More than a friend, Amsdorf was also an important figure in the work of religious reform, providing counsel to Luther on key occasions, shepherding the churches, and defending the faith until his death.
When I wrote my two novels about the Lutheran Reformation—Broken Bonds and Face to Face—one of my favorite characters to bring to life was Nicolaus von Amsdorf, Luther’s fellow reformer. In a drawing of Amsdorf later in life by the artist Peter Gottlandt, we see the sunken eyes, beard-covered jowls, and steely gaze of a man who has been through many struggles and lost none of his determination. I was inspired by this illustration and portrayed Amsdorf as a man of great conviction and confidence, always cutting to the heart of the issue, with little toleration for dithering but lots of love for good humor. But who was the real Nicolaus von Amsdorf?
Background
Amsdorf was born on December 3, 1483, in Torgau, Electorate of Saxony, making him about three weeks younger than Martin Luther. His family was part of the knightly class, as the “von” in their name testifies. Perhaps more significantly, Amsdorf’s mother Katharina was a sister of Johann von Staupitz, the Vicar-General of the Augustinian Order in Germany, who was an early mentor to Luther during his troubled days in the monastery. (Another sister of these two, Magdalene von Staupitz, was a nun in the same convent as Katharina von Bora and escaped with her.)
After receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Leipzig, Amsdorf moved to the newly founded University of Wittenberg, where his uncle, Staupitz, was playing a leading role. It was common for knightly families to have these links with each other and with keny institutions, but the move to Wittenberg ended up influencing far more than Amsdorf’s social pedigree.
Professor of Theology
Originally a philosopher who favored the work of Duns Scotus, Amsdorf was licensed to teach theology in 1511. Luther was already teaching that subject and would be appointed department chair the following year. Nevertheless, Amsdorf and Luther did not immediately become close. Part of the reason may have been that Luther was a friar living in the Augustinian dormitory while Amsdorf was a layman living closer to the center of town. Another reason may have been that Amsdorf was a Scotist and Luther was not.
Things began to change in the year or so leading up to Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, when Luther brought both Amsdorf and their colleague, Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, over to a more Augustinian understanding of theology. Luther even gifted Amsdorf a bound copy of Augustine’s works. While Karlstadt would eventually move in an Anabaptist direction and fiercely oppose Luther, Amsdorf was a firm supporter ever after and only deviated from Luther’s opinion on lesser matters.
Amsdorf accompanied Luther to both the 1519 Leipzig Debate and the 1521 Diet of Worms. At the latter, Amsdorf participated in negotiations on Luther’s behalf and was one of the few people who knew that Elector Friedrich the Wise intended to “kidnap” Luther and take him into hiding at the Wartburg Castle following the diet’s conclusion. He was in the cart with Luther when the Elector’s men staged an attack, and Amsdorf put up a show of objecting to what was occurring. The ruse was successful: most of the public believed Luther was dead. [1]
During his absence, Luther relied on his colleagues Philip Melanchthon and Amsdorf to shepherd the Wittenberg flock and oversee reforms in his place. On his secret visit to Wittenberg in December 1521, Luther is known to have met with Amsdorf in addition to Melanchthon, the artist Lucas Cranach, and the goldsmith Christian Döring, all of whom he counted as friends. This visit came at a crucial time when a committee of university professors, including Amsdorf and Melanchthon, were deciding whether to reform the Mass or even discontinue it. Luther probably did not meet with Karlstadt, who was also on the committee and was quickly becoming the most powerful voice in town. Throughout this time, Luther’s correspondence is with Amsdorf and Melanchthon, not Karlstadt.
The arrival of the Zwickau prophets, with their claims of special revelation from the Holy Spirit, marked a significant challenge to the establishment in Wittenberg. Melanchthon wavered, uncertain how to handle the situation, and even Amsdorf was perplexed. Two factions now emerged, with Amsdorf and Melanchthon on one side communicating regularly with both Luther and Elector Friedrich and advocating for more measured reform, while on the other side, Karlstadt and the Augustinian Gabriel Zwilling were promoting iconoclasm and radical change. Karlstadt began preaching at the local parish church, St. Mary’s, despite not being licensed to do so.
When the Elector finally cracked down on the situation following a threat of imperial visitation, it was Karlstadt and Zwilling who were made to bear the blame for the breakdown in social order, while Amsdorf filled in as preacher at St. Mary’s. This episode was highly formative for both Amsdorf and Melanchthon, and it is interesting that in the years to come, they ended up at odds with each other over theological issues, never becoming close friends. The heat of that trial failed to weld them together.
