Documents of the Reformation

An engaging and accurate introduction to the Protestant Reformation, told in the words of those who led it, opposed it, and lived it.

The Protestant Reformation was a pivotal event in world history and religion. Documents of the Reformation collects more than 60 primary documents that shed light on the personalities, issues, ideas, and events of the 16th-century upheaval and will help readers to understand how and why the Protestant Reformation began and transpired as it did.

The book is divided into 12 sections on topics such as indulgences, persecution, and women in the Reformation, each of which offers five document selections. Detailed introductions preceding the documents put them into historical context and explain why they are important, while a general introduction and chronology help readers to understand the Reformation in broad terms and to see causal connections. Bibliographies of current print and digital resources attend each document, and a general bibliography lists seminal works on the Reformation.

Offers readers an understanding of the origins and development of the Protestant Reformation, and the main beliefs and positions of both Catholics and Protestants and of the different branches of Protestantism, e.g., Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Anabaptism

Includes more than 60 defining primary document selections

Features a detailed chronology and a useful general bibliography as well as bibliographies specific to individual documents for directed study

Presents a detailed general Introduction that puts the Reformation as a movement into historical context as well as introductions specific to each document selection that contextualize individual selections within the scope of the work