The European Reformations

"Revision is perhaps too strong a word for what follows, because I am not "re-visioning" the narrative of my text. I remain convinced of the "truism" expressed so succinctly by Heiko Oberman (1994b: 8): "(W]ithout the reformers, no Reformation. Social and political factors guided, accelerated and likewise hindered the spread and public effects of Protestant preaching. However, in a survey of the age as a whole they must not be overestimated and seen as causes of the Reformation, nor as its fundamental preconditions." So, while my rewrite begins with the original preface, my narrative remains basically the same. What I have done is more supplementary in the sense of expanding the narrative to include more material on the British Isles, Roman Catholic reforms, and women. The following expansion is very modest, for the field of Reformation studies has exploded in the decade and a half since the first edition. Merry Wiesner-Hanks (2008: 397) notes that just in the field of women and the Reformation: "It is now nearly impossible to even know about all the new scholarship, to say nothing of reading it." Add in the resources available on the World Wide Web and there is more than enough material for a lifetime let alone a semester course! The massive growth in scholarship on the Reformations is a cause for excitement, but at the same time the growing concentration on microstudies threatens to replace the forest with detailed studies of every tree in it. "How is one to teach a subject that finds itself in that condition? If Reformation Studies are to enjoy any continuing vitality, there must be more to them than the ever-closer scrutiny of the religious entrails and financial dealings of the weighty parishioners of Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh" (Collinson 1997: 354). Yet, as noted above, there are a number of texts to guide us through this forest of new growth, as well as summaries of the state of the field such as the splendid volume edited by David M. Whitford, Reformation and Early Modern Europe: A Guide to Research (2008) that includes web resources along with bibliography. Additional material that follows and supplements the narrative of my text is available in my edited volumes The European Reformations Sourcebook (primary sources, 2000a) and The Reformation Theologians (chapters on Humanist, Lutheran, Reformed, Roman Catholic, and "Radical" theologians, 2002)"--
Rediscover the Reformations in Europe with this insightful and comprehensive new edition of a long-time favorite    Amongst the authoritative works covering the European Reformation, Carter Lindberg’s The European Reformations has stood the test of time. Widely used in classrooms around the world for over twenty-five years, the first two editions of the book were enjoyed and acclaimed by students and teachers alike.     Now, the revised and updated Third Edition of The European Reformations continues the author’s work to sketch the various efforts to reform received expressions of faith and their social and political effects, both historical and modern. He has expanded his coverage of women in the Reformations and added a chapter on reforms in East-Central Europe.    Comprehensively covering all of Europe, The European Reformations provides an in-depth exploration of the Reformations’ effects on a wide variety of countries. The author discusses:    The late Middle Ages and the historical context in which the Reformations gained a foothold  Martin Luther, the theological and pastoral responses to insecurity, and the theological implications of those responses  The implementation of reforms in Wittenberg, Germany  Zwingli’s reform program, the Reformation in Zurich, Switzerland, and the impact of medieval sacramental theology  The Genevan Reformation and “The Most Perfect School of Christ”      Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students in courses on Reformation studies, history, religion, and theology, this edition of The European Reformations also belongs on the bookshelves of theological seminary students and anyone with a keen interest in the Reformation and its ongoing impact on faith and society.