Ricarda Höffler

The Last Judgement received significant attention across confessions in the early modern period and was thematized in all available media, including literature, sacred music, the visual arts, and the theatre stage. This volume documents the results of an interdisciplinary conference organized by the DFG Research Training Group 2008 "Interconfessionality in the Early Modern Period" at the University of Hamburg, in collaboration with the Research Library of the History of the Reformation in Wittenberg. It aims to shed light on the early modern reflection on the Last Judgement from historical-theological, literary, art-historical, music-historical, and historical perspectives. Special attention is given not only to the denomination-specific characteristics in addressing the theme of the Last Judgement in its various medial facets but also to how the interaction of different media influenced the confrontation with the iudicium extremum and its imminent coming.

Early modern Christians focused heavily on the Last Judgment across all denominations and media, including literature, sacred music, the visual arts, and the theatrical stage. The papers assembled in this volume explore the multifaceted ways in which both Catholics and Protestants reflected upon the Day of Judgment, examining not only the distinctions between the Christian denominations but also their shared characteristics. From a variety of academic perspectives, ranging from theology to art history and historical musicology, the fifteen case studies provide insight into early modern apocalyptic thinking and its diverse manifestations in the arts, while also considering the role of intermedial constellations in representing the imminent iudicium extremum.