Mysticism and Dissent: Religious Ideology and Social Protest in the Sixteenth Century

New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1973. First Edition . Hard Back. Fine/Very Good. 6 1/2" X 9 1/2. McCrillis John O. C. - Design. 270 Pages Indexed. Year 1984 inked on front endpaper and there is oneother word that is blacked out with marker pen. Dust jacket is price clipped. No other defects noted to this otherwise as new book with flawless interior text pages. It is characteristic of social innovators in all ages that they have advanced the new by invoking the old. This seeming paradox has never been truer than in the sixteenth century. The most radical nonconformists, men now regarded as precursors of modern trends in social protest, looked backward for inspiration and justification to the religious writings of an earlier time. In the works of medieval mysticism these learned dissenters found a tradition to wield against tradition, a view of man's nature and God's design that could challenge, even undermine, ruling ideologies and institutions. Steven E. Ozment traces the dissemination of mystical literature among dissenters of diverse persuasions. He examines particularly the influence of the Theologia Deutsch, an anonymous treatise that was first edited by Martin Luther. He then turns, one by one, to the turbulent careers of six of the most potent dissenters of the age: Thomas Miintzer, Hans Hut, Hans Derick, Sebastian Franck, Sebastian Castellio, and Valentin Weigel. Carefully he investigates their appropriation of medieval mystical writings and the role these writings played in their social and religious protest. This study reconstructs the history of the Reformation as seen by those who stood outside the sphere of established ecclesiastical and political power. It illuminates the mixed legacy to modern times of a movement that judged social institutions by the values of mystical experience.