The A To Z Of The Reformation And Counter Reformation

The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century has traditionally been viewed as marking the onset of modernity in Europe. It finally broke up the federal Christendom of the middle ages, under the leadership of the papacy and substituted for it a continent of autonomous and national states, independent of Rome. The A to Z of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation provides a comprehensive account of two chains of events-the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation-that have left an enduring imprint on Europe, America, and the world at large. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on persons, places, countries, institutions, doctrines, ideas, and events.

The Reformation of the 16th century has always been seen as one of the pivotal events in European history. Lord Acton, the famous 19th-century British historian, compared the importance of Martin Luther's speech at the diet at Worms in 1521 with Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1813. Lord Acton's may or may not be an extravagant claim, but it is certainly true that the events of the 16th and 17th centuries, now called the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, changed forever the religious and political history of the West. The Historical Dictionary of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation provides a one-volume, balanced, alternative to the overwhelming amounts of literature on the events of the time and the theological and political debates that spawned those events.

The reform of the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century was historically as important as the contemporary Protestant Reformation. Though never committed solely to fighting Protestantism, it inevitably also became a Counter Reformation, since it soon faced the threat created by Luther and his successors. The century between the career of Ignatius Loyola and that of Vincent de Paul became a classic age of Catholicism. The lives of its saints, popes and secular champions could hardly be made more fascinating by any novelist. While paying due attention to the great characters, the author also considers the broader political, social and cultural features of the Counter Reformation. A.G. Dickens is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of London.

This volume examines the period of history which looks at counter-reformation and the price revolution, 1559-1610.

The Reformation and Counter-Reformation represented the greatest upheaval in Western society since the collapse of the Roman Empire a millennium before. The consequences of those shattering events are still felt today—from the stark divisions between (and within) Catholic and Protestant countries to the Protestant ideology that governs America, the world’s only remaining superpower. In this masterful history, Diarmaid MacCulloch conveys the drama, complexity, and continuing relevance of these events. He offers vivid portraits of the most significant individuals—Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Loyola, Henry VIII, and a number of popes—but also conveys why their ideas were so powerful and how the Reformation affected everyday lives. The result is a landmark book that will be the standard work on the Reformation for years to come. The narrative verve of The Reformation as well as its provocative analysis of American culture’s debt to the period will ensure the book’s wide appeal among history readers.