Karlstadt and the Origins of the Eucharistic Controversy examines the Reformation debate over the Eucharist through 1525, reevaluating the role played by Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt and emphasizing the diversity of the “sacramentarian” challenge to traditional belief in Christ's corporeal presence. It describes Martin Luther's criticisms of the mass and the first efforts in Wittenberg to reform liturgical praxis to correspond with his ideas, when differences between Luther and Karlstadt on the nature and course of reform first emerged. It then looks at pamphlets written by ... More

Karlstadt and the Origins of the Eucharistic Controversy examines the Reformation debate over the Eucharist through 1525, reevaluating the role played by Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt and emphasizing the diversity of the “sacramentarian” challenge to traditional belief in Christ's corporeal presence. It describes Martin Luther's criticisms of the mass and the first efforts in Wittenberg to reform liturgical praxis to correspond with his ideas, when differences between Luther and Karlstadt on the nature and course of reform first emerged. It then looks at pamphlets written by other reformers to show how Luther's understanding of the sacrament was adapted and modified outside of Wittenberg; differences between Wittenberg and the South German/Swiss reformers influenced by Ulrich Zwingli would also contribute to the later eucharistic controversy. The book then describes the development of Karlstadt's eucharistic theology over the course of 1524, showing the influence of Erasmus and of Cornelis Hoen on his discussions of the sacrament. Karlstadt's pamphlets in turn introduced into the public debate several arguments that would become standard Reformed criticisms of the Lutheran position. The book also demonstrates the influence of Hussite heresy on Karlstadt and the Swiss. Finally, it highlights the role of the reformers of Basel and Strasbourg in developing the early “Zwinglian” understanding of the Lord's Supper, describes the diffusion of the “sacramentarian” movement, and draws attention to the eucharistic theology of the Silesians Kaspar Schwenckfeld and Valentin Crautwald.