THE PROVENANCE OF JOHN CALVIN'S EMPHASIS ON THE ...

Charles V and the German princes concerning the reform of Germany; while there he
met Melanchthon and discussed twelve articles concerning the Lord's Supper drafted by
Calvin and previously presented to the German reformer by Bucer in 1538. 508 Calvin's
principal associates in Strasbourg included Bucer and Wolfgang Capito, as well as the
scholar-printer Wendelin Rihel. 509 He also came into contact with the Bohemian
Brethren, who demonstrated familiarity with his works, and with "a certain Guillaume
de Fürstenberg, a count from South Germany, for whom he drafted a couple of
apologetic works." 510 At the colloquies he engaged in dialogue with other reformers
such as Capito, Sturm, Bucer, and Melanchthon, and he at least encountered prominent
Catholics such as Johann Van Eck, Gasparo Contarini, 511 and Albertus Pighius, and the
emperor, Charles V. By way of correspondence, Calvin maintained his relations with
Farel, Viret, and many others. More personally, it was while Calvin was in Strasbourg
that he married Idelette de Bure, a widow and mother of two whose first husband was
Anabaptist.
508 De Greef, Writings of John Calvin, 34. According to de Greef, "in their conversation the
twelve articles that Calvin had drafted concerning the Lord's Supper and had sent along with Bucer when
he went to Wittenberg in October 1538 (the relevant letter has been lost) came up for discussion.
Melanchthon agreed with the articles, but he pointed out that there were Lutherans who thought "more
crudely" about the presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper and that therefore the articles were not suitable
for an attempt to unify Wittenberg and Zurich." Regrettably, de Greef offers no citation.
509 Gilmont, Calvin and the Printed Book, 14, 181-82. Because of Robert Winter's slowness in
publishing Calvin's works in Basel, Calvin entrusted the printing of his revised Institutio, reply to
Sadoleto, and commentary on Romans to this Strasbourg printer. Even after he returned to Geneva,
Calvin sent work to Rihel for a time.
Book, 14.
510 De Greef, Writings of John Calvin, 32; see also 203-04. Also Gilmont, Calvin and the Printed
511 The papal envoy to the diet of Regensburg.
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