European history: Reformation Books

Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, SPECTATOR, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, BBC HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR''This is the biography we have been awaiting for 400 years'' Hilary Mantel''A masterpiece'' Dan Jones, Sunday TimesThomas Cromwell is one of the most famous - or notorious - figures in English history. Born in obscurity in Putney, he became a fixer for Cardinal Wolsey in the 1520s. After Wolsey''s fall, Henry VIII promoted him to a series of ever greater offices, and by the end of the 1530s he was effectively running the country for the King. That decade was one of the most momentous in English history: it saw a religious break with the Pope, unprecedented use of parliament, the dissolution of all monasteries. Cromwell was central to all this, but establishing his role with precision, at a distance of nearly five centuries and after the destruction of many of his papers at his own fall, has been notoriously difficult.Diarmaid MacCulloch''s biography is much the most complete and persuasive life ever written of this elusive figure, a masterclass in historical detective work, making connections not previously seen. It overturns many received interpretations, for example that Cromwell was a cynical, ''secular'' politician without deep-felt religious commitment, or that he and Anne Boleyn were allies because of their common religious sympathies - in fact he destroyed her. It introduces the many different personalities of these foundational years, all conscious of the ''terrifyingly unpredictable'' Henry VIII. MacCulloch allows readers to feel that they are immersed in all this, that it is going on around them.For a time, the self-made ''ruffian'' (as he described himself) - ruthless, adept in the exercise of power, quietly determined in religious revolution - was master of events. MacCulloch''s biography for the first time reveals his true place in the making of modern England and Ireland, for good and ill.Trade ReviewSir Diarmaid MacCulloch is one of finest historians in the English-speaking world and preeminent in the area of the English Reformation. He has combined his expertise in 16th-century history with a compelling literary style in his latest book ... the definitive work on Henry VIII's great minister and an extraordinary insight into the politics and religion of the age, and of any age for that matter. Thomas Cromwell's somewhat dark reputation was given a new and bright shine by Hilary Mantel in the Wolf Hall trilogy and this life takes us from the fictional into the authentic; its triumph is that it is just as thrilling and equally stimulating and challenging. A profoundly important book. -- Rev. Michael Coren * Spectator *Meticulous and magisterial ... If this is not the definitive biography, I don't know what that would look like -- Peter Marshall * Literary Review *Triumphant and definitive ... a masterpiece of documentary detective-work, which buzzes with the excitement of a great historian immersed in archives -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *A model of classical historical biography at its finest -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman *The definitive biography ... exhaustively researched and superbly written -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times (Books of the Year) *The Tudor minister brought to fictional life in Wolf Hall is given a definitive scholarly treatment in this long-awaited, masterful, wry biography -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year) *

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Book Synopsis1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear traces Shakespeare''s life and times from the autumn of 1605, when he took an old and anonymous Elizabethan play, The Chronicle History of King Leir, and transformed it into his most searing tragedy, King Lear.1606 proved to be an especially grim year for England, which witnessed the bloody aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, divisions over the Union of England and Scotland, and an outbreak of plague. But it turned out to be an exceptional one for Shakespeare, unrivalled at identifying the fault-lines of his cultural moment, who before the year was out went on to complete two other great Jacobean tragedies that spoke directly to these fraught times: Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.Following the biographical style of 1599, a way of thinking and writing that Shapiro has made his own, 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear promises to be one of the most significant and accessible works on Shakespeare in the decade to come

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Book SynopsisIn 1573, the alchemist Anna Zieglerin gave her patron, the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, the recipe for an extraordinary substance she called the lion's blood. She claimed that this golden oil could stimulate the growth of plants, create gemstones, transform lead into the coveted philosophers' stone—and would serve a critical role in preparing for the Last Days. Boldly envisioning herself as a Protestant Virgin Mary, Anna proposed that the lion's blood, paired with her own body, could even generate life, repopulating and redeeming the corrupt world in its final moments. In Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood, Tara Nummedal reconstructs the extraordinary career and historical afterlife of alchemist, courtier, and prophet Anna Zieglerin. She situates Anna's story within the wider frameworks of Reformation Germany's religious, political, and military battles; the rising influence of alchemy; the role of apocalyptic eschatology; and the position of women within these contexts. Together with her husband, the jester Heinrich Schombach, and their companion and fellow alchemist Philipp Sommering, Anna promised her patrons at the court of Wolfenbüttel spiritual salvation and material profit. But her compelling vision brought with it another, darker possibility: rather than granting her patrons wealth or redemption, Anna's alchemical gifts might instead lead to war, disgrace, and destruction. By 1575, three years after Anna's arrival at court, her enemies had succeeded in turning her from holy alchemist into poisoner and sorceress, culminating in Anna's arrest, torture, and public execution. In her own life, Anna was a master of self-fashioning; in the centuries since her death, her story has been continually refashioned, making her a fitting emblem for each new age. Interweaving the history of science, gender, religion, and politics, Nummedal recounts how one resourceful woman's alchemical schemes touched some of the most consequential matters in Reformation Germany.Trade Review"This is a major feat of historical revision for a subject that has too long been the object of mockery and scorn . . . Tara Nummedal's new microhistory demonstrates with scholarly acumen and stylistic élan just how wrong assumptions [about alchemy] are. In a dazzling work of cultural imagination, she eschews all the 'turning lead into gold' nonsense and quickly gets to the conceptual heart of who alchemists were, what they actually believed, and what roles they played in early modern society. Building on deep archival work and sophisticated argumentation, she fashions a truly engaging and revealing microhistory focused on the tragic story of one sixteenth-century practitioner, Anna Zieglerin."" * Preternature *"[A] gripping microhistory that situates alchemy within the histories of imperial politics, Reformation culture, Renaissance self-fashioning, courtly patronage, gender, the body, and sixteenth-century eschatology...With its intriguing storytelling, Anna Zieglerin and the Lion’s Blood is particularly attractive for scholars and students new to the complexities of early modern alchemy. Nummedal maintains a light touch, weaving discussions of sixteenth-century science, magic, religion, and imperial politics into what remains an enthralling tale throughout. She is to be commended for producing a book that does so much to highlight alchemy’s connections to a broad range of Reformation-era developments and that has a chance to bring its history to a wider audience." * Renaissance and Reformation *"Captivating and creative from the earliest pages...Nummedal has skillfully interwoven the history of science and religion, as well as political, social, gender, and court histories via an insightful look into the alchemical theories and practices of the age...[An] erudite and well-written study. Nummedal has produced a fun page-turner and the reader—whether a scholar of any aspect of early modern history or a general reader interested in good stories and good histories—will benefit from this wonderful presentation of alchemy and political intrigue in the courts of the Holy Roman Empire." * The Journal of Modern History *"In this masterful study, Tara Nummedal exposes a previously vilified figure of local German history to sympathetic new scrutiny and in the process, opens a window onto the fantastic worldview of her subject…By employing archival and manuscript evidence along with the older historiography, Nummedal manages to piece together the fascinating story." * American Historical Review *"In Alchemy and Authority, Nummedal made clear how alchemy was deeply integrated into early modern economics and court culture. In this latest effort, Nummedal has accomplished the same goal except on a vastly more ambitious scale, bringing the relevance of alchemy into the politics, religion, diplomacy, court culture, and gender roles of the Holy Roman Empire in the sixteenth century . . . Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood is a remarkable historiographical study . . . In short, Nummedal has contributed a stunning achievement that ideally will reach a wide and diverse audience far beyond historians of science." * Ambix *"[A]an entertaining book, with long stretches reading like a thriller…Anna Zieglerin lived her existence as an alchemist so authentically, was so dedicated body and soul to the matter that not only the substances but also she herself became a victim of the flames. The fact that she is now transmuted into a book and can live on in this way is a testament to Nummedal’s achievement." * Annals of Science *"Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood is perfect for historians and general readers alike. It is written in a vivid and accessible language, and by adopting a nonjudgmental style of reporting Nummedal decisively differs from her predecessors: she refuses to make value judgments about Anna's wondrous and outrageous claims and brand the alchemist a simple charlatan. Instead, she presents the story of a complex and tragic individual, who came up with a unique theory of heavenly alchemy." * Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft *"Drawing upon diverse sources, Nummedal situates Anna and her alchemy within the social contexts of gender, religion, and politics in Reformation Germany to weave an impressive historical narrative of a woman attempting to understand the natural world and her place within it...Nummedal succeeds in reframing Anna Zieglerin as a woman with agency who intentionally fashioned herself into a courtly alchemist within strict early modern European gender boundaries. Nummedal’s Anna is a lens through which the twentyfirst-century reader can view the history of alchemy and its relationship to Christianity, the body, and politics." * Isis *"Nummedal’s analysis offers particular insights into the history of women’s bodies, the intersections between natural knowledge and politics, and the relationship between self-fashioning and fantasy...The book is meticulously researched and displays the author’s talents for archival sleuthing (which were already known from her first book). Beyond this, it is eminently readable and takes what is strange, foreign, and ripe for misunderstanding, making it comprehensible and relatable." * Journal of the History of Medicine *"The book is superbly written and clearly contextualized, and thus easily accessible even to non-experts. However, more experienced scholars will also benefit from this elegant study. All in all, Anna Zieglerin and the Lion’s Blood adds considerably to our understanding of the complexity of sixteenth-century religiosity, which was easily able to accommodate alchemical practices...Because of the ways in which it considers the religious implications of alchemical practice, Nummedal’s study is a worthwhile read not only for historians of science but also for Church historians and religious scholars." * Renaissance Quarterly *"Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood is as gripping as a good novel yet so much more than merely an interesting yarn. Tara Nummedal is completely conversant with the milieu in which she locates her story and is very adept in fitting this episode into the broader narratives of sixteenth-century religion, science, and court life." * Philip Soergel, University of Maryland *"Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood is at once a story of one particular woman and a broader discourse on gender and the body, the history of alchemy, the central role of apocalyptic thinking in early modern Germany, and, most interestingly, the nature of historical truth. A remarkable story, expertly told." * Alisha Rankin, Tufts University *Table of ContentsCast of Characters A Note on Names Introduction. A Witch's Chair? Chapter 1. The Shadow of Gotha Chapter 2. The Road to Wolfenbüttel Chapter 3. Courting Julius and Hedwig Chapter 4. The Lion's Blood Chapter 5. A New Virgin Mary Chapter 6. Unraveling Chapter 7. Toad Poison and Other Fictions Conclusion. Afterlives Chronology of Events Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisThe story of the Stuart dynasty is a breathless soap opera played out in just a hundred years in an array of buildings that span Europe from Scotland, via Denmark, Holland and Spain to England.Life in the court of the House of Stuart has been shrouded in mystery: the first half of the century overshadowed by the fall and execution of Charles I, the second half in the complete collapse of the House itself. Lost to time is the extraordinary contribution the Stuarts made to the fabric of sovereignty.Every palace they built, painting they commissioned, or artwork they acquired was a direct reflection of the lives that they led and the way that they thought. Palaces of Revolution explores this rich history in graphic detail, giving a unique insight into the lives of this famous dynasty. It takes us from Royston and Newmarket, where James I appropriated most of the town centre as a sort of rough-and-ready royal housing estate, to the steamy Turkish baths at Whitehall where Charles II seducedTrade Review‘Simon Thurley may be congratulated on a splendid achievement, which serves several different branches of history at once, as well as those who appreciate a clear and lively literary style … An important addition to knowledge’ Ronald Hutton, Times Literary Supplement ‘A hugely impressive, readable book that covers its broad canvas with assurance … Thoughtfully illustrated and furnished with plans of the buildings, itself a huge accomplishment.’ John Goodall, Country Life ‘In his admirably readable new book, Simon Thurley, who probably knows more about the palaces of the 16th and 17th centuries than anyone alive, has written a chronological survey of the royal residences of the Stuarts, a period of just over 100 years. You almost can read it as an alternative history of the dynasty … Lively and authoritative’ Andrew Taylor, The Times ‘Palaces of Revolution is far more than just a history book … The author’s knowledge … is unprecedented, elevating the historical survey into an alternative reading of the Stuart Dynasty … one only has to read this book to hear the walls talking. From secret seductions to fierce fighting, Thurley writes with great detail, invigorating the historical narratives we know and presenting new stories’ The Scottish Field ‘There can be few as well-placed to write about the buildings associated with the Stuart monarchy as Simon Thurley … This book – engagingly written and beautifully illustrated – is a comprehensive account of those achievements, and of the role that buildings played in the political life of early modern Britain.’ Historic House magazine ‘The culmination of nearly 30 years of research, [Palaces of Revolution] takes us back in time to bring these “hollow citadels of ceremony” and those who occupied them to life once again.’ Apollo

