1558The Executioner’s Bible – a significant printed work from the early modern period

Not quite a “normal” Bible, this edition was printed in Wittenberg in 1558 by Hans Lufft—who was called “the Bible printer” due to the sheer volume of his printed works during the Reformation—and is exhibited here.

The large-format Bible edition, illustrated with expressive woodcuts and titled “Die gantze Heilige Schrifft: Deudsch,” holds a special provenance and significance for Alsfeld: from 1643 until the beginning of the 20th century, it was owned by the Alsfeld executioner family Hamel and was provided with a whole series of handwritten notes by its owners. There are entries regarding births, deaths, and obituaries, as well as documentation of a observed natural phenomenon (a comet) and even the description of an execution.

Since executioners, as the enforcers of torture and death sentences, were not only held in low regard but were even considered “dishonorable,” these unusual handwritten entries in an early work of German printing history stand, on the one hand, as representative of the life of a marginalized small group within the urban population. On the other hand, they represent the significance of this printed product of the early modern period, as the “Bible printer’s” work, with its handwritten entries by the Hamel executioner family, offers an insight into Alsfeld’s city history over a period of 250 years. (MNic)