The Protestant Reformation, 1350-1564 (History of the Church of Christ, #4 - Part 1)

"All the qualities that one associates with H. Daniel-Rops's writing are to be found in this fourth volume of L'Histoire de l'Eglise du Christ - 'Piercing insight into character, the vivid description of events, the lapidary phrase, the firm grasp of his vast material and above all the extreme readability' (Listener). The period covers the vital years 1350-1564, and represents one of the great formative periods on art and history as well as religion. The book begins with the last years of the 'Babylonian Captivity' and ends with the death of Calvin. With publication of this important fourth volume the grand scheme of the whole is apparent, with its authentic detail, supreme artistry and literary style: it is like a huge tapestry come to life. The triple crises of authority, unity and the Christian spirit are dealt with in the first three chapters. The crisis of authority is represented by the Great Schism of the West, which began on the death of Pope Gregory XI (1378) and ended with the election of Martin V at the Council of Constance (1417). The crisis of unity brought about the dismemberment of Christendom as a result of such episodes as the Hundred Years War, which laid waste the spirit amidst scenes of famine, plague and privation, the anarchical state of southern Europe and the fall of Constantinople (1453). The crisis of the spirit resulted in spiritual, moral and intellectual decline, which was not sufficiently remedied by sporadic (and often misguided) attempts at reform. Later chapters deal respectively with the Renaissance, the story of the great reformer and translator of the Bible, Martin Luther, and the achievement of John Calvin, and also examine in detail the development of Protestantism from its beginnings as mere doctrinal revolt to its recognition as an established Church...."