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Book SynopsisThe story of the Stuart dynasty is a breathless soap opera played out in just a hundred years in an array of buildings that span Europe from Scotland, via Denmark, Holland and Spain to England.Life in the court of the House of Stuart has been shrouded in mystery: the first half of the century overshadowed by the fall and execution of Charles I, the second half in the complete collapse of the House itself. Lost to time is the extraordinary contribution the Stuarts made to the fabric of sovereignty.Every palace they built, painting they commissioned, or artwork they acquired was a direct reflection of the lives that they led and the way that they thought. Palaces of Revolution explores this rich history in graphic detail, giving a unique insight into the lives of this famous dynasty. It takes us from Royston and Newmarket, where James I appropriated most of the town centre as a sort of rough-and-ready royal housing estate, to the steamy Turkish baths at Whitehall where Charles II seducedTrade Review‘Simon Thurley may be congratulated on a splendid achievement, which serves several different branches of history at once, as well as those who appreciate a clear and lively literary style … An important addition to knowledge’ Ronald Hutton, Times Literary Supplement ‘A hugely impressive, readable book that covers its broad canvas with assurance … Thoughtfully illustrated and furnished with plans of the buildings, itself a huge accomplishment.’ John Goodall, Country Life ‘In his admirably readable new book, Simon Thurley, who probably knows more about the palaces of the 16th and 17th centuries than anyone alive, has written a chronological survey of the royal residences of the Stuarts, a period of just over 100 years. You almost can read it as an alternative history of the dynasty … Lively and authoritative’ Andrew Taylor, The Times ‘Palaces of Revolution is far more than just a history book … The author’s knowledge … is unprecedented, elevating the historical survey into an alternative reading of the Stuart Dynasty … one only has to read this book to hear the walls talking. From secret seductions to fierce fighting, Thurley writes with great detail, invigorating the historical narratives we know and presenting new stories’ The Scottish Field ‘There can be few as well-placed to write about the buildings associated with the Stuart monarchy as Simon Thurley … This book – engagingly written and beautifully illustrated – is a comprehensive account of those achievements, and of the role that buildings played in the political life of early modern Britain.’ Historic House magazine ‘The culmination of nearly 30 years of research, [Palaces of Revolution] takes us back in time to bring these “hollow citadels of ceremony” and those who occupied them to life once again.’ Apollo

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Book SynopsisHow did popular and elite beliefs about the next world, and about supernatural forces in this world, change and develop as a result of the Reformation?Trade Review‘Invisible Worlds offers convincing proof of the central role played by conceptions of the supernatural and the afterlife in the religious upheavals of the early modern period . . . Peter Marshall’s work is indispensable reading for anyone who desires to understand the intellectual and spiritual shaping of early modern England and of the Western imagination as well.’ * Carlos Eire, Professor of History and Religious Studies, Yale University *‘With characteristic elegance and subtlety, Peter Marshall . . . shows how pastoral imperative sometimes bowed to popular belief, and how, simultaneously, Protestantism sowed the seeds of scepticism about the supernatural. Full of intriguing insights, Invisible Worlds will be warmly welcomed by scholars, students and general readers alike.’ * Alexandra Walsham, Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge *Table of ContentsPART 1: HEAVEN, HELL AND PURGATORY: HUMANS IN THE SPIRIT WORLD 1. After Purgatory: Death and Remembrance in the Reformation World 2. 'The Map of God's Word': Geographies of the Afterlife in Tudor and Early Stuart England' 3. Judgment and Repentance in Tudor Manchester: The Celestial Journey of Ellis Hall 4. The Reformation of Hell? Protestant and Catholic Infernalisms, c. 1560-1640 5. The Company of Heaven: Identity and Sociability in the English Protestant Afterlife PART 2: ANGELS, GHOSTS AND FAIRIES: SPIRITS IN THE HUMAN WORLD 6. Angels Around the Deathbed: Variations on a Theme in the English Art of Dying 7. The Guardian Angel in Protestant England 8. Deceptive Appearances: Ghosts and Reformers in Elizabethan and Jacobean England 9. Piety and Poisoning in Restoration Plymouth 10. Transformations of the Ghost Story in Post-Reformation England 11. Ann Jeffries and the Fairies: Folk Belief and the War on Scepticism

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Book SynopsisThis brief historical introduction to the English Reformation explores the social, political and religious factors that formed the original context in which it emerged, and the major thinkers and writings to which it gave birth. Ryrie also explores the intellectual and cultural `afterlife' of the English Reformation, and its lasting impact.Trade ReviewA mould-breaking little book. Ryrie persuades us that how we describe and interpret the English Reformation can owe almost as much to who is telling the story and what we want to hear as to the facts. It's a message that's long overdue, a wake-up call to anyone interested in the topic. * John Guy, University of Cambridge *Alec Ryrie here performs an extraordinary feat: his deep knowledge and fresh, original understanding of the period are packed into every line but in such delicious, efficient prose that one barely notices what great draughts of learning are being gulped down. A little gem of a book. * Suzannah Lipscomb, FRHistS, FHEA, Professor of History, University of Roehampton; author of A Visitor’s Companion to Tudor England *This brief but masterly account illuminates our understanding of what happened, why it happened, and why it still matters, by showing us how many different perspectives there are on this world-changing event. It's not just Henry VIII and his wives: as this book shows, the spiritual and political consequences of the English Reformation, good and bad, are still very much part of our world today. * Eric Metaxas, host of the nationally syndicated Eric Metaxas Radio Show; author of Martin Luther: The Man who Rediscovered God and Changed the world *

