MACCULLOCH, D. Tudor Church Militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation. London, Penguin Books, 2001.
The foundation of this book comes from a series of Birkbeck lectures which the author, Diarmaid MacCulloch, delivered at the University of Cambridge in the Lent term of 1998. MacCulloch’s purpose in writing Tudor Church Militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation were to voice his argument that the Edwardian reformation was a critical moment in the progress of the Anglican Church and the establishing of England’s Protestant identity.
The aim of this book is to recapture King Edward’s reformation of the Church of England from revisionists such as Haigh, Duffy and Pollard. They and others viewed that the reorganisation of the church was indecisive, weak and insignificant. MacCulloch intends to argue that the reformation was essentially consistent, effective and ultimately a Protestant one.
Within the book are four main chapters present the reign and legacy of Edward VI Reformation. This book also includes a list of illustrations, acknowledgements, notes, bibliography and an abbreviation list, which helps readers understand in more detail about the Edwardian Reformation.
The first chapter; Dramatis Personae, looks at the moments immediately before Edward VI’s accession where Henry VIII had left an enthusiastic council to look over his son Edward. With Edward Seymour recognised as Lord Protector, government set about pursuing a religious revolution whilst also creating the boy King into a deeply religious, well-educated man that was significant and respected.
The second chapter; King Josiah: Purifying the Realm, looks at the start of Edward VI reign and the improvements and attention of religious policy. MacCulloch ide...
... middle of paper ...
...glish church and its breakdown whilst exposing the reformation under monarchs Henry VIII and Edward VI as an attack on traditional religion. Seen as a revisionist, Duffy’s work emphasises on the traditional religion and the idea of a relatively slow Reformation imposed from above. Duffy’s book end at 1580, during the reign of Elizabeth I, as he believes that the reformed Anglican Church was sufficiently in place by that date and that the return to Catholicism was unlikely.
MacCulloch’s view as a post-revisionist offers a unique and distinctive view into the subject of the English Reformation under Edward VI’s reign. He succeeds in developing his idea that the Reformation was distinct during Edward VI reign by explaining and arguing with other historians opinions in great detail and has set a new path for further thinking and research on the Edwardian Reformation.
Religious reformations. In (2009). N. Key & R. Bucholz (Eds.), Sources and Debates in English History (2 ed., ch. 3). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Christopher Haigh, ‘The Continuity of Catholicism in the English Reformation’, Past and Present, No. 93 (November, 1981), pp. 37-69.
In The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village, renowned scholar Eamonn Duffy investigates the English Reformation. Duffy pears through the eyes of the priest of a small, remote village in Southwestern England. Using Sir Christopher Trichay’s records of the parish, Duffy illustrates an image of Reformation opposite of what is predominantly assumed. Duffy argues the transformation that took place between 1530 and 1570, through the transition of four monarchs, was much more gradual that many interpret. Even though state mandate religious change affected the community of Morebath, the change did not ensue the violence that is often construed with the Reformation. Sir Christopher Trichay’s leadership and his portrayal of community life, the development and removal of St. Sidwell, and the participation in the church through stores develop Duffy’s argument of appeasement rather than violence during the English Reformation.
A 16th-century movement in Western Europe that aimed at reforming some doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the establishment of the Protestant churches. The world of the late medieval Roman Catholic Church from which the 16th-century reformers emerged was a complex one. Over the centuries, the church, particularly in the office of the papacy, had become deeply involved in the political life of Western Europe. The resulting intrigues and political manipulations, combined with the church’s increasing power and wealth, contributed to the bankrupting of the church as a spiritual force.
James Kittelson’s biography on the life of Luther is thought provoking and informative. Kittelson does not have a concise thesis, but as it is a biography the central theme of Luther the Reformer is an insightful narrative of Martin Luther’s life from his birth in Eisleben until his death on February 18, 1546 in Eisleben. Kittelson thoroughly and with great detail and sources explains Luther’s mission to reform the catholic church. Luther the Reformer seeks to condense Luther’s life in a manner which is more easily read for those who do not know the reformer’s story well. Luther is portrayed not only as a theologian throughout the book, but as a person with struggles and connections throughout the Germanic region in which he lived. Luther’s theology is portrayed throughout the entirety of the book, and Kittelson approaches Luther’s theology by explaining Luther’s past. The inclusion of
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
Collins, Roger and McClure, Judith, editors. Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Greater Chronicle; Bede’s Letter to Egbert. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.
Haigh, Christopher. “Anticlericalism and the English Reformation.” The English Reformation Revised. Ed. Cambridge GB: Cambridge University Press, 1987. 56-74
The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. The disruption triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed but forceful response to the Protestants. They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of Bible- and pamphlet-reading pastors and princes.
Today there are many types of Protestants and Roman Catholic Churches. For example Anglicans, Lutheran, Calvinist, and there are many more, but during the sixteenth century those churches were the major reforms of the Protestant and Roman Catholic Reformations. You may ask yourself why? Well the purpose of this essay is to find out what caused the reformation, How did the reformers attempt to change the church and what where the effects on the reformation.
The book I chose to review for this assignment is entitled The English Reformation by author A. G. Dickens. The book describes the processes that led to religious transformations and provides an excellent overview on the Reformation in England. The work thoroughly analyzes the political, economical and social aspects of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. The English Reformation, first published in 1964 is a great source of information for anyone who is interested in the history of the religious transition and change.
The Protestant and Catholic conflict during the Elizabethans era divided the nation’s people. England’s history behind the change in rulers caused the nation’s dominate religion to be constantly changed. As the Elizabethan era began, the Protestants were recovering from constant persecution The confusion and conflict over the religions inspired
However, the vicissitudes of the sixteenth and seventeenth century that started with the “Reformation movement” led by the Ge...
Russell, C. (1996). The Reformation and the creation of the Church of England, 1500-1640. In J. Morrill (Ed.), The Oxford illustrated history of Tudor and Stuart Britain (pp. 258-292). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Pettegree, Andrew. "The English Reformation." BBC History. BBC, 17 Feb 2011. Web. 1 Oct 2013.