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MacCulloch has written what is widely considered to be the authoritative account of the Reformation--a critical juncture in the history of Christianity. "It is impossible to understand modern Europe without understanding these 16th-century upheavals in Latin Christianity" he writes. "They represented the greatest fault line to appear in Christian culture since the Latin and Greek halves of the Roman Empire went their separate ways a thousand years before; they produced a house divided." The resulting split between the Catholics and Protestants still divides Christians throughout the Western world. It affects interpretations of the Bible, beliefs about baptisms, and event how much authority is given to religious leaders. The division even fuels an ongoing war. What makes MacCulloch's account rise above previous attempts to interpret the Reformation is the breadth of his research. Rather than limit his narrative to the actions of key theologians and leaders of the era--Luther, Zingli, Calvin, Loyola, Cranmer, Henry VIII and numerous popes--MacCulloch sweeps his narrative across the culture, politics and lay people of Renaissance Western Europe. This broad brush approach touches upon many fascinating discussions surrounding the Reformation, including his belief that the Latin Church was probably not as "corrupt and ineffective" as Protestants tend to portray it. In fact, he asserts that it "generally satisfied the spiritual needs of the late medieval people."
MacCulloch is a top-notch historian--he uncovers material and theories that will seem fresh and inspired to Reformation scholars as well as lay readers. --Gail Hudson, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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MacCulloch deals with all aspects of the Reformation, not merely the theology and politics of it. It tells more than the stories of great Reformation and Counter-Reformation figures (e.g. Luther, Calvin, Zwingli or Borromeo, Loyola) – they receive their due treatment – but this work also mentions ‘Radicals’ (e.g. ‘Anabaptists’) on the fringes and those hitherto neglected characters such as Bullinger and Bucer. Politics is integrated seamlessly to the narrative. Also, how Reformation(s) changed the attitudes of many early modern people in matters such as witchcraft and sex are discussed succinctly in the third part of the book.
A work that deals with such a long time period and a huge area necessarily has to be selective and on the whole MacCulloch’s decisions are judicious. There may be questions regarding the special emphases placed on the Anglo-Saxon areas, that is to say the Anglican Church and the developments in the UK and in North America. On the other hand, while the ‘peripheries’ of Latin Christendom do receive far better treatment in this book than most other works on the Reformation, there are certain areas that would have benefited from discussions. The Nordic area (e.g. Finland) and south-eastern Europe (other than Royal Hungary and Transylvania, e.g. Croatia) in particular stand out. In this respect one very small thing that puzzled this reviewer was ‘Sigismond’ of Sweden – either he is Sigismund (Sweden) or Zygmunt (Poland). Even though the section ‘Further Reading’ points to the most important and accessible literature, it would have been of greater help to a keen reader or a student, had there been a more extensive bibliography. If grasp of European geography is tenuous, especially in East and East-Central Europe (could you put your finger to Poznan in Poland or Cluj in Romania on a map?), readers are advised to have a good map nearby for consultation as readers will be transferred hundreds of miles away from Geneva on one page to a corner of Transylvania on the following.
All in all, this book is a testimony to great scholarship and a perfect introduction to the complexities of the Reformation(s) in Europe and beyond. Together with Euan Cameron’s ‘The European Reformation’, this book will serve as a sound introduction to the period. It is highly recommended.
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