Although the connection between the invention of printing and the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century has long been a scholarly commonplace, there is still a great deal of evidence about the relationship to be presented and analysed. This collection of authoritative reviews by distinguished historians deals with the role of the book in the spread of the Reformation all over the continent, identifying common European experiences and local peculiarities. It summarises important recent work on the topic from every major European country, introducing English-speakers to much important and previously inaccessible research.

    Contents: Introduction, Jean-François Gilmont; Printing at the dawn of the 16th century, Jean-François Gilmont, The book in Reformation Germany, John L. Flood; French-speaking regions, 1520-62, Francis M. Higman; Printing and the Reformation in the Low Countries, 1520-c.1555, Andrew G. Johnson; Three border cities: Antwerp, Strasbourg and Basle, Jean-François Gilmont; Printing and the Reformation in Antwerp, A.G. Johnston and Jean-François Gilmont; Reformation printing in Strasbourg, 1519-60, Miriam U. Chrisman; Printing and the Basle Reformation, 1517-65, Peter G. Bietenholz; Books and the English Reformation prior to 1558, David M. Loades; Printing and Reformation ideas in Spain, A. Gordon Kinder; The book and the Reformation in Italy, Ugo Rozzi and Silvana Seidel Menchi; The book and the beginnings of the Reformation in Hungary, Gedeon Borsa; The book and the Reformation in Bohemia and Moravia, Mirjam Bohatcová; The book and the Reformation in Poland, Alodia Kawecka-Gryczowa and Janusz Tazbir; The book and the Reformation in Denmark and Norway, 1523-40, Anne Riising; The book and the Reformation in the Kingdom of Sweden, Remi Kick; Conclusion, Jean-François Gilmont; Index.

    Biography

    Jean-François Gilmont, translated by Karin Maag

    ' ...a fine resource for those interested in the details on the role of publication in the Reformation.' Calvin Theological Journal, Vol. 34, No. 1 'Academic collections on Reformation studies will need to include The Reformation and the Book.' Reference Reviews, Vol. 13, No. 5 'The Reformation and the Book contains a wealth of material not easily available elsewhere and the secondary references are particularly valuable.' SHARP News, Vol. 8, No. 3 'Important books provoke other books, as the Reformation demonstrated: now that it is available in English, this collection can provoke even more.' Libraries and Culture, Vol. 34, No. 4 '...this collection of essays offers a comprehensive view of the role of printing in the spread of the Reformation...the detail and scope of these studies ensure them a...durable place in scholarship...this volume promises to...establish book studies as a substantial component of Reformation history, and offer sure guidance to researchers into the dissemination of religious ideas.' Church History, Vol. 69, No. 1 '... extensive and richly detailed...there is so much local detail, nuance, and information in this volume... Both the original editor, Jean-François Gilmont, and the editor/translator of this volume, Karin Maag, deserve to be congratulated for their work in producing this coherent mosaic of interlocking pieces and for bringing it to an undergraduate and generalist audience in English.' The Catholic Historical Review '... invaluable to Reformation historians and students of book-history alike... there is in this book much useful bibliographical information which is not otherwise very accessible to English readers.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History '... powerful and excellent collection... What this collection show(s) is that the early modern book is an object of extraordinary power, yet also of conflict and of division.' Journal of the Early Book Society