The Reformation

A traditional, excellently-written account: all big names and grand events and things that sound, to 21st century ears, rather bizarre (indigenous Americans weren't able to compete in the "adult world"?) Chadwick focuses on Britain, as is the wont of British people last century; he is surprisingly sanguine about the reformers, excusing all of their murders, insanities and horrors by mentioning, yet again, that "everyone agreed reform was needed." Perversely, he argues that i) the Reformation in England was a political event with religious consequences (seems fair) and ii) nobody much cared that the Reformation came. It's very difficult to read this after Duffy and so on have done so much work to show that, for a good many people in show more Britain at least, the reformation was a traumatic destruction of a way of life; but even common sense should have suggested that the reformation in England can't have been both bureaucratically imposed by a walking penis and accepted whole-heartedly by the population.

But, as I said, very nicely written, and good on the ideas of the main figures. show less

Covering the whole of the Reformation, plus the Counter Reformation, in a small book is always going to be a challenge - this book covers the topic adequately, but it's quite England-centric.
It was interesting to see the author covering (briefly) the Spanish activities in South America.
One thing I learnt: the reason that Portuguese is spoken in Brazil and Spanish in the rest of South America is due to a line drawn on a map by a pope - the Spanish got west of the line, the Portuguese the east.
One thing I read but not sure I agree: that the Calvinist were against organs in churches; not sure then there are so many organs in the Calvinist churches in the Netherlands.

The only other short introduction to the Reformation that I've read is the one by G.R. Elton, and this one is not as good. Chadwick treats his subject casually and judges movements or people without making us privy to the reasons why he does so. There are also inexplicable biases in what is treated: for example, he gives us quite a few pages (a chapter?) on the religious life of England under Cromwell (1640s and 50s), but barely spends more than a sentence or two on the religious wars in France (1562-98).

On the whole, the tone wasn't my thing either. On the few occasions he referred to women it was in an casual and sometimes apparently joking way. Not quite sexist, but it makes you wonder.

Skip it. There are hundreds of histories of the show more Reformation. Most will be better than this. show less

For a small paperback, this is a quite in depth history of the church. This is volume 3, which deals with The Reformation and Counter Reformation. There is no question that this is a significant time for Christianity. This is the beginning of Protestantism and the Catholic Church's religious response. Do people really read things like this? I do.

Owen Chadwick stands out as the trustsed authority on Reformation history. Not only is his scholorly knowledge outlined with enough precision to impress any aspiring historian, but Chadwick also manages to convey the facts with a level of underlying passion.,Book annotation not available for this title.Title: The ReformationAuthor: Chadwick, OwenPublisher: Penguin Group USAPublication Date: 1990/05/01Number of Pages: Binding Type: PAPERBACKLibrary of Congress: BL 99784652

History

INDEX; SUGGESTONS FOR FURTHER READING