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Book SynopsisThe image of Catherine of Aragon has always suffered in comparison to the heir-providing Jane Seymour or the vivacious eroticism of Anne Boleyn. But when Henry VIII married Catherine, she was an auburn-haired beauty in her twenties with a passion she had inherited from her parents, Isabella and Ferdinand, the joint-rulers of Spain who had driven the Moors from their country.This daughter of conquistadors showed the same steel and sense of command when organising the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Flodden and Henry was to learn, to his cost, that he had not met a tougher opponent on or off the battlefield when he tried to divorce her.Henry VIII introduced four remarkable women into the tumultuous flow of England''s history: Catherine of Aragon and her daughter ''Bloody'' Queen Mary; and Anne Boleyn and her daughter, the Virgin Queen Elizabeth. ''From this contest, between two mothers and two daughters, was born the religious passion and violence that inflamed England for centuries,'' says David Starkey. Reformation, revolution and Tudor history would all have been vastly different without Catherine of Aragon.Giles Tremlett''s new biography is the first in more than four decades to be dedicated entirely and uniquely to the tenacious woman whose marriage lasted twice as long as those of Henry''s five other wives put together. It draws on fresh material from Spain to trace the dramatic events of her life through Catherine of Aragon''s own eyes. ''Enthralling biography . . . this lively and richly detailed book . . . describing the queen''s fierce battle to retain her crown, Tremlett brilliantly breathes life into the shadowy figure of a stubborn and finally heroic woman.'' Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisFrom a distinguished assembly of twelve internationally acclaimed scholars comes this rich, interdisciplinary study that explores the Protestant Reformation and its revolutionary impact on the church and the world. The Reformation revolutionized the church and spiritual life as well as art...

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Book SynopsisProvides the first substantive analysis of texts produced in English Benedictine convents between 1600 and 1800 in order to examine a major dilemma experienced by every English convent on the Continent: how could English nuns cultivate a cloistered identity when the Protestant Reformation had swept away nearly all vestiges of English monasticism?Trade Review“Goodrich presents by far the most cohesive account of the six English Benedictine convents that were founded in France and Flanders following the Dissolution, arguing that the need to create a new English monasticism offers a privileged space for us to investigate community formation. Her rigorous analysis of administrative, spiritual, polemical, and historical/life writing (grounded on over 1,000 surviving manuscripts and books) breaks new ground in the depth and breadth of its analysis and in its advancing of a feminist philosophical practice for early modern women’s writing.”- Marie-Louise Coolahan, author of Women, Writing, and Language in Early Modern Ireland;“Writing Habits makes a compelling case that these recovered texts are not simply of documentary interest but indeed are voices we need to listen to, speaking eloquently across time about many of the current spiritual questions that continue to engage us today. Using ‘strategic presentism,’ Goodrich seeks to bridge the gap between a historicist focus on material textual production and a philosophical perspective in a work of importance to those studying early modern women writers, cultural historians, and modern theories of the nature of community.”- Margaret J. M. Ezell, author of The Oxford English Literary History, vol. 5, 1645–1714: The Later Seventeenth Century;“Writing Habits offers a trifecta of timely and welcome scholarly interventions. Goodrich demonstrates with finesse and precision how the dialogic and communitarian ethics of Martin Buber refines the critical vocabularies associated with the ‘turn to religion’ in early modern literary studies, even as it also enlarges the methodological equipment associated with feminist philosophical investments in the field and archivally driven assessments of early modern women’s writing. These three lines of thought converge in Goodrich’s expert scrutiny of the rich archive of materials documenting the writing genres and tactics used by early modern exiled English Benedictine convent communities to maintain a sense of communitarian and religious integrity in the face of internal as well as external challenges. The resulting picture fulfills the book’s promise to disclose new perspectives on the supple cultural and religious grammar of early modern women’s writing as exhibited in the diasporic career of the English Benedictines. Beyond that, Writing Habits models how the act of ‘thinking with’ from a Buberian vantage point opens unimagined vistas on forgotten or neglected materials from the early modern period. The inroads gained here speak powerfully to contemporary feminist investments in cultivating a posture of attunement to theoretical perspectives and matters of moment that may be found germinating in the discursive texture of long-marginalized writings.”- Lowell Gallagher, author of Sodomscapes: Hospitality in the Flesh

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Book Synopsis''A tale I have for you.''Embra, winter of 1574. Queen Mary has fled Scotland, to raise an army from the French. Her son and heir, Jamie is held under protection in Stirling Castle. John Knox is dead. The people are unmoored and lurching under the uncertain governance of this riven land. It''s a deadly time for young student Will Fowler, short of stature, low of birth but mightily ambitious, to make his name.Fowler has found himself where the scorch marks of the martyrs burned at the stake can be seen on every street, where differences in doctrine can prove fatal, where the feuds of great families pull innocents into their bloody realm. There he befriends the austere stick-wielding philosopher Tom Nicolson, son of a fishing family whose sister Rose, untutored, brilliant and exceedingly beautiful exhibits a free-thinking mind that can only bring danger upon her and her admirers. The lowly students are adept at attracting the attentions of the rich and powerTrade ReviewI loved this book -- Richard HollowayExceptionally enjoyable . . . Greig very skilfully combines a gripping adventure story with an exploration of the dark forces that shaped Scottish history. * Sunday Times *Prepare to be pitched back in time in this visceral and passionate novel set in 16th Century Scotland * Sunday Post Dundee *[A] highly entertaining historical novel * Independent *Andrew Greig's novel is written in archaic Scots; the result is an immersive reading experience, helped along by a glossary. This is a meaty, satisfying novel and the character of Rose, a strong woman trapped by her circumstances, will linger long. * Times *[N]ever allows the narrative to flag. William Fowler is his perfect alter ego, a poet, a gowfer and a natural raconteur * Literary Review *This novel is full of surprises, rich in delights. Greig writes with rare authority and understandings. Sometimes it seems as if he was behind a heavy tapestry or curtain listening to everything being said, then keeking through a gap to view the action. * The Scotsman *Mr Greig is a master at conjuring atmosphere, very good on taste and aroma-'the smell of ink, that dark and pungent rot'-and keeps his complex tangle of plotlines taut. He avoids quaint archaism and possesses the ability to make the past feel present to the people he describes * Country Life *[A] rich, lyrical, rackety, colourful read. * Daily Mail *Rose Nicolson is a remarkable novel, a work of imagination, intelligence and gusto . . . the novel is full of surprises, rich in delights. Greig writes with rare authority and understanding. * The Scotsman Magazine *[A] brilliant combination of romance and historical insight, and Rose is an intriguing heroine. * Woman & Home *[A]n exquisitely crafted historical novel that elegantly evokes 16th century Embra while also providing a thrilling snapshot of the struggle for power over Scotland's crown. * Wee Review *This is a gripping and engrossing retelling of a dramatic period in Scottish history by an appealing and engaging narrator. * Countryman Magazine *A vivid and passionate novel set in 16th Century Scotland * Edinburgh Life *Rose Nicolson is a remarkable novel, a work of imagination, intelligence and gusto . . .This novel is full of surprises, rich in delights. Greig writes with rare authority and understanding . . . it is lucid and has the essential rapidity that a historical romance requires. -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *Of the books i've read so far, i'd have to mention . . . Rose Nicolson by Andrew Greig -- Ian Rankin (Books of the Year, Irish Independent)

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Book SynopsisThe Reformation was the single most important event of the early modern period of Western civilization. In Reformation in the Western World, Paul Silas Peterson shows how the retrieval of the ancient Christian teachings about God's grace and the authority of Scripture influenced culture, society, and the political order.Trade Review"This is a remarkably balanced overview of Reformation thought and of the context in which it emerged and developed. The discussed issues are so evenhandedly presented that the serious reader is moved to rethink his or her own position and the reasons for it. No less impressive is the authors contribution to the interconfessional and interreligious dialogue that involves critical judgment about where and on what matters the respective traditions need corrections. The result is a very readable book, appealing not only to students and scholars but also to general readers." -- Emidio Campi, Professor Emeritus of Church History & former Director of the Institute for Swiss Reformation History, University of Zurich"Dr Peterson has pursued an ambitious and challenging goal in this relatively compact volume. He seeks to clarify the legacy of the Reformation, specifically its impact on the Western world. Because of its introductory and summary nature and its significant engagement with current scholarship, particularly in German and English, this volume invites further exploration, evaluation, reinterpretation, and nuancing, even as it offers keen insights, draws important conclusions, and provides helpful perspectives. It can, therefore, serve as a useful scholarly resource, both in survey courses and in more advanced seminar settings." -- Kurt K Hendel, Bernard, Fischer, Westberg Distinguished Ministry Professor Emeritus of Reformation History, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago"Paul Petersons Reformation in the Western World is an ambitious and wide-ranging attempt to rethink the place of the Reformation in the grand narratives of the Western world. It takes on big themes, from tolerance and intolerance to capitalism, secularism, and the rise of modernism, and yet it never loses touch with the history or the spirit of the age, equally at home in the Reformation discussions of repentance and justification as in the theories of the modern day. Thoughtful, provocative, and based on broad scholarship, this book will encourage readers to think about the Reformation in new ways." -- C Scott Dixon, Senior Lecturer, The Queens University of BelfastThis book is a useful introduction not only to current Reformation research but also to debates among contemporary theologians and cultural critics about the impact of Protestantism on western culture and Christianity's role in contemporary society more generally. -- Amy Nelson Burnett -- Lutheran QuarterlyPeterson's work is invaluable for those in the fields of Reformation studies or church history and is highly recommended for those interested in the interaction between theology, politics, and society in the Western world. -- Brian L. Hanson -- Reading ReligionTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Good and the Bad of the Reformation Chapter 1. The Western World and the Reformation Chapter 2. The Evils and Errors of the Reformers Chapter 3. Prehistory, Division, and Authority Chapter 4. Political Power and Tolerance Chapter 5. Modernity, Democracy, Capitalism, and Secularism Chapter 6. The Western World Today Chapter 7. The Reformation and Ecumenism Conclusion: The Future of Reformation