Pastor and Bishop
The arrival of Johannes Bugenhagen in Wittenberg as the new chief pastor for St. Mary’s freed Amsdorf from his duties there, but Luther still relied on Amsdorf as a close confidante who would defend his interests and those of the gospel. In January 1525, Amsdorf went to visit Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz during the opening stages of the Peasants’ War to assure him that the evangelicals were opposed to violence. Around this time, Amsdorf was also entrusted with an even more sensitive embassy: speaking with Luther on behalf of the escaped nun, Katharina von Bora.
Luther had been trying for some time to find good husbands for all the escaped nuns of the Marienthron convent in Nimbschen, but there was some difficulty with Bora, whose fiancée, Hieronymus Baumgartner, abandoned her for a more socially suitable match. Luther then put forward the case for his and Amsdorf’s former colleague in the theology department, Caspar Glatz, an idea that did not appeal to Bora. She appealed to Amsdorf for help, insisting she would be happy to marry either him or Doctor Luther, just not Doctor Glatz. Amsdorf’s reported conversation with Luther following this exchange is comical.
AMSDORF: “What the devil are you intending to do, persuading the good Katy and forcing her?”
LUTHER: “If she does not like him, let her wait a while longer for another.” [2]
Bora did wait a while longer for another, who ended up being Luther himself. Amsdorf had to return to Wittenberg for their public wedding celebration, for by that point, he had moved to Magdeburg. Some of the Magdeburgers had wanted Luther to come and reform religion there, but Amsdorf was sent instead. [3] It is a mark of Luther’s trust in him that he repeatedly sent Amsdorf in his stead to carry out tasks on his behalf.
It is a further mark of trust that Luther was able to write to Amsdorf around the time of his marriage and confess, “I am not burning, but I love my wife.” This was likely not a dig at Katharina’s physical attractiveness, but a protestation by Luther that he was marrying not for lust (as his enemies alleged) but genuine love and commitment to his principles. Amsdorf would remain a close friend of the Luthers, becoming godfather to their daughter Magdalene in 1529.
Amsdorf’s time as religious superintendent in Magdeburg was often troubled by conflict, as he was forced to confront Roman loyalists on one side, and Zwinglians and Anabaptists on the other. He also made trips to other towns to assist the Reformation. In 1542, the Elector Johann Friedrich I of Saxony appointed Amsdorf as the new bishop of Naumburg, a title Amsdorf never sought but a role in which the Elector wanted a firmly committed reformer. Luther ordained Amsdorf in that role in a break from traditional practice, and a Catholic bishop named Julius von Pflug claimed the office simultaneously. Facing this opposition, Amsdorf was especially reliant on the Elector’s support. When Johann Friedrich had his title and lands stripped after his defeat in the 1546-47 Schmalkaldic War, Amsdorf was out of a job as well, with the bishopric going to Pflug.
Later Years
Amsdorf eventually moved to the town of Eisenach, where his sister Sophie von Teutleben resided. There he remained a fierce advocate of Luther’s theology long after his friend had died, overseeing the publication of the Jena edition of Luther’s works. He continued training young pastors and working to reform the Saxon churches. However, he is most famous during this period for opposing what he saw as theological innovations by others in Luther’s circle, particularly Philip Melanchthon.
A divide occurred within the Lutheran camp due to the Melanchthon-backed Leipzig Interim, which was meant to preserve some room for evangelical beliefs and practice despite military defeat by the Catholic Emperor Charles V. Amsdorf rejected this theological compromise, and two camps quickly emerged: the Philippists, who supported the Interim, and the Gnesio-Lutherans, who rejected it. Amsdorf is one of the most prominent names associated with the latter, and he began fiercely opposing the Philippists, such that any remaining friendship between himself and Melanchthon was surely lost. It was a sad ending for two men who had once struggled side by side in the same cause.
Amsdorf died in Eisenach in 1565. Although he was a prolific writer throughout his life, he has not left us with any widely read works. However, he has a famous work dedicated to him: Luther’s To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation. In that treatise, Luther refers to Amsdorf as his friend, the association for which Amsdorf will always be primarily known. But more than a friend, Amsdorf was also an important figure in the work of religious reform, providing counsel to Luther on key occasions, shepherding the churches, and defending the faith until his death.
