655J Tauler, Johann. (1300-1361)
Ain fast edele, nutzliche vnd ergründte Sermon, nyemandt nachtaylig, noch lesterlich, sonder ainem yetlichen war Christen Menschen offt zu leßen fruchtpar des erleychten Doc. Joanns Tauleri auff die Wort Christi Joan. X. “Wer nit eingeet in den Schaffstall durch die Thür etc., der ist ain Dieb vnd Morder. Darbey verfast : Sechs nutzliche leere, darynn der inwendig vnd außwendig Mensch geregiert soll werden. Auch etliche kurtze, doch gantz andechtige Gebeet zu getruckt.
[Augsburg: Philipp Ulhart or S. Grimm], 1523. Price $4,500
Quarto, 20 x 15.5cm. First edition A5 This is bound in boards covered with an early leaf.
This is the first and only edition of these sermons. The present sermon under the motto “Whoever does not enter the stables, through the door. He is a thief and a murderer” (Joh. 10) was very well suited in the fight against the papacy, so that it was printed by the great Augsburg Reformation printer Ulhart the Elder .These sermons represents a fascinating intersection of medieval mysticism and Reformation printing culture. Tauler’s spiritually rich preaching into a compact, accessible form—one that could be distributed widely and repurposed to support emerging Protestant spirituality.
Martin Luther who called Taluer “a man of great experience” (ein Mann von großer Erfahrung). valued Tauler because of his insight into man’s fallen nature and the unconquerable distance between God and man. Exactly these aspects are stressed in the Tauler sermon discussed here. Tauler’s preaching was reinterpreted or even appropriated as a pro-Reformation text. Luther found resonance in Tauler’s emphasis on the human need for grace, the path to true spiritual union, and the critique of external, legalistic religion. Schwenckfeld was deeply influenced by Tauler’s inward, mystical Christianity. He recommended Tauler’s sermons to his followers as a guide to “spiritual rebirth” and direct union with God, bypassing reliance on external church structures. Arndt, whose Wahres Christentum (True Christianity) was foundational for Lutheran pietism, frequently drew from Tauler’s mystical depth. He cited Tauler as a model of inner renewal and practical devotion, helping to bridge medieval mysticism and later Protestant spirituality.
Tauler was “one of the greatest German mystics and preachers of the Middle Ages, who understood the depth of thought of Meister Eckhart , the intimacy of Suso, the fire zeal of Berthold von Regensburg combined.” (Wetzer-W.).
Tauler’s sermons, written only in German, circulated widely in the Middle Ages in Germany and the Low Countries. Since Martin Luther made marginal notes on his copy of the 1508 Augsburg edition of Tauler’s sermons and obviously valued him highly, Tauler’s works were later read by Protestants as well as by Catholics. Tauler was less erudite and more practical than Eckhart, and his teaching was built on the devotional habits of his day. As a result he was able to transmit much of Eckhart’s basic teachings when Eckhart himself was branded as heretical. Some of Eckhart’s sermons were preserved under Tauler’s name and found their way into print in the 1521 Basel edition of Tauler’s works.
BNHCat T 57; VD16 J 782; urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb10165683-7
https://lobid.org/gnd/118621009
JAMESGRAY2@ME.COM
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