Ickelschamer, Valentin (16th century)

Valentin Ickelsamer (Ickelsheimer) was an early Protestant-spiritualist opponent of Luther and defender of Karlstadt, studied at the University of Wittenberg. He was the author of the book, Klag etlicher Brüder an die Christen von der grossen . . . Tyranney, so Endressen Bodensteyn von Karlstadt jetzt von Luther . . . geschieht (1525), an original and courageous book which sharply attacked Luther and defended Karlstadt. In consequence of this book he suffered a lengthy imprisonment, during which he asked Luther's pardon, which was granted through the mediation of Justus Menius. This book is reprinted in Flugschriften aus der Ref.-Zeit, No. X (Halle, 1893). Later, as a follower of Schwenckfeld, he became involved in a dispute with Pilgram Marpeck in 1542 (Beiträge, 278; Loserth,58, 426). That he was an Anabaptist and a leader of the Peasants' Revolt, as Elector John of Saxony wrote in a letter dated 27 March 1530, and as Jacobs (429) and Wappler (91) also thought, is most unlikely; the elector offers no evidence for the statement. (The letter is found in Einicke, 416 f.) In his book of 1525 Ickelsamer does not mention the Anabaptists; nevertheless it must be admitted that the spirit of the "fanatics" of all kinds, so violently suppressed by Luther, is brought to clear expression in the book. Having studied in Wittenberg he was well aware of the weaknesses in Lutheranism.

Bibliography

Barge, Hermann. Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt II. Leipzig, 1905: 317-324. Reprinted: Nieuwkoop : B. de Graaf, 1968.

Beiträge zur bayerischen Kirchengeschichte. VII (1902).

Einicke, G. Zwanzig Jahre Schwarzburgischer Reformtionsgeschichte 1521-1541: nach urkundlichen Quellen. Nordhausen : C. Haacke, 1904-1909: I.

Fechner, Heinrich. Vier seltene Schriften des 16. Jahrhunderts mit einer ungedruckten Abhandlung über Val. Ickelsamer von R. Wiegand. Hildesheim, New York, G. Olms, 1972.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon., 4 v. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 400.

Jacobs, E. Die Wiedertäufer am Harz. Wernigerode, 1899.

Loserth, Johann. Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte der oberdeutschen Taufgesinnten im 16. Jahrhundert. Vienna, 1929.

Schwenckfeld, Caspar. Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum. Leipzig : Breitkopf & Haertel, 1907-1961: IV (1914): 68; V (1916): 163, 165; 272 f.; 404; 408 f., 698, 798-806.

Thudichum, Friedrich von. Die Deutsche Reformation, 1517-1537. Leipzig : Max Sängerwald, 1907-1909: II, 281.

Wappler, Paul. Die Täuferbewegung in Thüringen von 1526-1584. Jena: Gustav Fisher, 1913.

Author(s)	Christian Neff
	Eberhard Teufel
Date Published	1958

Cite This Article

MLA style

Neff, Christian and Eberhard Teufel. "Ickelschamer, Valentin (16th century)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1958. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ickelschamer,_Valentin_(16th_century)&oldid=92072.

APA style

Neff, Christian and Eberhard Teufel. (1958). Ickelschamer, Valentin (16th century). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ickelschamer,_Valentin_(16th_century)&oldid=92072.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 2. All rights reserved.

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