Martin Moller (10 November 1547 – 2 March 1606) was a German

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

and mystic.

Life

Moller was born in Ließnitz (now Kropstädt bei Wittenberg,

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making i ...

) in 1547 and became cantor in Löwenberg in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

in 1568. He was ordained in 1572, despite never having been to university, and served as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in Kesseldorf, Löwenberg and

Sprottau Szprotawa (german: Sprottau) is a town in western Poland, in Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship. It has 11,820 inhabitants (2019). History The region was part of Poland after the emergence of the Piast monarchy in the 10th century. The first m ...

. He came to

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and is the largest town in Upper Lus ...

in 1600, where

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the Lutheran tradition, and his firs ...

was in his congregation. Böhme was a keen attendant at the devotional meetings Moller held at his house; only after Moller's death at

in 1606 did Böhme start coming into conflict with the Görlitz priesthood.

Works

Moller's works characterise him as a conciliatory theologian rather than one who, like Böhme, looked to provoke conflict. Practical

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

, not

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

, was important to him. As such, he can be regarded as a forerunner of Johann Arndt. He was suspected of

Crypto-Calvinist Crypto-Calvinism is a pejorative term describing a segment of those members of the Lutheran Church in Germany who were accused of secretly subscribing to Calvinist doctrine of the Eucharist in the decades immediately after the death of Martin Luth ...

sympathies after publishing his ''Praxis evangeliorum'' in 1601 and did little to refute these claims. Other well-known works of devotional literature written by Moller include ''Meditationes Sanctorum Patrum'' (1584–1591), ''Soliloquia de passione Jesu Christi'' (1587) and ''Mysterium magnum'' (1597). All of these works show clearly how Moller was influenced by another German theologian with links to mysticism,

Valerius Herberger Valerius Herberger (21 April 1562 – 18 May 1627) was a German Lutheran preacher and theologian. Life He was born at Fraustadt, Silesia (now Wschowa in Poland). He studied for three years at Freystadt in Silesia (now Kożuchów in Poland), and ...

. He also wrote several

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s, four of which survive in today's German

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...

s. He is, however, of greater importance as a source for other hymn-writers. His ''Meditationes Sanctorum Patrum'', a bipartite collection of prayers purportedly based on writings of

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through t ...

and

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also called ( it, Anselmo d'Aosta, link=no) after his birthplace and (french: Anselme du Bec, link=no) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of th ...

(though actually these texts were probably pseudo-Augustinian and -Bernardian, written much later in the style of the

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

), provided

Johann Heermann Johann Heermann (11 October 158517 February 1647) was a German poet and hymnodist. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai and Paul Gerhardt. Life Heermann was born in Raudten ...

with a basis for many of the hymns in his ''Devoti musica cordis''.

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

wrote two

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the German Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chorale cantata includes mult ...

s on hymns by Moller or attributed to him, '' Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott, BWV 101'', and ''

Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3 (Oh God, how much heartache), 3, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the Second Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 14 January 1725. It is based on the hymn published by Ma ...

''.

References

* Elke Axmacher: ''Praxis Evangeliorum: Theologie und Frömmigkeit bei Martin Moller (1547–1606)''. (Forschungen zur Kirchen- und Dogmengeschichte, 43), Berlin: Kirchliche Hochschule, 1986; Göttingen 1989. * Carl Hitzeroth, ''Johann Heermann (1585–1647): Ein Beitrag der Geschichte der geistlichen Lyrik im siebzehnten Jahrhundert'', Marburg: Elwert, 1907 * Carl-Alred Zell, ''Untersuchungen zum Problem der geistlichen Barocklyrik mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Dichtung Johann Heermanns (1585–1647)'', Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, 1971

External links

Jacob Boehme Online: Moller's influence on Boehme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moller, Martin 1547 births 1606 deaths 16th-century German poets 16th-century German male writers 16th-century Lutherans 16th-century Christian mystics German Lutherans German Lutheran hymnwriters Protestant mystics German male poets People from Wittenberg 16th-century male writers Early modern Christian devotional writers 16th-century Lutheran theologians 17th-century Lutheran theologians