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Book SynopsisBeacon Lights of History is a 14-volume set first published in 1902. This collection of John Lords lectures spans 6,000 years of European and American history. The first 12 volumes are all Lords work; the 13th was completed from his notes and the 14th is follow-ups by other authors.

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Book SynopsisExamines the most successful institution of social discipline in Reformation Europe: the Consistory of Geneva during the time of John Calvin Created by John Calvin, the Consistory of Geneva was a quasi-tribunal entrusted with enforcing Reformed morality. Comprised of pastors and elders, this body met weekly and summoned people for a wide range of "sinful" behavior, such as drunkenness, dancing, blasphemy, or simply quarrels, and was a far more intrusive institution than the Catholic Inquisition. Among the thousands summoned during Calvin's ministry were a pair of women who were allegedly prophets, boys who skipped catechism to practice martial arts, and a good number of people begging for forgiveness for having renounced Protestantism out of fear of death. This superbly researched book, reflecting author Jeffrey Watt's career-long involvement in the ongoing project of transcribing, editing, and publishing the Consistory records, is the first comprehensive examination of this morals court and provides a window into the reception of the Reformation in the so-called Protestant Rome. Watt examines the role of the Consistory in upholding patriarchy, showing that while Genevan authorities did not have a double standard in prosecuting illicit sexuality, the Consistory exhorted women to obey even violently abusive husbands. He finds also that Calvin and his colleagues vigorously promoted a strong work ethic by censuring people, mostly men, for laziness, and showed a surprising degree of skepticism toward accusations of witchcraft. Finally, Watt demonstrates convincingly that, while the Consistory encountered some resistance, Genevans by and large shared the ideals it promoted and that it enjoyed considerable success in fostering discipline in Genevan society. This book is openly available in digital formats, under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC, thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Table of ContentsAbbreviations and Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction The Consistory Encounters Resistance The Push for Religious Uniformity Educating and Disciplining the Young Controlling Lust and Regulating Marriage Superstitions, Magic, and Witchcraft Promoting the Industrious and Sober Lifestyle Conflicts, Reconciliation, and the Confession of Sins Conclusion Selected Bibliography Notes

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Book SynopsisWhen, in October 1517, Martin Luther pinned his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg he shattered the foundations of western Christendom. The Reformation of doctrine and practice that followed Luther's seismic action, and protest against the sale of indulgences, fragmented the Church and overturned previously accepted certainties and priorities. But it did more, challenging the relationship between spiritual and secular authority, perceptions of the supernatural, the interpretation of the past, the role of women in society and church, and clerical attitudes towards marriage and sex. Drawing on the most recent historiography, Helen L Parish locates the Protestant Reformation in its many cultural, social and political contexts. She assesses the Reformers' impact on art and architecture; on notions of authority, scripture and tradition; and - reflecting on the extent to which the printing press helped spread Reformation ideas - on oral, print and written culture.Trade Review'This book is an excellent and up-to-date treatment of the Reformation. Helen Parish has produced a splendid summary, based on the latest research, of those major themes that characterized the Reformation in both its coherence and its diversity. Though underpinned by solid scholarship, it deserves a wide readership.’ -- Scott H. Hendrix, Emeritus Professor of Reformation History and Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, author of Martin Luther: A Very Short Introduction‘This is much more than just another history of the Reformation. Helen Parish not only gives us Luther’s story, she expertly traces its impact deep into ordinary life. We learn how a theologians’ quarrel ended up reinventing the arts, family life, and even ghosts. And while she digests the best of recent scholarship for us, the book is also filled with vivid vignettes, from the inferno of a Dutch church torched by iconoclasts to an Anabaptist radical’s letter to her infant son written as she went to her death.’ -- Alec Ryrie, Professor of the History of Christianity, Durham University, author of Protestants: The Radicals who Made the Modern World‘Brought out to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the nailing of Martin Luther's 95 Theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg – the event generally held to have set the Reformation in motion – Helen Parish's exciting new book is a timely, assured, well-written and thoroughly engaging account of this key episode of early modern European history. Drawing on the most recent scholarship, and making extensive use of primary sources, it provides readers with an excellent introduction to the subject while at the same time offering something quite distinctive. Not only does this volume cover essential topics such as Reformation theology and the role of printing, but it also does a great job of drawing our attention to less conventional themes, such as the visual arts, women and marriage and the supernatural. It is a key contribution from one of our leading Reformation historians.’ -- Kenneth Austin, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of BristolTable of ContentsList of Maps and Illustrations Acknowledgements Timeline Introduction: 500 Years 1. In the Power of God Alone? Martin Luther and the Theology of the Reformation 2. The Reformation and Dissemination of Ideas 3. The Reformation and the Image 4. The Reformation, Authority and Radicalism 5. The Reformation, Women and Marriage 6. The Reformation and the Supernatural Epilogue Further Reading Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn nineteenth-century Britain few cities could rival Liverpool for recorded drunkenness. Civic pride at Liverpool’s imperial influence was undercut by anxieties about social problems that could all be connected to alcohol, from sectarian unrest and prostitution in the city’s streets to child neglect and excess mortality in its slums. These dangers, heightened in Liverpool by the apparent connections between the drink trade and the city’s civic elite, marked urban living and made alcohol a pressing political issue. As a temperance movement emerged to tackle the dangers of drink, campaigners challenged policy makers to re-imagine the acceptable reach of government. While national leaders often failed to agree on what was practically and philosophically palatable, social reformers in Liverpool focused on the system that licensed the sale of drink in the city’s pubs and beerhouses. By reforming licensing, they would later boast, Liverpool had tackled its reputation as the drunkenness capital of England. The Licensed City reveals just how battles over booze have made the modern city. As such, it confronts whether licensing is equipped to regulate today’s problem drinking.Trade ReviewReviews 'A scholarly and well-argued book based upon a wealth of excellent research' John Greenaway, University of East Anglia'Although focused on one city the book provides a firm basis for understanding the improved public house movement and Gothenburg system of disinterested management. Both of which were to have national significance, with the former in particular being driven by the growth of the larger breweries, especially in the midlands...The depth of analysis sets a much appreciated higher bar for future work in the field. For anyone wishing to study the issues raised it is a most welcome addition to the literature.' Brewery History Society Journal'A ground-breaking study of how alcohol-licensing practices have shaped (and continue to shape) our urban communities.'Edward Wilson-Lee, Sidney Sussex College, Times Higher Education 'The Licensed City makes a significant contribution to the historical study of alcohol and social control. By focusing on Liverpool, the author allows for a considerable in-depth analysis into how perceptions of alcohol consumption have impacted the socio-political landscape of this city. These findings would be pertinent for future research into the history of social control and alcohol licensing in other towns and cities.'Law, Crime, and History'The questions with which Beckingham engages, such as that of the tension between individual freedom on the one hand and the perceived need for restriction on the other, or of the response which civic authorities made to the problems thrown up by the growth of cities, are challenging ones. Nonetheless, they are subjects with which he deals in a readable way and a non-specialist reader is guided through developments clearly. This book is warmly recommended.' Paul Jennings, The Local Historian'This massively documented book is more than a local history of drink ... Beckingham disposes of several myths (for instance, that the impoverished Irish were responsible for most of the drinking) and explains the limitations of the police statistics that shape elite opinion ... Recommended.'D. M. Fahey, CHOICE'In The Licensed City, David Beckingham explores the municipal licensing of drinking establishments in the 19th Century British city of Liverpool to bring a fascinating, nuanced perspective on urban historical and political geography… the book is meticulously researched and referenced. An impressive range of local and national archives is used. The amount of material synthesized for this historiography is truly impressive. Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page to make more lateral and non-linear reading of the text easy. This research is the culmination of many years of meticulous, thoughtful and intrepid scholarship. ... an excellent book.'Michael Brown, Social and Cultural GeographyTable of Contents1 Liverpool: The making of a licensed city 2 Liberty on licence 3 Between teetotalism and free trade: The rise of temperance politics in Liverpool 4 Mapping drink: The spatial logic of social reform 5 Attacking the licensing system: The 'twin evils' of drunkenness and prostitution 6 Women and the public house 7 The reformed licensing system: Slum clearance and social reform 8 ' Liverpool's temperance lesson to the nation'? The challenge of compensation 9 The licensed city at war 10 Conclusions: Liberalism's local logic

