The reforming movements of the 16th century were constantly being attacked by Rome for breaking the unity of the Apostolic Church. To counter these accusations the reformers turned to questions of 'tradition', 'history' and 'identity' in order to define and express the religious, political and social ideals of their movement. Though this debate was carried on with great vigour and spawned an enormous corpus of literature, a unifying concept of Protestant identity proved elusive; the process produced only divergent theological conclusions and conflicting social and political goals. These volumes present a coherent set of archive-based studies which examine and interpret the issues of identity and history so fundamental to the reformers. They examine the most important problems addressed, including the relationship between belief and locality in the formation of religious identity, the limitations to a coherent identity in protest, the effects of success on Protestant identity, and the nature of history as it applies to God's Church. This is an original and comprehensive treatment of the European Reformation and of the leading reformers' minds.

The reforming movements of the 16th century were constantly being attacked by Rome for breaking the unity of the Apostolic Church. To counter these accusations the reformers turned to qustions of tradition, history and identity in order to define and express the religious, politicla and social ideals of their movement. Though this debate was carried on with great vigour and spawned an enormous corpus of literature, a unifying concept of Protestant identity proved elusive; the process produced only divergent theological conclusions and conflicting social and political goals.

St Andrews studies in reformation history'

Bainton presents the many strands that made up the Reformation in a single, brilliantly coherent account. He discusses the background for Luther's irreparable breach with the Church and its ramifications for 16th Century Europe, giving thorough accounts of the Diet of Worms, the institution of the Holy Commonwealth of Geneva, Henry VIII's break with Rome, and William the Silent's struggle for Dutch independence.

Celebrating the fortieth anniversary of this seminal book, this new edition includes an illuminating foreword by Carlos Eire and Ronald K. Rittges The seeds of the swift and sweeping religious movement that reshaped European thought in the 1500s were sown in the late Middle Ages. In this book, Steven Ozment traces the growth and dissemination of dissenting intellectual trends through three centuries to their explosive burgeoning in the Reformations--both Protestant and Catholic--of the sixteenth century. He elucidates with great clarity the complex philosophical and theological issues that inspired antagonistic schools, traditions, and movements from Aquinas to Calvin. This masterly synthesis of the intellectual and religious history of the period illuminates the impact of late medieval ideas on early modern society. With a new foreword by Carlos Eire and Ronald K. Rittgers, this modern classic is ripe for rediscovery by a new generation of students and scholars.

When writing the "History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century", author's intention was not to write the history of a religion, but that of one of the greatest revolutions which had taken place among men. Therefore, this is the history of that mighty impulse which was given to the world five centuries ago and the influence of which is still everywhere perceived. The history of the Reformation is different from the history of Protestantism. The history of Protestantism might interest none but Protestants; the history of the Reformation is for all Christians or rather all men.

A fully revised and updated version of this authoritative account of the birth of the Protestant traditions in sixteenth-century Europe, providing a clear and comprehensive narrative of these complex and many-stranded events.

In this fascinating collection, Auke Jelsma explores the byways and outer reaches of the Reformation: groups and individuals who, in an age of confessional strife, eschewed the certainties of the established churches and sought religious truth in unconventional ways and across confessional boundaries. The author, one of the most distinguished Dutch Church historians of his generation, casts a humane and sympathetic light on forms of belief that in their own day attracted censure from the orthodox of both sides, and have been little considered in subsequent general treatments of the Reformation. Subjects include the Congregation of Windesheim and its influence on Protestantism; the role of women in the Anabaptist kingdom of Münster; the Devil in Protestantism; the Protestant attack on popular culture; marriage and the family; the sixteenth-century reception of St John of the Cross and Protestant spirituality.