Salvation at Stake: Christian Martyrdom in Early Modern Europe (review)

Gregory chronicles martyrdom during the Reformation era in terms of the beliefs and intentions of the martyrs themselves, as well as those of their persecutors and supporters. Through exhaustive reference to primary sources, as well as to Catholic, Protestant, and Anabaptist martyrologies, he makes clear that these Christian communities celebrated their martyrs and defended their sacrifices in very similar terms. They also defended their persecution of those whom they regarded as heretics in very similar terms. And yet—while each group followed Augustine's dictum that it is "not the punishment, but the cause, makes a martyr"—none could advance beyond the conviction that their own martyrs suffered and died for the cause of Christ, while all others who died were tools of Satan. Gregory illuminates not only why some were willing to die for their faith, but perhaps more important, why others among the Christian faithful were willing to kill.