The Oxford History of the Reformation

by Peter Marshall (Editor)

'a vital resource' TLS 'Compelling collection' Literary Review The Reformation was a seismic event in history whose consequences are still unfolding in Europe and across the world. Martin Luther's protests against the marketing of indulgences in 1517 were part of a long-standing pattern of calls for reform in the Christian Church. But they rapidly took a radical and unexpected turn, engulfing first Germany, and then Europe, in furious arguments about how God's will was to be 'saved'. However, these debates did not remain confined to a narrow sphere of theology. They came to reshape politics and international relations; social, cultural, and artistic developments; relations between the sexes; and the patterns and performances of everyday life. They were also the stimulus for Christianity's transformation into a truly global religion, as agents of the Roman Catholic Church sought to compensate for losses in Europe with new conversions in Asia and the Americas. Covering both Protestant and Catholic reform movements, in Europe and across the wider world, this compact volume tells the story of the Reformation from its immediate, explosive beginnings, through to its profound longer-term consequences and legacy for the modern world. The story is not one of an inevitable triumph of liberty over oppression, enlightenment over ignorance. Rather, it tells how a multitude of rival groups and individuals, with or without the support of political power, strove after visions of 'reform'. And how, in spite of themselves, they laid the foundations for the plural and conflicted world we now inhabit.

426 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2022

About the author

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name. For other authors of this name, see:

Rev. Peter Marshall, 1902-1949 - Religion & Spirituality, Christianity
Peter Marshall - Thriller, Biography, Science
Sir Peter Marshall - British Diplomat
Peter Marshall - Television Personality, Actor
Peter Marshall - Squash, Autobiography
Peter Marshall - 16th/17th Century English History
Dr. Peter Marshall - Psychology, Accounting, Finance, Fiction, Memory, Gifted Children
Peter Marshall - Autobiography, Fiction
Peter F. Marshall - U.K. Railways
Peter H. Marshall - U.K. Philosopher, Historian, Biographer, Travel, Poet
Rev. Peter J. Marshall - History, Christianity, Christian Fiction
Peter James Marshall - U.K. Philosopher, Historian: 18th Century

Reviews

[Nate Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Protestants, even academic Protestants, write about the Reformation with more than a soupçon of hagiography: not only did Martin Luther trigger the Reformation, he was the founder of American Liberty; not only did John Calvin come up with the doctrine of Monergism, he redefined the terms of the doctrine of God; Theodore Beza was cool generally because he wrote poetry in Greek.

But if we're going to study history like men, and not like boys organizing baseball cards, we have to face facts squarely, and as accurately as we can. Peter Marshall's collection of essays on the Reformation is a magnificent step toward that.

The frontispiece is a section of Fishing for Souls, by Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, 1614. an de Venne presents us with a boating allegory set in a quiet harbor at around sundown. In it, a number of men in formal dress sail around in a number of boats, plucking naked and apparently drowning people out of the water. We can distinguish the figures in five of these boats, but there's a flotilla in view, all engaged in the same activity. Presented immediately to our notice is a boat heavy with men and "fishes," tipping toward us and on the edge of shipping water.

Examining this boat may, perhaps, give us an idea of the tenor of this book.

There are twelve men (the Apostles?) in the boat. Five of them are hauling a net with seven people (Hmmm) in it. Another fisher, in a black cap, directs the boat with an outstretched finger — or wait, he has his palm out. Is he pronouncing a blessing? He's staring straight at the viewer. Is he waving to us? The setting sun behind this man's head makes a sort of secular halo.

Two others are holding books (Bibles?). Two are staring into the distance, two others, who bracket the five wrestling the net, look directly at us. One has his hand on the net but doesn't appear to be pulling hard, if at all. The other is holding up his hand, as if to say "Ayyyyyy, whaddyagunnado?"

All of them except two have a look of Staid Grump on their faces. Of the two that don't, one (the one hauling hardest on the net) looks skeptical and slightly concerned, as doing a difficult math problem while constipated.

The hands of the men are curious. At left, the guy who's just sort of holding the net has a spare hand next to him. Was van de Venne deliberately copying da Vinci's The Last Supper? Or did he just screw up? The group of four men at right have their hands arranged into a perfect cruciform pattern. But it's upside-down. Why the reference to St. Peter? Are these crypto-Catholics? Then why are they dressed like Lutheran pastors? And why are they clutching a net that has "fides, spes, charitas (faith, hope, love)" written on it?

The picture gets weirder. Why is there an ostentorium (vessel for displaying the host during holy Eucharist) in the bow of the boat at right? Is that boat full of offscreen Papists, chewing their Friday fish and laughing at us? Why are the boats tipping over? Why is the young man in the cardinal's cape praying to the men in boat and floating with his elbows out of the water? What's going on with the two babies floating in the foreground? Are they Jesus and John the Baptist? Why do they need saving? And on, and on, and on.

The experience of reading this book is very similar. It is clearly stated that the late Medieval Church was in a bad way. But it is also clearly maintained (or shouted, even) that the Reformation had issues. At certain points, the pointed criticisms of the Reformers and their heirs made me wonder whether this wasn't just one long piece of Catholic propaganda. But this is demonstrably not the case in at least one essay — Bruce Gordon of Yale is a Presbyterian — but even here, we find a direct repudiation of the old Protestant saw that the Medieval church didn't have Bibles. Gordon points out that Bibles — including vernacular translations — were widely available in central Europe during the early life of Martin Luther.

On the other hand, Brad Gregory, of Notre Dame, is about as avowed a Papa-slinging thrall to the Roman Bishop as ever kneed an altar rail, and makes no bones about being critical of Protestantism. (He gave a lecture a few months ago on the effect of the Reformation on modern political theory that's really excellent.) But even he has something valuable to say, and even more than valuable, if the reader wants to understand why there are 6.5 million Presbyterian denominations sharing America's 5.8 million Presbyterians.

In all, this book is a triumph, from Gordon's opening essay to Alexandra Walsham's exploration of the lasting effects of the Reformations — the Protestant one and the Catholic one — on our world. It is an immense credit to each scholar who contributed material, and especially to Dr. Marshall, and is a necessity for the bookshelf of any serious student of early modern Church history.

[Cyrus Nelsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good balanced perspective on the Reformation. The second half of the book was a bit bland and an unnecessary number of technical words were used for simple ideas. However, the content was generally useful.