Works

by Thomas M'Crie

Works by Thomas M'crie. This historical study traces the Reformation's reach across early 16th?century Spain, despite the Inquisition, and the competing aims of Rome, the Spanish crown, and local courts. It surveys how reform ideas entered Iberia through print, exile, and travel, and how vernacular Scripture translations helped spread Protestant currents in Seville, Valladolid, and neighboring towns, while the Inquisition imposed brutal suppressions. The narrative centers on major actors—Cardinal Ximenes, Popes Leo X, Adrian VI, Clement VII, Sixtus IV, and a host of inquisitors and reformers—alongside Spanish exiles and their netWorks abroad. It highlights the dialectic between liberal religious impulses (justification by faith, Scripture-based doctrine) and conservative Catholic orthodoxy, the role of printing, and the dangerous routes of translation, exile, and clandestine preaching. The local portions extend the theme to Italy, showing how humanism, vernacular culture, and reform ideas moved through Ferrara, Modena, and Florence, and the parallel story of Italian-speaking refugees shaping Protestant communities in the Grisons and beyond. The work ultimately reflects on reform’s scale, complexity, and long-term consequences for Spain and Europe.

530 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2019