This study focuses on the Colloquy of Montb©liard, a theological debate in 1586 between the Lutheran Jacob Andreae and the Calvinist Thoeodore Beza. Montb©liard, the site of the Colloquy, epitomized the complex array of shifting political alliances and religious tensions which characterized the Holy Roman Empire after the Peace of Augsburg. A French speaking Reformed county, Montb©liard found itself under the jurisdiction of the lutheran Duke of Wurttemberg, who sought to impose his religion on the region. The people and clergy of Montb©liard resisted strenuously, and this tense situation was exacerbated by a continuing influx of Reformed Huguenot refugees from France. The ostensible purpose of the Colloquy was to determine if the Lutherans and Reformed were in sufficient agreement on the docturine of the Eucharist to permit intercommunion. Raitt''s research of the documents surrounding the Colloguy, however, has revealed that the calling of the Colloquy, was the result of high level political intrigue. In fact, the Colloquy represented a last-ditch effort on the part of Henry of Navarre, with the Palatine Elector John Casimir and Queen Elizabeth of England, to unite the Protestant forces of Europe against Rome and the papal Allies. Raitt uncovers the background and details of this incident and analyses the nature and implications of the underlying theological conflict.
Industry Reviews
"This is an important book. For most of us the period of the so-called 'religious wars' has seemed little more than a confused, chiefly political imbroglio. Jill Raitt's lucid and carefully researched study will do a great deal to change this impression. It accomplishes two major tasks: it establishes the European significance of episodes too often treated in merely local or national terms; and, even more importantly, it demonstrates the seriousness
of the religious problem for the later sixteenth century. The author is unique in her ability to clarify and dramatize both of these aspects of the period."--William J. Bouwsma, University of California at
Berkeley
"A work of tremendous historical importance....No one in the history profession could do a book so splendid, well and clearly written, so politically and theologically informed, as this volume....A great book for Reformation historians and for all students of the sixteenth and subsequent centuries, including our own."--Lewis W. Spitz, Stanford University
"The bulk of Raitt's book is an extraordinarily finely honed analysis of the arguments raised by each side in the debate. Raitt is at her best here, deftly describing the fine differences between quite a number of Protestant views of the nature of the sacrament....Raitt shows a remarkable sensitivity to the viewpoints and the strategy and tactics of debate of the participants....The book is a fine contribution to ecumenical dialogue between Reformed and
Lutheran churches and should go a long way toward dispelling the myth of the belligerence and divisiveness of Reformed Christianity....A first rate example of traditional church history/history of doctrine at
its best."--Sixteenth Century Journal
"Raitt is a historian of theology, and she is at her best here, reducing discussions of daunting technical complexity to clear and helpful summaries....All specialists in Reformation history will...be grateful for her book's careful exposition of the issues separating the two main wings of magisterial Protestantism by the late sixteenth century."--American Historical Review
"Jill Raitt displays her trademark qualities of superlative historical theological scholarship....Raitt's solid command of the primary sources and their languages is matched by her interpretive skills. She stays very close to the texts, doing full justice to their intricate detail, but does not hesitate to rearrange materials where this will lead to greater clarity for the reader....Raitt has provided one of the most detailed and accurate accounts of the
sixteenth-century eucharistic controversy that one could hope for. This is a superb piece of work, and I highly recommend it to Reformation scholars."--The Journal of Religion
"This is an important book. For most of us the period of the so-called 'religious wars' has seemed little more than a confused, chiefly political imbroglio. Jill Raitt's lucid and carefully researched study will do a great deal to change this impression. It accomplishes two major tasks: it establishes the European significance of episodes too often treated in merely local or national terms; and, even more importantly, it demonstrates the seriousness
of the religious problem for the later sixteenth century. The author is unique in her ability to clarify and dramatize both of these aspects of the period."--William J. Bouwsma, University of California at
Berkeley
"A work of tremendous historical importance....No one in the history profession could do a book so splendid, well and clearly written, so politically and theologically informed, as this volume....A great book for Reformation historians and for all students of the sixteenth and subsequent centuries, including our own."--Lewis W. Spitz, Stanford University
"The bulk of Raitt's book is an extraordinarily finely honed analysis of the arguments raised by each side in the debate. Raitt is at her best here, deftly describing the fine differences between quite a number of Protestant views of the nature of the sacrament....Raitt shows a remarkable sensitivity to the viewpoints and the strategy and tactics of debate of the participants....The book is a fine contribution to ecumenical dialogue between Reformed and
Lutheran churches and should go a long way toward dispelling the myth of the belligerence and divisiveness of Reformed Christianity....A first rate example of traditional church history/history of doctrine at
its best."--Sixteenth Century Journal
"Raitt is a historian of theology, and she is at her best here, reducing discussions of daunting technical complexity to clear and helpful summaries....All specialists in Reformation history will...be grateful for her book's careful exposition of the issues separating the two main wings of magisterial Protestantism by the late sixteenth century."--American Historical Review
"Jill Raitt displays her trademark qualities of superlative historical theological scholarship....Raitt's solid command of the primary sources and their languages is matched by her interpretive skills. She stays very close to the texts, doing full justice to their intricate detail, but does not hesitate to rearrange materials where this will lead to greater clarity for the reader....Raitt has provided one of the most detailed and accurate accounts of the
sixteenth-century eucharistic controversy that one could hope for. This is a superb piece of work, and I highly recommend it to Reformation scholars."--The Journal of Religion
"All seminary libraries and college and university libraries with interest in early modern thought and ecclesiastical life should acquire this book."--Religious Studies Review
"Montbeliard is not exactly a household term, even among Reformationists, but Professor Raitt's erudite study should help put it on the map....This commendable study merits the attention of a mature theological audience everywhere."--The Catholic Historical Review
"This is a most important discussion for anyone interested in the development of eucharistic theology and Calvinist/Lutheran doctrinal evolution, including as well the issues of images, baptism and predestination."--Renaissance Quarterly
