Women of the Reformation in Germany and Italy

Women of the Reformation

by Roland H. Bainton

In this pioneering work Roland Bainton surveys the contribution to the church of women of the sixteenth century in Germany and Italy. Along the way, he assesses the effect of the Reformation on the role of women in society in general. For example, the dropping of monasticism in Protestant lands made for the exaltation of the home, the special domain of the wife, as the sphere for the cultivation of the finer virtues.

Overview : the Reformation in Germany --
Katherine von Bora --
Ursula of Münsterberg --
Katherine Zell --
Wibrandis Rosenblatt --
Argula von Grumbach --
Elisabeth of Brandenburg --
Elisabeth of Braunschweig --
Women of the Anabaptists --
Minor sketches : Katherine Melanchthon and Anna Zwingli --
Overview : the Reformation in Italy --
Giulia Gonzaga --
Caterina Cibo --
Vittoria Colonna --
Isabella Bresegna --
Renée of Ferrara --
Olympia Morata.

Genres: History

279 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Roland Herbert Bainton, Ph.D. (Yale University; A.B., Whitman College), served forty-two years as Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School. A specialist in Reformation history, he continued writing well into his twenty years of retirement. His most popular book, Here I Stand, sold more than a million copies.

Ordained as a Congregationist minister, he never served as the pastor of a congregation.

Reviews

[Denise Kettering · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a classic in studying women in the Reformation. The book's profiles, while dated, provide a good introduction to some of the "extraodinary" women who found themselves taking sides during the Reformation era. While Bainton's emphasis tends to be on those who participated in the Protestant side of things, the profiles provide a look into the ways that women negotiated Reformation-era religion and politics.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of a two volume set with Women of the Reformation in France and England. 12 biographical essays plus chapters on "minor" personages of the 16th century. Includes: Maguerite of Navarre, 1492-1549, who administered France while her brother was at war and later became Queen of Navarre. Also Katherine von Bora, wife of Luther and mother of his six children. An early work on women's role in history and shows pre-feminist weaknesses in analysis.