Argula von Grumbach, Wie eine christliche Frau des Adels..., Nuremberg 1523 (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Res/4 Bavar. 3001,9)

The pamphlet is the printed version of a letter sent by Argula von Grumbach (c.1492–c.1554) to the Hohe Schule (University) in Ingolstadt. In this work, she takes a very critical look at the sanctions imposed by the university on the Magister Arsacius Seehofer (d. 1545).

After studying theology in Wittenberg, Seehofer obtained his master’s degree in Ingolstadt in 1522. When he gave a lecture that used material by Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560), the university condemned him to the revocation of the reformatory doctrine and banned him to Ettal monastery.

From the viewpoint of Argula von Grumbach, the Hohe Schule had thus violated the Word of God, taught by Martin Luther (1483–1546) and Melanchthon. In her work, she goes on to say that God would punish those responsible with hell if they did not renounce their sentence. The constantly repeated leitmotif of the entire text is the dichotomy of darkness and light which describes the contrast between error and redemption.

Grumbach’s letter went to press without her knowledge. Andreas Osiander (1498–1552) probably gave the commission; he also wrote the “Preface”. Grumbach probably gave her approval only in retrospect. Since it was a sensation for the time that a woman published her writings, there quickly developed a great demand for the pamphlet. Up to 1524, it had appeared in 14 editions. Here a copy from the Nuremberg workshop of Friedrich Peypus (1485–1534) is shown.

To the digitised copy