Die Wittenbergisch Nachtigall, Die man yetz höret vberall. Ich sage eüch wo diese schweygen so werden die stain schreyen Luce / Disputation zwischen einem Chorherren und Schuchmacher darin das wort gottes unnd ein recht Christlich wesen verfochten würt / Eyn Gesprech von den Scheynwercken der Gaystlichen, und iren gelübdten, damit sy zuverlesterung des bluts Christi vermaynen selig zuwerden / Eyn Gesprech eynes Evangelischen Christen mit einem Lutherischen, darin der Ergerlich wandel etlicher, die sich Lutherisch nennen, angezeigt und brüderlich gestrafft wird / Ein Dialogus, des inhalt, ein argument der Roemischen, wider das Christlich heüflein, den Geytz, auch ander offenlich laster etc. betreffend

Zwickau / Bamberg / Nürnberg / Erfurt: Jörg Gastel / Erlinger / Höltzel / Stürmer / Gutknecht, 1523. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. I. Die Wittenbergisch Nachtigall, Die man yetz höret vberall. Ich sage eüch wo diese schweygen so werden die stain schreyen Luce. xix. Zwickau: Jörg Gastel, [1523]. 4to (199 x 140 mm). 14 unnumbered leaves (complete). Signatures: A-B4 C2 D4. Final f. D4 blank, f. D3 missigned C3, f. A1v blank, printer and place from colophon "Gedruckt yn der Churfürstlichen Stadt Zwickaw durch Jörg Gastel" on f. D3v. Title with large pictorial woodcut border. Text somewhat browned, dust- and finger-soiling at outer margins, title more heavily soiled and browned, f. A4 with cipping at fore-edge, short tear at head of title with old repair, first and final leaf strengthened at gutter, short manuscript notes. [Bound after:] II. Disputation zwischen einem Chorherren und Schuchmacher darin das wort gottes unnd ein recht Christlich wesen verfochten würt. [Bamberg]: [Erlinger], 1524. 4to (185 x 144 mm). 11 (of 12) unnumbered leaves, lacking the final blank only. Signatures: A-C4 (-C4). Large woodcut illustration on title. Little browning only, light dust-soiling of title and outer edges. [Bound after:] III. Eyn Gesprech von den Scheynwercken der Gaystlichen, und iren gelübdten, damit sy zuverlesterung des bluts Christi vermaynen selig zuwerden. [Nürnberg]: [Höltzel], 1524. 4to (184 x 142 mm). 10 unnumbered leaves (complete). Signatures: A4 B2 C4. Title with large woodcut illustration after Erhard Schön. Upper corner of final 4 leaves of gathering C torn and repaired with loss of some letters; title with date added in red crayon; minor browning, dust-soiling and staining. Printer and place from VD16. [Bound after:] IV. Eyn Gesprech eynes Evangelischen Christen mit einem Lutherischen, darin der Ergerlich wandel etlicher, die sich Lutherisch nennen, angezeigt und brüderlich gestrafft wird. [Erfurt]: [Stürmer], 1524. 4to (184 x 143 mm). 12 unnumbered leaves (complete). Signatures: A-C4. Title with date added in red crayon. Large woodcut illustration on title, repeated on title verso. Minor browning and dust-soiling, single brown spot at center of ca. 6 pages. Printer and place from VD16. [Bound after:] V. Ein Dialogus, des inhalt, ein argument der Roemischen, wider das Christlich heüflein, den Geytz, auch ander offenlich laster etc. betreffend. Nürnberg: [Gutknecht], 29 Sept. 1524. 13 (of 14) unnumbered leaves, lacking the final blank only. A-B4 C2 D4 (-D4). Title with large woodcut illustration. Place and date (Tag Michaelis 1524) from colophon on title verso, printer from BVB catalog entry. Title dust-soiled and slightly frayed at outer margins, text little browned, light waterstaining to lower gutter. The five tracts bound in later speckled paper boards (extremities worn, paper chipping and abrasion to boards and board edges, some minor repairs to spine and joints). The inner margins of all the pages have been strengthened. Provenance: Friedrich Münter* (signed "Friderici Münteri" on first title and dated "1825"); content list in neat manuscript to first flyleaf. ----
br>EXCEPTIONALLY RARE SAMMELBAND OF IMPORTANT EARLY REFORMATION TRACTS BY HANS SACHS, INCLUDING THE FOUR PROSADIALOGE. Hans Sachs (1494-1576) was a German Meistersinger ('mastersinger'), poet, playwright, and shoemaker. Sach's "great event of his intellectual life was the coming of the Reformation; he became an ardent adherent of Luther, and in 1523 wrote in Luther's honor the poem beginning 'The nightingale of Wittenberg, which is heard everywhere' (German: 'Die wittenbergisch Nachtigall, die man jetzt höret überall'), and four remarkable dialogues in prose, in which his warm sympathy with the reformer was tempered by counsels of moderation. In spite of this, his advocacy of the new faith earned him a reproof from the town council of Nuremberg, and he was forbidden to publish any more 'pamphlets or rhymes' (German: 'Büchlein oder Reimen'). It was not long, however, before the council itself openly threw in its lot with the Reformation" (Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Sachs, Hans. In: Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press).
