Die Kunst der Herabsetzung als Verarbeitung von Transformation? : Beobachtungen zur altgläubig-katholischen Historiographie im 16. Jahrhundert

Kurzfassung/Abstract

This article argues that according to current sociological approaches, the Reformation in Germany may be regarded as an exemplary transformation of a society developing in different phases. As transformation obviously goes along with uncertainties and questions of legitimacy of change, the article claims that forms of insult and disparagement might have helped contemporaries to “digest” their uncomfortable feelings. The evidence may be found in the historiographical oeuvre of Kilian Leib, an Augustinian Canon who was not only one of Luther’s staunch opponents but also a critical observer of his time.