Die Vision der fortschreitenden Reformation in Preußen aus der Sicht des Dominikaners Simon Grunau (*1455–1465/1470 – †1529/1530)

Abstract

The vision of the progressive Reformation in Prussia in the eyes of the Dominican Simon Grunau (*1455–1465/1470 – †1529/1530)

The author examines exempla included in The Prussian Chronicle written by a Dominican Simon Grunau in the years 1517–1529/1530 in Gdańsk and Elbląg. The work allows us to see the dynamics of the change in outlooks on life represented by the Gdańsk Dominicans in the face of the approaching Reformation. The devil – the most popular hero of exempla included in the chronicle – is a figure thanks to which we can observe the developing pessimism of the Dominican towards the history of Prussia. The functions held by the devil and the range of its powers were changing as the number of the Reformation’s supporters became bigger and violence towards mendicant orders developed. The account of Simon Grunau is personal and emotional. In the records of The Chronicle concerning the 1520’s the figure of the devil accompanied humans every day. The devil stopped being an element of God’s salvation plan, but it got out of the preachers’ control and, supported by the Lutherans – led the beloved Prussian land and the city of Gdansk to doom. The last parts of the chronicle provided abundant evidence that all inhabitants were facing certain death. The stormy changes in the 1520s – social revolutions and the Reformation – led Grunau to conclude that Prussia was governed by the devil.