Biographies of a Reformation

Biographies of a Reformation: Religious Change and Confessional Coexistence in Upper Lusatia, c. 1520-1635 investigates how religious coexistence functioned in six towns in the multiconfessional region of Upper Lusatia in Western Bohemia. Lutherans and Catholics found a feasible modus vivendi through written agreements and regular negotiations. This meant that the Habsburg kings of Bohemia ruled over a Lutheran region. Lutherans and Catholics in UpperLusatia shared spaces, objects, and rituals. Catholics adopted elements previously seen as a firm part of a Lutheran confessional culture. Lutherans, too, were willing to incorporate Catholic elements into theirreligiosity. Some of these overlaps were subconscious, while others were a conscious choice.This book provides a new narrative of the Reformation and shows that the concept of the 'urban Reformation', where towns are seen as centres of Lutheranism has to be reassessed, particularly in towns in former East Germany, where much work remains to be done. It shows that in a region like Upper Lusatia, which did not have a political centre and underwent a complex Reformation withmany different actors, there was no clear confessionalization. By approaching the Upper Lusatian Reformation through important individuals, Martin Christ shows how they had to negotiate theirreligiosity, resulting in cross-confessional exchange and syncretism.

Winner of Winner, Gerald Strauss Prize, Sixteenth Century Society Winner, REFORC Book Award 2022 Joint Winner, 2022 Ecclesiastical History Society Book Prize.

“"Christ follows his narrative through the biographies of eight remarkable, Lutheran and Catholic individuals [...] which he connects to nuanced analyses of the local and regional contexts." -- Alexander K”

This book is based in impressive archival and often obscure secondary materials and raises stimulating issues for future Reformation scholarship. Paul W. Knoll, Austrian History Yearbook
Reading [this monograph] is a real pleasure, but also productive: indeed, following the characters allows one to grasp the full range of ambiguities that also unfold at the individual level...The variety of cases and nuances discussed thus goes beyond this regional study, on the fringes of the Holy Roman Empire, to feed more general reflections on the malleability of confessions. Christophe Duhamelle, Francia Recensio
Martin Christ's monograph makes an important contribution to [the field of Reformation research] by bringing together the complex developments of the 16th century in a narrative that significantly, knowledgeably and convincingly enriches our understanding of the Reformation and its development in Upper Lusatia. Friedrich Pollack, Lětopis
Christ's fascinating account highlights the creative as well as destructive consequences that followed from efforts to negotiate both the extent and limits of religious pluralism in Upper Lusatia. Graeme Murdock, Trinity College Dublin, Huguenot Society Journal
Christ follows his narrative through the biographies of eight remarkable, Lutheran and Catholic individuals [...] which he connects to nuanced analyses of the local and regional contexts. Alexander Kästner, Historische Zeitschrift [TRANSLATED FROM GERMAN]
The prose is smooth and readable. The author presents a compelling case for the complexities of the Reformation which must be understood not only from the perspectives of the rulers, advisors, and theological combatants, but also from lesser stately actors, like mayors and town councilors, and town populations. Susan Mobley, Lutheran Quarterly
This book is based in impressive archival and often obscure secondary materials and raises stimulating issues for future Reformation scholarship. Paul W. Knoll, University of Southern California, Emeritus, Los Angeles, California 90007, USA

Martin Christ is a historian of early modern Europe, with a particular interest in the religious, cultural, and social history of Bohemia and Germany. He holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford after previously studying at the universities of Warwick, St. Andrews, and Dresden. He has published in German and English on religious coexistence, Sorb history, and the Reformation in central Europe. After teaching at the University of Tübingen,he is currently working on a project on dying and commemoration in early modern Europe as part of the Humanities Centre for Advanced Studies: "Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations" at the Max-Weber-Kolleg of theUniversity of Erfurt.

Biographies of a Reformation: Religious Change and Confessional Coexistence in Upper Lusatia, c. 1520-1635 investigates how religious coexistence functioned in six towns in the multiconfessional region of Upper Lusatia in Western Bohemia. Lutherans and Catholics found a feasible modus vivendi through written agreements and regular negotiations. This meant that the Habsburg kings of Bohemia ruled over a Lutheran region. Lutherans and Catholics in UpperLusatia shared spaces, objects, and rituals. Catholics adopted elements previously seen as a firm part of a Lutheran confessional culture. Lutherans, too, were willing to incorporate Catholic elements into their religiosity. Some of these overlaps were subconscious, while others were a conscious choice.This book provides a new narrative of the Reformation and shows that the concept of the 'urban Reformation', where towns are seen as centres of Lutheranism has to be reassessed, particularly in towns in former East Germany, where much work remains to be done. It shows that in a region like Upper Lusatia, which did not have a political centre and underwent a complex Reformation with many different actors, there was no clear confessionalization. By approaching the Upper Lusatian Reformationthrough important individuals, Martin Christ shows how they had to negotiate their religiosity, resulting in cross-confessional exchange and syncretism.

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