People's Tragedy: Studies in Reformation

Professor Eamon Duffy's book "A People's Tragedy" explores the origins and progress of the English Reformation, focusing on the practices and institutions that ordinary people lived and experienced. It examines the rise and fall of pilgrimage to cathedral shrines, the destruction of monasteries under Henry VIII, the suppression of the Rising of the Northern Earls in 1569, the evolution of Catholic portrayals of Martin Luther, the role of historians in the emergence of English national identity, and the revival of Anglican and Catholic pilgrimage to the medieval Marian shrine of Walsingham. It also considers the changing ways in which attitudes to the Reformation have been reflected in fiction, culminating with Hilary Mantel's trilogy on Thomas Cromwell.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 26 November 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Professor Eamon Duffy, a renowned expert on the religion of medieval and early modern England, has made significant contributions to the field. His revisionist masterpiece, "The Stripping of the Altars," has opened up new areas of research and offered fresh perspectives on the origin and progress of the English Reformation. Duffy's primary focus has always been on the practices and institutions that ordinary people lived and experienced their religion, which the Protestant reformers abolished as idolatry and superstition.

The first part of "A People's Tragedy" examines two of these institutions: the rise and fall of pilgrimage to the cathedral shrines of England, and the destruction of the monasteries under Henry VIII, exemplified by the dissolution of the ancient Anglo-Saxon monastery of Ely. In the title essay of the volume, Duffy tells the harrowing story of the Elizabethan regimes savage suppression of the last Catholic rebellion against the Reformation, the Rising of the Northern Earls in 1569.

In the second half of the book, Duffy considers the changing ways in which the Reformation has been thought and written about. He explores the evolution of Catholic portrayals of Martin Luther, from hostile caricature to partial approval. He also examines the role of historians of the Reformation in the emergence of English national identity. Additionally, he delves into the improbable story of the twentieth-century revival of Anglican and Catholic pilgrimage to the medieval Marian shrine of Walsingham.

Finally, Duffy examines the changing ways in which attitudes to the Reformation have been reflected in fiction, culminating with Hilary Mantel's gripping trilogy on the rise and fall of Henry VIIIs political and religious fixer, Thomas Cromwell, and her controversial portrayal of Cromwell's Catholic opponent and victim, Sir Thomas More.

Professor Duffy's work has significantly enriched our understanding of the English Reformation and its impact on English society. His revisionist approach has challenged traditional narratives and shed light on the experiences of ordinary people during this period. "A People's Tragedy" is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the Reformation and its enduring legacy.

Weight: 558g
Dimension: 162 x 241 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472983855