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Church History
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Subsections
Scottish History
Socinianism
Reception of Aquinas in
Reformed vs. Aquinas
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Order of Contents
General History 6
Eve of Reformation 6
Erasmus
Reformation Histories 10+
Specific Nations:
. Germany
. Netherlands
. England
. Ireland
. Italy
. Spain
. France
. Switzerland
. Eastern Europe
. Scandinavia
Special Topics
Historical Theology
Political Thought
Art
Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
Primary Sources
Guide & Companions
Latin
Biblios
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General History
The Cambridge Modern History, vols. 2 (Reformation), 3 (Religious Wars), 4 (30 Years War), 5 (Age of Louis XIV) (1907) Index
ed. Dewald, Jonathan – Europe 1450-1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World, 6 vols. Buy (2004)
ed. Brady, Oberman & Tracy – Handbook of European History, 1400-1600, 2 vols. Buy (1996)
ed. Scott, Hamish – The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern History, 1350-1750, 2 vols. Buy (2015)
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Maps
The Cambridge Modern History Atlas (1912) 720 pp.
History of the World: Map by Map
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Articles
Miller, Samuel – An Introductory Essay to: An Essay on the Spirit & Influence of the Reformation (1833) 12 pp.
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Eve of the Reformation
Ullmann, C. – The Reformers Before the Reformation, Principally in Germany and the Netherlands, vol. 1, 2 (1863)
Maynard Smith, H. – Pre-Reformation England Buy (1938) 556 pp.
Hodgson, William – The Lives, Sentiments and Sufferings of Some of the Reformers and Martyrs Before, Since and Independent of the Lutheran Reformation (1867) 465 pp.
trans. Malcom – Old German Theology a Hundred Years before the Reformation with a preface by Martin Luther (1854) 185 pp. This is a primary source document
Jackson, Samuel – Huldreich Zwingli, the Reformer of German Switzerland, 1484-1531, with an Historical Survey of Switzerland before the Reformation, and a chapter on Zwingli’s Theology (1903) 630 pp.
Gasquet, Abbot – The Eve of the Reformation: Studies in Religious Life and Thought of the English People in the Period Preceding the Rejection of the Roman Jurisdiction by Henry VIII (1905) 415 pp.
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Erasmus
1800’s
Emerton, Ephraim – Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam 1899 575 pp.
Froude, J.A. – Life and Letters of Erasmus: Lectures 1894 435 pp.
Froude was an Oxford professor of modern history.
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1900’s
Allen, P.S. – The Age of Erasmus 1914 300 pp.
Murray, Robert – Erasmus and Luther: their Attitude to Toleration 1920 530 pp.
Phillips, M.M. – Erasmus and the Northern Renaissance Buy 1950 236 pp.
Huizinga, J. – Erasmus of Rotterdam with a Selection from the Letters of Erasmus 1957 305 pp.
Taylor, Henry Osborn – Erasmus and Luther 1962 Book 2 of Thought and Expression in the Sixteenth Century
ed. Bietenholz, Peter & Thomas Deutscher – Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation, 3 vols. Buy 1985-7
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Short & Medium Histories of the Reformation
1800’s
Tulloch, John – Leaders of the Reformation: Luther, Calvin, Latimer, Knox, the Representative Men of Germany, France, England and Scotland (1860) 300 pp.
Carter, Thomas – History of the Great Reformation in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France & Italy (1860) 370 pp.
Lindsay, Thomas – The Reformation (1882) 230 pp. in Handbooks for Bible Classes
Bettany, G.T. – A Popular History of the Reformation & Modern Protestantism (1895) 555 pp.
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1900’s
Reed, R.C. – History of the Presbyterian Churches of the World… (Westminster Press, 1905) 415 pp. ToC
Whitney, James Pounder – The Reformation, being an Outline of the History of the Church from 1503-1648 (1907) 505 pp.
“Fuller than others on Trent.” – Owen Chadwick
Green, V.H.H. – Renaissance & Reformation Buy (1952) 462 pp.
