Members Get 10% Off and Earn Rewards Find Out More

Martin Luther: Rebel in an Age of Upheaval

Add to Wishlist

Martin Luther: Rebel in an Age of Upheaval

Hardcover

$41.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

Hardcover
$41.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

SHIP THIS ITEM

Qualifies for Free Shipping
PICK UP IN STORE
Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Available within 2 business hours

Want it Today?
Check Store Availability

Related collections and offers

Overview

No other German has shaped the history of early-modern Europe more than Martin Luther.

In this comprehensive and balanced biography we see Luther as a rebel, but not as a lone hero; as a soldier in a mighty struggle for the universal reform of Christianity and its role in the world. The foundation of Protestantism changed the religious landscape of Europe, and subsequently the world, but the author chooses to show Luther not simply as a reformer, but as an individual.

In his study of the Wittenberg monk, Heinz Schilling - one of Germany's leading social and political historians - gives the reader a rounded view of a difficult, contradictory character, who changed the world by virtue of his immense will.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198722816
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/01/2017
Pages:	576
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 2.20(d)

About the Author

Heinz Schilling was Professor of Early Modern History at the Humboldt University, Berlin until his retirement in 2010. His main areas of research are in early modern European history, including studies in religion, politics, migration studies, foreign policy, and social and cultural history.

Prologue: Living in an Age of Faith and an Age in TransitionPART ONE: Childhood, Education, and the First Years as a Monk, 1483-15111. 1484 - New Departures for Christendom2. Childhood and Youth3. Crisis and Flight to the MonasteryPART TWO: Wittenberg and the Beginnings of the Reformation, 1511-15254. Wittenberg5. Eleutherios - The Birth of a Free Man6. The Reformer - Standing His Ground before Church, Emperor, and Empire7. Beginning to Labour for the Cause8. Contesting Interpretation within the Evangelical Camp9. Arrived in the World -Marriage, Family, and a Large HouseholdPART THREE: Prophetic Confidence, but Temporal Failure, 1525-154610. Evangelical Renewal of Church and Society11. "But We Christians Are Part of a Different Struggle" - Facing the Demands of the World12. Conflicted Emotions: God-Given Joy and Apocalyptic Fear13. Dying in Christ - "We Are All Beggars, That is True"Epilogue: Failure and Success: Luther and the Modern World

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/08/2017
Schilling, former professor of early modern history at Humboldt University in Berlin, makes an essential entry into the field of titles to come out in honor of the Reformation’s 500th anniversary. Beautifully translated by Johnston Gordon, this massive biography roughly follows the arc of Luther’s life, but it eschews many personal details to focus on theology and politics. Schilling sets Luther and his actions in a broader framework than Lyndal Roper’s equally magisterial biography, Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet (Reviews, Jan. 6), which is a more personal biography. Schilling instead focuses on Luther’s writings and interactions with those around him, including Charles V, who tried to call Luther to account at Worms; the rulers of Electoral Saxony, who protected Luther; Philip of Hesse, who demanded Luther sanction a bigamous marriage; and coworkers in the Reformation such as Philipp Melanchthon. Schilling allows himself wide range to comment on the perturbations caused by Luther’s determination to reform church practice (as well as on the reformer himself). Schilling’s most impressive accomplishment in this detailed biography is his portrait of how Luther placed the personal, and even the psychological, into the Christian religion in a completely new way. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Shilling's account succeeds in arriving at balanced, but never insipid, conclusions about Luther's supreme contribution to the Reformation without ignoring the destructive aspects of his personality." — Graeme Murdock , The Huguenot Society Journal
"Entering a world saturated with Luther biographies following celebrations of the anniversary of the 95 theses, Heinz Schilling's Martin Luther has done far more than merely hold its own. This tome is an exceptional piece of scholarship produced by a brilliant scholar On every page, the reader feels she is meeting Martin Luther. Schilling's knowledge of Luther's corpus and his times is comprehensive-the result being a biography truly worthy of celebration."—Jon Balserak, Reading Religion
"Although there existed a lot of literature on Martin Luther, there has been a gap as far as his universalism is concerned. Martin Luther fills that gap. It is a meticulously researched book that provides deep analysis of the role of Martin Luther in the rise of Protestantism. It is an insightful and highly scholarly book but it s very readable at the same time. It should be on university curriculums for history. It is a must-read for everyone interested in the history of Europe and religion. Heinz Schilling s scholarship is unmatched in its insight, scholarly value, and authority."—The Washington Book Review

From the Publisher

★ 05/15/2017
To commemorate 500 years since Martin Luther posted The Ninety-Five Theses on the doors of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany (October 31, 1517), readers are treated to two important studies of the great reformer: Lyndal Roper's magisterial Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet, and now Schilling's (emeritus, early modern history, Humboldt Univ.; Cultural Exchange in Early Modern Europe) latest work. Although there are similarities between the two books, there are substantial differences in emphasis which, in the case of Schilling's work, leads to differences in argument. The signal virtue of Schilling's account is that it places Luther in contexts outside himself. In doing so, the historian explains Luther's relation to late medieval reform and pietism and shows parallels between Luther and Catholic reformers such as Emperor Charles V. No wild revisionism is at work here; rather a temperate, qualified attempt to place Luther in the larger context of his own, intensely religious age. In the process, many myths are stripped away. VERDICT It is difficult to imagine a better Luther biography in the foreseeable future; given its timing, this book should prove popular to both general and academic readers.—David Keymer, Cleveland

Library Journal

2017-05-16
A comprehensive biography of the famed reformer.Biographical works about Martin Luther (1483-1546) abound. Here, former history professor Schilling (Early Modern European Civilization and Its Political and Cultural Dynamism, 2008, etc.) seeks to capture "the uncontaminated Luther." As he writes, "this book is not about a Luther in whom we can find the spirit of our own time; this book is about…a Luther whose thoughts and actions are out of kilter with the interests of later generations." The author portrays Luther in the context of his own time, but the long narrative is rather rambling and far better suited to academics than to general readers. Schilling begins with an in-depth exploration of Luther's family background and youth, utilizing the name Luder, which Luther used up until his activism began in earnest. The author goes beyond the scope of most biographies by detouring into lengthy histories of towns involved in Luther's story, the political landscape of the era, and profiles of individuals who were important in Luther's life. Even Luther's choice of clothing is carefully discussed. The further Schilling moves into the course of Luther's story, the more intriguing his exploration of the sociopolitical events that framed the birth of the Reformation. The author makes it a point to dispute myths, none greater than Luther's nailing the famed 95 theses to the Wittenberg Church door—he notes that if the list was nailed there at all, it was probably not done by Luther, and it was certainly not a dramatic event. Throughout, Schilling admirably avoids the fraught territory of psychoanalysis. His work will appeal most to readers who have exhausted other biographies of Luther and are looking for further minutia about the subject. For general readers seeking a meaningful but accessible biography, there are better choices, such as Derek Wilson's Out of the Storm (2008). An academic achievement with limited appeal for the nonscholarly audience.

Kirkus Reviews

Martin Luther: Rebel in an Age of Upheaval

Martin Luther: Rebel in an Age of Upheaval

Hardcover

Hardcover

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews