Tragedy at Wittenberg: Sophocles in Reformation Europe

Micha Lazarus*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Amid the devastation of the Schmalkaldic War (1546-47), Philip Melanchthon and his colleagues at Wittenberg hastily compiled a Latin edition of Sophocles from fifteen years of teaching materials and sent it to Edward VI of England within weeks of his coronation. Wittenberg tragedy reconciled Aristotelian technology, Reformation politics, and Lutheran theology, offering consolation in the face of events that themselves seemed to be unfolding on a tragic stage. A crucial but neglected source of English and Continental literary thought, the Wittenberg Sophocles shaped the reception of Greek tragedy, tragic poetics, and Neo-Latin and vernacular composition throughout the sixteenth century.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-77
Number of pages45
JournalRenaissance Quarterly
Volume73
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Mar 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by the Renaissance Society of America.

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