History of the German Reformation

.

Subsections

Luther’s Works
Lutheranism
Lutheran Historical Theology
Lutheran Systematic Theologies

.

.bo

Order of Contents

Early & Medieval
Reformation
.       Shorter Histories  18+
.       Large Histories  8
Reformed Church
Special Studies
Primary Sources  2

Luther  20
Luther’s Thought  4
Melanchthon  1
Worship  3
Latin  2
Biblios  4


.

.

Early & Medieval Church History

Articles

Kruger, Gustav – Harvard Theological Review, vol. 14, no. 4 (Oct. 1921), pp. 283-374 & vol. 15 (Oct. 1922), pp. 323-405

‘Literature on Church History in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland and the Scandinavian Countries, 1914-1920, I. Early Church History’

‘The Medieval Church’


.

.

Short & Medium Length Histories

1800’s

Shober, G. – A Comprehensive Account of the Rise and Progress of the Blessed Reformation of the Christian Church by Dr. Martin Luther  (1818)  235 pp.

Montgomery, Robert – Luther: the Spirit of the Reformation  (1843)  385 pp.

Spalding, M.J. – D’Aubigné’s “History of the great Reformation in Germany & Swtizerland Reviewed, or the Reformation in Germany Examined in its Instruments, Causes & Manner…  (1844)  400 pp.

Spalding, a Roman Catholic, attempts to set forth ‘the other side of the story’ and not only review D’Aubigne’s work, but to provide a general history of the Reformation.

Heppe, Heinrich – The Reformers of England & Germany in the Sixteenth Century:  Their Intercourse & Correspondence.  A Historical Sketch & Original Documents  Buy  (1859)  225 pp.  with an Appendix containing twelve primary source letters in Latin

Dalton, Hermannn – John A Lasco: his Earlier Life and Labors: a Contribution to the History of the Reformation in Poland, Germany & England  (1886)  390 pp.

Morris, John G. – The Blind Girl of Wittenberg: A Life Picture of the Times of Luther & the Reformation  (1856)  310 pp.

ed. Saint-Hilaire – Tales from Alsace, or Scenes & Portraits from Life in the Days of the Reformation, as Drawn from Old Chronicles  (1868)  424 pp.

Anon. – Anecdotes of Luther and the Reformation  (1883)  265 pp.

Seiss, Joseph – Luther & the Reformation: the Life Springs of our Liberties  (1888)  210 pp.

Anon. – Characters, Scenes and Incidents of the Reformation: from the Times of Luther to the Close of the Sixteenth Century  (n.d.)  200 pp.

.

1900’s

Plummer, Alfred – The Continental Reformation in Germany, France & Switzerland, from the Birth of Luther to the Death of Calvin  (1912)  230 pp.

Lindsay, Thomas – Luther & the German Reformation  (1913)  320 pp.  in The World’s Epoch-Makers  Here is a one page review by Henry M. Baird.

Lindsay was a professor in the Free Church of Scotland.

ed. Dau, W.H.T. – 400 Years, Commemorative Essays on the Reformation of Dr. Martin Luther and its Blessed Results  (1916)  330 pp.

Fischer-Galati, Stephen – Ottoman Imperialism & German Protestantism  Buy  (1959)  156 pp.

Fischer-Galati was an American historian from Romania.

Holborn, Hajo – A History of Modern Germany: The Reformation  (1959)  420 pp.

Dickens, A.G. – Martin Luther & the Reformation  (1967)  195 pp.

Forte, Dieter – Luther, Munzer & the Bookkeepers of the Reformation  (1973)  215 pp.

Center for Reformation Research – Early Sixteenth Century Roman Catholic Theologians & the German Reformation: a Finding List of CRR holdings  (1975)  62 pp.

.

2000’s

Booth, Edwin Prince – Martin Luther: Heart of the Reformation  (2003)  205 pp.


.

.

Large Histories

1800’s

Scott, John – Luther & the Lutheran Reformation, vol. 1, 2  (1832)

Hagenback, K.R. – History of the Reformation in Germany & Switzerland Chiefly, vol. 1, 2  (1878)

.

1900’s

von Ranke, Leopold – History of the Reformation in Germany  (1905)  815 pp.

Vedder, Henry C. – The Reformation in Germany  (1914)  525 pp.

Vedder was a professor of Church history at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, a multi-denominational school, though it served mainly the American Baptist Church.

Lortz, Joseph – The Reformation in Germany, vol. 1, 2  (1968)  500 pp.


.

.

History of the Reformed Church in Germany

See also “The History of Relations between the Lutherans & the Reformed”.

.

Articles

Richards, George W. – “Calvinism in the Reformed Churches of Germany”  in Reformed Church Review, 4th Series, XIII, no. 2  (1909), pp. 316-45

Baxter, J.H. – “Alesius & Other Reformed Refugees in Germany”  in SCHS (1935), pp. 93-102

Thompson, Bard – ch. 2, “The Reformed Church in the Palatinate”  in eds. Thompson, Berkhof, Schweizer, Hageman, Essays on the Heidelberg Catechism  (United Church Press, 1963), pp. 31-53

Chadwick, Owen – “The Making of a Reforming Prince: Frederick III, Elector Palatine”  in Reformation, Conformity & Dissent, ed. R. Buick Knox  (London: Epworth, 1977), pp. 44-69

Cohn, Henry J. – “Territorial Princes in Germany’s Second Reformation, 1559–1622”  in International Calvinism 1541-1715, ed. Menna Preswich  (Oxford Univ. Press, 1985), pp. 135–66

Janse, Wim – “Wittenberg Calvinizans: The Involvement of Melanchthon, Peucer, and Eber in the Bremen Sacramentarian Controversy, 1560”  in Ordentlich und Fruchtbar: Festschrift für Willem van’t Spijker, ed. Wilhelm Neuser & Herman Selderhuis (Leiden: J.J. Groen en Zoon, 1997), pp. 53-68

Nischan, Bodo

“Reformed Irenicism & the Leipzig Colloquy of 1631”  in Central European History, 9 (1996), pp. 3-26

“John Bergius [d. 1658]: Irenicism and the Beginning of Official Religious Toleration in Brandenburg-Prussia”  in Church History, vol. 51, no. 4 (Dec. 1982), pp. 389-404

“The Second Reformation in Brandenburg: Aims & Goals”  in The Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 14, no. 2 (Summer, 1983), pp. 173-87

.

Books

Thompson, Bard – An Historical Reconstruction of Melanchthonianism in the German Reformed Church based on Liturgical Evidence  Ph.D. Diss.  (Columbia University, 1953)

Christman, Robert J. – The Dynamics of the Early Reformation in their Reformed Augustinian Context  Pre (2020; Routledge, 2025)  ToC

.

Multi-Volume

1800’s

Mayer, Lewis – The History of the German Reformed Church, vol. 1, 2  (1851)

Harbaugh, H. – The Fathers of the German Reformed Church in Europe & America, vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6  (1857)

Good, James I.

Origin of the Reformed Church in Germany  (Reading, PA: Miller, 1887)  525 pp.  ToC

History of the Reformed Church of Germany, 1620-1890  (Reading, PA: Miller, 1894)  655 pp.  ToC


.

.

Special Studies

Miscellaneous

Articles

Pauck, William – “The Historiography of the German Reformation during the Past Twenty Years”  in Church History, vol. 9, no. 4 (Dec., 1940), pp. 305-40

Pauk was a professor at Chicago Theological Seminary.

Spitz, Lewis – “The Augsburg Confession: 450 Years of History”  in The Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 11, no. 3, 450th Anniversary Augsburg Confession (Jun. 25, 1980), pp. 3-9

.

Books

Gunnoe, Charles – Thomas Erastus & the Palatinate: a Renaissance Physician in the Second Reformation  (Brill, 2010)  544 pp.  ToC

Christman, Robert J. – The Dynamics of the Early Reformation in their Reformed Augustinian Context  Pre (2020; Routledge, 2025)  ToC

.