Bainton, Roland
The Age of the Reformation (1956) 198 pp.
The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century (1952) 300 pp.
Sykes, Norman – The Crisis of the Reformation 125 pp. 1958
Leonard, Emile G. – A History of Protestantism (1968) 490 pp.
Leonard (1891-1961) was a French historian who for a time taught at the Free Faculty of Reformed Theology of Aix-en-Provence.
ed. Preswich, Menna – International Calvinism 1541-1715 (Oxford Univ. Press, 1985) 415 pp. ToC
ed. Graham, W. Fred – Later Calvinism: International Perspectives in Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies, vol. 22 (Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, 1994) 575 pp. ToC
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2000’s
Benedict, Philip – Christ’s Churches Purely Reformed: A Social History of Calvinism (Yale Univ. Press, 2002)
Cameron, Euan – The European Reformation 2nd ed. Pre (Oxford Univ. Press, 2012) 585 pp. ToC
McGoldrick, James E. – Presbyterian & Reformed Churches: A Global History Pre (Reformation Heritage Books, 2012)
eds. Jefferies, Henry & Richard Rex – Reformations Compared: Religious Transformations across Early Modern Europe Pre (Cambridge University Press, 2024) 287 pp. ToC
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Large Histories of the Reformation
1800’s
D’Aubigne, Merle – History of the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Germany, Switzerland, etc. 1846 4 vols. in 1
Wylie, J.A. – The History of Protestantism, vol. 1, 2, 3
Wylie was of the Free Church of Scotland. This is a classic, vigorous defense of Protestantism.
Lindsay, Thomas – A History of the Reformation, vol. 1, 2 1908 in International Theological Library
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1900’s
Smith, Preserved – The Age of the Reformation (1920) 870 pp.
“An excellent one-volume study.” – Owen Chadwick
“Of the older general works on the Reformation… [this] still is the best survey of the period available in the English language.” – Wilhelm Pauck, 1940
Grimm, Harold – The Reformation Era, 1500-1650 1956 660 pp.
“Sober and up to date.” – Owen Chadwick
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French
1600’s
Jurieu, Pierre – The History of Calvinism & that of Popery, set forth in Parallel, or an Apology for the Reformers, for the Reformation & for the Reformed Churches, in Answer to a book called The History of Calvinism by M. Maimbourg, vol. 1, 2, 3, 4 (1683)
Maimbourg was a Jesuit at the time of the writing of his book. He was the leading historian among the adversaries of the Protestant churches. He had Gallican tendencies and was for that reason later expelled from the Jesuits.
“…even in the 17th century, the Protestant Churches, both Lutheran and Reformed, laid claim to the title Catholic. The first writer to use the word Catholic (instead of Papist, which until then had been commonly used) in the sense of Roman Catholic, was [the Lutheran] Nicolaus Hunnius (1585-1643). As late as 1712, August Hermann Francke used the expression Catholic in the sense of “that which concerns the universal Church”…
With the abandonment of the word Catholic went the acceptance of the designations Lutheran and Calvinist which had first been usd by the enemies of Protestantism… Jesuit Louis Maimbourg… produced… in 1682, The History of Calvinism… on behalf of the French Reformed Churches, Pierre Jurieu wrote. The History of Calvinism… Seckendorf [who wrote a Lutheran response to Maimbourg] and Jurieu were ecumenical in their thinking; yet, under the influence of the book which they ere answering, both adopted the terms Lutheranism and Calvinism without serious reflection on what they were doing. The consequences of this departure from tradition were serious. Till this time these personal appellations had been used only of the individual adherents of the various Churches; from this time on they came to be generally used of the Churches as a whole and of their system of doctrine.” – Martin Schmidt, in A History of the Ecumenical Movement, p. 74
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Literature
chs. 5-7 of The Cambridge History of English Literature, vol. 7, ‘Cavalier & Puritan’ (1911)
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Missions
Warneck, Gustav – Outline of a History of Protestant Missions from the Reformation to the Present Time, with an Appendix concerning Roman Catholic Missions 1906 480 pp.
