“Judaizing” as bodily practice in Reformation Germany: the observance of the Sabbath in Karlstadt (1524) and Margaritha (1530)

The concept of rest has, like any other bodily practice, a history that is shaped by its historical and cultural context. Jewish scripture places rest from physical labour at the beginning of the created world. The observance of the Sabbath as a weekly day of rest is commanded and regulated in the Torah as sign of Israel’s covenant with God who is holy. Sunday as a day of worship in which the resurrected Christ is present in spirit was a Christian innovation. In the Reformation many long-established Christian practices were challenged. This article discusses the Sabbath discourse in early Reformation Germany in a tract on the observance of the Sabbath and statutory holidays (Von dem Sabbbat und geboten feyertagen, 1524) by the Protestant reformer Andreas Karlstadt and a book about Jewish rituals (Der Gantz Jüdisch Glaub, 1530) by the convert from Judaism, Anthonius Margaritha.

Focusing on the bodily practices as part of the observance of Sabbath, the article examines the idea of holiness, the Sabbath as a social institution and the disciplined body resting on the Sabbath. Ultimately, the negative notion of “Jewish carnality” was not challenged in this Reformation discourse and “judaizing” remained a rhetorical device to attack opponents by denouncing them of following Jewish practice.