The German Reformation

Studies in European History

by Robert W. Scribner

In recent years, new approaches to the history of the Reformation of the Church have radically altered our understanding of that event within its broadest social and cultural context. In this concise study, R. W. Scribner provides a synthesis of the main research, with special emphasis on the German Reformation, and presents his own interpretation of the period. The second edition of this successful text now includes a new Introduction, a supplementary chapter and a supplementary bibliography by C. Scott Dixon.

Genres: History, Germany, Nonfiction

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Historian who specialised in the German Reformation, popular religion and culture as well as social and economic history. He taught at Portsmouth polytechnic and the Universities of London, Cambridge and Harvard.

Reviews

[Josep Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly dated, but it serves its purpose as an introductory pamphlet with a long bibliography to follow up.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very brief introduction to the (now outdated) historiography of the German Reformation. Argues that much of the foregoing work has dealt with Protestantism through a teleological lens, which posits a rigid, 17th century Protestantism as the necessary end point to the 16th century Reformations. I disagree that there was any one Protestantism in the 17th century (and therefore disagree with Scribner's assessment of the historiography in that light), but whatever. Raises some good research questions, so would be valuable to an undergraduate audience.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a godsend for graduate students. It is a short survey of how the field of Reformation research has changed in the 20th century. The body text references a topically arranged bibliography. Written in 1986, it is a bit dated now, but will bring the reader up to date at least that far. It is weak on theology, but that is part of the shift in method.