The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400–1580

This prize-winning account of the pre-Reformation church recreates lay people's experience of religion in fifteenth-century England. Eamon Duffy shows that late medieval Catholicism was neither decadent nor decayed, but was a strong and vigorous tradition, and that the Reformation represented a violent rupture from a popular and theologically respectable religious system. For this edition, Duffy has written a new Preface reflecting on recent developments in our understanding of the period. From reviews of the first edition: "A magnificent scholarly achievement [and] a compelling read."-Patricia Morrison, Financial Times "Deeply imaginative, movingly written, and splendidly illustrated. . . . Duffy's analysis . . . carries conviction."-Maurice Keen, New York Review of Books "This book will afford enjoyment and enlightenment to layman and specialist alike."-Peter Heath, Times Literary Supplement "[An] astonishing and magnificent piece of work."-Edward T. Oakes, Commonweal

About the Author :
Eamon Duffy is Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge and President of Magdalene College. He is the author of Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes and The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village, both available in paperback from Yale University Press.

Review :
"'A mighty and momentous book... which reorders one's thinking about much of England's religious past.' Jack Scarisbrick, The Tablet; 'Duffy wants to show the vitality and appeal of late medieval Catholicism and to prove that it exerted a diverse and vigorous hold over the imagination and loyalty of the people up to the very moment of the Reformation. He succeeds triumphantly.' Susan Bridgen, London Review of Books; 'A magnificent scholarly achievement, a compelling read, and not a page too long.' Patricia Morrison, Financial Times; 'A landmark book in the history of the Reformation.' Ann Eljenholm Nichols, Sixteenth Century Journal; 'This book will afford enjoyment and enlightenment to layman and specialist alike. Duffy sweeps the reader along... by his lively and absorbing detail, his piercing insights, patient analysis, and his vigour in debates.' Peter Heath, Times Literary Supplement; 'Sensitively written and beautifully produced, this book represents a major contribution to the Reformation debate.' Norman Tanner, The Times; 'Deeply imaginative, movingly written, and splendidly illustrated.' Maurice Keen, The New York Review of Books"