ABSTRACT
This chapter maps some of the general tendencies that marked the Lutheran interest in incombustible books: the historical trajectory, the social profile, and the identity of the books. It further suggests what kind of things early modern unburnt Lutheran books were. First, it is shown that whereas unburnt books were a kind of wonder, they often excluded the possibility of actual wondering, that is, the experience of surprise, bewilderment, or disbelief associated with the wondrous. Second, it is suggested that unburnt books were sometimes seen as an emotional and religious compensation for the loss of other books. This in turn meant that the significance of books preserved in fire was enhanced, regardless of their content. Nevertheless, that entailed neither the canonisation of the books nor of their authors. Last, comparing unburnt books with relics of Martin Luther, which many Lutherans were greatly fond of during the period, it is underlined that while never being regarded as sacred and efficacious objects, incombustible books had the same quality as relics: they were things for which devotion was suggested upon the acknowledgement of historical value.
