Reformation Europe (New Approaches to European History, Series Number 28)

'Pupils and students studying the Reformation will welcome this fine book.' The Times Higher Education Supplement

'Bravo to this slim and elegant book, the latest in Cambridge's series, 'New Approaches to European History', that offers a balanced and nutritious mixing of Reformation scholarship, using traditional ingredients spiced up with new theories, resulting in an original and fresh preparation to tempt palates away from the traditional staple of political and theological histories.' The International History Review

'Students will most likely find this book to be an easy read and will appreciate the lack of detailed theological discussions. Chapter 4 in particular, with its sections on daily life, is fascinating and will engage most university students. More advanced students will also benefit from the good survey of recent works on Reformation history.' Amy R. Caldwell, H-Net

Here are two of the most tantalising questions in Western history: how could the Protestant Reformation take off from a tiny town in the middle of Saxony, which contemporaries regarded as a mud hole? How could a man of humble origins who was deeply scared by the devil become a charismatic leader and convince others that the pope was the living Antichrist? Martin Luther founded a religion which up to this day determines many people's lives in intimate ways, and so did Jean Calvin in Geneva one generation later. This is the first book which uses the approaches of the new cultural history to describe how Reformation Europe came about and what it meant. It also challenges the idea that Protestantism was a more rational religion of the Word, providing a unique and lively discussion of Protestant everyday culture across Europe.