The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation

It is widely recognized that the sixteenth–century Reformation remains one of the most fascinating and exciting areas of scholarship. A central and important question, raised by intensive modern research on the Renaissance and late medieval scholasticism, concerns the intellectual origins of the Reformation. This updated and expanded version of the original, highly–acclaimed edition of 1987 explores the complex intellectual roots of the Reformation, offering a sustained engagement with the ideas of humanism and scholasticism. McGrath demonstrates how the intellectual origins of the Reformation were heterogeneous, and draws out the implications of this finding for our understanding of the Reformation as a whole. McGrath′s reading of the Reformation against its complex intellectual background opens up new insights into this highly significant historical phenomenon. Yet this is more than a fascinating exploration in the history of ideas; it is also a defence of the entire enterprise of intellectual history in the face of social historical approaches, and a reaffirmation of the importance of ideas to the development of history.

Preface. Abbreviations. Introduction. Part I: The Intellectual Context:. 1. The Shape of Late Medieval Religious Thought:. The Rise of Lay Religion. The Crisis of Authority within the Church. The Development of Doctrinal Diversity. Forerunners of the Reformation?. 2. Humanism and the Reformation:. Humanism: The Problem of Definition. Characteristic Features of Northern European Humanism. Humanism and the Origins of the Reformed Church. Humanism and the Origins of the Lutheran Church. 3. Late Medieval Theology and the Reformation:. Nominalism: The Problem of Definition. Via Moderna. Schola Augustiniana Moderna. Late Medieval Theology and the Origins of the Reformed Church. Late Medieval Theology and the Origins of the Lutheran Church. Part II: Sources and Methods:. 4. Scripture: Translation, Text and Tradition:. The Medieval Consensus on the Theological Priority of Scripture. The Vulgate Translation of the Bible. The Humanist Return Ad Fontes. The Critique of the Vulgate. The Concept of Tradition. The Principle Sola Scriptura. 5. The Interpretation of Scripture:. Scholasticism: The Four–fold Sense of Scripture. Humanism: The Letter and the Spirit. Hermeneutics and the Origins of the Reformed Church. Hermeneutics and the Origins of the Lutheran Church. 6. The Patristic Testimony:. The Scholastic Reception of Augustine. The Humanist Reception of Augustine. The Patristic Testimony and the Origins of the Reformed Church. The Patristic Testimony and the Origins of the Lutheran Church. Conclusion: The Intellectual Heterogeneity of the Early Reformation. Select Bibliography. Index.

Alister E. McGrath is Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University, and Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He is the author of numerous bestselling books, including The Future of Christianity , Christian Theology: An Introduction , 3rd edition, and In The Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible .

"A significant study for those with a serious interest in Reformation thought." Reformed Theological Journal