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  • Early Modern Religious Communities in East-Central Europe: Ethnic Diversity, Denominational Plurality and Comparative Politics in the Principality of Transylvania
  • Paul Shore
Early Modern Religious Communities in East-Central Europe: Ethnic Diversity, Denominational Plurality and Comparative Politics in the Principality of Transylvania. By István Keul. [Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions, Vol. 143.] (Leiden and Boston: Brill. 2009. Pp. xvii, 313. US$ 147.00. ISBN 978-9-004-17652-2.)

As the subtitle of this book demonstrates, the tangle of categories applicable in any historical study of this region makes an investigation of religious history in Transylvania a daunting one. István Keul endeavors to clear up matters by framing his work with the question of to what degree the "confessionalization" paradigm, which has long been employed in studies of this period, can be applied in this case. Keul's conclusion is that this model has considerable use for Transylvania, but this conclusion, which is worth considering, may not be the most important contribution that his book makes to the field.

Transylvania presents a number of challenges to the religious historian. First, many of the collections of primary source materials that have formed the foundation of groundbreaking work on comparable themes in Western Europe are missing, dispersed, destroyed, or yet to be recovered. Second, the scholarly literature is spread among many languages, most notably Hungarian and Romanian, and in many instances nationalist agendas helped shape this scholarship. This problem is not as dire as it once was, but is still a significant feature of the scholarly landscape. Finally, confessional bias still runs deep in a region where ethnic identity and the very right to inhabit the land is tied to religious affiliation, and this bias has also left its mark on the scholarly literature and intersects with the problem of nationalist bias.

Keul's work makes no claim that it is based on archival materials and so does not address the first point. But his careful weighing of existing research and his skill in constructing a narrative that draws on complementary and even competing interpretations make this study a valuable contribution to the English-language literature on this topic. In particular, Keul's presentation of the Diet of Torda, which remains a landmark in the history of religious toleration, is lucid and a fine introduction to the topic. Keul also provides guideposts along the many twists and turns of the diplomatic and domestic political history of the elective Grand Principality and notes the important connections between the local Reformed clergy and intellectual developments in far-off Holland. The marshalling of the scholarly literature in ample footnotes (in which Hungarian and Romanian titles are helpfully translated) coupled with the narrative strengths of the book make it a useful starting point for a student or for a scholar of some other corner of early-modern history who wants to begin exploring east-central Europe. Compared with this potential value, the qualified conclusion that Keul draws regarding the applicability of the paradigm of "confessionalization" seems far less significant. [End Page 820]

Despite Keul's concern with the modern question of "confessionalization," his book bears a family resemblance to histories written a century or more ago that sought to provide a synthesized—and therefore more easily comprehended—view of a period. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The reader may wonder, however, how much farther Keul, who clearly has a firm grasp of the topic, might be willing to venture in the realm of interpretation and evaluation of events in this turbulent corner of Europe. How Keul might tackle archival sources is another intriguing question that his book provokes.

Early Modern Religious Communities in East-Central Europe is lavishly illustrated with dozens of black-and-white reproductions of portraits and of artworks showing the churches, towns, and castles of the region.

Paul Shore
Brandon University, Canada
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