Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin (Vol. 1-8): Complete Edition

Rate this book
Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigné presents the comprehensive scope of religious reform during the sixteenth century through Calvin's life and the church in Geneva. He outlines the people, places, and ideas that shaped the Reformation in France, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. According to the author, the main theme of this book is the "renovation of the individual, of the Church, and of the human race." Following this thought, the whole book proves that Reformation resulted in political emancipation and brought about a new understanding of human freedom, which influenced the history of the three following centuries.

4298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 11, 2022

7 people are currently reading

About the author

Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné

523 books16 followers
Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné (16 August 1794 – 21 October 1872) was a Swiss Protestant minister and historian of the Reformation.

D'Aubigné was born at Eaux Vives, a neighbourhood of Geneva. A street in the area is named after him. The ancestors of his father, Robert Merle d'Aubigné (1755–1799), were French Protestant refugees. The life Jean-Henri's parents chose for him was in commerce; but in college at the Académie de Genève, he instead decided on Christian ministry. He was profoundly influenced by Robert Haldane, the Scottish missionary and preacher who visited Geneva and became a leading light in Le Réveil, a conservative Protestant evangelical movement of spiritual revival.

When d'Aubigné went abroad to further his education in 1817, Germany was about to celebrate the tercentenary of the Reformation; and thus early he conceived the ambition to write the history of that great epoch. Studying at Berlin University for eight months 1817–1818, d'Aubigne received inspiration from teachers as diverse as J. A. W. Neander and W. M. L. de Wette.

In 1818, d'Aubigné took the post of pastor of the French Protestant church at Hamburg, where he served for five years. In 1823, he was called to become pastor of the Franco-German Brussels Protestant Church and preacher to the court of King William I of the Netherlands of the House of Orange-Nassau.

During the Belgian revolution of 1830, d'Aubigné thought it advisable to undertake pastoral work at home in Switzerland rather than accept an educational post in the family of the Dutch king. The Evangelical Society had been founded with the idea of promoting evangelical Christianity in Geneva and elsewhere, but a need arose for a theological seminary to train pastors. On his return to Switzerland, d'Aubigné was invited to become professor of church history in such a seminary, and he also continued to labor in the cause of evangelical Protestantism. In him the Evangelical Alliance found a hearty promoter. He frequently visited England, was made a D.C.L. v Oxford University, and received civic honours from the city of Edinburgh. He died suddenly in 1872.

The first portion of d'Aubigne's Histoire de la Reformation – History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century – which was devoted to the earlier period of the movement in Germany, i.e., Martin Luther's time, at once earned a foremost place among modern French ecclesiastical historians, and was translated into most European languages. The second portion, The History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, dealing with reform in the French Reformer's sphere, exhaustively treats the subject with the same scholarship as the earlier work, but the second volume did not meet with the same success.

Among minor treatises authored by d'Aubigné, the most important are his vindication of the character and the aims of Oliver Cromwell, and his sketch of the trends of the Church of Scotland.

(From Wikipedia)

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
0 (0%)
4 stars
0 (0%)
3 stars
0 (0%)
2 stars
0 (0%)
1 star
0 (0%)
No one has reviewed this book yet.

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.