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thanks kurt, I do in fact have access to this. Duffy is dealing with English stuff, though, and I´m more interested in Lutheran, specifically in Scandinavia. I suspect that you are right and that altars were just left
alone, but it would be nice to have confirmation - also whether the relics they were (supposed to) contain were removed!
Margaret
I have a very vague memory of a scene from Luther's life (it may even be recounted in the Table Talk volume of Luther's Works) in which he had gone to Lubeck or something and when he returned to Wittenberg, the people were ripping out the altars and crucifixes and relics. He asked them, "What the hell are you doing?" They replied, "We're getting rid of the graven images like you said." His response was something to the effect of, "Look, don't take everything so literally! I was using hyperbole for effect! Now, put all that stuff back in the church where it belongs!"
I will defer to people who actually study the Reformation era on the Continent and in Scandinavia. That said, my impression from when I was a Lutheran is that it would probably have varied a bit from place to place. The Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish churches seemed to have retained quite a bit of their "catholicism," so I'm thinking those churches probably just kept their altars and relics in place (I suspect that this is also true in Iceland and in the Baltic region ruled by the Teutonic Knights) and simply switched their "allegiance." I have the feeling that in Germany, things were more contentious and it probably depended on the local prince, quite a bit. In places where the prince was both powerful and became Lutheran readily, they probably kept their altars and relics in place, while in regions where the prince was Catholic, the Lutherans were probably largely driven from their churches. When it came time to build new churches, I don't think the Lutherans worried about including relics in them.
Again, that's just my impression. I could be very wrong.
- Kurt
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religionGreetings all,
I´m trying to find out, more so for Lutheran countries than Anglican ones (but I´m happy with anything!) what happened to altars at the Reformation? Did they continue in use? Were they destroyed and new ones built (I expect replaced by communion tables in Calvinist countries?)
Were the relics removed and the continued to be used? And in that connection, we know that altars were supposed to contain a relic (or a piece of the consecrated host) but is there any evidence as to the extent that this rule was or was not followed?
All the best,Meg