Early Modern Catholicism: An Anthology of Primary Sources (review)

There is a great deal to commend in Early Modern Catholicism, Robert Miola’s significant contribution to historical and literary studies of the Renaissance and Reformation. As the subtitle indicates, this anthology of primary sources serves as a valuable resource for both students and scholars, especially since some of the selections are printed here for the first time. It should also be noted, however, that this collection is more focused or limited than the title suggests. A more accurate title would be Early Modern English Catholicism, because the significant majority of the selections are ones written by, and in some cases about, English Catholics. There are, to be sure, some excerpts from other significant Catholic authors such as St. Augustine of Hippo, Desiderius Erasmus, and St. Teresa of Avila. There are a few Irish, Scottish, and Welsh contributions to this collection, but the predominant voices heard are those of Englishmen—and a few women.

Within those confines, Miola has gathered an impressive range of individuals and viewpoints, focusing on the sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries (c.1520–1640). In a lengthy but generally very helpful introduction, Miola discusses the historical and historiographical as well as literary and publishing context of the sources that he has included in this anthology. At the same time, there are a number of factual errors, dates in particular, in this section and at other points in the text. For example, the Act of Supremacy was promulgated in 1534, not 1536 (p. 15), and Alexander Rawlins and Henry Walpole were executed at York in 1595, not at Tyburn in 1585 (p. 30). In addition, and perhaps inevitably, there are a few gaps, but in the discussion of early-modern popes, Paul III (1534–49) should certainly be mentioned. Although a nepotist, this pontiff convoked the Council of Trent; supported new religious orders such as the Jesuits; and appointed several important reformers to the College of Cardinals, including Gasparo Contarini and Reginald Pole. Still, the background that Miola provides in both his general introduction and additional introductions to sections and individual authors is usually insightful and on the mark. The contents of the book are divided into eight sections: Controversies, Lives and Deaths, Poetry, Instructions and Devotions, Drama, Histories, Fiction, and Documents.

One of the considerable strengths of this collection is that it includes many well-known and clearly influential Catholic figures of the Tudor and early Stuart periods, including Thomas More, William Allen, Robert Southwell, and Robert Persons. At the same time, many lesser-known voices add to the rich variety of this compilation, including the classicist Jane Lumley, the memorialist Roger Martin, and the historian Philip O’Sullivan-Beare. Moreover, since “conversion to and from Catholicism recurs so frequently in this period” (p. 154), Miola includes selections not only from lifelong Catholics such as Henry Hawkins but also from converts to Catholicism like Edmund Campion and Toby Matthew, converts from Catholicism such as John Donne, individuals who joined and later left the Catholic Church like Ben Jonson, and others whose personal religious convictions continue to arouse controversy and intriguing speculation, preeminently William Shakespeare.

In all, this collection shows that there were many voices that found expression in a wide range of prose writings as well as in poetry concerning the beliefs and practices of early-modern Catholicism, not only across Europe and the wider world but also within the precarious and persecuted, yet also courageous and creative Catholic community in England. Many of the perspectives here are those of clerics and religious, including exiles and missionaries such as Nicholas Sander and Henry Garnet. But we also learn about the views and witness of many laymen and some laywomen, including Richard Verstegan and Margaret Clitherow. As such, this anthology is an important contribution to Catholic studies, especially with regard to early-modern England, and deserves to reach a wide audience.