Achtliederbuch (first Lutheran hymnal)

Etlich Cristlich lider / Lobgesang und Psalm [‘Some Christian songs / canticle, and psalm’]. Printed by Jobst Gutknecht, Nuremberg 1523/24.

First Lutheran ‘hymnal,’ containing eight songs from Martin Luther, Paul Speratus, and an anonymous author:

Source: Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel
(CC BY-SA License)

Further reading

Hilbrands, Walter. ” ‘With Psalms and Hymns’. The Reformation, Music and Liturgy”, in The Reformation: Its Roots and Its Legacy, ed. P. Berthoud and P. J. Lalleman, p. 55-73. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2017. [Google Books; download available at Academia.edu]

Leaver, Robin A. Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2017. [Google Books]

Leaver, Robin A., ed. A New Song We Now Begin: Celebrating the Half Millennium of Lutheran Hymnals 1524-2024. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2024. [Google Books]

Loewe, J. Andreas. “Why Do Lutherans Sing? Lutherans, Music, and the Gospel in the First Century of the Reformation.” Church History 82, no. 1 (2013): 69–89. [View online (subscription barrier); download available at Academia.edu]

Schilling, Johannes. “Martin Luther and the Arts: Music, Poetry, and Hymns”, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Martin Luther, vol. 1, ed. D. R. Nelson and P. R. Hinlicky, p. 19-35. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2017. [View online (subscription barrier)]

Steinmetz, Uwe, ed. Global Achtliederbuch 2024. [To be published by the Lutheran World Federation; cf. project website]