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Book SynopsisOn 31 October 1517, Martin Luther posted his ninety-five theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg - the starting gun for the Reformation. Five hundred years later, the issues debated at the Reformation are still urgent. In this clear, incisive and accessible survey, Michael Reeves and Tim Chester show how the Reformation helps us answer questions like: How do we know what’s true? Can we truly know God? How does God speak? What’s wrong with us? How can we be saved? Who am I? At its heart, the Reformation was a dispute about how we know God and how we can be right with him. At stake was our eternal future – and it still is.Trade ReviewThis is … a lively and thought-provoking book, prompted by an evident enthusiasm for the liberating and transforming message of the Gospel and emphasising union and communion with God in Jesus Christ as the reality, goal and joy of the Christian life. -- Rev Dr Martin Wellings * Methodist Recorder *The reader will find that the authors’ historical and biblical exposition benefits mind and heart tremendously. I enjoyed and benefited from this book … and I recommend it heartily. -- Robert Strivens * London Theological Seminary *This book is an incredibly helpful offering by the authors, which will be of use to the following groups of people: those who find themselves doubting the use of the Reformation, those who find themselves having to defend the Reformation, those who are new to Reformed theology, and those exploring it. -- Michael Hayden * The Reformed Library.com *[We] heartily recommend the book if you are prepared to do a little work. * British Church Newspaper *the standout book for the celebrations of the Reformation * Evangelicals Now *a stimulating and encouraging study * The Covenanter Witness *

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Book SynopsisThe title, Rediscovering Joy, derives from Galatians 4:15 (NLT). The Galatians had lost the joy of God’s blessing because they had departed from the truths of the gospel. The Reformation - and the book - is an invitation to rediscover the joy of the gospel. Despite the common claim that the Reformation is either out-dated or divisive, its rediscovery of the apostolic message was a rediscovery of joy - a message that is as relevant today as it was 500 years ago and 2,000 years ago. The book has a strong focus on biblical exposition and pastoral application.Trade Review‘easy-to-read’, ‘a great book to share with a friend’, ‘If you’re only going to read one Christian book this summer, make this the one!’ * Evangelicals Now *new insight into familiar passages a hugely helpful book * Premier Christianity *Table of Contents1. How to hear God's voice - Galatians 1 Reformation link: Scripture alone 2. How to win God's approval - Galatians 2 Reformation link: justification by faith alone through Christ alone 3. How to recognise God's people - Galatians 3 & 4:21-31 Reformation link: the marks of a true church 4. How to enjoy God's love - Galatians 4 Reformation link: the work of the Spirit 5. How to do God's will - Galatians 5-6 Reformation link: gospel virtue

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Book SynopsisFounded in 1961, Studia Hibernica is devoted to the study of the Irish language and its literature, Irish history and archaeology, Irish folklore and place names, and related subjects. Its aim is to present the research of scholars in these fields of Irish studies and so to bring them within easy reach of each other and the wider public. It endeavours to provide in each issue a proportion of articles, such as surveys of periods or theme in history or literature, which will be of general interest. A long review section is a special feature of the journal and all new publications within its scope are there reviewed by competent authorities.Table of ContentsAilt Thaighde/Research Articles Catherine Swift: An investigation of the word oireachtas in modern and medieval Ireland and its economic role in earlier periods Peter Smith: An historical tract in Irish relating to the confederate wars in Ireland Karina Holton: A turbulent year: Lord Anglesey’s first viceroyalty and the politics of Catholic emancipation, 1828 Richard Sharpe: Destruction of Irish manuscripts and The National Board of Education Ailt Léirmheasa/Review Articles Nicholas M. Wolf: Historical and linguistic research on the Irish language Stephen H. Harrison: The Vikings in Ireland and beyond: new research and new directions? Book Reviews

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Book SynopsisIn nineteenth-century Britain few cities could rival Liverpool for recorded drunkenness. Civic pride at Liverpool’s imperial influence was undercut by anxieties about social problems that could all be connected to alcohol, from sectarian unrest and prostitution in the city’s streets to child neglect and excess mortality in its slums. These dangers, heightened in Liverpool by the apparent connections between the drink trade and the city’s civic elite, marked urban living and made alcohol a pressing political issue. As a temperance movement emerged to tackle the dangers of drink, campaigners challenged policy makers to re-imagine the acceptable reach of government. While national leaders often failed to agree on what was practically and philosophically palatable, social reformers in Liverpool focused on the system that licensed the sale of drink in the city’s pubs and beerhouses. By reforming licensing, they would later boast, Liverpool had tackled its reputation as the drunkenness capital of England. The Licensed City reveals just how battles over booze have made the modern city. As such, it confronts whether licensing is equipped to regulate today’s problem drinking.Trade ReviewReviews 'A scholarly and well-argued book based upon a wealth of excellent research' John Greenaway, University of East Anglia'Although focused on one city the book provides a firm basis for understanding the improved public house movement and Gothenburg system of disinterested management. Both of which were to have national significance, with the former in particular being driven by the growth of the larger breweries, especially in the midlands...The depth of analysis sets a much appreciated higher bar for future work in the field. For anyone wishing to study the issues raised it is a most welcome addition to the literature.' Brewery History Society Journal'A ground-breaking study of how alcohol-licensing practices have shaped (and continue to shape) our urban communities.'Edward Wilson-Lee, Sidney Sussex College, Times Higher Education 'The Licensed City makes a significant contribution to the historical study of alcohol and social control. By focusing on Liverpool, the author allows for a considerable in-depth analysis into how perceptions of alcohol consumption have impacted the socio-political landscape of this city. These findings would be pertinent for future research into the history of social control and alcohol licensing in other towns and cities.'Law, Crime, and History'The questions with which Beckingham engages, such as that of the tension between individual freedom on the one hand and the perceived need for restriction on the other, or of the response which civic authorities made to the problems thrown up by the growth of cities, are challenging ones. Nonetheless, they are subjects with which he deals in a readable way and a non-specialist reader is guided through developments clearly. This book is warmly recommended.' Paul Jennings, The Local Historian'This massively documented book is more than a local history of drink ... Beckingham disposes of several myths (for instance, that the impoverished Irish were responsible for most of the drinking) and explains the limitations of the police statistics that shape elite opinion ... Recommended.'D. M. Fahey, CHOICE'In The Licensed City, David Beckingham explores the municipal licensing of drinking establishments in the 19th Century British city of Liverpool to bring a fascinating, nuanced perspective on urban historical and political geography… the book is meticulously researched and referenced. An impressive range of local and national archives is used. The amount of material synthesized for this historiography is truly impressive. Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page to make more lateral and non-linear reading of the text easy. This research is the culmination of many years of meticulous, thoughtful and intrepid scholarship. ... an excellent book.'Michael Brown, Social and Cultural GeographyTable of Contents1 Liverpool: The making of a licensed city 2 Liberty on licence 3 Between teetotalism and free trade: The rise of temperance politics in Liverpool 4 Mapping drink: The spatial logic of social reform 5 Attacking the licensing system: The 'twin evils' of drunkenness and prostitution 6 Women and the public house 7 The reformed licensing system: Slum clearance and social reform 8 ' Liverpool's temperance lesson to the nation'? The challenge of compensation 9 The licensed city at war 10 Conclusions: Liberalism's local logic

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Book SynopsisThe book provides an overview and analysis of the witch trials in the Scottish Borders in the 17th century. The 17th century was a time of upheaval in Scottish and British history, with a civil war, the abolition of the monarchy, the plague and the reformation all influencing the social context at the time. This book explores the social, political, geographical, religious and legal structures that led to the increased amount of witch trials and executions in the Scottish Borders. As well as looking at specific trials the book also explores the role of women, both as accuser and as accused.Trade Review‘She takes an interesting and holistic view of this turbulent time in Scottish history. A fascinating read.’ – KENNY SMITH‘It’s a particularly juicy bite of Scottish social history.’ – SCOTLAND MAGAZINE

