BUCER (or BUTZER), MARTIN (1491-1551), German Protestant reformer, was born at Schlettstadt in Alsace. In 1506 he entered the Dominican order, and was sent to study at Heidel berg. There he became acquainted with the works of Erasmus and Luther, and was present at a disputation of the latter on the doctrine of free will. Withdrawing from his order in Bucer entered the service of the Elector Palatine, but in 1522 became pastor of Landstuhl where he married Elizabeth Silbereisen, a former nun. After his excommunication in 1523 he made his headquarters at Strasbourg. On the question of the Eucharist, Bucer's opinions in some degree approached the Zwinglian position, but he was anxious to secure unity with the Lutheran party and constantly endeavoured, especially after Zwingli's death (1531), to find a compromise that would unite Lutheran, south German and Swiss reformers. Hence the charge of ambiguity and obscurity which has been laid against him. In 1529 he had suc ceeded in arranging a conference at Marburg between Luther and Zwingli, but no agreement was reached on the main question. He helped to draft the declaration known as the Confessio Tetrapoli tana, presented to the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 by the towns of Strasbourg, Memmingen, Constance and Lindau. He met Luther at Coburg in 1530, and Melancthon at Cassel in 1534, but agree ment on the question of the real presence in the Eucharist was reached only when he met Luther at Wittenberg in May 1536. But even so agreement was rather apparent than real, for Bucer had gone farther than the Swiss were prepared to go. He then sought in vain to arrange an understanding between the Catholics and the Reformers. In 1548 he was sent to Augsburg to sign the agreement, called the Interim, between the Catholics and Protestants. His stout opposition to this project exposed him to many difficulties; Strasbourg was almost alone in declining assent, and eventually he had to seek leave of absence, gladly accepting Cranmer's invitation to make his home in England. On his arrival in 1S49 he was appointed regius professor of divinity at Cambridge. Edward VI. and the protector Somerset showed him much favour and he was consulted as to the revision of the Book of Common Prayer. Bucer died on Feb. 27, 1551. His name is familiar in English literature from the use made of his doc trines by Milton in his divorce treatises.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-A collected edition of his writings has never been Bibliography.-A collected edition of his writings has never been published. A volume known as the Scripta Anglicana or Tomus Anglicanus (Basle, 1577) contains those written in England. His correspondence with Philip of Hesse, whose "second" marriage, accepted by the reformers, created a scandal, was edited by Lenz (1880-91). See J. W. Baum, Capito and Butzer (Strasbourg, 186o), which contains in an appendix a full list of his work; J. Ficker, Martin Bucer (1917) ; A. Erickson, Zur 400-Jdhrigen Geburtsfeier Martin Butzers (Strassburg, 1891), and the articles in the Dict. Nat. Biog. (by A. W. Ward), and in Herzog-Hauck's Realencyklopiidie (by Paul Griinberg)