Zwei Schwerter - Zwei Reiche

There is still some apprehension among Protestants about determining the relationship between church and state with the help of Luther's doctrine of two kingdoms. One of the reasons for this is that up to now Luther's historical qualifications had not been studied sufficiently. Volker Mantey closes this gap by examining the late medieval history of the tradition of Luther's doctrine of two kingdoms. He does so by analyzing the doctrine of two swords from 1300 on, looking at its significance for the relationship between church and state. It was used not only to support the papal claim to worldly supremacy but also to create a distance to the Pope and to maintain a worldly independence.