Communal Transformations of Church Space in Lutheran Lübeck
Selwyn College, Cambridge
bblee{at}post.harvard.edu
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Abstract |
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Though Johannes Bugenhagen instituted the structures for Lutheran reform in 1530, the impetus for reform in Lübeck came foremost from a specific stratum of ‘unofficial’ culture. Lübeck, a powerful trading city in modern-day Germany on the Baltic Sea, and head of the transnational Hanseatic League, was controlled by a wealthy and influential merchant class. The participation of this merchant class in the reconfiguration of the city's churches attests to its enthusiasm for the Lutheran cause and also belies the rigidity of the social hierarchy that organized Lübeck's society. As a result of this enthusiasm, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw the addition of candleholders, pews, and tombstones to the architecture of Lübeck's churches. A further look at the key features of a Lutheran service, particularly where the Word figured prominently in the sermon and in the music, leads to the discovery of the elaboration of the pulpit and organs. Lutheran art in sacred spaces primarily testified to the faith of a pious and wealthy burgher community in Lübeck.
Keywords: material culture, Lutheran Reformation, sacred space, Lübeck, materialization of the Word, participation of (Lutheran) congregation