Les Registres des consistoires des Églises réformées de France, xvi e–xvii e siècles: un inventaire ed. by Raymond A. Mentzer (review)

Raymond A. Mentzer, one of the leading specialists in the history of the Reformed Church in France, wishes to help scholars fill a gap in current research on the material side of the Church: proceedings of consistories, which have been analysed to a much lesser extent than the usual theological and political writings, offer the chance to see the community from the inside. The first part of the book is a long introductory essay, no less important than the inventory itself. In the first chapter, Mentzer assesses the origins of the consistory by stressing its importance for the Reformed Church in France. He traces its beginning to John Calvin’s wish to create an equivalent of the Jewish Sanhedrin in Geneva — a place that would offer a platform to resolve issues, especially religious and moral, arising in the community of believers. The second chapter of the introductory essay is dedicated to the archives and registers of the consistories, already targeted by order of Louis XIV before the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). By exploring the history of some of the registers, Mentzer shows that the surviving documents are small in number and difficult to read, thus throwing down a challenge to the historians of the period, not least because of the variations in how well they have survived in different locations. Nonetheless, the available documents, even if limited, make it possible to trace the goals of the Reformed Church at various stages, there being extant documents from as early as the 1560s. In total, 309 consistory registers have been preserved to the present day. The third and final chapter of the introductory essay deals with the historiography of research on the consistories and with research perspectives. As Mentzer rightly states, in the early days research on the Reformed Churches was often carried out by family descendants. Over the years this has changed and the field has opened up internationally. Mentzer presents a long list of books and articles based on consistory records, among them works by Elisabeth Labrousse, Judith Pollmann, and Philip Benedict. The second part of the book is the inventory itself: 157 entries providing insight into the topics debated in various consistories. The inventory is organized by place. Each location has a list of archives or libraries where relevant documents may be found, with brief general information on their contents. While there is an index locorum and nominum, there is unfortunately no index of topics. The book also contains a bibliography of sources and research tools. Overall, this is a valuable resource for those interested in the history of the Reformed Church in France, and provides an essential tool for further research in this field.