Das Karlstadt-Bild in der Forschung

Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt (1486-1541) was the first colleague of Martin Luther in Wittenberg to stand up for him academically and publicly in his writings. He was also the first one to have a falling out with him. Thus Karlstadt's significance for the Reformation has always been regarded somewhat ambivalently. Although some saw him as the prototypical betrayer of Reformation unity, for others he became a role model for reformed, congregational or Anabaptist elements in the early Wittenberg Reformation. Martin Keßler emphasizes the exigency of a fundamental revision of Karlstadt's image. He portrays the significant studies written on Karlstadt since the 17th century and examines the major developments in historical and theological research in the 19th and 20th centuries.