Manetsch, Scott M.

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Zwingliana

Buchbesprechungen188 Zwingliana XXXII, 2005Gesamtauseinandersetzung. – MN be-schreibt aufgrund intensiven Aktenstu-diums anständig, aber doch auch undrichtigerweise erbost, wie machtorien-tiert da seitens der Kirchenleitung Men-schenschach gespielt worden ist: Ich seheBauernopfer, kleine und grosse Rocha-den zur Sicherung eigener Positionenund den stetigen Drang zur Schachmatt-setzung des ebenso verteufelten wieletztlich wenig bekannten Gegners.Mit einer ausführlichen Analyse der(späten) theologischen und anthroposo-phischen Kontroversschriften (7.) undBeobachtungen zum Gesamtverlauf derAuseinandersetzung in Bern (8.)schliesst der historische Teil (und die ei-gentliche Dissertation) ab; in einem letz-ten (9.) Kapitel werden Fragen zur ge-genwärtigen Spannungslage und einigeHandlungsdesiderate ausgesprochen.Nicht, dass sich das Buch leicht lesenliesse: Vielfache Verzahnungen zwischenden Kapiteln und einige Redundanzen,ergänzt um gelegentliche Lektoratsfehl-leistungen, streuen ein wenig Sand insLangstrecken-Leseauge (481 Seiten biszur immer noch umfangreichen Anmer-kung 1420). Andrerseits macht das Buchhellwach, schärft auf historischemUmweg den Verstand für gegenwärtigeSpannungsfragen, lädt mit bemerkens-werten Beobachtungen und Analysen(die Anthroposophie als Erweckungsbe-wegung . . .) zum Weiterdenken ein undlässt insbesondere den Konfessions-kundler in mir aufmerken: Wem werdenSynodalratspräsidentinnen des Jahres2049 die Hand zur Entschuldigung rei-chen müssen?Marc van Wijnkoop Lüthi, LigerzCorrespondance de Théodore de Bèze,recueillie par Hippolyte Aubert, publiéepar Alain Dufour, Béatrice Nicollier,Hervé Genton, tome 22: 1581, Genève:Droz 2000, XXXIII, 270 S., ISBN:2-600-00401-7Several days before his sixty-secondbirthday in June 1581, Beza noted that hewas entering the «climactic year» of hislife, the year believed by the ancients tobe especially ill-fated and dangerous.However, Christian hope called for a dif-ferent attitude toward the future: «Iwould be the happiest of men if this yearwas for me a stairway into heaven»(# 1481). Dread and hope – these conflict-ing emotions find frequent expression inthe forty-eight letters that compriseBeza’s published correspondence for1581. Nearly two-thirds of these epistol-ary exchanges are with three long-trustedfriends, Rudolf Gwalther (antistes of Zu-rich), Jean-Jacques Grynaeus (professorat Basle) and Laurent Dürnhoffer (pastorat Nuremberg). With these men Bezaregularly discusses his theologicalopinions, formulates strategy, and shareshis fears. Beza also maintains contactwith several high-placed English andScottish Protestants (William Cecil,George Buchanan) and receives import-ant letters from the French historian LaPopelinière and the Huguenot chief (andfuture French king) Henry of Navarre.The publication of the Lutheran Formu-la of Concord (1577) – with its explicitcondemnation of the «sacramentarians»– continues to send shockwaves throughthe Reformed world. Beza’s letters de-scribe final scenes of this tragedy: Au-guste of Saxony has purged moderateLutherans from the faculty at the Uni-versity of Wittenberg. Jacob Andreae,the champion of the doctrine of ubiquity,has now become like a pope for Gnesio-Lutherans (# 1454). Even in Strasbourgthe ubiquitarians appear to have won:BuchbesprechungenZwingliana XXXII, 2005 189from their pulpits, city preachers attackReformed Protestants as worse thanJews and Muslims; in the streets, peopleangrily denounce the names of Calvinand Zwingli. «Poor, miserable Ger-many,» Gwalther mourns, «where thosewho ought to provide healing for othersare themselves sick beyond cure»(# 1492). Through much of 1581 Bezaand Gwalther attempt to organize a uni-fied response to the German crisis. TheReformed cities of Switzerland applydiplomatic pressure on Strasbourg (Ap-pendix I). More significantly, after sev-eral years in discussion, Jean-FrançoisSalvard finally completes the HarmoniaConfessionum. Beza hopes that this har-mony of thirteen Protestant confessions(including the Second Helvetic Confes-sion and the Augsburg Confession) willdemonstrate the broad appeal of Re-formed Christianity and its substantialagreement with Lutheran doctrine. Thepreface to the Harmonia (written byBeza and Salvard) calls for unity andChristian charity. It concludes with thewords of Psalm 133:1: Ecce quam bonumet quam jucundum est consentire fratresin unum (Appendix VII).Problems also abound in France. ThePeace of Fleix, concluded the previousyear between Henry of Navarre andAlençon, the Duke of Anjou (brother ofHenry III), has failed to pacify the king-dom. Fighting continues in Dauphiné,not far from Geneva. As before, the Re-formed churches survive «under thecross» (# 1499). In his darkest momentsBeza fears that conflict in France willsoon plunge the entire Christian Westinto chaos. Only repentance and prayercan exorcise this demon of violence(# 1463). Beza and other Reformedleaders remain suspicious not only of theCatholic Anjou – who is attempting tonegotiate a marriage with Elizabeth ofEngland – but also of the Huguenotprince Navarre, whose moral characterappears deficient and military decisionsdecidedly self-serving (# 1465). In Febru-ary, Navarre writes a long (clearly defen-sive) letter to Beza in which he justifiesthe Peace