Lorenz Heidenreich (1480–1557) and Oswald Pergener (1490s–1546)

Abstract

The first chapter gives an overview of the Reformation in the six towns and shows how the lack of a political centre led to continual compromise. The size and economic importance varied greatly in the six towns, resulting in different patterns of reform, including Zwinglianism, popular preaching, and convents which survived the Reformation. The chapter asks when religious change turned into ‘the introduction of Lutheranism’, showing that the six towns took individualistic and unique paths towards establishing the Reformation. The biographical focal points for this chapter are Lorenz Heidenreich (1460–1557) and Oswald Pergener (1490s–1546). Heidenreich was a Wittenberg-educated Lutheran preacher, yet there is no indication that any problems existed between him and a group of Zwinglians in the town. The presence of the Zwinglians shows how, especially in the early phase of the Reformation, the towns of the Lusatian League differed significantly in their religious outlook.