bavarikon4UDescription
Similar to the "Letter on Translating", the "Predigt, dass man Kinder zur Schulen halten soll" (Sermon on Keeping Children in School) is one of the texts written by Luther in 1530 on Coburg Fortress. Here, "sermon" is not to be understood in the narrow sense, but rather means a written appeal. It is dedicated to the highest secretary of the city council of Nuremberg, Lazarus Spengler (1479-1534), one of the most influential protagonists of the Reformation in the imperial city. As with the work on the 38th and 39th chapters from Ezekiel about Gog, the printer was Nickel Schirlentz in Wittenberg. With the "Sermon", Luther wished to start a reformatory "educational offensive". Lazarus Spengler is specifically selected as the addressee. Point of departure is the gap that the abolition of the (Catholic) monastic and collegiate schools meant for the educational system. Luther feared that merchants and peasants would rather let their children work for food and income than send them to school. He also worries that no one wants to pay for the maintenance of the schoolmasters and teachers. The text is also fundamental for Luther's definition of the preaching and parish office as a separate estate, to which he assigns "teachers, preachers, lecturers, priests (chaplains), ministers, schoolmasters and whatever else belongs to such ministries and persons" (fols. 18-19). Finally, he is concerned that talented children from simple backgrounds receive the necessary educational opportunities. Datum: 2016
Author
Landesbibliothek Coburg, Dr. Silvia Pfister