of Fleix and the behavior ofnobles in his household, and solicits thereformer’s attendance at the GeneralSynod of Montauban (convened inApril). Navarre concludes the letter byencouraging Beza to write him frequent-ly, to speak his mind freely, and «to con-tinue your good admonitions as if youwere my father» (# 1460). In the decade tocome, Beza regularly acts on this invi-tation.Theodore Beza’s health in 1581 has im-proved significantly from the previousyear. The Academy flourishes, with rec-ord enrollments. So too, Geneva is atpeace. But the reformer continues tosense danger. Beza hears rumors that theyoung Duke of Savoy Charles-Emma-nuel is forging an alliance with the popeand the king of Spain to attack Geneva(# 1486). Similarly, he suspects that theCatholic princes are plotting to imposeby force the decrees of Trent on Franceand Protestant Europe (# 1500). As al-ways, the Genevan church remains as vul-nerable as «a nest of swallows» (# 1479).Beza’s pen is active in 1581, highlightinghis various roles as polemicist, biblicalexegete, and historian. In the summer hefinishes Pro Corporis Christi Veritateagainst the Lutheran ubiquitarian Guil-laume Holder. Later in the fall, hiswritten reflections on seven penitentialPsalms are published under the titleChrestienes meditations (see the letter-preface, # 1496). At the same time, he isbusy revising his beloved Annotationeson the New Testament. «I prefer by faremending these Annotationes to thewriting of apologies and rehashing oldarguments,» he insists (# 1475). Beza’smost important contribution to biblicalBuchbesprechungen190 Zwingliana XXXII, 2005studies will be of a different sort: in 1581,the reformer donates to Cambridge Uni-versity a fifth-century Greek-Latinmanuscript of the Gospels and Acts (seeAppendix IX). Known today as CodexBezae (cod. D), this uncial manuscriptremains one of the earliest and most de-pendable witnesses available to the textof the New Testament. Finally, Beza’sview of historical writing is illustrated ina fascinating epistolary exchange withthe French historian Henri Lancelot Voi-sin, the sire of La Popelinière (see # 1458,# 1472). While Beza affirms La Popeli-nière’s principle of impartiality in thewriting of history, he insists that neutral-ity should never be allowed to obfuscatethe pure and simple truth of the past.The nascent conception of the historian’scraft once championed by La Popelinièrefinds mature and impressive expressionin this present volume of Beza’s Corre-spondance. As in previous volumes, edi-tors Dufour, Nicollier, and Genton haveproduced a critical edition that is «stateof the art.» The introduction provides anexcellent overview of the salient con-cerns and primary insights of the volumeas a whole. Each letter is prefaced by adetailed summary in French. The exten-sive annotations that follow each letterare rich in historical background andcommentary, informed by extensiveknowledge of relevant primary and sec-ondary literature. For the first time, theeditors have included brief biographicalsketches of Beza’s chief correspondentsat the beginning of the volume to helporient the reader. Beza’s premonition ofdisaster during this «climactic year,» un-realized in 1581, will be actualized thefollowing April when the Duke of Savoybesieged Geneva, commencing the so-called War of Raconis. But already, theletters included in this present volumecapture the acute sense of danger experi-enced by Beza and other Reformedchurchmen as they confronted Catholic– and Lutheran – Europe.Scott M. Manetsch, Deerfield,Illinois USACorrespondance de Théodore de Bèze,recueillie par Hippolyte Aubert, publiéepar Alain Dufour, Béatrice Nicollier,Hervé Genton, tome 23: 1582, Genève:Droz 2001, XXIX, 301 S., ISBN: 2-600-00487-4«I am by nature an optimist» – so writesTheodore Beza to his close friend JeanCrato, the personal physician of Emper-or Rudolph II, in the summer of 1582(# 1542). Beza’s letters on the whole vali-date this self-assessment: the reformer’sperspective on life is usually positive andhopeful, buoyed by confidence in God’sprovidence, despite physical ailments,personal tragedy, and recurring anxietyfor the well-being of Reformedchurches. Such optimism is severelytested in 1582, however, when Geneva isbesieged by the armies of her bellicoseneighbor, the duke of Savoy. Beza servesthe war effort with his pen, solicitingsupport from powerful allies and friends.Impressive is the list of these potentialbenefactors to whom Beza writes: Henryof Navarre, François de Châtillon, Mat-thieu Merle, Peter Beutterich, WilliamCecil, and Francis Walsingham. Non-etheless, Beza’s most trusted correspon-dents remain Rudolf Gwalther of Zu-rich, Jean-Jacques Grynaeus of Basle,and Laurent Dürnhoffer of Nuremberg.Nearly half of the fifty-seven lettersfound in this present volume are address-ed to or received from these three men.The so-called War of Raconis betweenGeneva and Savoy looms large on Beza’s

Correspondance de Théodore de Bèze, recueillie par Hippolyte Aubert, publiée par Alain Dufour, Béatrice Nicollier, Hervé Genton, tome 22: 1581, Genève 2000

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Correspondance de Théodore de Bèze, recueillie par Hippolyte Aubert, publiée par Alain Dufour, Béatrice Nicollier, Hervé Genton, tome 22: 1581, Genève 2000

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