Reformation Europe: 1517–1559

This is G.R. Elton′s classic account of the Reformation, revealing the issues and preoccupations which seemed central to the age and portraying its leading figures with vigor and realism.

Professor Elton presents a lively and accessible overview of this key era in European history. The book gives full attention to religion and theology, restores Luther to the predominant position from which it had become fashionable to remove him, and focuses on Charles V as a pivotal player in the period. The text is a tribute both to Elton′s gift for concise exposition of complex historical problems and his masterly command of narrative. The result is an account of the Reformation era which is as clear–minded and readable as any published in the thirty five years since its first publication.

This new edition includes an updated bibliography and an afterword by Andrew Pettegree placing Professor Elton′s account of the Reformation in its scholarly context.

Maps.

Preface to the First Edition.

1. Luther.

The Attack on Rome.

The State of Germany.

2. Charles V.

3. Years of Triumph.

The Progress of Lutheranism.

Zwingli.

The Wars of Charles V.

4. The Radicals.

5. Outside Germany.

The South.

The West.

The North.

The East.

6. The Formation of Parties.

The Emergence of Protestantism.

The Search for a Solution.

7. The Revival of Rome.

Catholic Reform.

Counter–Reformation.

The Jesuits and the New Papacy.

8. Calvin.

The Meaning of Calvinism.

The Reformation in Geneva.

The Spread of Calvinism.

9. War and Peace.

The Triumph of Charles V.

The Defeat of Charles V.

The End of an Age.

10. The Age.

The Religious Revolution.

Art, Literature and Learning.

The Nation State.

Society.

The Expansion of Europe.

Afterword to the Second Edition by Andrew Pettegree.

Notes.

Further Reading.

Index.

G. R. Elton was Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University from 1983 to 1988. Among his numerous works are The Tudor Revolution in Government (1953), England under the Tudors (1955), Reform and Renewal (1973), The Parliament of England 1559–1581, and The English (Blackwell, 1992). He was founding editor of the Blackwell History of the Modern British Isles. he died in 1994.

Andrew Pettergree is Professor in Modern History at the University of St Andrews and Director of the St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute.