The Protestant Reformation: Introductions

In 1517, the actions of a simple monk ushered in a period of unparalleled religious and political upheaval. "The Reformation: A Brief History" provides a succinct yet comprehensive introduction to this extraordinary period, showing and why the Protestant Reformation arose and unfolded. In this rich account, the author skillfully blends social history, religious and theological ideas with economic and political factors. The description is well-rounded, drawing not just on the actions of the main characters, but also the experiences and ideas of ordinary people, the quest for social justice, and the conflicting approaches to Christian unity. The events of the Reformation are placed in the context of Christian history to offer a fuller understanding of the period. The result is a truly engaging narrative that shows the reader exactly what was at stake, and why, as the events unfurled. Accessible, lucid and based on the best of current research, this book offers readers a wonderful overview of one of the most critical periods in Western history. - Back cover.

"The formative works of Erasmus, Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, and analyses the special circumstances of the English Reformation as well as the Jesuits and the Counter-Reformation."--Cover.

"In The Reformation, Patrick Collinson offers a concise yet thorough overview of the drastic ecumenical revolution of the late medieval and Renaissance eras. Whether looking at the sum effect of such disparate elements as the humanist philosophy of Desiderius Erasmus and the impact on civilization of movable-type printing and "vulgate" scriptures or defining the differences between the evangelical (Lutheran) and reformed (Calvinist) churches, Collinson makes clear how the battles for men's lives often started in the battles for their souls."--Jacket.

The Reformation and the Counter- Reformation it provoked are one of the great discontinuities in European and world history.The dramatic changes that began when Martin Luther proclaimed his ninety-five theses in Wittenberg in 1517 were of a differenter to anything that had gone before.In the following two hundred years, the Christian world broke apart and the nature not just of religion but also of politics,thought, society and culture all changed utterly.The course of history down to our own time has been decisively shaped by this revolution.
Diarmaid MacCulloch's magnificent new history is the most authoritative and wide-ranging account of these epochal and often bloody events.He brilliantly describes the changing late medieval world into which Luther,Calvin and the other reformers erupted.He proposes an original understanding of he often confusing origins of the exceptionally violent disagreements that divided men and women of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries-disagreements for which they were prepared to kill and be killed.He examines the personalities of the leading Reformers and their opponents and the mix of ideas,prejudices and accidents that shaped the various versions of Protestantism and Catholicism.-Jacket.

Professor Oberman explores 'experiential' mysticism;the tradition of humility; the 'battle on two fronts' waged by the Wittenburg circle against Pierias and Eck; Luther's medieval and apocalyptical conception of "reformatio" and its purpose; the pre-history of 'confessionalization' in the Confession of Augsburg and its 'Confutatio' by Luther's Roman opponents;Zwingli and Luther.In the final chapter he describes a model of three long-term 'Reformations' that can also be seen as revolutions: the Conciliar Reformation,the City Reformation and the Calvinist Reformation of the Refugees.-Back cover.

The Reformation had its inception in the search for the answer to a typically medieval question,How can I be saved? The answer which Luther found after years of inner conflict,prayer, and study involved basic theological assumptions which threatened to undermine the well-integrated doctrinal system and the highly developed ecclesiastical hierarchy of the church.The rapidity with which the doctrines o fLuther and the other reformers spread throughout Europe is evidence of a general concern over the question of salvation,and also of a strong dissatisfaction with the secularized church for not adequately serving the religious needs of the people.-Introduction.

Ernest G. Schiebert offers a comprehensive view of the Lutheran Reformation in sixteenth-century Germany.Filled with intriguing detail not easily found elsewhere,this clearly written book offers creative descriptions of:the medieval and Renaissance background of the Reformation,the rise of the electorate of Saxony,the founding and development of the University of Wittenberg and the interaction of church and university in the course of the Reformation.Jacket

Perhaps no period in Christian history experienced such vast religious tumult and rapid social change as the European Reformation, when it quickly became apparent that social and political issues--finding deep resonance with the common people--were deeply entwined with religious ones raised by the Reformers. Led by eminent Reformation historian Peter Matheson, ten distinguished social historians trace the myriad and profound ways in which Europe's several Reformations played out in the lives of common folk: in their personal spirituality and corporate worship; catechesis and discipline; sexuality and gender roles; mores surrounding marriage, birth, and baptism, aging and death; relations with Jews and Muslims; lay theologies; as well as the utopian and even revolutionary ventures they spawned.

