Carlstadt, Andreas Rudolf Bodenstein af (c. 1480–1541)

German theologian. While studying theology in Rome he began to subscribe to the same doctrines as Martin Luther. His views, however, were more advanced than the latter's, and the two found themselves in opposition, as Carlstadt denounced the practices of the Church without limit. Accused of taking part in the peasants' revolt, he fled from Saxony in 1524, and was granted refuge in Wittenberg on condition that he did not lecture. He refused to take part in the controversy against the Swiss Protestant reformer Ulrich Zwingli, became involved in further disputes, and was forced to leave in 1528–29. He eventually reached Zürich, Switzerland, and was professor at Basel University until his death.