Catholic Reform in the Age of Luther

Christoph Volkmar, Ph.D. (2007), is Director of Magdeburg City Archives and lecturer (Privatdozent) at the University of Leipzig. He is author of Die Heiligenerhebung Bennos von Meißen (Aschendorff, 2002) and Jörgs Junker. Landadel und Reformation im Mittelelberaum (forthcoming).

• Preface to the English EditionPreface to the German EditionIntroduction1 A Critical Survey of Scholarship2 George of Saxony’s Church Politics from a New PerspectiveChurch Governance and Catholic Reform before the Reformation (1488–ca. 1521)3 Church Politics of German Princes in the Late Medieval Empire4 The Wettin Tradition of Reform5 George of Saxony (1471–1539) as a Reformer of the Church6 Papacy and Council7 The Empire8 Bishops and Cathedral Chapters9 The Ecclesiastical Court System10 The Regular Clergy11 The Lower Clergy12 The Laity13 Printing and the Public before Luther14 Summary and DiscussionThe Clash with the Early Reformation (1517–1525)15 George of Saxony and Martin Luther: A New Look at an Old Enmity16 “The Damned Lutheran Sect”17 Church Politics against the Reformation in the Empire (1522–1525)18 Outlawing the Reformation19 Territorial Politics against Evangelical Pastors20 Territorial Politics against Evangelical Monks21 Territorial Politics against Evangelical Subjects22 Preaching23 Printing24 Reform Instead of Reformation25 Church Politics against the Reformation: Successes, Limits, PerspectivesConclusionBibliographyIndex

“This book is a milestone in early modern studies. […] superior book, a combination of good writing and translation, easily digestible themes, and effective interpretation of archival, primary, and secondary evidence.” - Andrew A. Chibi, in: Sixteenth Century Journal 49:4 (Winter 2018), pp. 1163-1165