Reformation Europe: Age of Reform and Revolution, 2nd Edition

by De Lamar Jensen

For full description, see Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation, 2/e.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History, Religion, Textbooks

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another pretty solid textbook. It's a nice sequel to Jensen's first book in the series, Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation. This one covers 1500-1650, opening with the first volleys of the Reformation and closing with the Peace of Westphalia that closed off the Thirty Years War. His main points circle around the fragmentation of European religion, the rise of the nation state (and its associates like international diplomacy and absolutism), and what he all 'secularization,' a very broad term that covers both the distancing of religion from civic life and the rise of non-religious matters in culture that served to drive an increased wedge between elite and popular cultures. It's more politically focused than the book on Renaissance Europe, but I suppose that makes sense. Jensen does include some nice information on family structure and Baroque art, but it feels somewhat tacked on. This means his last point about the diverging of elite and popular culture is never really clarified or expanded upon.

The information is presented clearly, but because Jensen's chapters are organized geographically (a chapter on France, one on England, one on Spain,etc.) it's easy to lose sight of how these states were interacting with each other. I'm not sure there's a better way to do it, really, but as it stands it can still be somewhat hard to get a grasp the web of relationships and alliances when things are not organized chronologically.

[Gary Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to work through the beginnings of change in Europe during the 1500’s and the views coming out all over the continent. A good understanding of what reformation meant at the time and understanding what it meant going forward. I thought the author almost included too much. But that was the time hey?

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, after a long slog (reading the assigned portions as I slowly made my way through the lectures for my online class) I've finished the book.

Because it took me so long to read this book and because some of the times I went weeks between reading sections I can't give a detailed review like I do with most of the books of history I read.

I will say that both of De Lamar Jensen's books (this one and the one on the Renaissance) are excellent textbooks. The text is clear. Plenty of maps and other visual resources are provided. Each chapter ends with a lengthy list of "further reading" on the topic of the chapter.

This is one of few textbooks that I have really enjoyed reading.

[Martha Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

History. Wonderful text! This book is highly readable, thorough, balanced, and up-to-date account of the great struggle for the renovation of Christianity in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.