The Schwenckfeldians in Strasbourg, 1533-1562 : A prosopographical survey

From the time Caspar Schwenckfeld left Strasbourg in 1533 to his death in 1561 and beyond, his followers flourished despite opposition from church leaders. Known Schwenckfeldians came mostly from the city's elite. They included seven civil servants: the notary Jakob Held von Tieffenau, the lawyer Johann Schwintzer, the alms administrator Alexander Bemer, the Rat secretary Michael Han, the notary Hans-Zimprecht Barter, the customs official Viet von Helffenstein and the lawyer Michael Theurer. Five were intellectuals: Katherine Zell, the pastor Paul Volz, the Latin teacher Peter (Novesianus) Schaf, and the physicians Johan Winther von Andernach and Michael (Toxites) Schutz. Aristocrats included Elisabether Pfersfelder and the family of Peter Scher the Elder. Besides serving the city, the Schwenckfeldians explored the natural sciences, criticized deficiencies in the Strasbourg church and called for freedom of conscience. They prospered primarily because of their diplomatic and commercial value to the city, their personal connections to Strasbourg's rulers and Strasbourg's long tradition of spiritualism.