results from the various contributing projects were presented in a forum that enabled comparisons across denominations and a wide geographical area. The proceedings will be published in a conference volume in 2013. A significant part of the project was dedicated to digitising key sources and making them available for research online. Guest seminars, a summer school and an e-learning module are all part of the project’s outreach to students and younger scholars, introducing them to this important area of research.

Financed by: Aided with research funds of the federal State of Lower Saxony
Head of Project: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gleixner
Researcher: Dr. Matthias Meinhardt, Alexander Zirr M.A.
Tel. +49(0)5331/808-233, -246, -321, Telefax: +49(0)5331/808-277
Head of Project IKFN: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Adam, Prof. Dr. Siegrid Westphal, Prof. Dr. Martin Jung
Researcher: Alexandra Faust M.A., Christian Deuper M.Ed.
Tel. +49(0)541/969-4535, -4418, -4216, 4642, -4641