As a supplement to the new edition of the Confessionals of the Protestant Lutheran Church (BSELK) this volume represents the first edited volume of the handwritten documents that preceded the Formula of Concord and the Preface to the Formula of Concord contained in the Book of Concord. Included are the five articles and the six sermons of Jacob Andreae, the Swabian Concord and the Swabian-Saxon Concord, the Maulbronn Formula and the Torgau Book as well as the precursors to the Preface. These documents clearly reveal the complicated origins of the Book of Concord as well as highlighting the struggles that went on to reach a consensus and the resolve necessary to achieve theological unity - the work of both the theologians and secular rulers alike.

Prof. Dr. phil. habil. theol. Irene Dingel ist Direktorin des Leibniz-Instituts für Europäische Geschichte.