Manetsch, Scott M.

English

Zwingliana

Buchbesprechungen Zeilenfall ganz zufällig. Eine Brief-edition sollte doch wohl in der Hauptsache den Willen des Schrei-bers ausdrücken, was aber ziemlich vereitelt wird, wenn dessen Zusätze am Rand nicht in den Text hineinge-nommen, aber dessen Streichungen dort belassen werden. Als Beispiel sei S. 756, Z. 21-22 ausgewählt: «... vnnd werdend wier dero von straß-burg + all hie erwarten ...», ein Satz, den Manuel nicht so gewollt hat, sondern erst seinen Sinn erhält, wenn beim Auslassungszeichen + das am Rand stehende «antwurt» eingesetzt wird. Störend aufgefallen sind dem Rezensenten recht zahlrei-Correspondance de Theodore de Beze, recueillie par Hippolyte Au-bert, publiee par Alain Dufour, Bea-trice Nicoliier et Herve Genton, tome 21: 1580, Droz, 1999. XXIX, 337 S., ISBN 2-600-00321-5. Theodore Beza feels the effect of old age by 1580. A serious hing infection connnes him to bed for seven weeks. He is weary of polemical strife and crushed by sorrow at the desperate State of the French church. Never-theless, the sexagenarian reformer remains resolute: «Even if I cannot do what I wish, I do what I can» (1421). The fifty-nine letters that comprise this present volume attest to Beza's unwavering commitment to the cause of international (Re-formed) Protestantism, despite set-backs and discouragement. The major figures in his epistolary net-che Schreibfehler (nur teilweise mit unterschiedlichen Zeichentabellen der Computer erklärbar), etwa weg-gelasen (S. 14), Baechtholds (S. 191), allerdings (S. 257), sch±ch (S. 276), das statt dass (S. 763). Diese Ein-wendungen sollen aber nicht gene-rell den Wert dieser Edition herab-setzen, sie mögen vielmehr darauf hinweisen, dass auch ein solches und - es sei abschliessend nochmals be-tont - verdienstvolles Werk mit der nötigen Aufmerksamkeit benutzt werden will. Heinzpeter Stucki, Zürich work have not changed from recent years: Rudolf Gwalther in Zürich, Laurent Dürnhoffer in Nuremberg, Jean-Jacques Grynaeus in Basle, Peter Young in Scotland, Andre Du-dith in Hungary, and William IV, Landgrave of Hesse. Beza's literary works take center stage in 1580. After more than a dec-ade of preparation, the Histoire ec-clesiastique des Eglises reformees is published (anonymously) in Gene-va. The editors of the Correspond-ance marshall evidence from a var-iety of Genevan sources to show convincingly Beza's paternity of this massive-and immensely important-history of the Reformed religion in France from its inception to 1563 (see the introduction, 1440, 1451, as well as Annex II). At the same time, Beza refutes the sacramental theol-ogy of Josse de Harchies in De 146 Zwingliana XXIX, 2002 Buchbesprechungen Coena Domini while looking to Gwalther for help in quieting the furor in Bern provoked by the pub-lication of his De peste the previous year (1404, 1418). Finally, Beza's much-awaited Icones sees the light of day. In a preface dedicated to the young Scottish king James VI, Beza praises churchmen and princes of the past who served the Protestant Ref-ormation, even as he attempts to pre-empt criticism of the inclusion of visual images of these deceased <he-roes> (1403). In the meantime, chaos reigns in many corners of the French king-dom: peasants are rioting in Dau-phine and Vivarais; the plague rages in Paris and Orleans; Catholic forces besiege La Fere and La Mure; and Navarre initiates the so-called <War of Lovers> against the crown. Beza puts it succinctly: In Gallia gliscunt omnia in pejus (1396). Protestants are unwilling to give up their forti-fied cities, trusting neither Henri III's ability nor desire to protect them. Beza himself fears that the cri-sis of his beloved country threatens all of Europe (1400). In a desperate effort to disarm the Huguenots, the French king sends a secret emissary to Vufflens to solicit Beza's assist-ance (see the remarkable account in Appendix IV). While the Genevan reformer longs for peace in France, he remains suspicious of the king and is hesitant to help. But neither does he fully trust the Protestant princes Navarre and Conde (1433). Navarre clearly feels the reformer's disapproval when he writes Geneva at the end of the year, defending the Peace of Fleix which he negotiated without Consulting his allies (1447). Elsewhere, the future of Reformed Protestantism appears equally tenu-ous. The duke