Staging Luther

The book contains four plays written by Hans Sachs, a troubadour, playwright, shoemaker, and important compatriot and supporter of Martin Luther. Unlike Sachs' well-known poem "The Wittenberg Nightingale" (also included here in a new translation), the plays have not been translated into English until now and will be a boon for researchers and students who can now read them for the first time. The plays are full of scriptural references and are generally written as dialogs between a Luther supporter and a Catholic cleric. Inevitably the Luther supporter wins the argument, but not without some name-calling and strong derision towards the Papist discussant! In addition to the plays, the book provides historical commentary on the importance of Sachs' support of Luther, as well as annotations related to the translation and word choices along with cultural information to support the translations. It is an important scholarly contribution to the ongoing work of reformation scholarship in the English language.