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Romanism
Creighton, Mandell – A History of the Papacy During the Reformation, vol. 1 (1378-1418), 2 (1418-1464), 3 (1464-1518), 4 (1464-1518), 5 (1517-1527) (1882)
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The Jesuits
McCabe, Joseph – A Candid History of the Jesuits 1913 465 pp.
Campbell, Thomas J. – The Jesuits: 1534-1931, vol. 1, 2 1921 505 pp.
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The Counter Reformation
Janelle, Pierre – The Catholic Reformation 1949 425 pp.
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The Council of Trent
Froude, James – Lectures on the Council of Trent (1896) 335 pp.
Froude was an Oxford professor of modern history.
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From a Romanist Perspective
Belloc, Hilaire
How the Reformation Happened Buy (1950) 180 pp.
Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian.
Characters of the Reformation (1955) 215 pp.
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Radicals
Kautsky, Karl – Communism in Central Europe in the Time of the Reformation 1897 305 pp.
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Bibliography
Williams, George – ‘Studies in the Radical Reformation (1517-1618): A Bibliographical Survey of Research since 1939’ & ‘(Continued)’ in Church History, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Mar., 1958), pp. 46-69 & Vol. 27, No. 2 (Jun., 1958), pp. 124-60
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The Spirit & Significance of the Reformation
Various – The Sure Word of Prophecy: Sermons & Addresses on the Reformation & the Lutheran Church 1908 160 pp.
Schmucker, S.S. – Discourse in Commemoration of the Glorious Reformation of the Sixteenth Century (1838) 130 pp.
Villers, Charles – An Essay on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation of Luther (1805) 407 pp.
Hough, Lynn – The Significance of the Protestant Reformation: a Series of Lectures (1918) 105 pp.
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Thought of the Era
Taylor, Henry – Thought & Expression in the Sixteenth Century, vol. 1, 2 (1920)
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Special Topics
ed. Kingdon, Robert – Transition & Revolution: Problems & Issues of European Renaissance & Reformation History (Minneapolis: Burgess Pub. Co., 1974)
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Historical Theology of the Reformation
trans. Malcom – Old German Theology a Hundred Years before the Reformation with a preface by Martin Luther 1854 185 pp. This is a primary source document
Cunningham, William – The Reformers and the Theology of the Reformation Buy 1862 608 pp.
Here Cunningham is at his best, church history and the principles of the Reformation being his life’s work.
McCormack, Bruce – For Us & Our Salvation: Incarnation & Atonement in the Reformed Tradition (1993) 48 pp.
McCormack surveys Calvin, Bullinger and Ursinus on the topic, though unfortunately finds the solution to his theological questions in the very highly, NOT-recommended, theology of Karl Barth, the founder of Neo-Orthodoxy.
Muller, Gerhard – Protestant Theology in Scotland and Germany in the Early Days of the Reformation 1978/1985 15 pp.
Krauth, Charles P. – The Conservative Reformation & its Theology: as Represented in the Augsburg Confession & in the History & Literature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (1872) 855 pp.
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Political Thought
Allen, J.W. – History of Political Thought in the 16th Century (1951) 520 pp.
Zagorin, Perez – A History of Political Thought in the English Revolution (1997) 215 pp.
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History & Character of Calvinism
McNeill, J.T. – The History & Character of Calvinism Buy (1954) 480 pp. Also helpful for Zwingli
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Architecture
Randall, Katharine – Philibert De L’Orme, Protestantism & Architecture: Peculiarities of Style (1993) 75 pp.
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Art
Coulton, G.G. – Art & the Reformation (Cambridge, 1923) 680 pp.
Christensen, Carl – Art & the Reformation in Germany (1979) 280 pp.
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Encyclopedias
ed. Bietenholz, Peter & Thomas Deutscher – Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation, 3 vols. Buy 1985-7
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, 4 vols. Buy 1996
ed. Lamport, Mark – Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation Buy 2017 1,000 pp.
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Dictionaries
ed. Steimer, Bruno – Dictionary of the Reformation Buy (2004) 384 pp. Encyclopedia of Theology & Church
Mullett, Michael – Historical Dictionary of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation Buy (2010) 594 pp. Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies & Movements
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Primary Sources
Original Languages
The fullest set of Corpus Reformatorum online.
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In English
Kidd, B.J. – Documents Illustrative of the Continental Reformation (1911) 760 pp. About half of the documents or so are in non-English languages.
Kidd was an Anglican.
The Library of Christian Classics, vols. 14-26 Buy Westminster John Knox Press This is a liberal publisher, but an honest and standard series.
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Creeds & Confessions
ed. Dennison, 4 vols.
ed. Lumpkin, W.L. – Baptist Confessions of Faith Buy (1959) 548 pp. This contains the largest collection of anabaptist historical confessions that is easily available.
ed. Schaff, Philip – The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3: The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches 1877 935 pp. For historical background on these creeds, see vol. 1, chs. 5-8.
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Anabaptists
Stayer, James – Ch. 5, ‘The Anabaptists and the Sects’ in The New Cambridge Modern History (1990 / 2004)
Newcomb, Harvey – The Anabaptists: being an account of the progress of the Reformation in Germany, from the Diet of Worms to the death of Frederic, Elector of Saxony, comprising a history of the Anabaptists or Mennonites, , with remarks on Fanaticism, Riots, War, Oaths, Baptism, the Sabbath, and other Subjects (1836) 225 pp.
Payne, Ernest – The Anabaptists of the Sixteenth Century & their Influence in the Modern World (1949) 17 pp.
Smeeton, Donald – ‘Calvin’s Conflict with the Anabaptists’ (1980) 9 pp.
Littell, Franklin – The Anabaptist View of the Church: a Study in the Origins of Sectarian Protestantism (1958)
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Confessions of Anabaptists
ed. Lumpkin, W.L. – Baptist Confessions of Faith Buy (1959) 548 pp. This contains the largest collection of anabaptist historical confessions that is easily available.
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Guide to Research & Companions to Reformation History
Greengrass, Mark – The Longman Companion to the European Reformation, c.1500-1618 (London: Longman, 1998) 405 pp. ToC
ed. Hsia, R. Po-chia – A Companion to the Reformation World (Blackwell Publishing, 2004) 585 pp. ToC
ed. Whitford, David M. – Reformation & Early Modern Europe: a Guide to Research in Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies 79 (Truman State Univ. Press, 2008) 465 pp. ToC
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Latin Articles
1600’s
Voet, Gisbert
Syllabus of Theological Problems (Utrecht, 1643), pt. 1, section 2, tract 4 Abbr.
Of the 3rd Age
Of Recent Times, from Luther, in General
Of the Ancient, Protestant German Church, unto the Schism through the Book of Concord
Of the Anglican Church
Of the Swiss, French, Scottish, Belgic, Polish, Bohemian, Hungarian, Transylvanian & Numerous German Churches
The Modern Churches Beyond: the Western, Greek, of Moscow, Armenia, Egypt, Iberia, Syria, Jacobite, of Georgia, Ethiopia & the Indies
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
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Bibliographies
Books
1900’s
Bainton, Roland – Bibliography of the Continental Reformation: Materials Available in English Buy (1935; rev. 1972)
Anderson, Marvin Walter – Peter Martyr: A Reformer in Exile (1542-1562). A Chronology of Biblical Writings in England and Europe Buy (1975)
ed. Baker, Derek – The Bibliography of the Reform, 1450-1648, Relating to the United Kingdom and Ireland for the Years 1955-1970 Buy (1975)
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On Martin Luther
Books
Bigane, John – Annotated Bibliography of Luther Studies, 1967-1977 Buy Sixteenth Century Bibliography
Hagen, Kenneth & Franz Possett – Annotated Bibliography of Luther Studies, 1977-1983 Buy Sixteenth Century Bibliography
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Related Pages