of Anjou's military campaigns in the Low Countries and his proposed marriage to Elizabeth of England threaten to draw Spain into war against France. Beza con-tinues to dislike Anjou: the Dutch are simply trading Charybdis for Scylla (1431). In Germany, mean-while, the Book of Concord is pub-lished in June. Beza and Gwalther remain horrified by this Lutheran confessional standard-this spurius foetus-and coordinate their efforts to support those German princes who have not yet subscribed to it (1412, 1416). In a letter to the Land-grave of Hesse, Beza wonders if God has perhaps turned his back on these <first-born sons> of the Reformation even as he had once rejected the el-dest sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (1434). Closer to home, the death of the duke of Savoy Emma-nuel Philibert and the accession of his son Charles Emmanuel bodes ill for the future. As always, Geneva finds herseif between the hammer and the anvil (1437). We learn much about Beza's life, theology, and ministry from this col-lection of letters as well. The reform-er's deep affection and concern for his homeland is evident throughout. «If I had one hundred thousand lives, I would employ them for the glory of God and the peace of our poor patria« (1402). By contrast, he Zwingliana XXIX, 2002 147 Buchbesprechungen remains intractable in his Opposition to episcopal government (satanica tyrannis, 1409) and a harsh critic of the philosophy of Peter Ramus (1442). In a letter to Ursinus, Beza praises Aristotelian logic as a gift of God by which truth can be discerned from error (1442). More than a theo-logian and scholar, Beza is also a pas-tor whose practical counsel is sol-icited and valued. His view of pre-baptismal exorcisms and his ad-vice on various marriage irregular-ities, though not surprising, provide ample witness to his influence and authority among the Reformed of Europe (1444,1427,1438). The twenty-first volume of the Cor-respondance of Theodore Beza achieves the high Standards set by previous volumes. The editorial team of Alain Dufour, Beatrice Ni-coliier, and Herve Genton (a new-comer to the team) has served the reader well by including detailed re-sumes of each letter and an extensive index. Once again, the copious foot-Christine Stuber, «Eine fröhliche Zeit der Erweckung für viele». Quellenstudien zur Erweckungsbe-wegung in Bern 1818-1831, Peter Lang, Bern etc. 2000 (Basler und Berner Studien zur historischen und systematischen Theologie, Bd. 69), 391 S. Die Berner Erweckungsbewegung (EB) ist bislang lediglich im Rahmen von kirchengeschichtlichen Über-blicksdarstellungen sowie im Rah-notes display impressive research, precision, and erudition. (We sug-gest one minor correction: on page 52, the editors State that around sixty French ministers sought refuge in Geneva following the St. Bartholo-mew's Day massacres. In fact, this clerical exile Company numbered no less than ninety-five. See CB XIV, 282-93). The introduction to this volume is particularly important, providing a careful and convincing defense of Beza's authorship of the Histoire ecdesiastique. The reader will also want to pay careful atten-tion to the appendices of this fas-cicle, among them a transcript of Beza's interview with the French ambassador at Vufflens, and the pref aces to the Histoire ecdesiastique and the Icones. From beginning to end, this volume of Theodore Beza's Correspondance merits careful study and much praise. Scott M. Manetsch Deerfield, Illinois USA men von Spezialuntersuchungen zu den zahlreichen, noch heute existie-renden diakonischen Einrichtungen und kirchlichen Gemeinschaften (z.B. Evangelische Gesellschaft des Kantons Bern, Freie Evangelische Gemeinden der Schweiz) untersucht worden, die ihre Anfänge auf die Ber-ner EB zurückführen. Ausgehend von einer programmatischen Sicht der EB als «kirchliche[r] Erneue-rungsbewegung» (Kurztext Um-schlagrückseite) setzt sich diese ma-148 Zwingliana XXIX, 2002 

Correspondance de Théodore de Bèze, recueillie par Hippolyte Aubert, publié par Alain Dufour, Béatrice Nicollier et Hervé Genton, tome 21: 1580, Genf 1999

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Correspondance de Théodore de Bèze, recueillie par Hippolyte Aubert, publié par Alain Dufour, Béatrice Nicollier et Hervé Genton, tome 21: 1580, Genf 1999

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