Philipp Melanchthon

Lore & Background

Melanchthon was born Philipp Schwartzerdt on 16 February 1497 at Bretten, where his father Georg Schwarzerdt (1459–1508) was armorer to Philip, Count Palatine of the Rhine. His mother was Barbara Reuter (1476/77-1529). In 1507 he was sent to the Latin school at Pforzheim, where rector Georg Simler introduced him to Latin and Greek poets and to Aristotle. His great-uncle Johann Reuchlin, a Renaissance humanist, suggested he change his surname to the Greek equivalent 'Melanchthon'. Philipp was 11 in 1508 when both his grandfather (d. 17 October) and father (d. 27 October) died within eleven days; he and a brother went to live with his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Reuter. He entered the University of Heidelberg in 1509, earning his B.A., and received his M.A. at Tübingen in 1512, where he later taught. In 1518, he was called to Wittenberg at his uncle's request to teach Greek. He married Katharina Krapp (1497–1557), daughter of Wittenberg's mayor, on 25 November 1520; they had four children: Anna, Philipp, Georg, and Magdalen. At Wittenberg, Melanchthon studied Scripture, especially Paul, and evangelical doctrine. He attended the Leipzig Disputation (1519) as a spectator but participated with comments; after Johann Eck attacked his views, he replied based on Scripture in his Defensio contra Johannem Eckium (Wittenberg, 1519). His Loci communes (1521) presented a new doctrine of Christianity where faith in God was more important than good deeds. He represented Luther at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, where the Augsburg Confession—mainly his work—was presented, though Luther was dissatisfied with its irenic tone. Melanchthon later produced a revised edition, the Variata (1540), which John Calvin signed.

Reader's Guide

Melanchthon's significance lies in his role as the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation. His Loci communes rerum theologicarum (1521) discussed the 'leading thoughts' of Paul's Letter to the Romans and contributed to the gradual rise of the Lutheran scholastic tradition. The Augsburg Confession, presented at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, is considered perhaps the most significant document of the Protestant Reformation; while based on Luther's Marburg and Schwabach articles, it was mainly Melanchthon's work. After the confession was discussed, the Pontifical Confutation was produced, and Melanchthon wrote the Apology of the Augsburg Confession in reply. His Commentarii in Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos (1532) introduced the idea that 'to be justified' means 'to be accounted just'. In 1540 he produced the Variata edition, which differed on the real presence in the Lord's Supper and was signed by John Calvin. Melanchthon also designed educational systems: his Unterricht der Visitatorn an die Pfarherrn im Kurfürstentum zu Sachssen (1528) presented evangelical doctrine and regulations for churches and schools. He faced controversies over the Lord's Supper, synergism, and the Interims. In the second edition of his Loci (1535), he abandoned strict determinism and taught what he called Synergism, leading to criticism from Cordatus. He rejected the Augsburg Interim but made controversial concessions during negotiations concerning the Leipzig Interim, which he later regretted. After Luther's death, he became seen by many as the 'theological leader of the German Reformation'.

Did You Know?

• Melanchthon's original surname was Schwartzerdt (literally 'black earth'); his great-uncle Johann Reuchlin suggested he change it to the Greek equivalent 'Melanchthon'.
• He was 11 years old in 1508 when both his grandfather and father died within eleven days of each other.
• He earned his B.A. at Heidelberg in 1509 and his M.A. at Tübingen in 1512, then began teaching at Tübingen before being called to Wittenberg in 1518 at age 21.
• The Augsburg Confession, presented at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, was mainly Melanchthon's work, though Luther was dissatisfied with its irenic tone.
• In 1540, Melanchthon produced a revised edition of the Augsburg Confession called the Variata, which John Calvin signed.