Innovator of Reformation Studies: Subject Matter and Style in the Works of Yu. Golubkin

Abstract

The article outlines the range of problems in the history of the Reformation explored in the oeuvre of the outstanding medievalist Yuri Golubkin. Golubkin authored more than 90 academic and popular works on medieval and early modern history. He was particularly interested in the writings of Martin Luther and in Luther’s participation in the events of the Reformation. The study employs the historical-typological, historicalgenetic, and historical-comparative methods and is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. Its originality lies in identifying the main avenues of the study of the Reformation in the work of Yu. Golubkin and in defining the principal phases of his evolution as a scholar. The authors argue that the first phase (1970s–1980s) was marked by a focus on the socio-political views of Martin Luther and his participation in the early bourgeois revolution in Germany, while in the second phase (1990s–2000s) Golubkin was primarily interested in the formation of Luther’s religious beliefs and his participation in the creation of the Evangelical Church. The scholar’s articles and translations are notable for their distinctive style, characterized by expressiveness and wide use of metaphor, epithet, and idiom. The authors further suggest that translation of Luther’s main works was central to Golubkin’s research trajectory. The need to engage with Golubkin’s innovative approach to Martin Luther’s life and work determines the prospects for further exploration of the historian’s oeuvre as a significant contribution to Reformation studies.