Book Review - The Reformation by Owen Chadwick

 The Reformation by Own Chadwick (Pelican History of the Church v. 2)

Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986 (first published 1964, rev. ed. 1972) ISBN 0140205047

This book has travelled around with me for about 30 years - well, not this book, but the various editions I've owned and then lost or given away through my various moves. This copy I bought for $2 at a charity shop. In all that time, I've never read it cover to cover until now.

And I'm glad I did. Owen Chadwick has written a lively and comprehensive history of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, covering not only Luther's revolt, but all that followed - Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Calvinism and all the other groups that grew from the great initial revolt at the torpor and corruption of the Catholic Church. He also covers the Catholic reaction to these changes, with the growth of the Jesuits, and the attempts to clean the Augean stables that was the Medieval Catholic Church.

We all know the outlines of the Reformation - disgusted at the corruption and sinfulness of much of the church, Luther famously set out to clean up church doctrine, liturgy and ritual. He never intended to set up a rival religion, but, partly through mismanagement by the Pope, and the political situation in Northern Germany, that is what happened. Once the Pandora's box was open, many went further than Luther in ridding religion of ritual, music, pictures, bishops, and in fact most of what made the Catholic Church the Catholic Church.

Chadwick covers both the political and religious sides of the history, and explains how the Catholic Church "fought back", with Jesuits and Dominicans in particular bringing the Catholic Church back to the people. Chadwick also writes about the Church's move into the Americas, and how the way the Conquistadors treated the natives made many churchmen consider what the church should be to all people, and how Christ's message should be delivered.

Chadwick weaves his way through the chronology of the Reformation quite skillfully, and towards the end has an interesting chapter on how the average peasant coped with the changes that occurred not only in areas that turned Protestant, but also in the Catholic world, where services changed and many excesses were done away with.

Overall, if you want to read a comprehensive, well-written account of the religious upheavals of the Sixteenth Century, this is well worthwhile.

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell