When Fathers Ruled: Family Life in Reformation Europe

by Steven E. Ozment

Here is a lively study of marriage and the family during the Reformation, primarily in Gemany and Switzerland, that dispels the commonly held notion of fathers as tyrannical and families as loveless.Did husbands and wives love one another in Reformation Europe? Did the home and family life matter to most people? In this wide-ranging work, Steven Ozment has gathered the answers of contemporaries to these questions. His subject is the patriarchal family in Germany and Switzerland, primarily among Protestants. But unlike modern scholars from Philippe Arics to Lawrence Stone, Ozment finds the fathers of early modern Europe sympathetic and even admirable. They were not domineering or loveless men, nor were their homes the training ground for passive citizenry in an age of political absolutism. From prenatal care to graveside grief, they expressed deep love for their wives and children. Rather than a place where women and children were bullied by male chauvinists, the Protestant home was the center of a domestic reform movement against Renaissance antifeminism and was an attempt to resolve the crises of family life. Demanding proper marriages for all women, Martin Luther and his followers suppressed convents and cloisters as the chief institutions of womankind's sexual repression, cultural deprivation, and male clerical domination. Consent, companionship, and mutual respect became the watchwords of marriage. And because they did, genuine divorce and remarriage became possible among Christians for the first time.

This graceful book restores humanity to the Reformation family and to family history.

Genres: History, Family, Nonfiction, Theology, Christian, Church History, Cultural

248 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 1983

About the author

A specialist in early modern and modern Germany, the European family, and the Protestant Reformation., Steven Ozment was the McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History emeritus at Harvard University.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunate title, fascinating book; social history of the family in Reformation Europe. I was particularly struck at the way that the Reformers construed marriage over against their papist foes. I also found interesting the agony of clerical celibacy before and during the Reformation, which became such an issue that it was ultimately debated at Trent.

All in all, a little slow at times, but a fascinating book.

[Ashten Swartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book very much. Though I do not agree with every opinion of the author, I so appreciated his charitable and (to borrow a phrase from The Soul of Science) “idealist” historical account. Ozment treats his historical figures as though they are real human beings with mind and feeling…and tries to judge them based on the beliefs of their time rather than our modern-day ideals.

The historical information of familial life is so fascinating and illuminated where many of our modern ideas (particularly regarding marriage) have come from. I learned so much. I also felt challenged to consider my own opinion about the morality of certain practices. And my appreciation/sympathy for clergymen grew a lot as I considered the incredibly hard situations they face regularly in the care of sinners.

I found myself overwhelmed to tears reading the passages concerning infant/child death. What suffering our ancestors endured with high infant/child mortality. In my opinion, as one who has experienced this loss, I felt the author handled this topic so well.

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, but insightful introduction to the family during the Reformation. The book is focused on places like Zurich and Basel. What I found helpful is that he did not focus on Geneva. I know a lot about Geneva, but little about the Reformation in other areas. The reader is taken into the minds of early 16th century Christians by way of primary firsthand accounts. This is the book's strength and its weakness. We get a worm's view of how men and women viewed marriage and children. But there is no real bird's eye view. It is the difference between a memoir of a man at war and a story about the war. This was more a memoir. Ozment does a good job undoing many false ideas about husbands, wives, marriage, and children that moderns place on the Reformation age. It was also filled with helpful facts and data. The chapter about bearing children was very fascinating, as Ozment looked into a medical book from the age for information on the problems associated with pregnancy and birth. Some of it was gut-wrenching, such as all the ways to removed a dead baby from the mother's womb. I want to read more on this particular topic, but Ozment did a good job of clearing away some of my false conceptions.

[Peter F · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Fathers Ruled is an entertaining window into the everyday life and relationships of Reformation-era Europe. Ozment details the decline of the cloister and the resulting high value placed on marriage as a result of the Reformation. He systematically debunks the prevailing chronological snobbery that believes 16th century family life was characterized by harsh fathers and husbands and shows how love and sacrifice within the family was held in high esteem.

This work is filled with evidence which shows the enormous effect the Protestant Reformation had on society. The Reformers (Luther, Zwingli, Bucer) put an end to so-called "secret marriages", reformed divorce law, and encouraged the rights of children in regard to choosing a spouse. "In matters of marriage, as in matters of faith, the Reformation opposed bullying the heart and conscience." This should be an encouragement to those of us who believe marriage and family to be in crisis today, as did the Reformers as they observed the state of medieval church and society in the early 16th century.

[Warren Bittner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this fascinating book. Ozment argues against many liberal historians of the last thirty years who have held that the early modern family was oppressive to women and reserved in their affection towards children. Ozment takes us to the hearthside to look at the family in 16th century Germany to see the challenges and changes of the family, but also the affection and closeness within the home. His use of original sources is impressive. Even his footnotes are also interesting. He gives many insights into early German marriage restrictions, which is always a subject I am interested in. This was a thought provoking book, well worth reading.

[wyclif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent historical study of marriage and family during the Protestant Reformation that combats the typical PC doctrine of university history departments ("the Reformation was oppressive to women!") by bringing German and Swiss primary source documents to bear on the subject. In doing so, Ozment shows that Reformation family life was both loving and liberating to men, women, and children. Solidly academic, but with good storytelling and a provocative thesis. Highly recommended.

[Conandrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

En historisk analys av familjestrukturer i reformationens Tyskland där en den amerikanske historikern Ozment går igenom celibatet och äktenskapet, livet i kloster, äktenskapets disciplinering, de äkta makarna & deras plikter under reformationen. Han tittar på relationen till nyfödda & barn, spädbarnsdöd, disciplin, husfadern - you name it, här presenteras du allt runt den tyska reformationens familjeliv.

Ledord: Reformation, familjehistoria, sociologi,
Genre: Kulturhistoria, socialhistoria, genus.

[Joseph Rizzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating historical survey of family life in 16th century europe in the midst of the reformation. It goes over what family life looked life in catholic life, and then what changed as a result of Protestantism's changes to social order. One of the things you see, are the same issues we deal with today, but in a different context, our sin nature not changing based on time and culture. There is a particular focus on marriage and parental authority, but there are also long detailed sections on child birth, midwives, child rearing, prenatal and infant medicine, etc.

[J Landon Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating study of family life during the Reformation, particularly in Germany. The author puts the lie to numerous misconceptions about the faults of our forefathers, but does not gloss over faults and errors. Many touching anecdotes from primary sources reveal the tenderness between husbands and wives, parents and children. There is also much to give the reader a chuckle, especially in the sections on the conventional medical wisdom of the time.

[Jennifer Jeffryes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great content, at points a bit of a slog to read. Discussion of how the family existed (and changed) through the time of the Protestant Reformation.

[mpsiple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful information about 16th century views on the family. But a bit boring (and poorly titled).

[Jeremy]

BB: "Many men today who claim the Reformers as their heritage have little understanding of how central to the work of the Reformation the restoration of the dignity of fatherhood was. Ozment's fascinating work provides the history of the reformation of marriage and family life during the Reformation."

[Generations with Vision]

I found it very helpful in terms of my study and survey of manhood and fatherhood during the reformation era. A quick read and a great historical survey in context, a good read for any young man and father to be.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good.

[Alexis]

When Fathers Ruled: Family Life in Reformation Europe (Studies in Cultural History) by Steven Ozment (1985)

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent, basic history that attempts to argue against the stereotypes (children weren't loved, women were totally subservient).