The Impact of the European Reformation: Princes, Clergy, and People. Edited by Bridget Heal and Ole Peter Grell. St. Andrews Studies in Reformation History. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008. xii+305 pp. $124.95 cloth.

摘要

In the introduction to this collection of twelve essays, the editors (quiternrightfully) note the increasing partitioning of Reformation scholarship intornspecific geographical, confessional, and chronological categories. In an effortrnto counteract that trend, the editors have gathered and grouped these essaysrn(all of which grew out of a series of symposia held at the Open Universityrnand the St. Andrews Reformation Institute at St. Andrews University) inrnsuch a way that promises to “provide a broad perspective on the impact ofrnthe European Reformation(s)” while “reminding us of the need to understandrnparticular developments within a broader European context” (1). Towardthat end, the volume has been divided into the three sections indicated in therntitle, and the four essays within each section explore the effects of religiousrnreform as it pertains to the topic at hand. “Part I: Princes” contains essaysrnthat address the political ramifications of Protestant reform, and the essaysrnin “Part II: Clergy” investigate the relationships between the clergy and thernlaity in the wake of the Reformations. The final four essays fall under therntitle “Part III: People,” which “addresses issues of knowledge and belief” (8).