Lived Reformation: Zurich, 1500-1800

This book examines one of the main centres of the European Reformation, the Swiss city of Zurich, to explore the impact of the reformatory processes on all aspects of everyday life. It looks at how, for the early modern (non-)believers, new visions of Christian living were mediated through law, preaching, teaching, singing, reading, rumours, and heated debates in taverns.

Lived Reformation emphasises that the Reformation was for most a longlasting challenge, evident in church worship, pastoral care, policies for the poor, the spreading of literacy and implementing sexual norms.

What did it take to turn from a Catholic to a Protestant? What did it mean for a Catholic priest to become a Protestant pastor and how did they relate to their flock? What did nuns and monks do when evicted from dissolved convents? How was the visual and acoustic culture of the city altered? What
about brothels or the belief in ghosts? What impact did the new theological conception of sexuality have on hetero- and homosexual couples? How much did the population cling to their religious habits or welcome or even ask for religious changes? Was magical healing to be tolerated or did it go against the new faith? Through careful examination of Zurich’s rich archival sources, this volume answers these questions and brings to life the diverse experiences of men and women in the time of the Long Reformation.

• Publication date: 17 September 2026
• Page count: 456
• Dimensions: Height 234 mm; Width 158 mm; Thickness 26 mm
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9781350460638