The Zurich Connection and Tudor Political Theology (review)

This worthy new contribution to the historiography of religious and political thought in sixteenth-century England argues the important influence of Zurich Reformed theology, in particular that of Heinrich Bullinger and Peter Martyr Vermigli, on the Edwardian and Elizabethan Reformations, especially in terms of the theological concepts undergirding the Royal Supremacy and its dominance of ecclesiastical affairs. Torrance Kirby challenges the idea of an “English exceptionalism” within the Reformation, by explicitly linking English theopolitical thinking to such continental sources. Moreover, by shifting focus to Zurich as a center of Reformed thinking, as opposed to Geneva, Kirby also asserts that, far from a via media “half-way house between Roman Catholicism and Reformed Protestantism” (5), the Elizabethan Settlement was thoroughly grounded in Reformed theology, albeit that of the “other Reformed tradition” (23).

The book is structured around five primary sources, two by Bullinger and three by Vermigli. Each text is preceded by an explanatory essay. Kirbys purpose’ with this structure is to “explore in depth the alien mentalité of sixteenth-century politico-religious discourse” (10), in particular to highlight the indivisibility of Reformation era “political theology” into more modern categories. Kirby begins with an introduction that sets out his basic arguments and gives a brief account of Vermigli’s life. (Kirby does not do the same for Bullinger, on the grounds that Bullinger is better known, but it soon becomes apparent that the “hero” of this book is Vermigli.) Kirby here also makes his case for the extensive influence of the two Zurich theologians. While some may quibble with Kirby’s claim that Bullinger and Vermigli were “no less than chief architects of the reformation of the Church of England as it came to be formed in the reign of Edward VI and reached a more settled self-understanding in the statutes of the Elizabethan religious settlement of 1559” (5), he does demonstrate that the two reformers were widely read, admired, and corresponded with by Edwardian and Elizabethan churchmen, and that their influence lasted beyond their own lifetimes.

Kirby returns to the theme of influence in the essays that precede each text, as well as giving an explanation of the specific events surrounding the creation of that text. As a result, the book is sometimes a bit repetitive, no doubt a consequence of its structure, but this is far outweighed by the quality of analysis Kirby presents. In each text’s essay, Kirby not only clearly articulates the arguments but also the underlying concepts of the text as each builds on the previous one to make his case. Not all of the essays are equal, of course. Most are substantial and illuminating, but the one preceding Vermigli’s 1558 Epistle to the Princess Elizabeth is brief and weak, although even here making some nice points about the “mystical” unitary nature of the royal supremacy. Otherwise, Kirby is excellent when dealing with Vermigli. Kirby astutely analyzes both the Aristotelian and Augustinian strains in Vermigli’s arguments for the unity of civil and ecclesiastical authority in Of civill and ecclesiaticall power (1561). Kirby argues convincingly that Vermigli, in his 1549 A Sermon concernynge the tyme of rebellion, was less the “inspiration” than the actual author of Thomas Cranmer’s famous 1549 sermon against the Western Rising, and not only breaks down Vermigli’s arguments but places them, as Vermigli did, firmly within a larger Reformed theodicy. In the essay prefacing Bullinger’s 1566 Concerning thapparel of ministers, Kirby cites Vermigli as the source for the fundamental theological arguments for vestarian conformity, whose authority in the matter was repeatedly invoked. Indeed, only one essay deals solely with Bullinger, introducing his 1552 Of the office of the Magistrate. Here Kirby astutely investigates Bullinger’s concept of the relation of ministerial and magisterial office, and his theological rationale for elevating the latter.

In short, this is a valuable contribution that expands our understanding of the...