More than two hundred international scholars from a variety of denominations contribute to this outstanding, one-volume reference book. Comprehensive in scope, it stresses the importance of events, persons, and theological concepts that have been significant to the Reformed tradition.

"In this new survey of the development of European intellectual culture between about 1300 and 1535, Anthony Levi offers a fresh view of the Renaissance and the Reformation, calling for a reassessment of the nature of both. Through a radical and detailed examination of the significant intellectual, spiritual, and ideological developments across Europe during this period, Levi disputes the discontinuities commonly understood to explain and defend the events we term the "Renaissance" and the "Reformation." He argues that the renewed cult of the literary, visual, and educational norms of classical antiquity were a consequence - not the essence or cause - of the Renaissance. Further, the Reformation emerged from a cultural movement that neither constituted a historical break nor led to the catastrophic religious clashes of the sixteenth century. He offers a revisionist account of the collapse of scholastic intellectual systems and traces its course."--Jacket.

At the moment when Western culture was expanding to reshape the destinies of the whole human race,Europe was swept by religious movements that struck deep into her society.Their secular effects and spiritual messages are still part of our experience today.This book provides a concise but balanced and human account of the Reformation-whose great complex embraced so many of these movements- in its social, political and intellectual setting.-Jacket.

The opening chapters consider late medieval thought and the emergence of the young Luther at the center of the Reformation movement. There follows a study of the impact upon Luther of the philological, spiritual, and philosophical traditions of sixteenth-century Europe. These traditions are fully examined in order to discern what Luther and his followers silently ignored or rejected, thus delineating what is new and original in early Reformation thought. The remaining chapters move from Luther to the wider world of events marking the Reformation era: the Peasant War, the Copernican Revolution, the beginning of the Counter-Reformation, and the reforms initiated by the Council of Trent. - Cover.

Using the evidence of wills and account-books,examining late medieval church-building and,above all, the striking popularity of the lay fraternity,Professor Scarisbrick argues that there was little violent discontent with the old Church on the eve of the Reformation- that,on the whole, English layfolk had been able to fashion a Church which suited their needs well enough.The main thrust for the ensuing changes came from 'above' and was rarely accompanied by the fierce anticlericalism and iconoclasm that was often a feature of the continental Reformation.-Jacket.

Employing the methods of intellectual and social history,Mr. Ozment demonstrates that Protestantism was seen at the beginning of the Reformation to be a far-reaching simplification of religion and enhancement of secular life.It presented laymen with a new piety,releasing men and women from both the unwarranted conviction of guilt and the burdensome religious observances imposed upon them by the medieval church.From Rostock to Constance many areas of life long controlled by the clergy were completely secularized; others were declared matters of individual decision.-Jacket.

This volume attempts to practice what it preaches. It not only places the Reformation in dialogue with its own historical past, but it does so by bringing together essays by eight authors representing almost as many cultures. Two were born in Russia, two in Germany, two in Holland, one in France, and one in the United States. Most of them have held teaching positions in more than one country. Four of the essays focus on Martin Luther. This emphasis on Luther in essays dealing with personalities results from the understandable fact that contemporary Luther scholarship has taken the lead in placing the Reformation in medieval perspective. Greater ecumenicity could have been practiced in this regard only at some sacrifice of quality. It is to be expected, however, that the coming generation of late medieval and Reformation scholars will remedy this situation. -Preface.

"This book offers a new interpretation of the transition from Catholicism to Protestantism in the English Reformation, and explores its implications for an understanding of women and gender. Central to this is an appreciation of the significance of medieval Christocentric piety in offering a bridge to Reformation, and in shaping the nature of Protestantism in the period up to the Civil War. Not only does this explain much of the support for Protestantism, but it also suggests the need to question assumptions that the 'loss' of the Virgin Mary and the saints was detrimental to women."--Jacket.

