Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
magnificent treatment of a great Archbishop, 9 Mar 2002
Thomas Cranmer was one of the inexperienced of all the 103 Archbishops of Canterbury when he was elevated from his brief tenure as Archdeacon of Taunton, after 20 years as a don at Cambridge, however despite this was to prove one of the most significant occupants of St Augustine's throne: his liturgy, the Act of 39 Articles, most of them identical to his 42 Articles, and the Royal Supremacy remain on the statute book to this day. In this magnificent and beautifully written book, MacCullock weaves together the theological and political parts of Cranmer's life, and provides a comprehensive account as to how these two motivations, often in conflict, impacted upon him.Thomas Cranmer is a complex character, and MacCullock deals fully with his contradictions: burning with hatred for the heresies of Rome, yet unusually (for the times) compassionate and often forgiving to his critics; uncertain and treading a very cautious path with Henry VIII, yet showing an absolute determination to push the Church of England towards a more evangelical perspective whenever he was given a free hand; weakened and broken by his imprisonment, yet finally triumphant in his last denunciation of all that Mary's church stood for. MacCullock clearly admires the Archbishop, but this does not make him blind to his faults: in praise or censure however he always presents all of Cranmer's actions in their political and theological context. While the book is fully comprehensive on the political aspects of the mid 16th century, where MacCullock really stands out in is his detailed and highly precise awareness of theological controversies of the time. MacCullock has studied a vast array of 16th century theologians, and examined how they fitted into Cranmer's life. His grasp of these nuances is essential to an understanding of how and why both Cranmer himself, and the emerging Church of England developed. Any glance towards the footnotes illustrates the depth of research that MacCullock has undertaken to make sure that he has precisely captured Cranmer's changing views throughout his life. The book is very long, as is necessary for comprehensiveness, however one never feels that it is too long: it is very well phrased and all terms and concepts are fully explained. This remains one of the best biographies of any figure that I have ever read: Cranmer has finally received a treatment worthy of his long and varied career.
|
|
|
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Thorough scholarship and an excellent presentation., 20 Jun 1998
By A Customer
MacCulloch has penned a prodigious and comprehensive biography of Thomas Cranmer. Serious questions about the development of his thought, theology and ecclesiology are given special attention. These are cast in relations to the contemporary political (local and international) situtations to better enable a reader to understand the man, his times and his influence. Given the stages over which the Henrician and Edwardian church reformations progressed, understanding Cranmer's central and guiding actions seems to be MacCulloch strongest sections. Emphasis, then, on Cranmer's central work in life is properly and comprehensively treated, without being severely colored by all that has been penned about his final days. Nevertheless, MacCulloch has done a convincing job of helping one to see Cranmer's sincerity of reform purposes, his pragmatic concerns about the pace of change, his understanding of the needs of commonfolk (as opposed to the middle and upper classes), his fierce opposition to established orders (friers and, later, radicals [nonconformists]). Especially instuctive is the secion on Cranmer's Prayer Book writing purpose, style and method, his borrowings, his innovations, and his synthses. For a 600 page, book, I found it a thoroughly compelling reading experience from first to last (about 6 days).
|
|
|
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
A definitive biography, 16 Nov 1998
By A Customer
Traditionally, one is to give something up or take something on as a Lenten discipline. I did the latter, albeit inadvertently. Around Ash Wednesday of 1998, I began Darmaid MacCulloch's magisterial biography of Thomas Cranmer (Yale University Press 1996). I finished this magnificent tome on Holy Saturday. As the time passed, I came to realize that this Lent was for me a time to study a key figure in the Church and compare his often--to modern Episcopalians-- unorthodox theology against | |
(12)
£8.99
(9)
£12.05
(1)
£21.99
