Herzog Ernst Scholarship for Stefan Michel

Next year, Stefan Michel will receive a Herzog-Ernst Fellowship to support his research into a cultural history of the Luther Bible. The grant, which is awarded by the Gotha Research Library and Research Center, is intended to fund a large section on Johann Gerhard's (1582-1637) commentary on the Luther Bible.

Gerhard planned the Ernestine Bible - also known as the Elector's Bible - which went through fourteen editions between 1641 and 1768. It was later reprinted in 1877. This made it probably the most successful and widespread commentary on the Luther Bible in early modern Lutheranism.

Among other things, Michel is interested in the question of how Gerhard and his colleagues dealt with a text that could not be changed. The planned book project is intended to condense his research from the 16th to the 18th century into a monograph.