The Impact of the Reformation: Essays

This collection of essays from a distinguished scholar of medieval, Renaissance, and Reformation history examines one of the most fascinating and turbulent periods of human history from the perspective of the social history of ideas. Taking advantage of the windows offered by late medieval scholastic thought, the Modern Devotion, Johann von Staupitz, Martin Luther, Marian piety, and the escalation of anti-Semitism, Heiko A. Oberman illumines the social and intellectual context for the reform of church and society in the sixteenth century. These programmatic essays not only provide analyses of Reformation events but also contribute to the contemporary search for new methods and models that better capture the meaning of that period. Recognizing the distance between intellectual and social historians of the Reformation, Oberman seeks to bridge the gap by pursuing an innovative path. The impact of the Reformation is traced through everyday life as well as through individual programs for change.