ABSTRACT
On 9 January 1735 the vicar of Wildemann, a village in the Harz mountains, received a letter conveying good wishes for the New Year. At that time, to receive a letter like this, carefully written by hand, was not uncommon. Members of the upper classes would send each other greetings letters. On the one hand these missives demonstrated the culture of the sender while on the other they paid homage to the recipient. But this particular letter was strange, so the vicar delivered it at once to his regional bishop, the general superintendent of Clausthal, the principal city of that part of the Electorate of Hanover. In the first place the author (and sender) was a miner. The unusual spelling of many words suggests that he was not much used to writing. Nevertheless he wanted to share in this common usage and so he presented his letter. The content of the letter was even stranger than its form. The sender wrote:
I wish you a lowly heart so that you need not receive honour from men. Thus saith the Lord: My glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice!1
