Abstract
This contribution concerns the reception of Jacob Böhme and his works in the historical territories of Poland, primarily in the seventeenth century. Based on new and overlooked archival evidence, it surveys the several readers, correspondents, friends, and followers of Böhme's theosophy who lived in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At least one, Balthasar Walther, helped shape the content and trajectory of Böhme's theosophy. A major focus of this essay is on the complex background to the publication of an eight-volume collection of Böhme's German-language writings, issued in Toruń in the early 1650s. Led by the mysterious Gottfried Richter, the project involved collaborators from across Europe. On account of its inclusion of several of Böhme's then-unprinted works, and its incorporation of Abraham von Franckenberg's influential 1651 biography of the theosopher, the Toruń collection has shaped scholarly and popular understandings of the theosopher's life and work. Intriguingly, however, the available evidence suggests that the publishing enterprise also involved the poet Johann Scheffler (Angelus Silesius). By examining Böhme's reception in seventeenth-century Poland, we achieve not only a deeper understanding of the circumstances and the personalities involved in this milieu, but also provide a starting point for reconsidering Böhme's place in Poland's religious and intellectual history.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Jacob Böhme in Three Worlds |
Subtitle of host publication | The Reception in Central-Eastern Europe, the Netherlands, and Britain |
Editors | Lucinda Martin, Cecilia Muratori, Claudia Brink |
Place of Publication | Berlin Germany |
Publisher | De Gruyter Mouton |
Pages | 125-140 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783110720525, 9783110720617 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783110720495 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 18 Dec 2023 |