The Wittenbergisch Nachtigall can be regarded the most famous of Sach's tracts. He undoubtedly was familiar with Luther's basic works. It is known from autobiographical sketches that he had bound together forty tracts and sermons by Luther in 1522. In addition, it can be assumed without question that he followed public discussions, heard Osiander's sermons and read Reformation pamphlets, which flooded the market en masse in the early years of the Reformation. Apparently, Sachs initially needed this intensive phase of dealing with the ideas of the Reformation and his own clarification process before he finally decided to support Luther's cause. He made this decision with the publication of the Wittenbergisch Nachtigall on July 8, 1523, in which he proceeded in a highly polemical manner against the old church. Research today sees Sachs' master song Die Nachtigal (also 1523) as a precursor to the tract, which, however, was overshadowed by the extraordinary success of its successor and is probably why it has only survived in one manuscript today. In 1523 alone, seven editions of the Wittenbergisch Nachtigall were published and Sachs achieved nationwide fame as a poet of the Reformation movement (see Wolfenbütteler Digitale Bibliothek, online resources).
The present four dialogues, the prose dialogues ('Reformationsdialoge' or 'Prosadialoge') which Sachs published in 1524 are often regarded by historians to be far more important than the poem 'Wittenbergisch Nachtigall'. The first dialogue, the conversation between a shoemaker and a canon, is probably the best and has also been translated into English. Hans Sachs enthusiastically promotes the idea of the Reformation, which was officially approved in his hometown of Nuremberg in 1525. Especially in his four prose dialogues, he conveys an interesting impression of the feelings and thoughts that may have moved people during this time of upheaval. This makes his texts testimonies of the early Reformation period.
*Friedrich Christian Carl Heinrich Münter (1761-1830) was a German-Danish scholar, theologian, and Bishop of Zealand from 1808 until his death. In addition to his position as the Bishop of Zealand within the Church of Denmark, Münter was also a professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen, an orientalist, church historian, archaeologist, and freemason. In 1781 he began his studies at the University of Göttingen, and in 1784 he was the first protestant to receive a doctorate of philosophy from the University of Fulda. Afterwards, King Christian VII of Denmark sent him to Italy and Sicily to continue his education. In Rome, Münter had contact with Stefano Borgia, who later became cardinal. There he learned the Coptic language. In 1787 he returned to Copenhagen and became a professor at the University of Copenhagen. Münter collated and described manuscripts housed in notable Italian libraries. He collated Codex Nanianus for the first time and he sent some extracts from this codex to Andreas Birch. (Wikisource).
References: I.: VD16 S650. The exact print date is unknown. Most sources give 1523 as the year. II.: VD16 S220. Printer and place according to VD16 S220. III.: VD16 S 321; Goedeke II, 416f., No. 13a; Weller, Sachs No. 19(b); Keller/Goetze XXIV, No. 8b. Another edition was published the same year in Augsburg by Ulhart. IV.: VD 16 S300; Panzer II. V.: VD16 S211; Goedeke II, 416, No. 11a; Weller, Sachs No. 18(a); K.Keller/Goetze XXIV, No. 9a.