Historic Anabaptist writings to be available online

[Crabtownboy]

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP) -- Writings of Balthasar Hubmaier, one of the most well known and respected Anabaptist theologians of the Reformation, will soon be available for online research, thanks to a project of European Baptist scholars.

The Institute of Baptist and Anabaptist Studies at International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic, and the German Baptist Seminary in Berlin recently announced that photographic reproductions of all of Hubmaier's surviving works would be scanned into digital images and made available on the Internet.

IBTS Rector Keith Jones called it a long-term project likely to take six months to a year to digitize the more than 30 short and long pamphlets that together amount to about 800 images.

The only Anabaptist theologian to complete theological studies leading to a doctor's degree, Hubmaier is credited with winning many converts to the movement through his preaching and writing.

Original 16th-century prints of his writings are scattered throughout libraries all over Europe. Few copies survived 500 years of history that included systematic suppression of the Anabaptist movement during the 16th and 17th centuries and the destruction of World War II. Photographic images of the originals were produced in the 1930s by an initiative of the Baptist World Alliance.

The scholars expect the digital edition to generate enthusiasm among Anabaptist and Baptist historians and hope it will give new impetus to research on Hubmaier and early Anabaptists.

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3667&Itemid=53

Good news for anyone interested in Baptist or Anabaptist history and studies

 

[rlvaughn]

Thanks for the information. Hopefully in about 6 months we will be able to put up a link.

 

[Squire Robertsson]

Regretfully, these writings will be if little use until they are translated into English. The article doesn't say wheither they are in German, Latin (then the academic lingua franca) or both.

 

[ktn4eg]

I'll be anxious to see these writings, but only (as Squire R hinted) if they're in English.

FWIW, I still recall some 38 or so years ago some composer (possibly of Mennonite background) arranged some of the portions of Martyr's Mirror into musical settings in English to comprise an oratorio of that same name. (Shades of G. F. Handel!)

Unfortunately, this oratorio Martyr's Mirror was probably only performed maybe only a time or two. I'm only guessing but I can assume was never publicly published nor made available either on LP or tape or (naturally) on CD.

This is such a shame that it was apparently never made available. Or if it was, it must have only been on a private label with only a very few runs made of it.

If any of you do have any info on this oratorio, I'd certainly love to find out what yuou have on it.

 

[rsr]

Try:

http://books.google.com/books?id=MW...&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

I gather it's performed only rarely, usually at Mennonite colleges or gatherings.

 

[rlvaughn]

I think most of Hübmaier's writings are in German, judging by the titles. There may be some in Latin. If so, it won't benefit me personally. But it is still a great service to make these widely available to those who read this/these language(s). Perhaps one day English translations will be made available as well. I don't think there will be any initially, since the article speaks of digital images of photographic reproductions of his works.

 

[preachinjesus]

Some of the most formative Baptist documents are in Danish.

Of course I'm more prone to English Separtist view of Baptist origins. This will be helpful for scholars. Thanks