The Reformation
If you’re looking for a more general history of the
English Reformation, this section is for you!
Histories of the English Reformation
These histories and historiographies provide accounts of the English Reformation, the continental reformations, and an overview of the debates about how we talk about the Reformation(s).
The Reformation: A History
Diarmaid MacCulloch. London: Penguin, 2005.
Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Peter Marshall. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017.
The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580
Eamon Duffy. 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.
All Things Made New: The Reformation and Its Legacy
Diarmaid MacCulloch. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Eamon Duffy’s work approaches the English Reformation from a Catholic perspective, looking at the ways that Protestant bias has skewed traditional histories of this time.
If you are interested in why histories of the English Reformation have such differing accounts of events and the beliefs of ordinary people, MacCulloch’s book of essays will provide helpful context as you study this period.
MacCulloch’s magisterial work on the Reformation shows the complexity of the reformations happening across Europe, and the way in which they were interrelated.
Marshall’s book provides a history of the English Reformation that is more in line with the Protestant-leaning MacCulloch than with Duffy. The book ends midway through Elizabeth I’s reign, and so does not provide an account of the reformations during the Stuart period.
The Debate on the English Reformation
Rosemary O’Day. 2nd ed. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2014.
For historians looking for a thorough account of the various histories of the English Reformation, O’Day’s historiography is an invaluable source. This can also provide a bibliography of sources for specific subtopics such as race, feminism, and film representations.