Philip Melanchthon's Humanist Politics: Greek Scholarship in a Time of Confessional Crisis
This article examines how Philip Melanchthon utilized classical Greek texts in the confessional conflicts of the Reformation. In 1521, Melanchthon published a Greek edition of Aristophanes’ Clouds as a critique of sophistry, and in 1527 he produced a Latin translation of Demosthenes’ speeches Agains...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
2022
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In: |
Reformation & Renaissance review
Year: 2022, Volume: 24, Issue: 1, Pages: 23-43 |
Further subjects: | B
Philip Melanchthon
B Xenophon B Aristophanes B Greek B Demosthenes B Humanism |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | This article examines how Philip Melanchthon utilized classical Greek texts in the confessional conflicts of the Reformation. In 1521, Melanchthon published a Greek edition of Aristophanes’ Clouds as a critique of sophistry, and in 1527 he produced a Latin translation of Demosthenes’ speeches Against Aristogeiton as a rebuke of Johann Agricola's antinomianism. In the 1540s, when the Reformation came under political pressure from the Holy Roman Empire, Melanchthon used a 1540 edition of Xenophon to plead for political aid from the French crown and a 1547 edition of Demosthenes to critique Charles V's aggression. Finally, in 1548, as Melanchthon came under fire from Catholics and Gnesio-Lutherans, he turned to Athenian oratory to defend himself in the Augsburg Interim controversy. As these episodes show, Melanchthon's Greek scholarship was intimately connected with his career as a reformer, and Greek proved to be a powerful tool in addressing doctrinal controversy and political conflict. |
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ISSN: | 1743-1727 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Reformation & Renaissance review
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/14622459.2021.1999783 |