Collaboration, Conflict, and Continuity in the Reformation: Essays in Honour of James M. Estes on His Eightieth Birthday ed. by Konrad Eisenbichler (review)

This book contains a collection of seventeen essays, two personal reflections and an extensive introduction by the editor, arranged into six sections. The introduction opens with a personal reflection on the author’s friendship with James Estes, gives some background for the origins for this Festschrift, and concludes with a detailed summary of the essays included.

The second section, entitled “Friendship and Collaboration,” contains five essays. Heinz Scheible and Timothy Wengert both examine the relationship between Brenz and Melanchthon. Scheible argues that the vicissitudes in their relationship impacted their theological understandings, while Wengert argues that despite their differences Brenz and Melanchthon maintained “a working relationship that resulted in some of the most enduring documents of the Reformation” (104). Three essays address Erasmus from various perspectives. Valentina Sebastiani gives fascinating insights into the sixteenth-century world of publishing by examining the relationship between Erasmus and his publisher, and illustrating the contemporary acknowledgment that “publication had the power to grant perpetual fame” (115). Susan Karant-Nunn focuses on Erasmus’ determination “to pursue his scholarly interests unfettered by obligations imposed by fixed positions or by elevated patrons” while still remaining true to his intellectual principles (125, 142). Erika Rummel’s essay focuses on an exchange of letters between Erasmus and Wolfgang Capito in 1535 and includes the translation of five letters from Capito that have never been published in English.

The third section, “Reforming the People and the Church,” includes five articles that address the challenges of creating confessional churches in various parts of Europe. Hermann Ehmer presents a succinct survey of Württemberg church history, and while the general reader will find it interesting to see how the Reformation endured through Napoleon and the Nazis, the specialist would appreciate an expanded discussion of Brenz’s role in the Reformation’s lasting influence in Württemberg. Raymond Mentzer examines the problems of reorganizing the Reformed pastorate in France by focusing on a few specific examples, an interesting counterpoint to the German context. Silvana Seidel Menchi examines the successful publication history of a particular pamphlet on Christian piety between 1525 and 1556 to illustrate how the ideas of the Reformation were received in Italy: five of the pamphlet’s eight editions listed Erasmus as the author even though most of its contents were actually drawn straight from Luther. Thomas Deutscher explores further the influence of the Reformation by examining in detail several sermon books used by priests in northern Italy.

The next section, “The Polemics of the Reformation,” contains three articles. Scott Hendrix presents a brief overview of the debate over free will between Luther and Erasmus, arguing that while modern scholarship has emphasized the importance of this debate, “the controversy itself had little impact on their lives or on the Reformation” (270). Amy Nelson Burnett focuses on an often-overlooked part of the Sacramentarian controversy, and, based upon a close reading of the primary sources, points out striking similarities in the exegesis of Erasmus and the Swiss theologians, Konrad Pelikan and Leo Jud. Robert Kolb examines the “imaginative and creative adaptation” of Luther’s thought by his students and followers and how it was implemented in order to develop a Lutheran church (316).

The fifth section, “Catholic Opponents of Erasmus and Luther,” includes three articles that address Catholic responses to reform ideas. Mark Crane examines the early Catholic response to Luther in France by theologians from the University of Paris. Crane argues that by utilizing print “these theologians were tacitly acknowledging that religious matters belonged, in some way, to the realm of public discourse opened up by the printing press” and that to combat heresy effectively they had to engage that medium (346). Paul Grendler evaluates Jesuit attitudes toward Erasmus, finding that while initially many Jesuit educators insisted upon the value of his works, ultimately the Society of Jesus...