Johann Gerhard: Enchiridion consolatorium morti ac tentationibus in agone mortis opponendum (1611)

Gerhard‘s ›Enchiridion‹ is a handbook about fighting the various temptations, in particular in the face of dying and death. Gerhard completed work on this book of consolation in the period between the death of his first child and that of his first wife. A fictitious dialogue between someone subjected to temptation and a consoler deals with 46 questions, doubts and temptations ranging from the harbingers of death to the severity of the Last Judgment. A prayer for those who are ill or in need rounds out the book of consolation, which is part of a long tradition of »ars moriendi.« The critically edited Latin text is accompanied by a German translation published in 1611. The annotations in the apparatus provide information on the biblical quotations, the works of the Church Fathers as well as medieval and contemporary theology. An afterword puts this work into its context in the history of theology and literature and indexes make the work accessible.