The Lutheran History Podcast
The Lutheran History Podcast interviews professional and independent historians on their work, covering over 500 years of Lutheranism. We hear new stories, examine old heroes of faith, and dig into the who, how, what, and why of history-making.
The Lutheran History Podcast
TLHP 62 Achtliederbuch-The First Lutheran Hymnal: Details Less Often Told with Nathaniel Biebert
Link to the service and hymns: https://trinitylutheransd.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Reformation-Hymn-Festival-2024.pdf
The first evangelical hymnal—which in retrospect we can also call the first Lutheran hymnal—rolled off the presses around the middle of January 1524. But interestingly, it did not roll off the presses in Wittenberg, even though the title page gave that impression, or even at Luther’s instigation. It was printed by Jobst Gutknecht in Nuremberg, well over 200 miles to the south of Wittenberg, and apparently on his own initiative. Gutknecht compiled four hymns that had been individually published in Wittenberg on broadsheets in 1523 and 1524. He also obtained the texts of three additional Luther hymns, which were already being sung in services in Wittenberg. (There were no copyright laws back then, and printers regularly copied, reprinted, and sold works they obtained from elsewhere.) To these seven hymns he added one more anonymous one, which was possibly given to him in the composer’s own manuscript. He published these eight hymns under the title:
Some Christian Songs, Hymns of Praise, and Psalms, Produced in
Conformity with the Pure Word of God from Holy Scripture by Various
Well-Educated Men for Singing in Church, Just As Is Already Being Done
with Some of Them in Wittenberg
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- About the Host
- Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.
- Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
