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Literary Collections Ancient, Classical & Medieval

The Correspondence of Wolfgang Capito

Volume 1: 1507-1523

edited by Erika Rummel

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Nov 2005
Category
Ancient, Classical & Medieval, Medieval
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802099556
    Publish Date
    Jan 2010
    List Price
    $225.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802090171
    Publish Date
    Dec 2005
    List Price
    $149.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781487525880
    Publish Date
    Feb 2020
    List Price
    $26.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442681064
    Publish Date
    Nov 2005
    List Price
    $131.00

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Description

Wolfgang Capito (1478–1541) was one of the most important figures of the Reformation, a leading churchman who turned from Catholic to Protestant. A professor of theology and advisor to the Archbishop of Mainz, he moved to Strasbourg and worked for two decades toward the reformation of the city, which became, after Wittenberg, the most active centre of the Reformation movement.

This volume – the first of three – is a fully annotated translation of Capito’s existing correspondence, covering the years 1507–1523. The letters reveal his dialogue with leading humanists and reformers, such as Erasmus and Luther (with whom Capito had a contentious relationship), and reflect the cultural and political milieu of the time. They also offer significant insights into the progress of the Reformation. Erika Rummel’s head- and footnotes provide historical context by identifying classical and biblical quotations as well as persons and places.

The volume will aid historians of the Reformation by elucidating as yet imperfectly understood aspects of Capito’s thought, such as his efforts to promote concord between the reformers, his stand in the Eucharistic controversy, the nature and limitations of his tolerance toward Anabaptists, and his views on the relationship between secular and church governments.

About the author

Erika Rummel has taught at the University of Toronto and WLU, Waterloo. She has lived in big cities (Los Angeles, Vienna) and small villaes in Argentina, Romania, and Bulgaria. She has written extensively on social history, translated the correspondence of inventor Alfred Nobel, the humanist Erasmus, and the Reformer Wolfgang Capito. She is the author of a number of historical novels, most recently The Road to Gesualdo and The Inquisitor's Niece, which was judged best historical novel of the year by the Colorado Independent Publishers' Association. In 2018 the Renaissance Society of America honoured her with a lifetime achievement award. She divides her time between living in Toronto and Santa Monica, California. The Loneliness of the Time Traveller is her eighth novel.

Erika Rummel's profile page