Short History of the Reformation

‘This book is an excellent and up-to-date treatment of the Reformation. Helen Parish has produced a splendid summary, based on the latest research, of those major themes that characterized the Reformation in both its coherence and its diversity. Though underpinned by solid scholarship, it deserves a wide readership.’ – Scott H. Hendrix, Emeritus Professor of Reformation History and Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, author of Martin Luther: A Very Short Introduction ‘This is much more than just another history of the Reformation. Helen Parish not only gives us Luther’s story, she expertly traces its impact deep into ordinary life. We learn how a theologians’ quarrel ended up reinventing the arts, family life, and even ghosts. And while she digests the best of recent scholarship for us, the book is also filled with vivid vignettes, from the inferno of a Dutch church torched by iconoclasts to an Anabaptist radical’s letter to her infant son written as she went to her death.’ – Alec Ryrie, Professor of the History of Christianity, Durham University, author of Protestants: The Radicals who Made the Modern World ‘Brought out to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the nailing of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg - the event generally held to have set the Reformation in motion - Helen Parish’s exciting new book is a timely, assured, well-written and thoroughly engaging account of this key episode of early modern European history. Drawing on the most recent scholarship, and making extensive use of primary sources, it provides readers with an excellent introduction to the subject while at the same time offering something quite distinctive. Not only does this volume cover essential topics such as Reformation theology and the role of printing, but it also does a great job of drawing our attention to less conventional themes, such as the visual arts, women and marriage and the supernatural. It is a key contribution from one of our leading Reformation historians.’ – Kenneth Austin, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of Bristol

Helen L. Parish is Professor of History at the University of Reading. Her previous books include Superstition and Magic in Early Modern Europe: A Reader (Bloomsbury, 2015), Monks, Miracles and Magic: Reformation Representations of the Medieval Church (2005) and Clerical Marriage and the English Reformation: Precedent, Policy and Practice (2000).