"Ozment does a wonderful job of showing that the story of the Reformation does NOT begin with the posting of the 95 theses in 1517. Rather, the events of the 1500s were the culmination of a centuries-old search for truth. Ozment's account of the Reformation as something unfolding out of the Middle Ages is much more instructive than the standard view, which treats the Reformation as a starting point for this or that development. This book grounds Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Ignatius firmly in the tradition of medieval scholastic, mystic, and ecclesio-political thought, as well as Renaissance humanism. Additional chapters are devoted to clerical marriage and resistance to tyranny, two legacies of Protestantism that Ozment finds particularly compelling. To top it off, the author has obviously done his homework; every significant interpretation by previous scholars receives due note here"--Amazon.com.

The analysis begins with the history and historiography of Reformation scholarship and ends with an extended reflection on the Reformations' religious, social, and cultural legacies. It will provide a clear introduction for undergraduates at college.

"The European Reformation of the sixteenth century was one of the most formative periods in the history of Christian thought and remains one of the most fascinating events in Western history. The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology provides a comprehensive guide to the theology and theologians of the period. Each of the eighteen chapters is written by a leading authority in the field and provides an up-to-date account and analysis of the thought associated with a particular figure or movement. There are chapters focusing on lesser reformers such as Martin Bucer, and on the Catholic and Radical Reformations, as well as the major Protestant reformers. A detailed bibliography and comprehensive index allow comparison of the treatment of specific themes by different figures. This authoritative and accessible guide will appeal to students of history and literature as well as specialist theologians."--Jacket.

Considers the significance of the period from Constance to Trent (1414-1563), when several councils met to heal the Great Schism (1378) and reform the church. This book reflects on the predicaments of modern community-building when communities are experimenting with broader participation in the decision-making process.

This study calls attention to the centrality of the idolatry issue for provides a survey and synthesis of its unfolding from Erasmus through Calvin,and lays a foundation for understanding the Protestant ideology that stood in conflict with Catholicism outside of Lutheran territories.The central thesis of this work is that John Calvin,in defending the heritage of the Reformed attitude toward idolatry,forged a new,scripturally based, theological metaphysics in which the boundaries between the spiritual and the material were more clearly drawn than ever; and that his reaffirmation of the centrality of 'spiritual' worship,with its consequent denial of compromise,provided a solid ideological foundation for much of the social and political unrest that accompanied the spread of Calvinism.This is an attempt to trace the development of an idea, to chronicle the way in which theology became a sociopolitical ideology, and gave rise to action,conflict, and, in some cases, change.-Introduction.

This book presents ten important confessions from the era of the Reformation.Each was composed with great care,even those where the actual writing had to be done on the run.The authors of these confessions were attempting to capture something essential about Christianity,concerning either a limited range of debated issues or the entirety of belief itself.In their day the themes raised by these documents were of greatest public interest.For some of the authors they were literally matters of life and death.-Introduction.

The Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter Reformation are familiar subjects to all students of church history, but a third concurrent movement of great importance has largely been ignored except by specialists.This is what the author of this book calls the Radical Reformation.It comprised those "Radicals"-Anabaptists, Spiritualists,Evangelical Rationalists,and others-who rebelled not only against the classical Reformers,and as a consequence incurred the enmity of both major groups.-Jacket

This updated and expanded version of the original,highly acclaimed edition of 1987 explores the complex intellectual roots of the Reformation,offering a sustained engagement with the ideas of humanism and scholasticism.McGrath demonstrates how the intellectual origins of the Reformation were heterogeneous,and draws out the implications of this finding for our understanding of the Reformation as a whole.McGrath's reading of the Reformation against its complex intellectual background opens up new insights into this highly significant historical phenomenon.Yet this is more than a fascinating exploration in the history of ideas; it is also a defense of the entire enterprise of intellectual history in the face of social historical approaches,and a reaffirmation of the importance of ideas to the development of history.-Back cover.

Hans J. Hillerbrand details the events and ideas of the sixteenth century and contends that the Protestant Reformation must be seen as an interplay of religious, political, and economic forces in which religion played a major role. Hillerbrand tells the fascinating story of the ways in which theological disagreements divided the centuries-old Christian church and the roles that leading characters such as Luther, Zwingli, Anabaptists, and Calvin played in establishing new churches, even as Roman Catholicism continued to develop in its own ways. The book covers all significant aspects of this period and interprets these important events in their own context while reflecting on the consequences of the Reformation for later periods and for today. - Publisher.