The Late Medieval English Church: Vitality and Vulnerability Before the Break With Rome
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover with Dust Jacket.
A MAJOR STUDY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION.
G. W. Bernard examines the condition of the late medieval English Church in the decades before Henry VIII’s break with Rome, challenging assumptions that the Church was universally corrupt or in decline on the eve of the Reformation. Through analysis of religious institutions, clergy, devotional practices, and popular belief, Bernard presents a nuanced portrait of a church that was both vigorous and vulnerable.
This study explores the complex relationship between institutional strength and the pressures that contributed to religious transformation in sixteenth-century England. Drawing on extensive historical research, Bernard considers how the Church functioned in everyday life and why reform movements gained momentum despite its continued vitality.
Physical Description: Octavo volume, 9.5 inches. 304 pages. Illustrated. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Condition: New. No Flaws or Blemishes; Gift Quality.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — THE ENGLISH CHURCH BEFORE THE REFORMATION.
The transition from medieval Catholic England to the Protestant Reformation remains one of the defining transformations in European religious history. Bernard’s study contributes to this discussion by reconsidering the condition of the English Church immediately before the break with Rome, emphasizing both its institutional resilience and the tensions that made reform possible.
Rather than presenting the pre-Reformation Church as simply failing, Bernard examines a more complicated historical reality: a religious institution deeply embedded in English society, yet facing challenges of authority, reform, and changing expectations.
Subjects: English Church History, Medieval England, Reformation, Catholicism, Henry VIII, Late Medieval Religion, Religious Institutions, Ecclesiastical History, European History, History, Religious History, Medieval Studies, Reformation Studies, Academic Monographs.
Item #22290
ISBN: 9780300179972
Price: $30.00
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