Connection to the Scottish Reformation

Articles

Baxter, J.H. – “Alesius & Other Reformed Refugees in Germany”  in SCHS (1935), pp. 93-102

Cameron, James

“Catholic Reform in Germany & in the pre-1560 Church in Scotland”  in SCHS (1979), pp. 105-17

Aspects of the Lutheran Contribution to the Scottish Reformation, 1528-1552  (1984)  12 pp.

.

Books

1800’s

Mitchell, William – The Wedderburns & their Work, or the Sacred Poetry of the Scottish Reformation in its Historical Relation to that of Germany, a Lecture  (1867)  95 pp.

.

1900’s

McGoldrick, James E. – Luther’s Scottish Connection  (Cranbury: Associated Univ. Press, 1989)  141 pp.

See the review by Barry Waugh.

.

Politics

1800’s

von Ranke, Leopold – Ferdinand I [d. 1564] & Maximilian II [d. 1576] of Austria: an Essay on the Political & Religious State of Germany immediately after the Reformation  (1853) 145 pp.

Hutton, William – The Political Disturbances which Accompanied the Early Period of the Reformation in Germany  (1881)  41 pp.

.

Localities

Bernheim, G.D. – Localities of the Reformation which were Visited Recently in a European Tour, and Described in a Lecture  (1877)  25 pp.

Stoughton, John – Homes & Haunts of Luther  (n.d.)  285 pp.  Religious Tract Society

Sehlbrede, G.E. – Wittenberg & its Association with the Reformation of Germany  (1906)  155 pp.

.

Educational

1900’s

Woody, Thomas – Furstenschulen in Germany after the Reformation  (1920)  60 pp.

Furstenschulen was the protestant school system in Germany.

.

Women

Article

Gillet, Myrtle Mann – ‘Woman in German Literature Before & After the Reformation’  Journal of English & Germanic Philology, vol. 17  (1918), pp. 346-75

.

.

Primary Sources

Collections of

ed. Robinson & Whitcomb – Translations & Reprints from the Original Sources of European History – Period of the Early Reformation in Germany  (1895)  45 pp.

Collitz, Klara – Selections from Classical German Literature from the Reformation to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century  (1914)  750 pp.  In German with English annotations

.

Book

Old German Theology a Hundred Years before the Reformation  trans. Malcom  (1854)  185 pp.  Preface by Martin Luther

.

.

On Martin Luther

Article

Cartwright, T.S. – Luther; the Reformation, Two Lectures  (1878)  33 pp.

.

Shorter Bios

1800’s

Mead, Edwin – Martin Luther: a Study of the Reformation  (1884)  195 pp.

Cubitt, George – The Life of Martin Luther, to which is prefixed an Expository Essay on the Lutheran Reformation  (1853)  350 pp.

Lutheran Publication Society – Luther at Wartburg Castle: a Reformation Story of 1521  (1882)  245 pp.

.

1900’s

Green, Vivian – Luther & the Reformation  (1964)  185 pp.

Simon, Edith – Luther Alive; Martin Luther & the Making of the Reformation  (1968)  385 pp.

Hendrix, Scott – Luther & the Papacy: Stages in a Reformation Conflict  (1981)  230 pp.

.

Larger Bios

1800’s

Bower, Alexander – The Life of Luther, being an Account of the Early Progress of the Reformation  (1824)  415 pp.

Sears, Barnas – The Life of Luther with Special Reference to its Earlier Periods & the Opening Scenes of the Reformation  (1849)  505 pp.

Stork, Theophilus – The Life of Martin Luther & the Reformation in Germany, with an Introduction  (1858)  405 pp.

Jacobs, Henry Eyster – Martin Luther: the Hero of the Reformation, 1483-1546  (1898)  545 pp.

.

1900’s

Smith, Preserved – Life & Letters of Martin Luther  (1911)  540 pp.

Bainton, Roland H. – Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther  (1951)  420 pp.

.

Luther to 1521

1800’s

Smith, J. Frederick – Martin Luther and the Reformation in Germany until the Close of the Diet of Worms  (1896)  470 pp.

