The Conversion of Gottfried Rabe: Visual Propaganda and Conversion in Early Seventeenth‐Century Germany☆.

This article considers visual and textual descriptions of conversions to Lutheranism by focusing on the former Augustinian monk Gottfried Rabe, who delivered his revocation sermon in Wittenberg in 1601 and features on two woodcuts as well as on a commemorative medal. Through a close analysis of the visual tropes and symbolism in these under‐studied sources, broader questions about Lutheranism at the turn of the sixteenth century are raised, including the role of the University of Wittenberg, the positions of Martin Luther and the Czech reformer Jan Hus as role models of conversions to Lutheranism and the Catholic responses to such conversions at this point in time. The article argues that the different media promoted different images of Rabe, showing a range of possible interpretations of the conversion and its place within the different confessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]