The Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) is a German biographical encyclopedia covering deceased persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz, the first volume of which appeared in 1975..
It features over 20,000 articles, many of which were made freely available online between 1996 and 2011. [1] The online service now operates on a subscription model. Though, courtesy of the Internet Archive, some such entries remain available as archived pages and many of the print volumes are available to read online (with free registration).
Shortly after the Second World War, the pastor Friedrich Bautz developed the idea of writing a biographical lexicon of protestant church figures. [2] His son, Traugott Bautz, recalls that his father had originally envisioned writing a two-volume handbook but that the family's remote and isolated location in the small village of Holtorf an der Elbe (now part of Schnackenburg) on the border with Soviet-occupied Germany made such an undertaking impossible at the time. [3]
Working on the project from the 1950s, Friedrich Bautz conceived of the work, which had the working title "Ihm zu dienen welch ein Stand" as containing 3,000 short biographies. Unable to find an interested publisher, Traugott founded a publishing house as an independent bookseller. From there the work, which had been extended in scope to cover non-Protestant Christians and had developed a greater focus on bibliographic information, was printed and distributed in loose-leaf form from 1970. [4] [5] The first volume, written entirely by Friedrich Bautz was published in 1975 under its current title. [2]
Traugott Bautz (1945–2020) continued the project after his father's death, but had the articles written by experts. From 1996 onwards, the articles were also placed on the Internet. The basic work was completed with Volume 14 in 1998, and from then on supplementary volumes were published at least annually. [2] He was responsible for editing volumes 3 through to 41. [6]
Since the death of Traugott Bautz, the BBKL has been headed by his widow Uta Timpe-Bautz.
Arnošt of Pardubice was the first Archbishop of Prague. He was also an advisor and diplomat to Emperor Charles IV.
Nikolaus Krell, chancellor of the elector of Saxony, was born at Leipzig, and educated at the university of his native town.
Joseph Schnitzer was a theologian. He started teaching at Munich University in 1902.
Arbeoof Freising was an early medieval author and the Bishop of Freising from 764.
Ernst Akiva Simon was a German-Jewish educator and religious philosopher.
Friedrich Wilhelm Carl/Karl Umbreit was a German Protestant theologian and a Hebrew Bible scholar.
Walter of Speyer (967–1027) was a German bishop of Speyer and a poet.
William of Falgar was a Franciscan theologian from south-west France, a follower of Bonaventure.
Aredius of Gap was bishop of Gap.
Eberhard Nestle was a German biblical scholar, textual critic, orientalist, editor of the Novum Testamentum Graece, and the father of Erwin Nestle.
Julius Smend was a German theologian born in Lengerich, Westphalia. He was a brother to theologian Rudolf Smend (1851–1913) and the father of musicologist Friedrich Smend.
Eugen Friedrich Ferdinand Sachsse was a German Protestant theologian born in Cologne.
Johann Traugott Leberecht Danz was a German Lutheran theologian and church historian born in Weimar.
Paul Riessler (Rießler) was a noted German biblical scholar who has written a number of widely recognized books including Altjüdisches Schrifttum außerhalb der Bibel.
Lucas Maius was a German Protestant pastor who converted from Lutheranism to Calvinism, and playwright during the Protestant Reformation.
Sturm, also called Sturmius or Sturmi, was a disciple of Boniface and founder and first abbot of the Benedictine monastery and abbey of Fulda in 742 or 744. Sturm's tenure as abbot lasted from 747 until 779.
Hans Backoffen was a German sculptor.
Ludwig Christian Erk was a German musicologist, music teacher, academic, composer and folk-song collector.
Matthias or Mathias Schraudolph was a German painter and Benedictine monk in Metten Abbey under the religious name Frater Lucas OSB.
Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz was a Protestant theologian and writer.
BAUTZ, Traugott, *23.8. 1945 . . . in Holtorf, jetzt Schnackenburg, Kreis Lüchow-Dannenberg, † 1.6. 2020 in Herzberg am Harz, Buchhandler, Verleger, Studienrat, Herausgeber des BIOGRAPHISCH-BIBLIOGRAPHISCHEN KIRCHENLEXIKONS, Band drei bis einundvierzig. Bautz wurde als drittes Kind des Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz . . .[BAUTZ, Traugott, *23.8. 1945 . . . in Holtorf, now Schnackenburg, Lüchow-Dannenberg district, † 1.6. 2020 in Herzberg am Harz, book dealer, publisher, teacher, editor of the BIOGRAPHISCH-BIBLIOGRAPHISCHEN KIRCHENLEXIKONS, volumes three to forty-one. Bautz was the third child of Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz. .]