Beard, Charles – Martin Luther and the Reformation in Germany until the Close of the Diet of Worms  (1889)  485 pp.

.

1900’s

Boehmer, Heinrich – Road to Reformation: Martin Luther to the Year 1521  Buy  (1946)  449 pp.

Rupp, E.G. – Luther’s Progress to the Diet of Worms  Buy  (1951)  109 pp.

Fife, Robert – The Revolt of Martin Luther  Buy  (1957)  726 pp.


.

.

The Thought of Luther

1900’s

Murray, Robert – Erasmus & Luther: their Attitude to Toleration  (1920)  530 pp.

Watson, Philip – Let God be God! An Interpretation of the Theology of Martin Luther  Buy  (1947)  214 pp.

Rupp, E.G. – The Righteousness of God: Luther Studies  Buy  (1953)  365 pp.  The Birkbeck lectures in ecclesiastical history

Bornkamm, H. – Luther’s World of Thought  Buy  (1958)  245 pp.

Taylor, Henry Osborn – Erasmus & Luther  (1962)  Book 2 of Thought & Expression in the Sixteenth Century

Althaus, Paul – The Ethics of Martin Luther  Buy  (1972)  196 pp.

Great reading!  A classic.


.

.

Melanchthon

Richard, James William – Philip Melanchthon, the Protestant Preceptor of the Reformation, 1497-1560  (1898)  490 pp.


.

.

German Worship

See also our sections ‘Luther & Lutheranism’ & ‘The German Reformed Church’ on our page, The History of Psalm Singing.

.

Mitchell, William – The Wedderburns & their Work, or the Sacred Poetry of the Scottish Reformation in its Historical Relation to that of Germany, a Lecture  (1867)  95 pp.

Brooks, Neil – ‘German Hymns in the Church Service Before the Reformation’  (1910)  4 pp.

Kuhn, Anne Wicker – The Influence of the German Protestant Reformation upon the Music Worship of the Church  (1942)  275 pp.  Light print but readable

McKee, Elsie Anne – Reforming Popular Piety in Sixteenth Century Strasbourg: Katharina Schutz Zell & her Hymnbook  (1994)  88 pp.


.

.

Latin Articles

1600’s

Voet, Gisbert

Syllabus of Theological Problems  (Utrecht, 1643), pt. 1, section 2, tract 4   Abbr.

Of Recent Times, from Luther, in General
Of the Ancient, Protestant German Church, unto the Schism through the Book of Concord
Of the Swiss, French, Scottish, Belgic, Polish, Bohemian, Hungarian, Transylvanian & Numerous German Churches

Ecclesiastical Politics  (Amsterdam: Waesberge, 1663), vol. 4, pt. 3, bk. 3, Of the Government of the Church with Respect to a State of Turbulence, Tract 1, Of the Dispersion and Regathering of the Church

9. Of the Reformation Having Been Started in the Years 1516 & 1517 by Luther and Zwingli  479


.

.

Bibliographies

Article

1900’s

Johnson, Franklin – ‘New Light on the German Reformation’  in American Journal of Theology  (1905), pp. 185-86

.

Pamphlets

1800’s

ed. Robinson & Whitcomb – Translations & Reprints from the Original Sources of European History – Period of the Early Reformation in Germany  (1895)  45 pp.

.

1900’s

Bishop, William Warner – ‘German Reformation Pamphlets in Princeton University Library’  (1904)  24 pp.

Pauck, William – “The Historiography of the German Reformation during the Past Twenty Years”  in Church History, vol. 9, no. 4 (Dec., 1940), pp. 305-40

Pauk was a professor at Chicago Theological Seminary.

.

Books

1900’s

Rockwell, William – List of References on the History of the Reformation in Germany  (1917)  65 pp.  Most of the references are in non-English languages

Bainton, Roland H. & Eric W. Gritsch – Bibliography of the Continental Reformation  (Archon Books, 1972)  240 pp.  ToC

.

.

.

Related Pages

Reformation & Puritan History

Church History

Historical Theology