Clericis laicos (1296) / Boniface VIII -- Unam sanctam (1302) / Boniface VIII -- Defender of the peace (1324) : excerpts / Marsilius of Padua -- Trialogus (1384), Bk. IV, chs. 2-6 (on the Eucharist) / John Wycliffe -- Sacrosancta (1414) / The Council of Constance -- Frequens (1417) / The Council of Constance -- On the curch (1413), chs. 1-3, 10 / John Hus -- Julius excluded from heaven (1517), excerpt 95 / Desiderius Erasmus -- Ninety-five teses (1517) / Martin Luther -- A letter to the Christian nobility of the German nation (1520) : introduction and The three walls of the Romanists / Martin Luther -- The Babylonian captivity of the church (1520) : the sacrament of the altar / Martin Luther -- Exsurge domine (1520) / Pope Leo X -- The freedom of a Christian (1520) / Martin Luther -- The Schleitheim articles (1527) / Michael Sattler -- A dialogue concerning heresies (1529), Bk. I, chs. 19-23 / Thomas More -- Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1531 ), Article IV: Of justification / Philipp Melanchthon -- Four Lutheran errors (1531) / Thomas Cajetan -- Institutes of the Christian religion (1536 / 1559), prefatory address; Book I, chs. 1-6 / John Calvin -- Decree and canons concerning justification (1545) / The Council of Trent -- Decree and canons concerning the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist (1551) / The Council of Trent -- Spiritual exercises (1548), excerpt / Ignatius of Loyola -- Decades (1549), II.7: "Of the mgistrate, and whether the care of religion appertain to him or no" / Heinrich Bullinger -- Oxford treatise on the Eucharist (1549), preface and arguments Against transubstantiation / Peter Martyr Vermigli -- Examination of the Council of Trent (1565-73), topic IX, section 1 (Concerning the sacrament of order) / Martin Chemnitz -- Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (1585), Qs. 86-91 / Zacharias Ursinus -- The Book of Common Prayer (1559), preface, On ceremonies, and Order for holy communion / Thomas Cranmer -- Acts and monuments (1563), The martyrdom of Thomas Cranmer / John Foxe -- An admonition to Parliament (1572), excerpts / John Field, Thomas Wilcox --- Of the laws of ecclesiastical polity, preface, chs. 1, 4; book III, chs. 2-3; book IV, chs. 1-4 / Richard Hooker -- Controversies of the Christian religion (1581-93), controversy I, Q. 4: On the perspicuity of Scripture / Robert Bellarmine -- A disputation on Hofy Scripture (1588), controversy I, Q. 4: On the perspicuity of Scripture / William Whitaker -- The Canons of Dordt (1619) / Synod of Dordt.

Few episodes in Western history have so shaped our world as the Protestant Reformation and the counter-Reformations which accompanied it. The Reformation tore the seamless garment of Western Christendom in two, pitting king and pope, laity and clergy, Protestant and Catholic against one another. But it was also a firestorm tearing through an old, stagnant, and dying forest, sowing the seeds for a burst of new and newly diverse life. To understand why the Reformation unfolded as it did, we must understand the ideas that were so forcefully articulated, opposed, and debated by Protestants and Catholics. For Protestant or Catholic believers in our own forgetful age, the need to understand these disputed doctrines, and the logic and coherence that linked them together, is all the more imperative. This is what this volume seeks to offer for the first time: a primary source reader focused squarely on the theological questions that drove the Reformation. Beginning with the first rumblings of conflict in the late medieval period and continuing until the solidification of Protestant confessions in the early 17th century, this collection of thirty-two texts brings the modern reader face-to-face with the key men whose convictions helped shape the course of history. Concise historical introductions accompanying each text bring these writings to life by recounting the stories and conflicts that gave birth to these texts, and highlighting the enduring themes that we can glean from them. KEY TOPICS INCLUDE The doctrine of the church, and its relation to the state; the doctrine of the eucharist, and transubstantiation in particular; the doctrine of justification sola fide and the place of works; the meaning of the Protestant commitment to sola Scriptura; and others. KEY AUTHORS INCLUDE Marsilius of Padua, John Wycliffe, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Martin Luther, Thomas More, John Calvin, The Council of Trent, Thomas Cranmer, Richard Hooker, Robert Belllarmine, and many more. -- ‡c From back cover