Product Description

The image of Martin Luther nailing his ninety-five theses to a church door has long epitomised the dramatic turning point from religious dissent to religious reformation. Luther's act, however, was only one of dozens of critical moments in the struggle for religious reform in Europe and the quest among Christians for a purer faith between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. In this detailed yet approachable study, Peter G. Wallace adeptly interweaves the influential events of the early modern religious reformation with the transformations of political institutions, socio-economic structures, gender relations, and cultural values throughout Europe. In his examination of the European Reformation as a long-term process, Wallace reconnects the classic sixteenth-century religious struggles with the political and religious pressures confronting late medieval Christianity and argues that the resolutions proposed by reformers, such as Luther, were not fully realised for most Christians until the early eighteenth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3258 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
'A skilful account of a long-term process of religious change that links the Middles Ages to the eighteeenth-century, and places religion in its multiple contexts.' - Dairmaid McCullough, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

About the Author
PETER G. WALLACE is Dewar Professor of History and Chair of the History Department at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York.

Customer Reviews

Open University A200 Set Book
If you're studying the Open University course A200 1400-1900 (From Medieval to Modern) then this book is a set book and you'll need it to complete the course. You'll rely heavily on the book throughout the earlier modules of the course, and an understanding of Wallace's views on the reformation(s) will hold you in good stead for the course final examination.

If you're not studying the course, then I'd suggest that you've got to be very interested in the period in question for this to be a must-have purchase. Wallace is clearly an expert on the period in question, however it's not an easy read for anyone other than a historian.

A Uni set book - an excellent source of information if dull in places
As per the other reviewer this was bought for university. Clearly the author is an expert in his field and this is an excellent source of information for the course. However I found it extremely difficult to read in places and on the whole a pretty dull book.

If you are interested in the European reformation than this is definitely the book for you, if you're a student and this is a set book then its definitely for you and you wont be disappointed when it comes down to looking for information for essays. However if your on the fringes with only a glancing interest in this time period or the reformation I don't think you would enjoy this work at all.