Women of the Reformation in Germany and Italy

Women of the Reformation

by Roland H. Bainton

In this first installment in celebrated historian Roland Bainton's Women of the Reformation trilogy, sixteen women who are usually lost behind familiar Reformation figures and events come to life. Extensively researched and vividly told, these are the stories of unsung reformers who courageously renounced religious vows, opened their homes to those fleeing religious persecution, and faced estrangement from their families in the cause of the Protestant Reformation in Germany and Italy.

Genres: History, Womens

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Roland Herbert Bainton, Ph.D. (Yale University; A.B., Whitman College), served forty-two years as Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School. A specialist in Reformation history, he continued writing well into his twenty years of retirement. His most popular book, Here I Stand, sold more than a million copies.

Ordained as a Congregationist minister, he never served as the pastor of a congregation.

Reviews

[Denise Kettering · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a classic in studying women in the Reformation. The book's profiles, while dated, provide a good introduction to some of the "extraodinary" women who found themselves taking sides during the Reformation era. While Bainton's emphasis tends to be on those who participated in the Protestant side of things, the profiles provide a look into the ways that women negotiated Reformation-era religion and politics.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of a two volume set with Women of the Reformation in France and England. 12 biographical essays plus chapters on "minor" personages of the 16th century. Includes: Maguerite of Navarre, 1492-1549, who administered France while her brother was at war and later became Queen of Navarre. Also Katherine von Bora, wife of Luther and mother of his six children. An early work on women's role in history and shows pre-feminist weaknesses in analysis.