Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 384 pages
- Published by: Oxford University Press, USA June 24, 1993
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0198221622
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0198221623
-
Book Dimensions:
9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
- Weighs: 8.8 ounces
Product Review
"It is a tribute to the worth of Dr. Haigh's positive evidence, as well as to his skill in debate, that on the whole the balance of probability seems usually to be on his side.It is significant that it is Dr. Haigh's view which has become the best known and has now provided what is likely to become the standard textbook."--Times Higher Education Supplement
"A significant workAn important study that professional historians will need to read."--istory: Reviews of New Books
"Readers of this bookwill find the most convincing account yet available of how the majority of the English people received the Reformations of the sixteenth century."--Albion
"This book deserves high commendation as a grassroots religious history of England in the sixteenth centuryBeyond being an exemplary presentation of history, the book has implications well worth the attention of readers whose interest in religion is not simply historical."--Journal of Religion
"[V]ery readable, forceful, and compelling."--The Thomist
Product Description
English Reformations takes a refreshing new approach to the study of the Reformation in England. Christopher Haigh's lively and readable study disproves any facile assumption that the triumph of Protestantism was inevitable, and goes beyond the surface of official political policy to explore the religious views and practices of ordinary English people. With the benefit of hindsight, other historians have traced the course of the Reformation as a series of events inescapably culminating in the creation of the English Protestant establishment. Haigh sets out to recreate the sixteenth century as a time of excitement and insecurity, with each new policy or ruler causing the reversal of earlier religious changes. This is a scholarly and stimulating book, which challenges traditional ideas about the Reformation and offers a powerful and convincing alternative analysis.
Reader ReviewsFor some months, I've been educating myself about Anglicanism. In so doing, I've discovered the hard way that Anglican histories are sometimes not the most readable or well written books around. English Reformations is a happy exception to that. That it's written by Christopher Haigh, a self-described "kind of Anglican agnostic," yet was recommended and given to me by a very orthodox professor illustrates its broad appeal among Anglicans. And as this amateur student of history and of historiography read, it soon became clear the book is exceedingly well researched. And the research is very well presented in a lucent and approachable manner. I even devoured the bibliography! Haigh pointedly chose to use the plural "reformations" in the book's title. For, as he documents well, the direction of the Church of England went back and forth even under Henry VIII and all the more so under Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth. There was indeed more than one reformation in the Church of England. In reading, I could sense the awkwardness (to say the least) of Britons in every walk of life being caught in the middle of the struggle between Catholics and Protestants. One on the "right" side could all too easily be on the wrong side in a matter of weeks even. And to raise the stakes (Pun intended.), the struggle was often as much political as religious, a frequent theme of Haigh's. I can't emphasize enough how well written English Reformations is. Haigh never writes down to his audience nor waters down his presentation. At the same time, the book is really a fun read. Even details, such as his frequent citing of church warden records, are set forth in a manner that is actually entertaining, often with delightfully dry humor. If you want to get beyond the basics of the tumult of 16th century Church of England without your patience being tried by dusty and turgid writing, I highly recommend English Reformations. Mark Marshall is the author of God Knows What It's Like to be a Teenager.
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