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Book SynopsisWitchcraft holds a continued fascination for readers around the world, and the Scottish witch hunts have recently received renewed media attention, especially with the BBC 2 show Lucy Worsley Investigates, bringing attention to Edinburgh’s witches.Expert Mary Craig explores the unusual story of Agnes Finnie, a middle class shopkeeper who lived in the tenements of Edinburgh. After arrest, most witches were tried within a matter of days but not Agnes. Her unusual case took months with weeks of deliberation of the jury. Mary explains why and gives her expert insight into the political and religious tensions that led to her burning.The book will interest a variety of readers, academics and non-academics alike – those interested in witchcraft, British and Scottish history, religious studies and women’s studies.Mary Craig works as a historian with museums, archives and schools and hosts regular, well-attended events on the subject of witchcraft in the Scottish Borders. We expect strong media coverage. The Witches of Scotland campaign has recently gained traction and the attention of first minister Nicola Sturgeon, calling for a pardon and apology to those accused during the witch hunts.Trade ReviewThanks to King James VI’s legacy and staunch efforts at eliminating witchcraft in Scotland, it would be dangerous to be a woman accused of witchcraft for centuries thereafter. Craig investigates one peculiar case of Agnes Finnie, a shopkeeper and money lender who underwent a month-long trial before being convicted. The long bibliography proves how much research Craig put into this account yet her engaging narrative writing style makes it almost feel as if you’re reading a novel. – SCOTTISH FIELDPraise for Borders Witch HuntShe takes an interesting and holistic view of this turbulent time in Scottish history. A fascinating read. – KENNY SMITH on Borders Witch HuntIt’s a particularly juicy bite of Scottish social history. – SCOTLAND MAGAZINE on Borders Witch Hunt

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Book SynopsisOn 28 January 1547, the sickly and obese King Henry VIII died at Whitehall. Just hours before his passing, his last will and testament had been read, stamped and sealed. The will confirmed the line of succession as Edward, Mary and Elizabeth; and, following them, the Grey and Suffolk families. It also listed bequests to the king's most trusted councillors and servants. Henry's will is one of the most intriguing and contested documents in British history. Historians have disagreed over its intended meaning, its authenticity and validity, and the circumstances of its creation. As well as examining the background to the drafting of the will and describing Henry's last days, Suzannah Lipscomb offers her own, illuminating interpretation of one of the most significant constitutional documents of the Tudor period. 'A bold and original attempt to unravel one of the great mysteries of English history' DAVID STARKEYTrade ReviewI was gripped by Suzannah Lipscomb's The King is Dead, an elegantly written forensic examination of Henry VIII's last will and testament -- Saul David, Book of the Year in the Evening StandardThis is a book that deserves to be read. Lipscomb has produced an entirely credible interpretation of a contentious issue. Her sober but still engaging prose thankfully lacks that sweet sentimentality that so often characterises popular histories of the Tudors... With admirable authority, she provides an interesting allegory about how misplaced trust can undermine the best-laid plans of a powerful king' * The Times *As generous with its detail as it is with its beautifully reproduced images... a must-read for those fascinated by the Tudor world' * History Revealed *Learn of Henry's last days and the drafting of the will in this beautiful, illuminating – and illuminated – tome * Historical Trips UK *A bold and original attempt to unravel one of the great mysteries of English history -- David Starkey

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Book SynopsisDie Johannes a Lasco Bibliothek in Emden hat den 500. Geburtstag a Lascos zum Anlaß genommen, um ein internationales Symposium zu veranstalten, das sich der Erforschung des Lebens und Werkes ihres Namensgebers widmete. Die Beiträge dokumentieren den gegenwärtigen Stand der a Lasco-Forschung. Zugleich sollen Impulse für neue Forschungen über den polnischen Baron, Humanisten und Reformator ausgehen. Vor allem das bislang nicht hinreichend analysierte geistige Profil dieses originellen Mannes mit seinem ungewöhnlichen Lebensweg bedarf weiterer Untersuchungen."Die mit den Beiträgen angestoßene Diskussion über das Leben und Werk des polnischen Humanisten und reformierten Theologen Johannes a Lasco kann die Reformationsgeschichtsforschung nur beleben und eine weitere Facette zu der bisklang nur marginal in Erscheinung getretenen Geschichte der Kirche im Nordwesten Deutschlands und der Reformation beitragen."Markus Wriedt in Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte / Beiheft Nr. 364 (2002), S. 89-90

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Book SynopsisDie Autoren der Beiträge dieses interdisziplinär angelegten Bandes widmen sich dem Medienverständnis und der Medienpraxis der Reformation des 16. Jahrhunderts. Auf der Grundlage des Konsenses, dass die Erfolge der Reformation wesentlich mit ihrem Charakter als Medienereignis zusammenhängen, wird diskutiert, wie innovativ die Medialität der Reformation im Verhältnis zum Spätmittelalter, zum Renaissance-Humanismus und innerhalb des allgemein-kulturellen Medienwandels des 15. Jahrhunderts war. Kann man von einer reformatorischen "Medienrevolution" sprechen, die mit einem neuen Verständnis von Gnadenunmittelbarkeit und Heilspräsenz zusammenhing? Mit Beiträgen von: Matthieu Arnold, Christoph Burger, Reinhold Friedrich, Sabine Griese, Sven Grosse, Johanna Haberer, Berndt Hamm, Thomas Kaufmann, Susanne Köbele, Volker Leppin, Gudrun Litz, Christine Magin, Martin Ohst, Ron Rittgers, Marcus Sandl, Gury Schneider-Ludorff, Wolfgang Simon, Susanne Wegmann, Andreas Zecherle

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Book SynopsisDer Theologe, Humanist und Reformator Philipp Melanchthon wurde im Lauf der vergangenen Jahrhunderte immer wieder negativ beurteilt, und es bildeten sich zahlreiche Klischees heraus. Ihm wurde beispielsweise vorgeworfen, er habe die Lehre Luthers verdorben und verraten; zudem wurde er als ängstlich und allzu nachgiebig charakterisiert. Beate Kobler setzt dieses negative Bild voraus und widmet sich der Frage, wann und wie es zu Melanchthons Lebzeiten entstand, im Zuge welcher Ereignisse es sich verfestigte und welche Kritiker es in besonderer Weise beeinflussten. Dabei legt sie den Schwerpunkt auf die protestantische Kritik. Diese ist besonders interessant, da sie dem faktischen Einfluss und der besonderen Bedeutung Melanchthons entgegensteht. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass das negative Melanchthonbild weitaus früher entstand, als bisher angenommen wurde.

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Book SynopsisDie Beiträge dieses Bandes tragen aus der Perspektive verschiedener Disziplinen übergreifende Fragestellungen an Leben und Wirken des gelehrten Gesandten Jacques Bongars (1554-1612) heran, der als Hugenotte im Dienst des katholischen Königs Heinrich IV. stand. Dabei wird dem Gelehrten mit seinen Sprachstudien und seiner philologischen Editionstätigkeit in gleichem Maße Aufmerksamkeit zuteil wie dem Gesandten, der vor allem mit diplomatischen Missionen bei den protestantischen deutschen Reichsständen betraut war. Bei der Auswertung von Bongars' Briefen und Notizen, seinem Stammbuch, seiner Justinausgabe und seiner umfangreichen Büchersammlung zeigt sich, wie eng vernetzt Gelehrtenrepublik und Politik in jenen Jahren waren. Durch vergleichende Betrachtung anderer Protestanten im Dienst der französischen Krone und mit Blick auf die Entwicklung europäischer Außenbeziehungen in der Zeit der Konfessionskriege wird deutlich, dass Jacques Bongars als paradigmatischer Zeitzeuge und repräsentativer Vertreter seines Standes gelten kann. Eine systematische Aufarbeitung seiner Hinterlassenschaft verspricht daher weitreichende Aufschlüsse in Fragen der Diplomatiegeschichte, des Konfessionalismus, der Gelehrtennetzwerke und der frühneuzeitlichen Philologie. Untersuchungen zur Sammlungsgeschichte führen vor Augen, dass bereits Wissenschaftler früherer Epochen den Quellenwert der 'Bongarsiana' erkannt und diese für ihre jeweils zeitspezifischen Forschungen genutzt haben.

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Book SynopsisDie Bedeutung des Buchdrucks für die Geschichte der Reformation ist allgemein anerkannt. Basel zählte europaweit zu den wichtigsten Druckorten. Aber auch als Ort der Begegnung und der Zuflucht und als Ort, von dem aus weitverzweigte Korrespondenznetze gespannt wurden, hatte die Stadt am Oberrhein in der Reformationszeit Gewicht. Dieser Tagungsband dokumentiert die Geschichte des geistigen Raums im frühen 16. Jahrhundert. In diese Geschichte werden Beiträge über Erasmus und seine Rezeption, über den ersten Sammelband mit Werken Luthers, über Bucer und Oekolampad, Beatus Rhenanus und Oswald Myconius, über Täufer, italienische Nonkonformisten und die Ausstrahlung Basels nach England wie auch nach Ungarn einbezogen.

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Book SynopsisThomas Kirchner untersucht Aachen als Kommune mit Anhängern dreier christlicher Konfessionsgruppen, welche dort zwischen 1555 und 1618 vorübergehend die Voraussetzung zur friedlichen Koexistenz schufen. Die Geschichte der "Aachener Wirren" fällt in eine Zeit der Konfessionskonflikte, in der Kämpfe zwischen Protestanten und Katholiken Aachen zwischen 1560 und 1614 destabilisierten, bevor die katholische Seite schließlich die Oberhand gewann. Kirchner analysiert die überraschend friedliche Kehrseite der Aachener Stadtgemeinde, die aus Katholiken, Lutheranern und Reformierten bestand. Auf der politischen Bühne, aber gerade auch in Zünften und Kirchen sowie im städtischen Alltag fanden die Aachener Handlungsalternativen zum Konfessionsfundamentalismus statt. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, wie konfessionelle Koexistenz in Städten während des Konfessionellen Zeitalters zu verstehen ist.

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Book SynopsisAusgehend von einer Arbeitsgruppe auf dem Lutherkongress in Helsinki 2012, vollziehen die Beiträge dieses Bandes die Genese des Sola-scriptura-Prinzips nach. Die Autoren und Autorinnen untersuchen die Entwicklung von Luthers Umgang mit Kirchenvätern, Heiliger Schrift und Kirchenrecht. Die dicht aufeinander bezogenen Studien ermöglichen differenzierte Aussagen zu dem allmählichen Ablösungsprozess der reformatorischen Theologie von dem tradierten Autoritätengefüge. In dem kurzen Zeitraum zwischen 1516 und 1521, der hier untersucht wird, zeigt sich eine Neupositionierung, deren Ergebnis zum Kern reformatorischer Theologie gehörte. Die hier versammelten Aufsätze ermöglichen somit eine Beschreibung dieses Prozesses in bislang nicht gegebener Klarheit und Differenziertheit.

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Book SynopsisNach dem Tod Martin Luthers im Jahre 1546 und im Zuge der innerprotestantischen Kontroversen, die im Anschluss an das Augsburger Interim von 1548 einsetzten und auch Philipp Melanchthon betrafen, sahen sich die Schüler der beiden großen Wittenberger Reformatoren vor der Herausforderung, ihre Theologie angesichts der veränderten politischen Konstellationen neu zu formulieren. Dabei spielte die spezifisch gepflegte, auf Luther und Melanchthon bezogene "Memoria" eine große Rolle. Sie konnte den Weg ebnen für eine theologische Synthese, die Elemente der Theologie Luthers und derjenigen Melanchthons zu integrieren bestrebt war, aber auch eine auf Abgrenzung zielende Bekenntnisbildung befördern sowie Konkurrenzen und Autoritätenkonflikte auslösen. Diesem Zusammenhang gehen die hier versammelten Aufsätze nach. Allen Beiträgen liegt die Frage zugrunde, in welcher Weise Freunde und Feinde, Zeitgenossen und Schüler die Erinnerung an Luther und Melanchthon pflegten und deren Autorität konstruierten und stilisierten.

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Book SynopsisJan Löhdefink beschäftigt sich mit der Veränderung der Teufelsvorstellungen in der frühen Reformationszeit und deren Auswirkungen auf das Zeitbewusstsein. Er beschreibt die reformatorische Neumodulation der Trias von Vergangenheitsdeutung, Gegenwartsverständnis und Zukunftsperspektive, welche gerade in ihrer scharfen polemischen Kontrastierung mit konkurrierenden Entwürfen die eigenen Konstitutionsbedingungen der Zeitwahrnehmung zu erkennen gibt und auf einen grundlegenden Wandel des Zeitverständnisses verweist. Gemeinhin werden die Teufelsvorstellungen den rückwärtsgewandten Gehalten der Reformation zugeschrieben - kaum ein anderer Traditionsbestand gilt als derart "unmodern" wie der Teufel. Mit Blick auf die den spezifisch reformatorischen Teufelsvorstellungen inhärente Neukonfiguration der zeitgenössischen Temporalstrukturen jedoch verkehrt sich der Befund, wenn gerade die Reflexionsgestalt des Teufels zum Konstituens einer neuen, in die Moderne weisenden Zeitwahrnehmung avanciert: So "unmodern" der Teufel der Neuzeit auch erscheinen mag - für ihre Genese kommt ihm eine Schlüsselstellung zu.

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Book SynopsisNach Martin Luthers Tod musste seine reformatorische Arbeit bewahrt und an die nächste Generation weitergegeben werden. Innerhalb der Wittenberger Theologengruppe bestanden aber unterschiedliche Lutherdeutungen, die beispielsweise Nikolaus von Amsdorf oder Philipp Melanchthon vertraten. Stefan Michel untersucht hier erstmals den Umgang mit Luthers Werken als Kanonisierung der drei Medien Lutherbibel, Werkausgaben und Bekenntnis im 16. Jahrhundert. Vor allem anhand archivalischer Quellen werden die Entstehung und Wirkung der kursächsischen "Normbibel" von 1581, der konkurrierenden Wittenberger und Jenaer Lutherausgaben sowie die Konsolidierung des Bekenntnisses im Konkordienbuch nachgezeichnet. Wechselnde Träger der Kanonisierung, territoriale Schwerpunkte und theologische Anliegen geraten in den Blick, die das Lutherbild bis weit in die Gegenwart hinein bestimmten.

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Book SynopsisWer sich mit den durch die Reformation ausgelösten Veränderungen in Kirche und Gesellschaft vor 500 Jahren beschäftigt, darf dabei die dunkle Seite des damaligen Geschehens nicht ausklammern. Die Beiträge im vorliegenden Tagungsband beschäftigen sich interdisziplinär und interkonfessionell mit dem Phänomen religiös motivierter Verfolgung von Christen in der Frühen Neuzeit. Untersucht wird u.a. die Entstehungs- und Druckgeschichte der seit Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts populär gewordenen Märtyrerbücher, aber auch die Art der darin vorkommenden Darstellungen und Visualisierungen, durch die zum Teil konfessionelle Gemeinschaft gestärkt bzw. eine identitätsstiftende Bekenntniskultur geschaffen wurde.

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Book SynopsisTobias Jammerthal stellt die Entwicklung von Melanchthons Abendmahlstheologie anhand seiner Auslegung der entsprechenden Bibeltexte von Beginn seiner Wittenberger Tätigkeit bis unmittelbar nach dem Augsburger Interim in Form von exegetischen Vorlesungen und Kommentaren, aber auch der bislang der Forschung nahezu unbekannten Predigten Melanchthons, dar. Der Praeceptor Germaniae wird so in seinen Praxisbezügen zwischen Vorlesung, Predigthilfe, Katechese, Sonntagsunterweisung und Predigt erkennbar. Durch intensive Berücksichtigung des jeweiligen Entstehungskontexts arbeitet der Autor Melanchthons Profil als Abendmahlstheologe heraus. Die Verbindung auslegungs-, frömmigkeits- und theologiegeschichtlicher Perspektiven ermöglicht einen Blick auf die weitreichenden Kontinuitätslinien einer Theologie des Herrenmahls, in deren Zentrum die Kommunion und nicht die Frage nach der Realpräsenz steht.

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Book SynopsisDie Jesuiten sind aus der Geschichte der europäischen Kartographie nicht wegzudenken. Häufig waren sie die ersten Europäer, die Karten bestimmter Regionen in Asien, im Pazifik oder in Amerika zeichneten und einem breiten Publikum in Europa zugänglich machten. Dies traf auch auf den oberen Amazonas zu, wo sich jesuitische Missionare im Auftrag der spanischen Krone ab 1638 niederließen. Viele Missionare verbrachten Jahre oder Jahrzehnte am Amazonas. Irina Saladin untersucht die Zusammenhänge von missionarischen Praktiken und Wissensproduktion. Sie zeigt, dass die alltäglichen Reisen durch das Labyrinth aus Flüssen und der enge Kontakt der Missionare zur indigenen Bevölkerung Auswirkungen auf die kartographischen Repräsentationen des Amazonas in der Frühen Neuzeit hatten, ebenso wie religiöse Konzepte und politische Aktivitäten des Ordens.

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Book SynopsisDie sogenannten "Tischreden" werden in der Luther- und Reformationsforschung vorrangig als "Materialsammlung" verwendet. Zu kurz kommt dabei die Frage, wie methodisch verantwortet mit diesen Überlieferungen umzugehen ist. Hier setzt Ingo Klitzsch an und geht innovative Wege. Er berücksichtigt Ansätze der kulturgeschichtlich ausgerichteten Erinnerungsforschung sowie exegetische und literaturwissenschaftliche Einsichten und zeigt auf, dass dieser Quellenbestand der zeitgenössischen Kompilationsliteratur im Allgemeinen und der Apophthegmatik im Besonderen zuzurechnen ist. Von hier entwickelt er Rahmenbedingungen einer gattungsadäquaten Methodik, die er exemplarisch anwendet. Erstmals wird deutlich, in welch hohem Maße und auf welche Weise die verschiedenen Überlieferungen durch die Interessen ihrer "Tradenten" geprägt sind: Die Überlieferungen sind weniger Zeugnisse einer ipsissima vox Lutheri als einer vielschichtigen Luthermemoria und ihrer Trägerkreise.

