STAUPITZ, JOHANN von. — German theologian and mystic of the sixteenth century, professor of theology at Wittenberg and vicar general of the Augustinians in Germany.
He was Luther’s teacher and friend, to whom he ceded the chair in 1512 and whom he supported and protected during the early period of the revolt. In 1518 he accompanied him into the presence of the cardinal legate at Augsburg and released him from the bond of obedience. He later resigned the vicariate, repudiated Lutheran doctrines, and died in the Benedictine abbey of St. Peter at Salzburg (1524).
His treatises—Imitazione della morte di Gesù Cristo; Dell'amor di Dio, Della retta fede cristiana—and his sermons reflect the influence of the German mystics of the fourteenth century and had an impact on Luther’s spiritual formation.