For All the Saints

“Luther’s reformulating of the concepts of sainthood and martyrdom had implications for the writing of the history of the church. This volume traces the ways in which Luther and his disciples reacted to the first Evangelical martyrs who were executed for adhering to the Wittenberg call for reform through the publication and compilation of their stories. Kolb shows how the changed focus of the definition of “martyrdom” to every form of witness given to Christ expanded the understanding of dramatic testimony of the Christian faith to those who did not die at the established church’s hand for their embrace of reform but who nonetheless suffered attacks of various kinds, deprivation, imprisonment, and exile. This contribution to the exposition of the course of the Reformation continues to provide significant insight into the broader cultural changes emanating from Luther’s and Melanchthon’s Wittenberg.”


—Irene Dingel, director of the Department of European Religious History, Leibnitz Institute of European History, Mainz





“Thirty years ago, Robert Kolb transformed Reformation studies with his examination of martyrdom and the role of the saints in Protestant culture. His account of the martyrologist Ludwig Rabus and of the commemoration of those who died in the faith opened to us how medieval forms of devotion were appropriated and reworked by Lutherans into new historical and religious identities. The noble dead, including Luther himself, became models of Christian perseverance in the world in the face of persecution. Kolb's classic study set the agenda for generations of scholars who have explored the complex and hybrid nature of the reform movements of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The publication of an updated version of this classic study is wonderful news, making available to a new audience the wisdom of one of the great scholars of the German Reformation.” 


—Bruce Gordon, Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Yale Divinity School





“It is exciting to see this little jewel of a book back in print because it will enrich a wide variety of pastors and scholars. For one thing, its pages show one of the premier historians of early Lutheranism at work: taking a modern question and answering it by employing a wide variety of underappreciated and even forgotten sixteenth-century sources. For another, the very wealth of information on the lively tradition of saints within early Lutheranism puts to rest the persistent myth that since the Reformation saints have no place in Christian piety and worship. Third, Kolb provides a rich analysis of the special role that ‘Martin Luther of blessed memory’ played in his immediate successors. Finally, those interested in liturgy and worship will find in this book’s pages important insights into how best to remember the saints of old within the framework of their witness to and faith in both the gospel and God’s providence. This is a must read for all who serve the saints of today!”


—Timothy J. Wengert, professor emeritus of Reformation history, Lutheran Theological Seminary