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Book SynopsisDer Zweite Abendmahlsstreit (1552-1558/59) zählt zu den wichtigsten Ereignissen für die Abgrenzung zwischen Luthertum und Reformiertentum. Corinna Ehlers legt eine Neuanalyse im Horizont aktueller Konfessionsforschung vor. Die theologische Kontroverse zeigt sich als Konflikt reformatorisch normativer Identitätsvorstellungen, der ebenso mit der kirchenpolitischen Entwicklung im Reich verknüpft war wie mit der Situation Evangelischer in anderen Ländern Europas. Neben Johannes Calvin und dem Hamburger Pastor Joachim Westphal werden zahlreiche bisher kaum berücksichtigte Akteure in die Untersuchung einbezogen. So entsteht ein differenziertes Bild von der Vielfalt reformatorischer Positionen um 1550, der allmählichen Herausbildung konfessioneller Abgrenzungen, aber auch der bleibenden Uneindeutigkeiten im innerevangelischen Verhältnis.Die Arbeit ist mit dem J.F. Gerhard Goeters-Preis 2021 der Gesellschaft für die Geschichte des reformierten Protestantismus e.V. ausgezeichnet worden.

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Book SynopsisDie Passion Jesu Christi gehört zu den wichtigsten Themen der Theologie und Frömmigkeit des Spätmittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit. In einer breit angelegten Studie geht Jonathan Reinert diesem zentralen Thema des christlichen Glaubens in volkssprachlichen Postillen des 16. Jahrhunderts nach. Er analysiert die Predigten Martin Luthers und weiterer vierzehn Autoren sowohl lutherischer als auch altgläubiger Provenienz über einen Zeitraum von 60 Jahren seit Beginn der Reformation. Dadurch kann er die eindrückliche Prägekraft von Luthers frühem Sermon von der Betrachtung des heiligen Leidens Christi (1519) für die Tradition der Wittenberger Reformation und darüber hinaus aufweisen, die Kernelemente lutherischer Passionspredigt herausarbeiten und eine überraschende Geschichte von Wechselwirkungen zwischen den entstehenden Konfessionen zutage fördern.

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Book SynopsisRoland M. Lehmann untersucht zunächst die Entwicklung Luthers als Prediger bis 1518 und konzentriert sich dann auf die Predigten, die der Reformator außerhalb Wittenbergs hielt. Von den 99 erhaltenen Reisepredigten werden 45 hinsichtlich ihrer überlieferungsgeschichtlichen, agendarischen, historischen und theologischen Kontexte analysiert und deren Inhalte rekonstruiert. Dabei treten die vielseitigen Facetten seiner Kanzeltätigkeit hervor: Luther als Streitprediger, Missionarsprediger, Umlandsprediger, Hofprediger und weitere mehr. Einige Urteile der Weimarer Ausgabe werden dabei revidiert. So bezweifelt der Autor die gängige Forschungsmeinung, Luthers letztes Kanzelwort sei die "Vermahnung wider die Juden" gewesen. Überdies wird beschrieben, wie aus einer knappen Predigtmitschrift ein umfangreiches Druckwerk entsteht. Bislang in der Forschung kaum berücksichtigt sind Luthers Kasualpredigten, auf die der Verfasser ausführlich eingeht.

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Book SynopsisZwischen 1606 und 1609 entwickelte sich in Polen-Litauen ein Adelsaufstand gegen König Sigismund III. Wasa, der unter der Führung des polnischen Katholiken Mikołaj Zebrzydowski und des litauischen Reformierten Janusz Radziwiłł stand. Anhand dieses Konflikts um politisch-soziale Repräsentation untersucht Kolja Lichy das Verhältnis von Adel und Gemeinwesen in Polen-Litauen. Sein Fokus liegt auf dem Problem, wie sich das ständische Selbstverständnis von Adel mit der Frage nach der herrschaftlichen Organisation des Gemeinwesens verband. Seine Analyse verbindet er mit der Frage nach einem bereits zeitgenössisch wahrgenommenen, schließlich auch im Nachhinein postulierten Sinnzusammenhang des Aufstandsgeschehens. Schließlich ließen besonderes die späteren Interpretationen den Rokosz zu einem ebenso emblematischen wie schwer einzuordnenden Ereignis der frühneuzeitlichen Geschichte Polen-Litauens werden.

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Book Synopsis2017 hat es deutlich gezeigt: "Reformation" unterliegt als historisches Phänomen der Deutung der jeweiligen Zeitgenossen und -genossinnen. Nicht allein ereignisgeschichtlich, sondern auch methodisch hat sich die Reformationsforschung seitdem von ihrer dynamischen wie kreativen Seite gezeigt. Der inzwischen "klassischen" Deutung der Reformation als "Umbruch“, als "Zeitenwende" mit nahezu eschatologischer Dimension stellt der folgende Band transformationstheoretische Zugänge zu den Ereignissen der ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts zur Seite. Dabei lässt sich beobachten, dass die Kategorie der "Transformation" disziplinenübergreifend an Plausibilität gewinnt, je tiefer sie gedacht wird. Neben kirchenhistorischen Beiträgen versammelt dieser Band auch literatur-, kunst-, musik- wie allgemeingeschichtliche Perspektiven auf gestaltende Ereigniskonstellationen, die "Reformation" als multidimensionales Phänomen den historisch Interessierten vor Augen führen. Die kultursoziologische Diagnose, die den Band methodisch eröffnet, verdeutlicht zudem die Bedeutung des Transformationsbegriffs für eine gegenwärtige Lebensgestaltung. Wie die Beiträge zeigen können, ist "Transformation" nicht ein beliebiger Wechselbegriff für langsame und prozessuale Veränderungen im geschichtlichen Ablauf, sondern ein in sich kräftiges und dynamisches Konzept zur Gestaltung der jeweiligen Zeitgenossenschaft in einem oszillierenden Verhältnis zur Vergangenheit. Gerade für jene Verschiebungen, die am Beginn des 16. Jahrhunderts stehen, soll der Transformationsbegriff neue Deutungsmöglichkeiten eröffnen, die "Reformation" als ein historisches Geschehen mit bleibender Bedeutung in interdisziplinärer Hinsicht erscheinen lassen.

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Book SynopsisDer zweite Band mit Aufsätzen von Dorothea Wendebourg präsentiert Forschungen aus ihren Jahren an der Theologischen Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Wegen seiner Bedeutung für die Forschungsdiskussion wurde auch ein älterer Beitrag zur Reformation aufgenommen. Kennzeichnend für die wissenschaftliche Arbeit der Verfasserin ist die Weite des zeitlichen Horizonts von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart und die Breite der räumlichen Erstreckung von Griechenland bis England. Im Mittelpunkt steht die deutsche Kirchengeschichte, und zwar die Reformation mit ihren Folgewirkungen, insbesondere was Kirche, Gottesdienst und kirchliches Amt betrifft.

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Book SynopsisDer Gegensatz von lutherischem und reformiertem Protestantismus ist tief im kulturellen Gedächtnis verankert. Im 16. Jahrhundert waren die Übergänge jedoch viel fließender, als es die späteren Konfessionsbildungen nahelegen. Dafür stehen Namen wie Melanchthon, Bucer und auch der junge Calvin. Christoph Strohm zeigt, dass die innerreformatorische Pluralität noch deutlicher wird, wenn man die weniger bekannten Theologen des frühen Reformiertentums wie zum Beispiel Zwinglis Nachfolger Bullinger in den Blick nimmt. Sie setzten eigene, originelle Akzente. Auch wenn es später zu heftigen Abgrenzungen wie im Falle der radikalen Reformation kam, gab es einen ursprünglichen Zusammenhang. So ist am klassischen Reformationsbegriff festzuhalten. Es dient nicht der Klarheit, den Begriff "Reformation" für alle möglichen Reformbemühungen in den Jahrhunderten zwischen 1500 und 1700 zu verwenden.

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Book SynopsisVeränderte die Reformation den Umgang mit Seuchen? Vor allem zur Pest gibt es zahlreiche Quellen aus dem 16. Jahrhundert, die belegen, dass der frühneuzeitliche Protestantismus einerseits an die spätmittelalterliche Tradition anknüpfte, andererseits aber auch neue Akzente setzte. Die Mark Brandenburg kann als Beispiel dienen, wie das Luthertum in der zweiten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts mit der Herausforderung durch Epidemien umging und dabei Einsichten der Reformation nutzbar machte. Fast in jedem Jahrzehnt des Reformationsjahrhunderts kam es zu Pestausbrüchen, die die Gemeinschaft und jeden Einzelnen schwer trafen. Beim Umgang mit der Pest war zum einen die Verbindung der medizinischen und politischen Seuchenbekämpfung mit der religiösen Krankheitsbewältigung wichtig; beides gehörte für das frühneuzeitliche Luthertum so eng zusammen, dass man von der "zweierlei Arznei" sprechen kann. Zum anderen war die theologisch überzeugende Deutung von Epidemien wichtig; sie als Gericht Gottes über die eigene Sünde zu begreifen, diese Sünde zu bereuen und sich der Verheißung von Gottes Gnade anzuvertrauen, war für die Menschen damals plausibel. Die Geschichte von Davids Volkszählung (2.Sam. 24, 1.Chron. 21) und Psalm 91 erwiesen sich als wichtige biblische Bezugspunkte für diesen Umgang mit der Pest - ein Umgang, der nicht resignieren ließ, sondern zu Selbstbesinnung und verantwortlichem Handeln anleitete.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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