History

In his letters from 1694-1696, Philipp Jakob Spener, the driving force behind the Pietist movement, presents himself as a committed author of controversial writings on topics that were contentious in the Pietist environment. He proves to be a strategist for the appointment of theological chairs in Halle and Giessen and pastorates in Brandenburg. Volume 2 of the »Letters from the Berlin Period« contains 212 letters from the years 1694-1696.

The letter books of the Benedictine nuns of Lüne Abbey provide an insight into their daily life, their interaction with the provost, their families and other convents, and the struggle against the Lutheran Reformation. The edition includes over 450 letters, written in Latin, Low German, and a characteristic mix of both.

This feminist commentary on Massekhet Shevuʿot examines the role of gender in legal oaths. Tanja Hidde analyzes women’s participation in court and their exclusion as witnesses, while Tal Ilan explores how the Babylonian rabbis connect the oath-swearing of the suspected adulteress in Numbers 5 to other oaths taken by both men and women.

Philipp Jakob Spener was the founder of the Lutheran pietistic movement; his letters are an essential source for research into the Early Modern Age, not only in terms of church history, but also regarding cultural history and the history of ideas. The »Letters from the Berlin Period« document the period of Spener's life as provost of the Church St. Nikolai in Berlin. Volume 1 contains 190 letters from June 1691 to the end of 1693.