MELANCHTHON, Philip.

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Corpus doctrinae Christianae. First edition of Melanchthon's influential Body of Doctrine, a collection of his most important doctrinal and theological writings, which shaped the confession of faith within German Protestantism for generations. The handsome German binding, signed "G.M." in one roll, may be attributed to the workshop of Matthias Gärtner, active in Augsburg from the 1560s to the 1590s.The Corpus was Melanchthon's last book, published around the time of his death. Among the most important texts, it contains Melanchthon's early creeds, his confession of faith for the Lutheran Church (the Confessio Augustana, here both in the invariata and variata versions, published in 1530 and 1540); the Apology for the Confession (1530), and the Loci communes theologici (1521), a textbook for systematic theology. The Corpus doctrinae Philippicum, also called Saxonicum or Misnicum, "became the textbook for theology students at the University of Wittenberg and the standard of doctrine for a host of principalities including Electoral Saxony" (Wengert, p. 398). It was adopted by pastors and teachers in Pomerania, Anhalt, Hesse, Nuremberg, certain Silesian principalities, Schleswig-Holstein, and Denmark. Other territories and cities later developed their own norms following Melanchthon's model; the term "Corpus doctrinae" was adopted by others throughout the 16th and 17th century to generally indicate a collection of confessional or credal writings.The blind-stamped design on this bi

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